7 Smart Side Hustles Every Student Should Consider in 2026
Practical ways students can earn online without sacrificing their studies
This is the best piece of advice I’ve ever heard about side hustles.
It came from a millionaire I looked up to as a kid, and the wisdom has stayed with me ever since.
I was worrying that I’d never have that one big revolutionary idea that changes everything.
His exact words to me were, ‘You don’t need to reinvent success; recognise the patterns that are already working and make them your own.’
From that day forward, I stopped guessing and started studying what truly successful people were doing.
Well, that’s exactly why I’m going to share seven real-life examples of young people currently earning over a hundred thousand dollars a year from their side hustles, so you can follow their proven pathways and replicate their success.
And yes, I’m bringing back the scrapbook as it needs an update.
I’m gonna be rating each one out of five in three key areas:
- How much time does it take to learn?
- How much money do you need?
- How difficult is it to make $10,000 per month?
Side Hustle Idea 1: EBay Reselling
A person named Kai Towers. His life was going nowhere. His mom died when he was just a kid, and he never knew his father.
In his late teens, he was working a dead-end job with no obvious way out, but one day, he’d had enough of feeling like a loser and decided to take control of his life.
So, he started selling items on eBay, fueled by his newfound motivation, and managed to turn $400 into $317,000 within just one year.
But isn’t eBay dead? It’s all about Amazon now, right?
Wrong. eBay’s latest revenue shows it’s not dying, it’s growing.
I mean, in the second quarter of 2025, they brought in $2.7 billion, which is 6% up year on year.
I know this might sound strange, as you probably never really hear about eBay.
However, when you understand where this growth is coming from, it all starts to make sense.
In the early days, eBay and Amazon were neck and neck, both chasing the same mass market audience.
But as Amazon scaled into a retail giant powered by logistics and prime delivery, eBay quietly pivoted.
Rather than competing on speed and convenience, it began dominating in the niches.
I’m talking about collectables, vintage items, refurbished tech, trading cards, and hard-to-find products in these areas.
Loyal buyers will still choose eBay over Amazon every single time. I know it’s a cliché saying, but the riches are in the niches.
Kai knows this better than anyone.
That’s why he was able to make so much money, absolutely dominating the gaming accessory niche by selling things like replacement thumbsticks, retro memory cards, and even devices to make you a stronger player.
Now, for those all-important ratings:
Firstly, how much time does eBay reselling take to learn?
I’ll give this a one out of five ’cause all you need to do is pick one of the niches I mentioned earlier and dedicate a month of your time to learning how the platform operates.
That brings us to how much money do you need?
I’ll give this a one out of five again, as right now, without even knowing it, you are probably sitting on a gold mine, and before you say I’m crazy, let me explain.
To be successful on eBay, you need to have stock to sell.
But before ordering a load of products from a supplier, a useful strategy that most people will overlook is warming their eBay account up by selling unused items from around their house.
Benefits of Selling Your Stuff:
- Learn the eBay ropes, risk-free.
- Gain sales history and positive feedback.
- Make fast money to reinvest.
So, how easy is it to make $10,000 per month?
I’ll give this a 2.5 out of 5.
As Kai demonstrated, it’s completely possible to start by selling unused items from around your house.
Then use that money as a starting fund to scale up to making over six figures.
Does that mean it’s gonna be super easy?
Of course not. You’ll need to stay on top of your listings, constantly updating them and making sure your prices stay competitive.
Side Hustle Idea 2: Brand Deal Flipping
A Person named Sue Hitting Amin.
At just 16 years old, he was diagnosed with cancer, but instead of letting his illness stop him, he used the hours he spent in hospital beds to start brand deal flipping.
This is essentially when you connect an influencer and a brand and take a cup for yourself.
It’s what’s known as a middleman side hustle.
He didn’t have any connections when he started; however, now just six and a half years later, he generates over $4 million per year working with the big brands like Ubisoft, Netflix, and asa.
He also works with some of the biggest influencers and public figures like the Sideman, Logan Paul, Steven Bartlett, and RD.
The crazy thing about all of this is that the opportunity is only growing.
When Sue first started, he had to convince big brands that online creators were worth spending money on.
He was fighting an uphill battle because nobody really respected influencers.
However, now the landscape has completely changed.
In May 2025, the New York Times announced that for the first time, Americans watched more streaming content than cable and broadcast TV combined.
And guess what? The top streaming platforms were Netflix, Amazon Prime, and maybe Disney?
No, it was actually YouTube with a whopping 12.5% of TV viewership, with its closest rival being Netflix at 7.5%.
That’s why brands are throwing more money than ever are online creators, and if you can be the middleman that negotiates the deals, then you can take a big slice of the profits.
But why wouldn’t influencers just get the brand deals themselves? Well, I want you to think about the biggest companies in the world.
Airbnb doesn’t own a single property.
Uber doesn’t own any cars.
Amazon started by just connecting buyers and sellers, and DoorDash helps you order food.
They’re all middleman businesses, just like brand deal flipping, and they work so well because of convenience.
It’s really convenient for an influencer to work with someone like you who can handle the deal.
So all they have to do is focus on creating great content.
Let’s get to the ratings:
Firstly, how much time does brand deal flipping take to learn?
I’m gonna give this a two out of five. As a brand deal flipper, your main job is to bridge two worlds.
The creators are usually younger, and the people running the big brands are typically older.
The real value lies in managing both sides of that relationship. As long as you understand YouTube, you’ve already done half the work.
If you then take the time to understand how brands operate, you’re onto a winner.
Secondly, how much money do you need?
I’m gonna give this an out of five because,
As Sue proved, all you need is a laptop and a bit of time to invest in building your connections.
He started by following creators on Instagram and then finding related creators using the suggested feature.
He spent hours following his process and reaching out to people, and within his first six months, he made $30,000 in profit.
Thirdly, how easy is it to make $10,000 per month?
This gets a two out of five.
The hardest part is convincing people to work with you once you do this.
Earning $10,000 a month is more than achievable.
Think about it this way. Let’s say you find one brand that books just five influencers through you.
Each month, each influencer has an average deal value of $7,000, and your margin is 30% from one brand alone and just five influencer partnerships.
You have an agency doing $400,000 a year in revenue and netting around $10,000 per month in profit, and these are not unrealistic numbers at all.
These are completely possible in the influencer economy that we live in today.
Side Hustle Idea 3: Video Editing
This is Tom RAs. Just a few years ago, he was sitting in his uni bedroom staring at the student debt.
He was racking up, thinking there had to be a better way to make money.
He had no idea where to start, so he grabbed the closest thing to him, his laptop and decided to learn video editing.
That single decision led him to learn a skill far more valuable than his degree.
Before he knew it, he’d made his first hundred thousand dollars in yearly profit, working with some of the biggest companies and creators on the planet and editing influencer collaborations for brands like Coca-Cola, Nintendo, and Gym Shark.
He also escaped his small uni room and gained the freedom to travel the world and work from anywhere.
There’s no reason you can’t do this, too, as the demand for skilled editors is only growing.
In fact, video now makes up 82.5% of all global internet traffic.
This means companies need to create video content; otherwise, they’re invisible as we speak.
They’re urgently looking for people who can take their message and turn it into something people actually want to watch.
Once you become good, you’ll be able to charge a lot as you’ll be directly increasing the company’s revenue.
But won’t video editors just be replaced by AI?
Good question, and here’s the truth.
Yes, AI can cut clips and sync to a B, but there are two main reasons.
Why AI is Inferior:
- First emotion. It can’t feel tension, build anticipation or spot the moment that gives you goosebumps.
- Second, AI can’t innovate. It can only imitate it, studies what’s already been done and then copies those patterns.
Real editors do the opposite.
They don’t copy, they create.
So yes, AI will be a tool editors use a lot; however, it won’t be a suitable replacement.
So let’s have a look at my ratings first.
How much time does video editing take to learn?
I’ll give this one a three out of five.
Look, video editing isn’t something you master overnight, but it’s also not something that takes years to learn.
Tom mentions in the wealth portal that beginners make the big mistake of focusing too much on fancy transitions and crazy effects, but in reality, this isn’t what most clients are looking for.
His advice is to master the basics first, like how to cut pace and add music.
Then practice putting together a story.
If you can make a viewer feel something or keep them watching until the end, you’ve already cracked 80% of what makes an editor valuable.
Next, how much money do you need?
This is definitely a one out of five.
Video editing is one of those rare skills where you can start with almost nothing.
If you’ve got a half-decent laptop and an internet connection, you are good to go.
Of course, you can save up and invest in paid software, a faster laptop or even better storage, but none of those things are required to start earning.
In fact, some of the best editors I know began on laptops that could barely export a 1080p clip, so don’t wait until you’ve got the perfect setup.
Start with what you’ve got. Learn the craft, and the upgrades will follow the income, not the other way round.
Lastly, how easy is it to make $10,000 per month?
I’ll give this one a three out of five because here’s the truth:
In the beginning, you’ll probably take on smaller jobs like editing TikToks and reels for smaller creators or businesses, but don’t overlook them.
These jobs are gonna lay the groundwork for your future earnings.
They’re your ticket to building a strong portfolio, and that’s what attracts the higher-paying clients.
If you take on multiple clients per month, then you’ll reach that 10k mark in no time.
Side Hustle Idea 4: Branded Drop Shipping.
This is Jimmy Barlow. Not long ago, he was just like most students, broke, stuck in a neighbourhood he wanted to escape and wondering how he’d ever get rich.
He didn’t have any money, connections or experience, just a laptop and some motivation.
So he started branded drop shipping and learnt on the go, and that decision changed everything.
Now, he’s regularly pulling in around $40,000 in profit per month.
Drop shipping has been around for a while.
However, branded drop shipping is where people are making the most money right now.
It’s much more effective compared with the old approach.
Let me explain why.
A few years ago, the classic drop shipping model looked like this.
Someone visits your store and buys a product for let’s say, $30, and then you jump over to AliExpress, grab the same item for around $10 plus shipping and have it sent straight to your customer.
On paper, that looks like easy money, but it never really plays out that smoothly.
To get that sale, you probably spent five to $10 on ads, and by the time you deal with refunds, delays or shipping issues, you’re barely scraping a profit.
That’s the problem with old school drop shipping.
It works, but it’s fragile.
Now, branded drop shipping changes everything.
The backend looks similar as you’re still selling online, but the way you position the product is completely different.
Why Branded Dropshipping is Different:
- You focus on building trust.
- Designing better websites.
- Branding a product that people are proud of.
Suddenly, that $30 item isn’t fighting for pennies.
It’s an $80 product that people buy because they believe in the brand behind it.
Your margins grow, your refund rate drops, and your side hustle starts to feel more sustainable.
That’s why branded dropshipping isn’t just the next step. It’s the smarter, more sustainable way to build a side hustle that lasts.
Now, for those all-important ratings:
Firstly, how much time does branded dropshipping take to learn?
I’m gonna give this one a four out of five, not because it’s hard, but because it takes time.
You’re not gonna be profitable right away, and that’s completely fine.
This isn’t a get-rich-quick play; it’s a long-term side hustle that builds steady, predictable income over time, and like anything worth doing, it takes a few months to get it off the ground.
The Dropshipping journey:
- Month 1: Building your store, testing your ideas, and figuring out how the pieces fit together.
- Month 2: You’ve got data, you’ve learned what works, and now it’s about doubling down on what’s actually getting results.
- Month 3: Now it’s time to scale your ads, reinvest profits, and start thinking bigger.
- Month 6: If you stay consistent and keep learning, you’ll have a stall that’s generating reliable profit every month.
Of course, you’ll get there faster with the right proof strategies to follow, and that’s exactly what Jimmy runs you through inside the wealth portal.
Secondly, how much money do you need?
I’m gonna give this a one-hour five because you can get started almost completely free.
The beauty of drop shipping is that you don’t actually pay for the product until you’ve made a sale.
The only thing to keep in mind is that there can be a short delay while your payment’s clear, but that’s about as risky as it gets.
Thirdly, how easy is it to make $10,000 per month?
I’m gonna give this a two out of five as it’s much easier than most people think. Let me break it down. $10,000 a month is just $333 a day.
Now imagine you’re running a branded drop shipping store where each sale makes you around $25 profit after costs.
To hit $333 a day, you’d only need to make around 13 or 14 sales per day.
That’s not hundreds of customers or a massive audience.
That’s literally a handful of people finding your store and buying something that solves a real problem for them.
Side Hustle Idea 5: Brand Identity
This is Jack Watson. He grew up with no money, and after leaving school, found himself stuck in an accounting job.
He hated watching his life pass by in a soulless office.
He knew he needed a plan if he was gonna change his circumstances, so he locked himself away for six months, researching, reading and watching whatever he could get his hands on.
That’s when he stumbled across something called brand identity.
Six months later, he went from a negative bank balance to hitting his first 20K month.
So what exactly is brand identity, and why is it on the rise?
Well, imagine a company comes to you and says:
We want people to recognise us instantly to know who we are and what we stand for, just by looking at us.
That’s where brand identity comes in. It’s your job to design the entire look and feel of that business, from the logo and colours to the fonts, images, and overall style that makes it instantly recognisable.
And because it directly affects how people see the brand and ultimately how much money the business makes.
It’s one of the most profitable pathways in the graphic design world right now.
The thing is, there are thousands of designers charging $50 for a quick logo or a social media template.
But very few people are offering the full package that makes a brand feel professional and trustworthy.
That’s why the brand identity market has exploded in the last few years and was valued at over $9.5 billion in 2024, and it’s projected to hit $40 billion by 2032.
I mean, even governments are getting in on the action.
Check this out. It’s the old Gov UK logo, and this is the new one.
How much do you think they spent on the redesign?
$10,000, $50,000, a hundred thousand dollars. No more like $650,000 or half a million quid. It’s shocking, isn’t it?
But it shows that there’s a massive opportunity in this space, especially if you are thinking, well, I could do that.
Now it’s time for those ratings:
Firstly, how much time does brand identity take to learn?
I’ll give this a four out of five because it does take time.
It’s one of those side hustles where every project teaches you something new, and once it clicks, you can start charging real money for your work.
Secondly, how much money do you need?
I’m giving this a one out of five because, as long as you have a laptop, then you really don’t need to spend any money getting started.
The real investment here is definitely your time and not your money, so it’s perfect for students.
Thirdly, how easy is it to make $10,000 per month?
This gets a two out of five as it’s actually very achievable.
I mean, Jack’s only been doing this for a few years and now charges $10,000 for just one project.
But let’s say you charge $2,500 for a full brand identity package.
You’d only need four clients a month or one client a week to hit 10k.
Side Hustle Idea 6: Short-Form Strategy
This is Noah Briley. He was just an ordinary student doom-scrolling social media until one day.
Instead of passively consuming, he started studying what makes content blow up.
He took note of every hook, every caption, and every transition that made people stop and watch until he found the exact formula that led to virality.
Once he cracked the code, he tested it on TikTok, and it worked!
Soon, he was helping creators, tech companies, and even banks grow their audiences through short-form videos.
This led to him making over a hundred thousand dollars before he turned 18 with nothing but his phone.
The truth is, short-form content isn’t just a trend; it’s the future.
The average TikTok user opens the app 20 times per day, and TikTok itself claim users spend an average of 90 minutes a day scrolling.
This attention is the new currency.
Just think about all the young millionaires you look up to, Mr Beast, KSI or Jake Paul.
They all got rich by leveraging some form of attention, and being a short-form content strategist allows you to tap into this power without being a creator yourself.
Your job is simple. Help small businesses, entrepreneurs, and coaches grow their brands online.
The opportunities are absolutely everywhere.
You could work with your local gym, a coffee shop, or even an estate agent who has no idea how to market themselves on social media.
Every business needs content and attention, and right now, they happily pay someone who knows how to deliver both.
So onto the ratings:
Firstly, how much time does short-form content take to learn?
I’ll give this a one out of five. You can learn the basics in just a few days.
The real skill comes from understanding why something works, not just how to make it look good.
If you spend even just one hour a day analysing and creating, you’ll start spotting patterns that most people completely miss.
Secondly, how much money do you need?
I’m giving this area one out of five, as all you need is your phone, and most of you’re probably sitting watching this video on one right now.
Lastly, how easy is it to make $10,000 per month?
This one gets a three out of five, as it really depends on how you charge.
Once you get good, I highly recommend charging both a flat fee, which is what you get paid no matter what, and on top something called a view bonus.
This is an agreed-upon bonus that you get paid if the video ends up going viral.
Most clients will be open to this as it puts you both on the same page and incentivises you to work harder to make sure videos explode.
If you manage to get a few viral videos per month, then $10,000 a month is more than achievable.
Side Hustle Idea 7: Investing
This is Mark Tilbury.
Starting from zero, it’s possible to build businesses that generate significant wealth at a young age.
However, what truly unlocks long-term financial growth is investing. When done correctly, investments can generate consistent passive income every single week.
This is why investing is often considered the most important side hustle anyone can have. If money isn’t working for you, you’ll always be forced to work for money. That’s the difference between financial survival and financial freedom.
1st Q: When is the best time to start investing?
The answer is simple — there has never been a better time than right now. In the past, investing required brokers, large minimum deposits, and hours of research just to buy a single stock. Today, anyone can start investing with just a few taps on their phone.
2nd Q: How do you actually start investing?
This isn’t something that can be fully explained in a short conversation. That’s why detailed investing strategies are broken down through educational content, showing exactly how investing works step by step.
Now, let’s rate investing as a side hustle:
How long does it take to learn?
⭐ 4 out of 5
Getting started with index funds is relatively simple. However, selecting individual stocks requires mastering both technical and fundamental analysis, which takes time.
How much money do you need to start?
⭐ 1 out of 5
Most investing platforms now offer fractional shares, allowing people to begin with as little as $1 or £1.
How easy is it to make $10,000 per month?
⭐ 4 out of 5
While achievable, reaching this level typically takes years of consistency, discipline, and smart investing decisions.
