Looking to make some extra cash? Here are the best — and worst — newly reviewed side hustles
In our continuing effort to research, review and rate the thousands of ways you can make money in the gig economy, SideHusl.com’s editors have reviewed half a dozen new side hustles this week. Some are good, some pretty bad.
Here’s what we found with this new batch.
Beebizy
Beebizy is a Los Angeles-based kids’-event planning platform that aims to connect parents with vendors of everything from cakes and photographs to character actors and balloon artists.
The site’s setup is straightforward and attractive for freelancers. There are no fees to list your services here. But if you book a gig through the platform, you’ll pay a 10% commission. This compares favorably with other entertainment platforms, such as The Bash and GigSalad. With those sites, you pay dearly to list your services.
Beebizy’s only shortcoming is that the site is new and has yet to draw enough attention to keep freelancers busy. This is a particular problem for those signing up outside of Southern California, where Beebizy has some buzz.
RubiRides and KidCar
RubiRides and KidCar are among a plethora of sites that enlist freelancers to drive kids to and from school and activities. All of these sites offer better-than-average pay — typically $15 to $25 for a short drive — and are highly regional.
Kid Car operates in New York and supports shared rides, which can pay drivers upward of $70, if they have a large vehicle. RubiRides operates in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland and generally arranges rides for individual children, rather than carpools. But it also pays comparatively well for short rides.
These sites are particularly attractive for freelance drivers because their rush hours are at different times than other driving side hustles, such as food delivery and adult ride-share services. That makes them a nice way to supplement other sources of driving income.
Other sites that offer the same opportunities on the West Coast include RideZum, Kango and HopSkipDrive.
Aftcra
Aftcra bills itself as a place to sell made-in-America goods that you’ve crafted by hand. The site charges no listing fees. You pay a commission only if you sell something.
Theoretically, this gives artisans an alternative to Etsy for listing handcrafted items for sale. However, Aftcra gets a tiny fraction of Etsy’s customer traffic, so you’re much more likely to make sales on Etsy.
Americans are expected to shell out roughly $1,000 during the holiday season. The earlier you start to earn holiday money, the easier it becomes.
Plum Guide
Plum Guide is a high-end property rental service that differentiates itself from Airbnb by offering only expensive, screened listings. Unlike Airbnb or VRBO, homeowners do not create the listings themselves. They apply to list their homes, and then a member of Plum Guide’s staff contacts the homeowner to determine whether the home meets the site’s standards.
If it does, Plum Guide will fill out the listing, taking the photographs and writing the copy. You set your prices. But you can’t charge more on Plum Guide than you do elsewhere, if your home is listed on multiple sites. Plum Guide charges homeowners just 3% on bookings but imposes a one-time $400 fee that pays for the staff to write up your listing. The site’s fees to consumers are folded into the listing price, so there are no surprises.
Qmee
Qmee is a survey site. And like its peers, it pays pennies per hour. So it only makes sense to play here when you need a distraction — like when you’re waiting for a delayed flight or watching your team lose at football. Worse, the site often wastes your time by promising a paid survey, only to disqualify you after you spend 10 or 20 minutes answering questions.
Sometimes, you’ll get a consolation payment — maybe 25 to 75 cents. But, obviously, that means your “work” is valued at roughly $2 per hour. Disturbingly, some users say they’ve been asked highly personal questions, including their Social Security numbers. (Qmee did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but it should be noted the company does not conduct surveys itself but rather connects users to companies conducting surveys.) This should go without saying, but do not provide personal identifying information — driver’s license or Social Security number — when filling out a survey.
Yet, Qmee gets plenty of positive reviews from people who have used it. Why? The main reason appears to be that the site has no payout threshold. If you want the site to pay you the $1.25 you just earned, you need only request that Qmee send it to your PayPal account. Most other sites require that you earn at least $5 before you get paid.
That’s handy, but the poor pay and the site’s propensity to disqualify you from surveys that you’ve already started make this a substandard choice. Better opportunities can be found with Prolific and ProductTube.
Kristof is the editor of SideHusl.com, an independent website that reviews moneymaking opportunities in the gig economy.
Inside the business of entertainment
The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
