Reality Check
Side Hustle Myth Busters
Those viral income screenshots don't tell the whole story. We break down common claims with actual math.
Possible but extremely rare
A $500 day requires ~25 deliveries averaging $20 each, which means perfect conditions: holiday weekend, excellent tips, and 12+ hours of non-stop work. Most dashers average $15-25/hour gross.
The Real Math
Claimed
$500
More Realistic
$180
Effective $/hr
$12
About These Estimates
The figures shown are estimates based on industry averages, platform data, and reported earnings from gig workers. Your actual results will vary based on location, timing, effort, market conditions, and many other factors. These breakdowns are meant to illustrate how costs and taxes affect advertised earnings—not to predict your specific income. Always track your own real numbers.
Ready to calculate realistic numbers for your situation?
Why This Matters
Social media is flooded with side hustle content showing impressive earnings. Screenshots of $500 days, $10k months, and "passive income" streams. Many of these are real numbers—but they're rarely the full picture.
The Missing Context
A $500 DoorDash day might be real, but was it 14 hours during a holiday weekend with perfect tips? A $10k Etsy month might be gross revenue before $6,000 in product costs and fees. A "passive" income stream might have required 2,000 hours to build.
The Harm of Unrealistic Expectations
When people start side hustles expecting viral results, they often quit after a few months because they don't see those numbers. The reality is that most successful side hustlers built slowly over years, with plenty of failures along the way.
Red Flags in Side Hustle Content
- Showing gross revenue without mentioning expenses
- Cherry-picking best days or weeks as if they were typical
- Selling a course about the same topic being promoted
- Not mentioning hours worked or time invested
- "Anyone can do this" without mentioning skills or advantages
- Screenshots without dates or explanations
Common questions
Why do people share misleading income claims?
Most viral earnings posts come from people selling courses, affiliate links, or building audiences. Showing high numbers attracts attention. They often cherry-pick best days, show gross instead of net, or use exceptional circumstances as if they were typical.
Are all high income claims fake?
No. Some people genuinely earn high incomes from side hustles. The issue is that viral claims rarely show the full picture—years of work, capital invested, failed attempts, or unsustainable hours. Our goal is to show what typical results look like.
How do I spot misleading income content?
Look for red flags: showing only gross revenue without expenses, displaying single best days as typical, not mentioning time invested, selling courses about the same topic, or using screenshots without context. Real success stories discuss challenges too.
Our calculations are estimates based on industry averages and publicly available data. Individual results vary significantly. We're not claiming these specific viral posts are intentionally misleading—we're showing why the numbers often aren't what they seem.