The Year My Side Hustles Finally Clicked (2016 Income Breakdown)
2016 was a banner year for me in more ways than one. I put serious effort into my side hustles, and while the year started off slow, it finished strong. By late summer, things finally clicked. In September, I shared that I had made over $1,000 in side hustle income in August. From that point on, I consistently crossed the $1,000 mark each month.
When I sat down and calculated everything at the beginning of January, the numbers surprised me. In 2016, I earned $11,045.38 from my side hustles. That was a huge jump from 2015, when I made only a fraction of that amount. Below, I want to break down how I did it and what actually moved the needle for me that year.
If you’re new to side hustling, this post shows where I started, but I’ve since put together a more updated guide on how to start a side hustle today.
A quick note before diving in: this post reflects what worked for me in 2016. Some platforms, payouts, and tools have changed since then, but the habits and strategies that helped me grow are still relevant today.
Side Hustling in 2016 (2016 Income Breakdown)
Finding More Clients
Freelance income made up the largest portion of my side hustle earnings in 2016. At the start of the year, I had just one client. By the end of the year, I was working with four. That growth alone made a massive difference in my monthly income.
Most of my clients came through networking and relationships with other bloggers, not cold pitching. As I gained experience, I reached a point where I could be more selective about who I worked with. That shift, from taking whatever came my way to choosing better-fitting clients, helped stabilize my income and made the work more enjoyable.
The biggest lesson here was simple: fewer solid clients can be better than chasing dozens of small gigs.
Selling More Items
Another contributor to my side hustle income was selling items on eBay. For a long time, I mainly sold shoes, sports-related items, and coffee mugs. In 2016, I started branching out and experimenting with other products, such as board games and magazines.
That variety helped boost my sales and taught me an important lesson about reselling: flexibility matters. The more open I was to testing different categories, the easier it became to find items that sold consistently.
Promoting the Blog More
In 2016, I made a conscious effort to promote my blog more aggressively. That decision paid off. Increased visibility led to more readers, which opened the door to selling shirts, landing sponsored posts, and growing my brand overall.
None of that would have happened if I hadn’t started the blog in the first place. By that point, I had been blogging for nearly four years, and it completely changed my trajectory. I went from knowing nothing about websites to building a legitimate side hustle that generated real income.
If you’re on the fence about starting a blog or website, my advice hasn’t changed: start. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to exist. A small investment of time and money can turn into something meaningful over the long run.
Providing Real Value
One of the biggest shifts I made in 2016 was focusing on providing more value in every post. I stopped writing about things my readers didn’t care about and started going deeper on topics that actually helped them.
I explained things more clearly, added more detail, and began editing older posts to make them stronger. As a result, 2016 became my best year for readership at that point. The more useful my content became, the more people stuck around.
Focusing on value instead of quick wins helped me build income that lasted beyond one year, which is something I still prioritize today
2016 Side Hustle Income Breakdown
Here’s exactly how my side hustle income broke down for the year. These figures reflect gross income and don’t account for time spent or expenses.
Freelance writing: $7,505.99
eBay sales: $1,498.65
Sponsored posts: $1,364.32
Affiliate income: $435.04
Other income (shirts, eBook, OfferUp, etc.): $241.38
Total side hustle income for 2016: $11,045.38
I was genuinely happy with that number. It wasn’t life-changing money, but it was proof that consistent effort pays off. Considering I didn’t start taking blogging seriously until 2014, this felt like a solid foundation to build on.
Looking at these numbers, I could also see plenty of room for growth. At the time, my goal was simple: keep working hard, stay consistent, and follow a schedule that allowed me to build momentum instead of burning out.
That mindset carried me into the years that followed.
If yoy are looking for different ways to start earning now, sign up for the Hustle of the Week newsletter. Every Wednesday for the next year, you will receive an email with a new side hustle that you can start.
Jason Butler is the owner of My Money Chronicles, a website where he discusses personal finance, side hustles, travel, and more. Jason is from Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from Savannah State University with his BA in Marketing. Jason has been featured in Forbes, Discover, and Investopedia.
