-
Cody Berman categorizes side hustles into four types, from quick cash to scalable income.
-
He says trading time for money is often the easiest way to start earning fast.
-
Today, he focuses on assets that can keep earning after the upfront work is done.
After trying more than 30 side hustles — some hits, some flops — Cody Berman has developed what he calls a “side hustle framework.”
There are essentially four ways to bring in extra income, the financially independent millennial and author of “Retire by 30” told Business Insider.
Here are his four types of side hustles, plus the one he says is the easiest to start.
Type 1: Trading time for money
The first type is the most straightforward: trading time for money. That could mean online freelance work, such as writing, video or podcast editing, website building, or compiling email newsletters. It could also mean in-person work, such as landscaping, driving for Uber, delivering for Instacart, or completing tasks through other gig-economy platforms.
“You’re just straight up trading your time for money,” Berman said. For example: “I make $15 an hour doing this. I work three hours, that’s $45.”
While these side hustles can start producing cash quickly, the trade-off is that income generally ends when the work ends. Plus, there are only so many hours in a day.
Type 2: Scalable income streams
The second type is a scalable income stream — something that can continue earning after the initial work is done. Examples include a digital product, podcast, YouTube channel, or course. A creator might spend hours making a product or piece of content once, then continue earning through sales, sponsorships, affiliate links, ads, or other monetization strategies for years.
Real estate also fits into this bucket, Berman said, because an investor can buy a property, get it rented, and then collect income over time.
The appeal of “type two” side hustles is that they’re not strictly tied to hours worked — and, for Berman, they’ve been the most lucrative. The trade-off is that they typically take time to build before they produce meaningful income.
“You’re not going to start a YouTube channel or create a digital product today and make money with either of those things tomorrow,” he said. “But in six months’ time, those things might start making serious income.”
Type 3: Sharing economy
The third type, the sharing economy, involves renting out assets you already own.
That could mean listing a house or spare room on Airbnb or Vrbo, renting out a car through Turo or Getaround, or using platforms that let people rent out storage space, pools, lawn equipment, photography equipment, power tools, trampolines, or bounce houses.
