So I was walking around campus yesterday afternoon when this student randomly ran up to me, handed me his phone, and asked me to take over his game because his professor was calling him. Since he was in a rush, I just played it for a bit while waiting for him. When he came back, he actually paid me for playing it! Hahaha
I found out about this a few weeks ago and honestly thought he was joking.
My cousin lives in a city where people hate spending half their day lining up at government offices, banks, or utility payment centers. Apparently some people would rather pay someone else to wait in line and call them once they're close to the front.
He doesn't even charge that much, just enough that people who value their time are willing to pay for the convenience.
The funny part is that most of his "work" is literally sitting on a chair scrolling through his phone until it's almost the client's turn.
I know there are businesses that offer concierge services, but I never thought someone could make a side hustle out of just waiting in line.
Has anyone else come across weird offline side hustles like this? I'm curious what the most unexpected one you've seen is.
So my friend who happens to be a very very nerdy and corporate busy guy just paid me to make a Playlist for his girlfriend as a gift on their 2nd month anniversary. I know this sounds very weird and non-genuine on his side but money is money so I did it 😭
at first i thought this gig was a total scam and waste of time but then slowly, after finally reaching the minimum requirement to cashout, it actually worked??? been commenting like crazy now in different platforms just to get points and it has been working out so good lately. if you wanna know more, im down to let you guys know of the gig
I keep, breed and sell neocaradina aquarium shrimp!
You can mix them to get all sorts of colors and designs and 5 tanks in and I’m still running out of shrimp for orders lol. Guess my steak is too juicy and shrimps too buttery :)
About a year ago, I found a handwritten grocery list in a shopping cart. It wasn't just "milk, eggs, bread." It had things like:
For some reason, I kept it. I find them cute.
A few weeks later I found another one, then another. I started collecting the funny ones and framing them. Friends who visited my apartment loved them because they felt like tiny snapshots of complete strangers' lives.
One friend jokingly said, "I'd actually buy one of these."
So I listed a few framed lists online as conversation pieces. I made it clear that I removed any names, phone numbers, or personal information. I expected zero sales.
The first one sold in two days.
Now I spend maybe an hour a week checking abandoned carts or parking lots (only after the store has cleared them). I preserve the interesting lists, erase anything identifiable, and pair each one with a small card describing where it was found.
People buy them as quirky kitchen decor or gifts because every list feels like the beginning of a story.
I've sold around 40 of them this year. It's nowhere near enough to quit my job, but it's probably the weirdest $600-ish side hustle I've ever stumbled into.
Has anyone else ended up making money from something so oddly specific that you never would have thought people would pay for it?
I’m a uni student, so I’m always looking for small online gigs I can do between classes without needing any real experience.
Most side hustles I found required editing, coding, selling something or spending money upfront, so I usually skipped them. Then I found SideShift and saw a task for a cat app that was looking for people to post simple cat reels on Instagram.
I expected the brief to be complicated, but it was basically just find a funny or cute cat clip, add a short caption and post it as a reel.
I started doing a few whenever I had some free time. Nothing crazy, just quick cat videos that take a few minutes to post.
Each reel pays a small amount, but they add up, and I made around $25 in my first week. Definitely one of the easiest online gigs I’ve tried.
Hi, everyone! As a chronically online individual, I got paid for only commenting my thoughts or opinions about just random things. I am really enjoying this side hustle of mine since I can do my doom scrolling while having an income.
I love to read your thoughts about your unexpected or weird side hustle!
A friend of mine started assembling IKEA furniture on weekends a few months ago, and at some point he started getting more requests than he could handle.
He asked me to help him with a few jobs and I honestly thought it would be a one-time thing but now I’m doing it with him pretty regularly.
Most customers are people who just moved into a new apartment and are already exhausted from carrying boxes all day and the last thing they want to do is spend three hours building a wardrobe, so they’re more than happy to pay someone else.
We usually charge around $70-80 for smaller stuff like beds, desks or dressers, and $100-150 for bigger wardrobes or multiple pieces.
I personally make around $200-250 on a good weekend, usually from just two or three jobs
And the best part is that people save your number. You build their bed one weekend, then they call you again when they buy a desk, cabinet or TV stand.
You don’t really need any special skills either. Basic tools, patience and the ability to follow IKEA instructions are pretty much enough.
Building IKEA furniture is the most underrated side hustles out there.
I'm also starting an Instagram page around DIY/home improvement, and I've already landed a couple of collaborations with tool brands through SideShift, so it's been a nice extra on top of the assembly work.
Hi guys, I wanted to share my experience because six months ago I never would've believed I'd be where I am today. I'm still in school, and around six months ago I was looking for ways to make some extra money on the side and around that time, a friend asked me if I'd be interested in creating a few videos for her brand to post on my social media. I didn't think much of it, so I made the videos for fun and didn't really expect anything to come from it.
A few weeks later, I started noticing that a lot of people were making money through UGC (which is actually how I found this subreddit haha). I spent hours reading posts, learning from other creators, and trying to understand how everything worked. So I decided to take it more seriously, I built a portfolio, signed up for a creator platform, started improving my content and treated it like a real business. After a while, I landed my first deals, nothing huge at first, but enough to make me realize there was actual potential if I kept improving, infact, the more content I created, the more I started understanding what worked, what didn't. Then a few of my videos started performing really well, and some even went viral, like the one in the photo (from that video I've gotten more than 3K followers) One of the brands I worked with offered me a CPM deal, which was completely new to me, basically I would get paid based on the number of views a video generated. For example, if the CPM was $4 and a video got 100,000 views, I'd earn around $400.
As time went on, I started creating more and more content for two larger brands that kept coming back for additional videos and instead of constantly chasing new opportunities, I was spending more of my time producing content, testing new hooks, learning what worked, and getting better with every batch of videos. Then this past month went crazy, a few videos went very viral and at the end of the month, I had generated around 3.6 million views, over 136,000 likes, and over $10,000 in earnings.
It still feels surreal ahhahaha, six months ago I was just looking for a way to make some extra money and now I'm building something that has completely changed how I think about my future. So if you're curious about anything like finding your first clients, building a portfolio, negotiating deals, going viral or literally anything else, ask me whatever you want. I'm an open book :))))
I came across this idea recently and it seems pretty fun, especially if you want something creative that doesn't cost much to start. The basic idea is to collect flowers, press and dry them, then use them to make laminated bookmarks or clear resin decorations. You can use wildflowers, flowers from your garden, herbs, or small leaves. If you have a balcony or backyard, most of your “inventory” is basically free. You can press everything inside a heavy book, so you don't even need to buy a proper flower press at the beginning. For the bookmark version, you only need the flowers, some laminating sheets, and access to a laminator. The material cost per bookmark is really low, and similar handmade bookmarks often sell for around $5 each on Etsy. The resin version costs a little more to start because you need resin and silicone molds. A basic kit is usually around $30, but once you have the molds, each piece only uses a small amount of material. People sell dried-flower resin blocks, paperweights, coasters, and decorations for around $15 to $25 depending on the size and design. You could also make custom pieces using wedding flowers, birthday bouquets, or flowers from other important occasions. That probably has more potential than just selling random designs because the product has sentimental value. It seems like one of those ideas you could test for under $30 without taking much risk. Make five or ten designs, take some decent photos, list them online, and see whether anyone is interested before buying more supplies.
This one still makes me laugh 🤭
I found a short project where I had to help label photos of tomatoes for an agricultural AI system.
Not eating them.
Not growing them.
Just clicking boxes around tomatoes and marking whether they looked ripe, damaged, or diseased hahahahah.
After a few hours, I started noticing tiny differences I'd never paid attention to before.
It wasn't exciting, but it paid good money tho.. for something I could do while listening to music or my crime documentaries LOL.
What's the strangest thing you've ever been paid to look at?
A few months back, I was cleaning out my closet and found my old, beat-up 5th-gen iPod Video sitting in a box of cable clutter. It still booted up, so I was originally just going to list it on eBay for like twenty bucks.
Before doing that, a friend who shoots music videos for local bands mentioned how hard it is to source authentic tech props from the mid-2000s without paying ridiculous collector prices online. On a whim, I posted a listing on a local gear-share site and Facebook Marketplace offering to rent it out for $30 a day for prop use on indie sets, photo shoots, or vintage aesthetic music videos.
To my total surprise, it gets booked 3 or 4 times a month. Film students, nostalgia photographers, and indie directors pick it up, use it for a afternoon shoot, and bring it right back. It costs basically nothing to maintain, takes up zero space, and turned a piece of e-waste sitting in my closet into a steady trickle of pocket money.
Anyone else have weirdly specific old electronics or everyday items that ended up accidentally earning money as props?
I just finished school recently and I wanted to start making some extra money and using reddit a lot, I saw some posts about Traskrabbit and I decided to try. I did it for about two weeks and made around $700 in total, which isn't terrible, but damn, I really worked for it.
I helped a guy fix his car, cleared out an entire basement full of junk, helped repaint a fence around a huge property, and spent 5 full days working on a yard and by the end of it my back was completely shot and I was exhausted.
Don't get me wrong, I respect the people who do this kind of work every day because it's hard as hell, but when I looked at how much effort I was putting in versus how much I was making, it got me wondering if there are better options out there.
I don't want to spend my days destroying my body for side income if there are smarter ways to make money. I still live with my parents, so I've managed to save up a few thousand dollars and could invest a little money into learning something or getting started.
I was thinking about things like UGC, some kind of online freelancing, maybe simple computer-based work. I'm not a tech genius or a coder, but I'm pretty comfortable with computers and can learn fast.
If you were 18 years old, had a bit of savings, and were starting from scratch today, what would you do?
Thanks guys
I’ve tried a lot of random side hustles over the last few years, but this is probably the most unexpected one so far. I get paid to make short videos for a Christian app that helps people pray, follow guided prayers and build a more consistent daily routine around their faith.
I found the campaign through SideShift, a platform where apps post UGC opportunities for creators. I applied bc I’d never seen a brief for a prayer app before. The videos are usually pretty simple, sometimes I’m talking directly to the camera about feeling stressed, lost or disconnected from prayer and other times I film small skits around situations like struggling to sleep, needing guidance or wanting to start praying again but not knowing where to begin. The app sends me a brief or a general concept, then I film and edit the video so it feels like a normal TikTok I don’t post the videos on my own account either, I send them to the company, that uses them on its social pages or runs them as ads It’s one of the stranger ways I’ve made money online, especially because I never imagined there was much demand for creators in a niche like this, but apps need content in basically every category now
A few months ago, I stumbled upon one of the weirdest side hustles I've ever tried.
There are thousands of people researching their family history, but many of their ancestors are buried in cemeteries located in different cities—or even different countries. Instead of traveling, they post requests online asking if someone nearby can visit a cemetery and take photos of specific gravestones.
Out of curiosity, I accepted one request.
I spent around 20 minutes walking through a local cemetery, found the grave, took a few clear photos, and uploaded them. I earned the equivalent of around $15 for that single request.
What surprised me wasn't the money—it was the message I received afterward. The requester told me it was the first time they had seen their great-grandparents' grave because they lived overseas and couldn't afford to visit.
Since then, I realized this isn't just a side hustle. You're helping people reconnect with family history, preserve records, and sometimes even solve genealogy mysteries.
Things people are paid for include:
Definitely one of the most unexpected ways I've seen people earn extra income.
I remember having this weird side hustle back when I was in high school. I don't know if it's actually considered weird, but I genuinely made money from it. It even reached around 1,000 pesos!
Back in high school, we were always required to keep notebooks, and since I happened to have really nice handwriting, I decided to charge my classmates to write their notes for them. I charged 10 pesos per page for plain text, but if they wanted designs, the price went up to 15–20 pesos depending on how intricate the design was, haha! Sometimes, the notes even required drawings, so I would charge an extra fee for those.
I think I was around Grade 7 back then. And mind you, it wasn't just random scribbling—it was all about making the presentation look as beautiful as possible.
P.S. I don't have an actual photo of it since it was so long ago and I'm already in college now, but it looked almost exactly like this:
I’ve been looking into random online side hustles lately, and one of the strangest is probably becoming a nano influencer
You don’t need 100k followers or a viral personal brand. A nano influencer usually has somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 followers, often around a very specific topic like running, home baking, skincare for sensitive skin, vintage watches or cheap travel.
The interesting part is that brands can still pay these accounts because the audience is usually much more focused and active.
1- A small niche can be more useful than a big audience
A creator with 3,000 followers who only talks about trail running may be a better match for a running brand than a general lifestyle page with 300k followers
The brand knows exactly who follows that person and why.
This seems to be where most beginners go wrong. They post about fitness one day, food the next and random trends after that, so brands can’t understand what audience they actually have.
2- The first deals usually aren’t massive
The early deals can be a free product, a small fee or something like $50 for a post depending on the content, niche and usage. The more interesting money often comes from repeat campaigns, UGC rights or a monthly agreement with the same company.
It feels closer to freelancing than becoming famous.
You build a small portfolio, prove that you can make useful content and slowly get better deals.
3- You don’t always need to post on your own account
This surprised me the most, some brands mainly want the video itself so they can post it on their own page or run it as an ad. In that case, your follower count matters much less because they’re paying for your ability to make the content.
That opens the door to people who enjoy filming TikToks or Reels but have no interest in becoming a full-time influencer.
4- Being specific probably gives you the best chance
“Lifestyle creator” doesn’t say much. “Student who shares cheap meal prep,” “beginner runner training for a first 10K” or “creator testing productivity apps for university” gives brands something much clearer to work with.
Brands seem to care a lot about whether the content feels natural, whether people leave genuine comments and whether you can deliver on time.
5- Finding the deals is probably the hardest part
Cold outreach can work, but sending generic DMs to hundreds of brands sounds painful.
The better options seem to be contacting companies already working with small creators, applying through creator platforms and building a simple portfolio with a few examples.
I found this nano influencer guide that explains the follower ranges, typical deals and what brands actually look for in smaller creators.
It still feels like a strange side hustle, but probably more realistic than most of the “make $500 a day with no skills” ideas all over TikTok.
Has anyone here made money with a really small social account?
Got ripped off by too many courses so took matters into my own hands.
Scraped 112K total comments from FB groups, reddit, youtube, tiktok, and x on discussions related to side hustles.
Used grok and gemini 2.5 to filter the ones with most sources reporting success and least upfront investment. sorted into offline and online.
Offline side hustles:
1- Odd jobs on taskrabbit like assembling furniture, mowing lawns or pressure washing. people say the leads are consistent and they can set their own schedule.
2- Dog sitting and walking on rover then building your client list for long term stays which pay way more as some people avoid doggy day cares. with multiple dogs, people are making a solid income.
3- Being a senior companion through care.com or nextdoor and facebook groups. you don't need medical experience. just offer rides, company, or light errands. people are making a full time income with just a few clients per week.
4- Organize and promote local meetups related to specific interests. you find the venue and sell tickets through facebook events or meetup. people host business networking, senior events, or dating advice seminars this way and make thousands per event every week.
5- If you live near even a semi-touristy city make a listing on airbnb experiences for things like walking tours, food tours, bar crawls, couples photography, or other experiences. earnings vary widely.
Online side hustles:
1- Make UGC (user generated content) for brands. find clients through sideshift or similar platforms. film some portfolio videos with products around your home. people are making more than their jobs doing this part time and the secret is to craft your niche. example: health and wellness products. sideshift stood out specifically because people report getting picked faster and payments landing within days of submitting. no follower count required, brands just want authentic looking content for their ads.
2- Create an online newsletter for your city or county using beehiiv. write a bit of local news and feature ad spots for local businesses. promote the newsletter by running facebook ads at very low daily spend that are geo-targeted to your city. depending on population people report making more than their corporate job.
3- Make quiz videos and reddit story videos using vubo and post them on tiktok and youtube shorts. until you're eligible for adsense and tiktok creator fund payouts, you can sell your own digital product, an affiliate offer, or get paid by brands to feature their logo in your videos. several people in a facebook group report earning a full income doing this.
4- Write and publish ultra specific books on amazon KDP and rank for long keyword searches. "first time mom guide to c-section recovery" or "how to train a rescue greyhound." people report using AI to help them outline and write books and claim that you can make serious money once you publish many titles.
5- Sell print on demand products on etsy. people are using chatgpt to make designs then putting them on mugs, tshirts, bottles and candles, and listing them on etsy. get inspired by best sellers and don't reinvent the wheel. most report using printify for fulfillment.
hope this helps. now go make that bread.
One of the weirdest side hustles I've ever heard of was getting paid to attend networking events—not to sell anything, but to help get conversations started.
A local business networking group struggled with the same problem every month. People would arrive, see a quiet room, feel awkward, and leave within minutes.
To fix that, they hired a small group of "conversation starters." We weren't actors or fake attendees. We simply showed up early, greeted guests, introduced people with similar interests, and kept conversations flowing until the room became lively.
Our responsibilities were pretty simple:
The organizer said attendance improved because new guests walked into a room that already felt energetic instead of silent and uncomfortable.
I never imagined "making people feel welcome" could be a paid side hustle, but it made me realize businesses sometimes value atmosphere just as much as advertising.
