Do people really make that much money through side hustles?

Throughout the years, there has been an exponential rise in side hustle culture and entrepreneurship. The growing interest in the benefits of starting your own business has also led to the rise in the question: how do I start? As a result, many gurus have come to save the day by teaching you exactly how they have gotten successful. However, are they really making as much money as they claim?

If you have an interest in starting your own business, you most likely know what I’m talking about. Whilst you scroll through Instagram or any other social media, you, without fail, will eventually come across a video that goes something like this: I made X amount of money in only X amount of time! If you watch this video through, I will teach you exactly how I did it so you can be rich too!

Some of them also like to provide evidence showcasing that they have become successful, such as spreading money, showing screenshots or showing clips of them in, let’s say, Dubai. By flaunting their wealth, it acts as a strong call to action - if they provide you with a guide teaching you exactly how they made that much money then surely you should buy their course, right?

However, there’s a lot of things to be wary of here. It is keen to note that, despite the large sales revenue, it is not taking into account costs. Their actual profit may be way less impressive than 8 figures. It is also keen to note that ‘proof’ can still be faked just to entice you into buying their courses. You can imitate what some of them do by buying prop money on Amazon or by stealing clips of someone who is in Dubai and claiming it as your own! (do not do this - it’s scummy and fraudulent)

Almost all of these accounts claim to know the trick and that making money is easy if you follow their steps. There’s a common saying: ‘during the gold rush, sell shovels.’ Essentially, this is what many of them are doing. They entice you with the opportunity to make lots of money easily, provided you buy their course. I’d like to raise the question - why would they want to saturate their own market?

I am not saying all of these gurus are lying to you. Some of them actually provide valuable information and actually want to help you, even for free! Some of them have actually made millions such as entrepreneur Iman Gadzhi. But, there is a growing number of people who are just looking to make a quick buck or two through selling you their ‘knowledge’. For example, you may have heard of the term, the ‘Indian Method’. This blew up most notably on TikTok, and started out as memes depicting alleged screenshots of Indians being exploited by people who have made thousands of dollars whilst they get scraps in return.

Due to the rising popularity of what is essentially, outsourcing with an Indian white-label, many decided to take advantage of this trend and started providing courses or ebooks on this ‘method’. There’s a term I’d like to call these people - snake oil salesmen. A snake oil salesman is someone who knowingly sells fraudulent goods or who is himself or herself a fraud, quack, charlatan, and the like - Cambridge Dictionary

Although the side hustles these gurus promote can be profitable, it is most likely nowhere near as easy as they claim. But, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start that business that you have been wanting to try. Just be wary that you won’t be making money instantly and that there will be lots of struggles, contrary to what they have said. And, the next time you are scrolling on Instagram, don’t comment ‘guide’ to receive their DM.