The 11 Worst Side Hustles That Are A Giant Waste Of Time

Side hustles are an opportunity to provide people a means to earn some extra income in their spare time. As a result, side hustle culture has flourished within the last decade and almost anything can become a side hustle.

While some creative side hustles can be lucrative and fulfilling, there are other side hustles that turn out to be more trouble than they’re worth. So in this article, we’ll take a look at the worst side hustles you can do in your spare time and finally shed some light on the harsh realities behind each one.

1. Food Delivery

Food delivery services have become increasingly popular in recent years, offering people a tempting opportunity to earn extra income by delivering meals to hungry customers. While on the surface it appears to be an easy and flexible gig, but the reality of it paints a different picture.

Drivers for delivery apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Grubhub often face challenges that can diminish their earnings. The pay structure is usually based on a combination of delivery fees and tips, which can vary widely from one order to another. This variability can lead to an unpredictable income, making it challenging to budget effectively.

App-based food delivery drivers also need to work long hours, during evenings and weekends in order to make the side hustle worth the trouble. As the wear and tear on their vehicles and the rising gas prices can substantially eat into their earnings, food delivery drivers need to utilize every tip and trick in the book just to make $100 a day.

Furthermore, app-based delivery drivers are considered to be independent contractors, which means they are responsible for their own taxes and don’t receive benefits like health insurance unless they put in an absurd amount of hours.

2. Grocery Delivery

Much like food delivery apps, app-based grocery delivery services have gained popularity because it gave delivery drivers an opportunity to turn a chore into a potential side hustle. However, becoming a grocery delivery driver for apps like Instacart and Shipt comes with its own set of challenges and drawbacks.

One of the primary issues of grocery delivery is that the pay can be quite minimal for the effort. Much like food delivery, grocery delivery drivers would need to invest a significant amount of time and manage their expenses carefully to ensure their odds to earn a reasonable income that is worth the hassle.

While some shoppers appreciate the convenience of having groceries delivered to their doorstep, drivers often face the burden of handling heavy and bulky items, navigating crowded stores, and dealing with occasionally difficult customers. This physical and mental strain can take a toll on drivers over time and makes it one of the worst side hustles one can do in their spare time.

3. Car Renting Services

Renting out your car through services like Turo or Getaround may sound like an appealing way to monetize your vehicle when you’re not using it. However, this side hustle can bring unexpected challenges and risks that makes it one of the worst side hustles.

One of the most significant risks of renting out your car is the potential damage that comes with it. While rental platforms often provide insurance, it may not cover all types of damage and may even come with a high deductible.

Additionally, dealing with insurance claims and repairs can become a time-consuming and costly process that may even cause some trouble with your own personal car insurance.

Maintenance costs aside, vehicle cleaning can also eat into your earnings because renters may not treat your car with the same love and care as you would and this alone can lead to increased wear and tear on your car.

Furthermore, managing the logistics of renting your car, and coordinating pick-ups and drop-offs can be more time-consuming than expected and if your renter is very disorganized, this can be more of an annoyance that its worth.

While renting out your car may appear to be a great opportunity for those with multiple vehicles, the amount of insurance paperwork you have to tip-toe around is a miserable experience.

4. Taking Online Surveys

Online survey platforms became a quick and viable side hustle that promises quick and easy money in exchange for sharing your opinions on various topics. While this seems like a simple way to earn some extra cash, but the reality of this side hustle is quite different than what most people think.

Earnings from online surveys are disappointingly low, offering as low as 10 to 25 cents per survey. Often times, these surveys can take a significant amount of time to complete and requires even more time just to accumulate enough earnings to cash out. Some sites specifically have high cash-out thresholds, which means you’ll need to complete thousands of surveys before accessing your hard earned twenty dollars.

Another challenge is the qualification criteria for these online surveys. Not everyone will be eligible for every survey and disqualifications for a minor or unavoidable factor can be very frustrating as it wastes your time without any compensation.

Privacy concerns are also a big consideration to this unique side hustle, because when you participate in online surveys, you often provide personal information, and these survey companies will not hesitate to sell your data to third-party companies that will spam you will junk mail and possible scams. So it is crucial to research the survey platform to ensure your data is handled securely, but you are better off just avoiding this terrible side hustle.

5. Drop Shipping

Drop shipping is a business model that involves selling products online without holding inventory. While it has gained popularity on social media as a side hustle that can earn you thousands of dollars, it is not without its challenges and risks.

One of the primary challenges of this terrible side hustle is competition. The drop shipping market has become so saturated, making it difficult to stand out and attract customers. In order to even make a sale, you would need to invest substantial time and money into marketing and advertising efforts.

Profit margins in drop shipping are also thin, especially if you are starting out, because you’re buying products at wholesale prices and selling them at retail prices. While there are methods that makes it easier to sell and ship, most companies like Amazon are already aware of drop shippers and have installed new policies that prevents new drop shippers from joining.

Moreover, finding reliable suppliers can be a challenge, because most drop shippers utilize whole sale websites such as Wish and Temu as a supplier. The problem with this is that the quality of their products are highly debatable and can lead to issues with shipping times and inventory management. With a bad streak of luck, this can lead to customer complaints and negative reviews to your profile and eventually have it disabled.

Drop shipping may offer the promise of an e-commerce business without the stress of managing inventory, but after accounting for marketing expenses, transaction fees, and other costs, the actual profit is minimal and makes it one of the worst side hustles that can cost you money.

6. Print-on-Demand

Print-on-demand (POD) is a service that enables people to create custom merchandise like t-shirts, mugs, and phone cases by simply updating a unique design and letting the service provider handle the rest of the logistics. While sites like Redbubble and Teepublic promise it can be an exciting and creative side hustle, the reality of making passive income from a POD can be challenging.

The POD market is highly competitive, with countless sellers offering similar designs and in some cases, plagiarizing designs. To succeed, you would not only need artistic and graphic design skills but also the ability to market your products effectively by utilizing paid advertising campaigns on social media.

The profit margins in POD is entirely dependent on whether your designs are gaining attention and if no one finds your designs to be appealing enough as a sticker or a t-shirt then you would have wasted time and money for nothing. While it’s a low-risk business model, the cost of promoting each item can eat into your earnings.

When considering all of the worst side hustles one can do, a print on demand side hustle is not the absolute worst one, because it offers people a creative outlet and a chance to sell custom merchandise. However it is one of the worst due to its intense competition, narrow profit margins, and the need for effective marketing.

7. Creating & Selling NFTs

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have gained significant attention in the art and digital collectibles world, with some artists and creators making hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales. However, NFTs come with their own set of challenges and concerns that makes it one of the worst side hustles you can attempt.

Due to the speculative nature of the NFT market and cryptocurrency, making and selling NFT’s is not a predictable and stable side hustle that guarantees earnings. While some artists have achieved high sales, the vast majority of NFTs do not sell anywhere close to those prices. Success is unpredictable and you have better chances trying to capture lightening in a bottle rather than selling an NFT for a hundred dollars.

At the time of this writing, the NFT market is practically dead and the cryptocurrency market is just as unpredictable as it fluctuates based on SEC filings and rumors. Additionally, navigating the technical aspects of creating, minting, and selling NFTs is a complex process and requires a significant amount of time invested.

While NFTs offer the potential for artists and creators to monetize their digital work in a volatile market, the speculative nature of NFTs makes it one of the worst side hustles you can spend your time on.

8. Writing & Self-Publishing Ebooks

Writing and self-publishing ebooks can be a dream for aspiring authors who want to make their mark on the literary world. However, self-publishing books is not a viable side hustle that you might see on social media.

Currently, the ebook market is flooded with competition and click-bait content that makes it incredibly difficult for new authors to gain visibility. In fact, your success in the ebook market is going to be dependent on how exceptional your writing and your marketability is.

Even if your writing is great and you offer readers a vast imaginative fiction, your earnings from self-published ebooks can be inconsistent unless you hit a viral moment or a streak of pleased readers leaving quality reviews. While some authors achieve significant sales, many struggle to make a substantial income.

Moreover, the royalties from ebook sales can be relatively low, particularly if you’re selling your work at a low price point or through platforms with high commission rates. While self-publishing ebooks offers creative freedom, the potential for income is entirely dependent on consistency, luck, and the blessing of your platform’s algorithm.

9. Transcribing Audio

One of the worst side hustles that is heavily promoted on social media, freelance transcribing is supposed to be a side hustle that allows writers to listen and record audio files into text. From what is supposed to be an easy side hustle that allows new writers and captioners to gain experience, is now a means that abuses freelance writers with insultingly low rates and horrific audio files.

Freelance transcription sites such as Rev and Scribie are notoriously know for offering their freelancers a low rate per project and a super strict and unforgiving guideline that makes freelancers regret taking on their respective projects to begin with

With so many freelance transcribers reporting how low the pay rate is, many recommend that you are most likely better off working a second job at a fast food restaurant.

Considering how there is so many disgruntled users about the state of a freelance service, it speaks for itself how audio transcription is one of the worst side hustles you can do, and you are most likely better off providing the service on bigger freelancing platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork.

10. Affiliate Marketing

Before you say anything, let me explain. Affiliate marketing is a legitimate business model where people promote products or services and earn a commission on sales. However, not everybody can do affiliate marketing and because of this, it stands as one of the worst side hustles you can do.

Affiliate marketing is one of those side hustles that is not a get-rich-quick scheme. In fact, the main factor of success basically requires you to become an influencer, produce content, and eventually promote products when you have built up a large enough following.

For those, who are searching for a side hustle that can help them supplement their income, this one requires a lot of time and a lot of effort. Even if you build up a following, you must assume that only 1% of your following will actually use your affiliate link to purchase whatever you are advertising.

While many social media content creators are banking on affiliate marketing, the competition is fierce and sometimes requires you to purchase advertising campaigns to ensure that your program doesn’t disqualify you. There are other means to make affiliate marketing work such as creating email listings, but this is the equivalent of spamming people until they buy something, which nobody likes.

11. Creating Click-Bait Content

By far, the worst side hustle you can ever do in your spare time. Creating click-bait content is very tempting for those seeking quick engagement and views. In fact, I’m sure you have seen your fair share of click-bait content on social media, and like most people, I’m sure you are super annoyed of it as well.

One of the biggest reasons, click-bait content does so well, is because it relies on creating sensationalized and misleading headlines and imagery to attract clicks and views. While it may be incredibly unethical to do, it actually provides people a source of income from it.

However, no matter, how much click-bait content you produce, you can only fool people for so long before your audience becomes distrustful of your content and harms your online reputation. Considering how many platforms are increasingly cracking down on click-bait content, creating click-bait content is a lose-lose side hustle that will not go anywhere.

This is coming from the fact that many platforms are algorithmically favoring more authentic and valuable posts. Which in turn, means that relying on click-bait tactics is not be a sustainable long-term strategy. While producing click-bait content may offer short-term gains in terms of views and engagement, there is no denying how it will not last and stands as one of the worst side hustles you can possibly do.

A Reality Check On Side Hustles

Side hustles can be an attractive way to supplement your income, but not all side gigs are created equal. Before diving into any side hustle, it’s crucial to research and consider the potential downsides and the hype behind them.

While some people may find success in these side hustles, it’s essential to approach them with a realistic understanding of the obstacles you may encounter on your journey to financial stability and job satisfaction in the gig economy.

What do you think? Is there a worse side hustle out there? If you liked what you read, be sure to like and follow for more related content!