10 Side Hustles People Quit Within the First Year

Starting a side hustle sounds exciting—a chance to earn extra cash or turn a hobby into income. But when the reality kicks in, lots of people find themselves giving up within a year. Sometimes it’s the time commitment, stress, or the money just isn’t worth the work. If you’re thinking about picking up a new gig, here are ten side hustles many people end up quitting sooner than they planned.

Rideshare Driving

Driving for companies like Uber or Lyft promises quick cash and flexible hours, but the wear and tear on your car, unpredictable earnings, and long hours on the road make a lot of folks drop out. The early excitement often fades once expenses and long shifts add up.

Food Delivery Apps

Delivering food with apps like DoorDash or Uber Eats is easy to start, but finding enough good orders to make it worthwhile is tough. Bad weather, parking hassles, and small tips send many drivers looking for different work after just a few months.

Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)

MLMs—or direct sales companies—grab people with the idea of making money from home. But building up a customer base is harder than it sounds, and most never see the profits they hope for. The pressure to recruit friends and family pushes many to move on.

Selling Handmade Crafts

Turning crafts or art into profit on sites like Etsy sounds fun, but there’s a steep learning curve. High fees, shipping hassles, and finding buyers with so much competition make lots of crafters throw in the towel before their first anniversary.

Online Surveys and Microtasks

Answering surveys or doing quick online tasks seems easy, but the income is tiny for the amount of time spent. Many realize the payouts don’t add up to more than spare change and quit when better opportunities come along.

Flipping Used Items

Flipping thrift store finds can be a decent way to make money—but it wears on you. Keeping track of what you’ve bought, packing up orders, dealing with returns—it adds up. And if good deals start getting harder to find, or sales slow down, the work starts to feel like a grind.

Dog Walking and Pet Sitting

Watching pets can be fun, but the day-to-day is a lot. One minute you’re chasing a last-minute booking, the next you’re soaked in the rain walking three dogs. Add in the flaky clients and constant schedule changes, and it stops feeling worth it. That’s why a lot of people end up calling it quits.

Blogging

Anyone can start a blog, but keeping up regular posts, learning SEO, and attracting readers takes more work than it looks. Many people burn out, especially when money doesn’t come in as quickly as they’d hoped.

Freelance Writing

Finding steady gigs, pitching clients, and chasing payments lead lots of new writers to give up. The freedom to write anywhere is nice, but inconsistent work and unclear deadlines prove more stressful than expected.

Virtual Assistant Work

Virtual assistant work can start off feeling flexible and easy to manage. But once you’re juggling clients in different time zones, answering nonstop messages, and switching between tasks all day, it gets overwhelming fast. For a lot of people, the burnout sets in quick—and the gig doesn’t last.

When it’s Not Worth the Stress

Not every side hustle is worth sticking with. If it’s taking up too much time, stressing you out, or just not working, it’s okay to let it go. A gig that drains you isn’t helping you reach your goals—it’s just getting in the way. Saying no to the wrong thing leaves more room for something that actually fits.

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