If you’ve ever wondered why you’re hustling your butt off, but your bank account still looks like a sad little raisin… buckle up, babe. Because today we’re talking about which side hustles are making you poor, even though the internet keeps yelling, “This is the SECRET to getting rich!!”
So let me pour the tea.
The other day I was talking to a friend who swears his buddies are making “fast cash—$20K, $30K, $100K a month!” doing random trendy side hustles.
You know the types:
- They do something for 5 minutes…
- Make a bit of money…
- Then suddenly they’re “experts” selling a course on it.
Cute.
But where are those people three…. four.… five years later?
Usually? Gone. Poof.
Like a Wish package that never arrives.
And here’s why:
Fast money almost never equals lasting money.
Let’s get into the side hustles that are secretly keeping you broke (and a little exhausted).
💀 1. MLMs — “I Swear This Isn’t a Pyramid Scheme”
If I had a dollar for every girl who said she’s “building a team” while selling vitamins, leggings, or miracle shampoo……
I’d be rich.
Why they keep you poor:
- You work SO HARD selling someone else’s dream.
- The top 1% makes money.
- Everyone else loses money AND friends.
- You gain 14 Facebook memories you wish you could delete.
Real-life example:
A friend of mine was making $20K/month at the top of an MLM.
Seven years later?
Jobless, burned-out, and not a single skill she can transfer to a real business.
💀 2. Etsy Trend Chasing — The “I Made $15K in a Month!” Delusion
Do NOT be fooled by that one TikTok girl who sells SVG files and claims she hit $15K her first month.
Yes, she made that money.
But she also spent:
- 12 hours a day designing
- $600+ on ads
- $0 learning an actual long-term skill
……THEN guess what happened??
- A trend died.
- A supplier changed.
- AI took over.
- BOOM!
- Income = gone.
Why it keeps you poor:
You’re relying on trends, not talent.
💀 3. Becoming a High-Ticket Closer After a 3-Week Course
This is the new one, babe.
People:
- Take a “high-ticket closing” course for 21 days
- Get a job closing sales for a brand
- Work 3–6 months
- Quit
- Start selling a course on how THEY became a closer
… without actually learning how to be great at sales.
The income is fast.
But it’s fragile.
Because someone who spent years mastering sales will always out-close you, out-perform you, and—YES—take your hard-earned clients too. ☹
Why it keeps you poor:
You become a “jack of all trades” and a “master of none.”
💀 4. Doing 7 Side Hustles at Once (AKA “Chaos Income”)
Listen.
I love ambition.
But if you’re:
- Selling feet pics
- Flipping thrift store finds
- Selling printables
- Picking up DoorDash shifts
- Running a faceless YouTube channel
- Doing surveys for $0.03
- Selling a $19 eBook you wrote at 3 a.m.
……you’re not building wealth.
You’re collecting busy work.
Why it keeps you poor:
You never master ONE profitable skill.
Meanwhile, someone focusing on ONE thing for 2–3years is smoking everyone.
💀 5. Any Side Hustle Where You Start Teaching Before You’ve Done the Thing
O.K. Can’t lie. This one is my personal ICK.
People will:
- Make $500 flipping couches on Facebook Marketplace
- Immediately sell a $997 “Flip Couches for Profit!” course
- Disappear a year later because they never learned the skill deeply
Why it keeps you poor:
You’re selling hype, not skill.
And hype always dies.
💀 6. “$10K in 30 Days” Coaching Programs That Teach You Nothing
A classic.
- You join a group coaching program.
- You learn zero useful skills.
- You get two Canva templates and a pep talk.
- You’re told to “charge your worth” (whatever that means).
- ……and look! Low and behold, magically no clients appear.
Why it keeps you poor:
You spend more than you earn. You’re lost more than ever before.
💬 Let’s Talk About REALITY for a Second
Leila Hormozi said it perfectly:
Most people choose the $2 million today over the $100 million in 10 years.
Because waiting feels awful.
Slow progress feels humiliating.
Seeing everyone else hit “$30K Months!!” feels like you’re failing.
But here’s the truth nobody tells you:
The people who win are the ones who pick ONE thing and build mastery.
Everyone else flames out.
Side hustles aren’t the problem.
Random, chaotic, fast-money side hustles are the problem.
If you’re bouncing from:
Etsy → MLM → dropshipping → flipping → closing → coaching → “passive income apps” …
you’re not building wealth.
You’re building burnout.
Pick ONE skill.
Go deep.
Give it 1–3 years.
Future you will be so freaking rich it’ll annoy your past self.
The List of Side Hustles That Actually Make You RICH
Let’s balance the energy, shall we?
These are the things that compound:
1. Blogging
Skill-building + SEO + passive income → chef’s kiss.
2. Freelancing (one skill: copywriting, video editing, design, etc.)
You get better the longer you do it.
3. YouTube (faceless or not)
You learn storytelling, editing, and audience building.
4. Social Media Management
Real businesses will always need this.
5. Virtual Assistance (with ONE specialty)
Admin VA → Social VA → Tech VA → OBM → $$$
6. Real E-commerce (not trend chasing)
Learning sourcing, branding, logistics = transferable skills.
These aren’t fast.
They’re not sexy.
But they build foundational skills that create real income.
Side Hustles That Are Making You Poor — FAQ
Why do most side hustles fail?
Because people chase trends instead of skills — and they get sucked into good old shiny object syndrome. That’s when you jump from one side hustle to the next because you’re not seeing instant results (which is normal, by the way). Then something new pops up promising “quick cash with zero effort,” and suddenly you’re starting over again.
If getting rich fast with no work was real, we’d all be millionaires by breakfast. But those promises are almost always nonsense.
At the end of the day: no mastery = no longevity.
Which side hustles should I avoid?
Avoid anything hype-based, trend-based, or shouting “$10K a month FAST!” If a side hustle depends on luck, timing, or going viral instead of real skills, it’s going to disappear faster than your paycheck on payday.
MLMs, dropshipping fads, “high-ticket closing” after a 3-week course, and Etsy trend-hopping all fall into this trap. Yes — Etsy and dropshipping can work, but not when you’re chasing whatever’s trendy this week. By the time you launch, the fad is usually dead, the market is oversaturated, and the money is long gone.
Fad-based business models burn out fast. Skill-based business models’ compound.
That’s why I always recommend something long-term — like blogging. It doesn’t always make money overnight (sometimes it does!), but when it hits, it sticks. It might take eight months to earn your first $100, but after that? Well, it’s a domino effect. Your traffic grows, your income grows, and the work you put in continues paying you—sometimes for years.
So, if a side hustle promises magic, shortcuts, and overnight riches… run. Real money comes from building skills and showing up consistently, not chasing shortcuts.
What’s the best beginner-friendly side hustle?
Pick ONE skill: writing, editing, design, VA work, blogging, YouTube, etc. and stick with it. Personally, I recommend blogging, but then again, I’m bias 😉
How long does it take to replace your income?
Most people underestimate this. Realistically: As much as 1–3 years of skill-building. Don’t get me wrong there are many people who have done it wayyyyy faster than this. But it also depends on what your idea of a “replaceable income” is.
Heard the hype? Here’s the side hustle where you learn how to get free stuff… and flip it for cash!
