5 Side Hustle Scams to Avoid (And What to Do Instead)

If you’ve ever typed "how to make money online" or something similar into Google, you know the drill:

"Earn $10K in 30 days with this one secret trick!"

"Quit your job and travel the world tomorrow."

"Join this done-for-you business opportunity!"

Yikes. 😬 Run the other way fast!

When you're burned out and looking for a way out, these offers can sound really tempting. But most of them are either total scams or unsustainable at best.

Let’s walk through 5 side hustle scams to avoid, and what actually works instead.

Scam #1: High-Ticket Coaching Programs with Zero Strategy

A $3,000 program that teaches you... mindset? Nope. If it doesn’t offer you a tangible result (and a way to get it), skip it. Now I'm not saying high-ticket coaching isn't worth it. Make sure you understand what your transformation will be by participating in the coaching. Look for real results from people who have worked with this particular coach. There are a lot of coaching programs out there with a lot of talk and little results, but coaches with fat bank accounts.

Scam #2: Drop-Shipping Without an Audience

You pay for inventory, ads, and websites upfront—without a brand or following. If you have no earthly idea what you're doing, that’s a recipe for burnout and debt, or at least throwing money away.

Scam #3: Crypto and MLM Schemes

If you have to recruit people to make money? That’s not a business, it’s a pyramid. And we're not here for that. I've been suckered into a few MLM schemes in the past - mostly because I coulcn

Scam #4: Info Products With No Support

Ever bought a $47 eBook that left you more confused than when you started? That's the worst. Some of the digital products out there on the market are just not good. They are such surface-level information, likely copied directly out of ChatGPT, with no real experience or industry knowledge to back it up.

Scam #5: Resell Rights to Low-Quality Digital Goods

I have personally fallen victim to this. Actually that's what drove me to want to start this business. Because I bought a $27 set of PLR journals, and they were a waste of my money. But that ad was so enticing, and I couldn't help myself when it was like 100 products for only $27. You get what you pay for, I guess.

So this is your warning. Just slapping your name on someone else’s product doesn’t mean it’ll sell. Especially if the product has been resold hundreds of times. And don't just settle for buying the first digital product you find. You might end up like me.