Small Investments That Make Your Side Hustle Stand Out

When most people think “side hustle,” they may imagine “an effort that isn’t quite as refined as what a business could offer, but still good enough to earn money.” But that’s not necessarily the case. You need only look to platforms that empower homegrown creators like Etsy to see how many people put a huge amount of effort into their products despite running a relatively small operation that may not be responsible for their main income stream.

So, empowering yourself and your creative vision for your side hustle is important, and that means paying it the proper respect it could be due. For example, if a part-time removalist who only takes jobs on the weekend does so in a beat-up and rusting van, that’s hardly going to inspire trust, encourage good reviews, or sustain work.

For this reason, investing in your own enterprise is not only a worthwhile effort, but may even help you take your measures to the next level. Please consider the following:

Packaging Your Products

Your side hustle products might be amazing, but a great product needs presentation to match it, to create a sense of occasion around the entire affair, showing that someone was right to trust you over another, perhaps more established brand.

As such, because packaging serves as the introduction before anyone sees the quality of what’s inside, and it has the power to improve the experience, making your products look professional and memorable through personalised packaging and custom mailer boxes can be great .

Better yet you don’t have to become a perfect UX designer to do it right, as even simple, well-designed packaging can create a healthy, branded look that gives off the right impression and makes your small side hustle seem much more impressive than it once had.

Many times, investing in the details like this can lead to repeat customers who appreciate not just the product but the entire experience of buying it, and perhaps you can even translate that into good marketing, such as reposting pictures customers take and put online, or sharing unboxing videos.

Setting Your Contactable Hours

A side hustle might feel like something you do whenever you find time (hence the “side” part of course), but having set hours when people can reach you adds that extra bit of professionalism which can help your brand seem like less of a risk to try for the first time.

It’s fine if you can’t reply to messages 24/7, but having specific times, say three hours in the evening, sets boundaries and lets customers know when they can expect a response, which makes you seem more reliable. We’re willing to be that a side hustle doesn’t have so much correspondence to make this limit seem too narrow.

So, even if it’s just a few hours each evening or on weekends, having those times properly listed can make people more comfortable doing business with you – you might have “replies to emails from 5pm – 9pm each day” in your description. Then you don’t have to worry about your usual workday but can still remain productive

Working With Logistic Firms & Fulfilment Centres

Customers don’t notice shipping unless it goes wrong, but preventing any mistakes or delays is so worth your investment for that very reason. You don’t want to have to waste time chasing delivery schedules or improper fulfillment and dealing with the stress caused by that.

Using a good logistics partner can help make certain your deliveries are reliable and on time, which can encourage customers to order with you again. If you can immediately communicate that you use a reliable logistics service to deliver your products they don’t have to worry about it. If you’ve ever ordered anything online (we’re assuming you have), then you’ll know that how and when the item will be delivered is usually your main concern outside of the reviews and pricing, so nailing this in your own brand will be wise.

Of course, depending on what you sell, you may need to alternate how you pack and send certain items. If you sell custom fashionable items, learning to fold and pack securely is key. You might invest in vacuum-sealed bags to ensure the condition of the hoodies you sell, for instance. Then the items can be stored correctly and even managed in fulfillment centers for ordering.

Offering Modular Services

If you offer a service, it can be wise to try to scale it and offer modular options. So for example, an illustrator might offer varied prices depending on what your image is – a landscape, a portrait, a figure, two figures, colors, shading, etc and have prices in line with that.

This might allow someone to book your services even if they don’t want the whole package, and that allows you to service more clients, build more goodwill, and potentially appeal to those with a more modest requirement.

To use another example, say you’re a freelance designer – you could offer a basic logo design with optional add-ons like social media graphics, branding guidelines, or a full branding package. This way, clients can customize what they want without feeling pressured into buying a massive package they don’t need, and you become a worthy investment then. You can even sustain a client testing your services which they may not have tried beforehand. That in itself can be worthwhile.

Being able to adapt like this makes your service feel more personal, like there’s a human giving quotes. If you sell products that’s not necessarily going to match perfectly, but freelancers could grant themselves more options with this. You can even accept smaller jobs through this framework that you may not have had the time to do otherwise.

For Services, A Waitlist

A side hustle becoming a genuinely viable main income can be an exciting prospect, but make sure you don’t just accept every client that comes your way to achieve that. Pacing still matters.

If such demand for your services grows faster than you can keep up with, a waitlist is a simple way to manage things, but it’s an effective one. You can make it clear if you’re accepting commissions or how much you have in stock, and also what the general delivery timeline is. This way you can still book people in who are happy to wait, but avoid disappointing those who you simply cannot deliver to. Pacing yourself and being communicative about that can help you avoid losing goodwill, or worse, taking money from people who you cannot provide your service to.

Online Branding & Web Hosting

One of the best marketing innovations in the last twenty years has been democratizing the internet, as now you can be just as online as another firm with thousands of employees and international reach.

A side hustle should be visible, because people need an easy way to find you, learn about what you offer, and get in touch. Investing in a well-done website or even a well-managed social media page can show you’re serious and worth taking sincerely. We’d also recommend getting your own domain name because it helps you brand your business a little more and also claims the name if you want to expand off the platform you’re using.

Moreover, if you have your own page, then you may find more value in:

SEO Investment

When someone searches for what you’re offering, you want them to find you easily without scrolling through endless results. It might seem as though you have to fight against all others competing for that spot in your niche, but you only have to do so within your particular local market you hope to sell to.

You don’t have to be quite as focused as a large company does, but just putting a bit of thought into the keywords you use on your website, your product descriptions, or your service listings can make a difference. Think about what words someone would type into Google if they were looking for what you’re offering. Are you a custom jewelry maker?

Then make sure phrases like “handmade jewelry,” “custom rings,” or “unique necklaces” are targeted, and you can apply locations to that in kind. You can even commission blog posts to raise your backlink profile for instance, or get started on your blog to show that while you’re small, you do have insight into the industry.

This is like a nice cross between organic marketing and more passive methods, so even a smaller enterprise can benefit.

Warranties & Refunds

A warranty or a refund policy can make people feel much more comfortable about buying from you. Remember that while you may have worked hard on your side hustle, people will always be taking a risk trying someone who isn’t “proven” in the sense of being verified by the market. As such, a good refund option or warranty reassures them that you believe in your product or service enough to stand by it. If something goes wrong, they want to know they won’t be left paying for something that didn’t deliver.

Even if your side hustle is most, it doesn’t mean you can’t offer some form of quality assurance. Maybe it’s a simple “satisfaction guaranteed” promise, or a straightforward refund policy if someone isn’t happy. If you’re clear about it, and can also refuse spurious refunds based on confirming the product or service was delivered capably, you can feel more secure in your approach.

With this advice, we hope you can more easily make those small investments that make your side hustle stand out.

This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:

Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.

More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.

More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
US Bank Business ($900) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $900 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.

Feel free to send Kevin a message here.