Almost half of the U.S. workforce now juggles a side hustle alongside their day job. But starting one isn’t as simple as it sounds — especially when time and money are tight. The biggest challenge? Figuring out how to build a recognizable brand and generate steady cash flow without sacrificing your sanity.

If you want a side hustle that not only survives but thrives, you need a clear plan that plays to your strengths, solves real problems and grows steadily without overcomplicating things. Here’s a practical step-by-step guide to help you get there.

Related: 50 Side Hustle Ideas to Make Extra Money in 2025

Identify the problems your skills can solve

Your side hustle shouldn’t just be about what you like doing. It has to solve urgent problems that people are actively searching solutions for — and are willing to pay to fix. Start by honestly assessing your talents and how they can help others quickly and efficiently.

For example, if you’re skilled in accounting, don’t try to offer every possible service under the sun. Instead, focus on the three most common financial headaches your ideal customers face — maybe expense tracking, invoicing or monthly reporting. Develop simple, repeatable processes for each that deliver reliable results every time.

The key is to think like your customer: what problems do they want solved fast? What kind of solution would they find clear, trustworthy and easy to use? Focus on delivering exactly that — nothing more, nothing less.

Build a brand that’s simple, trustworthy and self-sustaining

Once you’ve defined your core services, package them clearly. Give each service a straightforward name that sticks in the mind without sounding gimmicky. Then develop a clear promise — a specific guarantee about the results customers can expect.

But remember: your brand is more than a logo or a website. It’s the full experience you provide, from first contact to finished service. That means consistent quality, clear communication and processes designed around your customers’ needs.

Keep your operations simple so your side hustle can run smoothly even when you’re not hands-on every minute. This consistency builds trust and helps your brand stand out as reliable and professional.

Resist the urge to expand too quickly

It’s tempting to chase every opportunity once your side hustle starts gaining traction. But adding new services or clients too fast can stretch your time thin and hurt the quality your customers expect.

Remember, your side hustle’s strength lies in its focus and consistency. Stick to your core services and deliver them exceptionally well. This approach not only protects your time but also creates strong word-of-mouth referrals — your most valuable marketing tool.

Expand only when you have the capacity and systems to maintain the same quality your customers trust.

Related: From Side Gig to 6-Figure Success — How I Built a Thriving Home-Based Business as a Busy Family Man

Stay consistent — that’s how growth happens

Consistency is your most powerful growth strategy. When your processes and results are predictable and dependable, your reputation spreads naturally.

If your workload grows, consider bringing in help — but only if the new team members add clear value or save you significant time. Think virtual assistants, freelancers or part-time help who can plug into your existing model without adding complexity.

Keep refining your core services and customer experience. This steady, consistent growth builds a sustainable side hustle that can one day become a full-time business — but on your terms.

Final thoughts

A side hustle doesn’t have to be overwhelming or chaotic. By focusing on solving real problems with simple, repeatable processes and maintaining a trustworthy, consistent brand, you can build something that lasts.

Avoid the common pitfalls of over-expansion and time overload by keeping your offerings focused and your operations lean. When the time is right, growth will come — and so will profitability.

With the right approach, your side hustle can stand strong, generate steady income, and maybe even become your next big success.

Google’s controversial AI-generated summaries — which have been blamed for crushing the traffic of US news sites — have drawn an antitrust complaint in the European Union from a group of independent publishers.

The complaint by the Independent Publishers Alliance accuses the Sundar Pichai-led Big Tech giant of abusing its dominant position in online search by promoting its own AI-generated summaries over links to original content.

The filing, submitted on June 30, requests that the European Commission impose interim measures to prevent what it describes as “irreparable harm” to publishers.

“Google’s core search engine service is misusing web content for Google’s AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers, including news publishers in the form of traffic, readership and revenue loss,” the complaint alleges.

The complaint comes as damning data revealed that AI Overviews have resulted in 37 of the top 50 US news domains suffering year-over-year traffic declines since its launch in May 2024, according to digital intelligence firm SimilarWeb.

A report by SimilarWeb also found that the AI summaries have led to a significant increase in the frequency of “zero clicks” to search queries.

The percentage of web searches related to news that end without a click to a news site jumped to 69% in May 2025 from 56% for the same month last year, SimilarWeb found.

A spokesperson for the Competition and Markets Authority, the EU’s antitrust agency, confirmed to The Post that it received the complaint.

“Last week, we proposed to designate Google with strategic market status in search and search advertising. If designated, this would allow us to introduce targeted measured to address specific aspects of how Google operates search services in the UK,” the rep told The Post on Friday.

AI Overviews are summaries generated using Google’s artificial intelligence models and are displayed at the top of general search results. The feature is available in more than 100 countries. Google began incorporating advertisements into AI Overviews this past May.

The publishers allege that Google’s practice of displaying its own summaries above hyperlinks disadvantages original content and is made worse by the lack of control publishers have over how their material is used.

“Publishers using Google Search do not have the option to opt out from their material being ingested for Google’s AI large language model training and/or from being crawled for summaries, without losing their ability to appear in Google’s general search results page,” the complaint alleges.

The Movement for an Open Web, whose members include digital advertisers and publishers, and British nonprofit Foxglove Legal Community Interest Company are also signatories to the complaint.

“In short, AI Overviews are theft from the publishing industry,” Tim Cowen, co-founder of Movement for an Open Web, told The Post.

“They steal publishers’ content and then use that to steal their traffic before it reaches their site. That’s unfair and a clear breach of copyright principles.”

Cowen added that he wants publishers “to have the ability to opt out of their content being harvested for AI Overviews without fear of being punished in search results.”

“In the longer term we want to see a fair economic and regulatory model that rewards publishers for the value of their works,” he said.

The three organizations are seeking regulatory intervention to address what they say is an urgent threat to competition and access to news.

Foxglove co-executive director Rosa Curling said the consequences of AI Overviews for news publishers are severe.

“Independent news faces an existential threat: Google’s AI Overviews,” Foxglove co-executive director Rosa Curling said.

“That’s why with this complaint, Foxglove and our partners are urging the European Commission, along with other regulators around the world, to take a stand and allow independent journalism to opt out.”

A Google spokesperson defended the AI Overviews feature and disputed the characterization of its impact on publishers.

“New AI experiences in Search enable people to ask even more questions, which creates new opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered,” the spokesperson told Reuters.

Google added that the company sends billions of clicks to websites each day and that traffic fluctuations can be influenced by many factors.

“The reality is that sites can gain and lose traffic for a variety of reasons, including seasonal demand, interests of users, and regular algorithmic updates to Search,” the spokesperson said.

The claims in the EU complaint echo a similar argument made in a lawsuit filed in the United States by an education technology company, which alleges that Google’s AI Overviews are eroding demand for original content and damaging the competitive ability of publishers, resulting in declines in both traffic and subscriptions.

Google has faced several antitrust investigations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in recent years.

The tech giant is appealing a $4.7 billion fine imposed by the European Commission for allegedly abusing its dominance with the Android operating system. Last month, an advisor to the EU’s top court recommended the fine be upheld.

The European Commission is also continuing investigations into Google’s conduct in digital advertising and search, with potential for further regulatory action.

In the United States, a federal judge ruled in August 2024 that Google violated antitrust law by maintaining monopolies in general search and search advertising, citing exclusive deals such as those with Apple.

 A verdict after a trial on the remedy phase — which could include breaking up Google — is expected next month.

In a separate ruling in April 2025, another judge found Google had illegally monopolized online advertising markets by controlling both the buy and sell sides of the ad exchange.

With Post Wires