Hey hustler,

Welcome back to Side Hustle Sunday. Another week of digging through the internet so you don't have to.

I found some good ones this week, including a side hustle that grew over 1,000% in search interest last year.

Let's get into it.

Inc. published a piece this week about the fastest-growing side hustles of 2026, based on an analysis by Falcon Digital Marketing that tracked Google search volumes year over year. The biggest surprise? Tutoring side hustles saw a 1,011% increase in search interest from 2024 to 2025. That's not a typo.

The demand for help with core subjects like math and English is always there, but what really moves the needle is specializing. Niche skills like test prep, college essay coaching, or even teaching a specific software tool let you charge a premium. Sites like Wyzant let you set your own hourly rate and keep 75% of what you earn. Entrepreneur also profiled a guy named Carter Osborne who started tutoring on the side during grad school, eventually took it full time, and made $220,000 in 2024 working about 10 hours a week.

I keep coming back to this one because the demand is so obvious and the startup cost is literally zero. If you know something well enough to explain it to someone else, you already have everything you need.

🔗 Read the Inc. article on the fastest-growing side hustles

The Optimist Daily recently featured Dennis Tinerino from Los Angeles, who earns six figures a year buying and selling domain names. He often works just an hour or two a day. The concept is straightforward: you buy a domain name for $10 to $15, and if you've picked one with real value (short, brandable, keyword-rich), you sell it later for a lot more.

One domain investor profiled on Side Hustle Nation reported $70,000 to $80,000 in net profit in a single year, managing a portfolio of about 3,500 to 4,000 domains in his spare time. Only a small percentage of his inventory sells each year, but the ones that do sell make up for the rest.

This one isn't for everyone because it takes patience and you'll make some bad picks along the way. But I like it for people who enjoy spotting trends and don't mind playing a longer game. You can start with a handful of $10 domains and see what happens. The whole thing runs from a laptop.

🔗 Read the Optimist Daily feature on creative side hustles for 2026

This one was published on Medium just a few days ago and it's one of the most honest breakdowns I've read in a while. A guy named David spent eight months testing 10 different side hustles while working his regular job. He tracked everything: the hours, the earnings, the stuff that flopped.

His total across all 10 hustles over eight months was about $3,200, which works out to roughly $400/month in extra income. The winner was freelance writing at $600 in his best month, but it took two brutal months of rejections before he landed decent clients. Virtual assistant work was steady but boring. Print on demand was basically a waste of time. Surveys surprised him by actually paying decently once he figured out the system.

The reason I wanted to include this is because it's refreshingly real. Most side hustle content online is someone telling you they made $10,000 in their first week. This guy's honest about the grind, the failures, and the modest but meaningful results. If you're just starting out, this is the kind of story that actually helps you set realistic expectations.

🔗 Read the full breakdown on Medium

That same Inc. article about the fastest-growing side hustles had another standout: social media management for small businesses grew 367% in search interest last year. And when you think about it, the reason is obvious. Small business owners know they need to be posting, responding, and running promos on social media, but most of them just don't have time to do it themselves.

The work involves creating posts, monitoring engagement, and helping businesses actually show up consistently online. If you already spend a lot of time on social platforms, you basically have the core skill set. Rates typically range from $14 to $35 per hour starting out, but you can charge more once you can show results. Some people package it as a monthly retainer of $300 to $600 per client, which means just two or three clients can get you to $1,000/month pretty quickly.

This could be a great fit if you're already comfortable with platforms like Instagram or TikTok and you enjoy the creative side of content. You don't need a degree or certification. You just need to be able to show a small business owner that you can help them get more eyeballs on their stuff.

🔗 Read the Inc. article on the fastest-growing side hustles