Rated on a scale of 1 to 10.

I have taken on a lot of projects over the years. 

Some were great. Some could have been better. I’m going to list every side hustle I have taken on. What I liked, what I didn’t, and what I stuck to. 

Let’s get into it. 

Stickers: 9/10

Starting with my favorite and most consistent side hustle. 

I’ve had my “Sticker Shop” for a few years. It’s small. It’s low maintenance. It’s a chance to show off my artwork. It’s popular among my friends and family. My Etsy shop is cute and easy to keep running. 

I buy my designs in bulk, selling them for 150% of what I bought them for. (I sell more in person and charge less because I don’t have to mail anything.) I make a small profit, and it’s fun. I’d rather my artwork travel on people’s water bottles, laptops, and guitars than be displayed in a gallery. 

Redbubble, Teepublic, and Print-On-Demand: 5/10

I can’t complain about difficulty. I can complain about profit. I have made a solid $50 in about four years (yikes.) 

Full disclosure: I did not advertise. But I did internally cringe whenever a hoodie or t-shirt with one of my designs sold for over $20.00, and I made $2.00. It stung. It made me excited to take more control of my artwork. This was the motivation for my sticker shop. I wanted to get a higher percentage of my sales. 

I still have my Redbubble and Teepublic, and I still make sales. I still don’t like how low the artist’s cut is. 

Bakery: 7/10

I give this a higher number because I only worry about it like two months of the year. French macarons are my specialty. They are fancy, delicate, and pretty to look at. I charge a standard rate. 

It’s a clear profit, but it’s hard to account for different variables. For instance, if I mess up a batch of cookies, it’s an immediate loss. It gets frustrating if I don’t do everything perfectly the first time. 

This is such a passion project, though. I love the artistic element of this, and I have a good time with it. 

Ornaments: 8/10

I love this one. 

I constantly bite off a little more than I can chew and enjoy every part of it. I break out a wood burner and contact as many people as possible, inquiring if they want custom ornaments. 

It’s a good profit and puts extra money in my pocket. Supplies aren’t costly; the most significant expense was the original purchase of my wood burner a few years ago. 

I’ve been doing it for 4 years. I keep doing it. 

Art Commissions: 6/10

Okay. This was hard to choose because this one clearly has the biggest profit margin. That said, it is also the most time-consuming. 

When people commission a drawing or painting, they have a specific idea of what they want. Achieving that vision that someone has is hard. It gets complicated when I keep trying, and it’s still not what the customer wants. 

For instance, I once had a client who wanted me to exactly copy a piece of artwork she found online. I explained that I didn’t feel comfortable forging someone else’s drawing. I sent a new sketch that I did myself and in my style. She then informed me she changed her mind about the commission since I didn’t see her vision. This is when this hustle gets frustrating. 

That said, I love this hustle When people commission me with my art style in mind.

Doordash: 3/10

I may actually put more effort into this one someday. When I tried, I signed up when gas was crazy expensive and never got that far because I would stress about my gas budget. 

It probably would’ve been great at a different time. But for me, it was a solid 3/10. 

To conclude

I’ve done more side hustles than those listed, but these were the big ones. I have always loved my side projects. I know I always will, regardless of success or profit. It’s fun to try. To put myself out there and build my skills.