A Side Hustle Hates To See Us Coming: How Black Women Are Turning Skills Into $10K+ Income

Side hustles have always held us down.

They’ve been part of our mutual and collective economic survival long before the term ever became trendy. The moms who did hair on the side in the kitchen. The aunties who sold Mary Kay on the weekends or after work. The friend who sold real estate part-time or threw rent parties to help neighbors avoid eviction.

The career chaos of 2025 reminds us why side hustles play a key role in our economic survival. “2025 had hands,” says Celeste Bell, a human resources professional and adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley, borrowing a phrase popularized by author Luvvie Ajayi Jones. “Workforce disruption was very visible, and Black women felt it acutely.”

Between rising costs of living, layoffs, contract instability, and the quiet rollback of workplace protections, Black women were left even more financially vulnerable and forced to rethink how we earn money and secure stability on our own terms. What once felt like supplemental income suddenly became necessary income.

We’re going back to basics and doing what we’ve always done: leveraging our creativity, our ability to read the room, and our deep understanding of what people actually need. The only difference now is that many of us are pairing those instincts with clearer boundaries—offering services and products that solve trending, real-time problems, and make us more than just a couple of dollars.

Intention, positioning, and strategy are the forces behind sid -hustles in 2026 that bring in at least $10k annually.

For Bell, side hustles in 2026 should really make an impact on our overall net worth. “Side hustles serve as both a risk hedge and a wealth lever,” she explains. “They create cushion, allow for faster debt payoff, and give women the ability to leave toxic work situations without financial free fall.”

For women aiming to earn an extra five figures in a year, she recommends keeping it simple. Pick one audience, one problem, and one offer. Reverse-engineer the math—20 clients at $500, 10 at $1,000, or a small membership with steady demand. “Diluted focus equals diluted results,” says Bell.

That clarity shows up in the lived experiences of Black women who’ve already done it.

For Rasheeda Williams, founder of Empowered Flower Girl, monetizing her gifts began long before she called it a business. Since college, she found ways to earn money through freelance writing and dance instruction, but her deeper calling emerged through mentoring girls in her community.

After nearly a decade of volunteering with youth-focused organizations, a single question shifted her perspective. During a mentor training, she was asked to share her experience. Another mentor, impressed by her success, invited her to speak to girls at her school. “When she asked, ‘How much do you charge?’ I honestly had no clue,” Williams recalls. “That was the moment I realized I could earn hundreds of dollars doing what I had been doing for free.”

Her first year wasn’t polished. She underpriced herself, charging $150 for workshops because she felt pressured to answer on the spot. At the time, it felt like good money compared to her full-time job. Over time—and with the help of a coach—Williams shifted her money mindset, refined her pricing, and expanded her offerings.

There were years she earned between $15,000 and $19,000 simply facilitating workshops, selling books, and coaching small nonprofits. Today, she sees her side hustle as an extension of her life’s mission and a > Nastasja Jackson, The Pilates Dragon, sustainability wasn’t just financial—it was physical. After discovering Pilates in 2012 and experiencing its mental and bodily benefits, she launched her side hustle in 2015 to deepen her practice and help others improve their well-being through everyday movement.

In her first year working part-time, Jackson earned approximately $30,000. “In this industry, part-time typically ranges from 8 to 30 hours a week,” says Jackson. Ten years later, she works as an independent contractor earning $70 per class and between $100 and $200 per private session, typically working between 15 and 37 hours per week.

Much of her business has grown through word of mouth and community. Facebook groups proved essential for networking and even led to an all-expenses-paid teaching opportunity. As she looks ahead, Jackson is leaning into LinkedIn for more consistent, higher-paying work.

What she wishes more Black women understood before starting is how critical relationship-building is—especially in industries where training can be expensive. “I had to research scholarships to fund my Pilates education,” she says. “The resources are out there, but they can be hidden.”

Jayde Powell’s side hustle, the em dash co., started less from inspiration and more from necessity. With more than 12 years in social media and marketing, she’d seen firsthand how unstable “stable” jobs could be. “Budgets change, roles disappear, and ‘stability’ just isn’t guaranteed anymore,” says Powell. Relying on a single income stream no longer felt safe—financially or emotionally.

Content creation on LinkedIn—what she calls “the Briefcase App”—became a way to take ownership of her expertise.  For a year, she focused on consistency and trust rather than selling. “The first year was a lot of experimenting. I started by posting consistently on LinkedIn—mostly text-based posts—sharing lessons from my career, thoughts on the creator economy and social media culture, and my unbridled yet humorous takes on corporate America,”says Powell.

Consistency and authenticity literally paid off: an email marketing company knocked on her door with $1,000 in hand for her to share her thoughts.“They flew me out to New York City to attend a conference, wined and dined me, and when I returned home, my first-ever sponsored post went live,” says Powell.  

By the end of 2025, Powell had ended the year having generated over a quarter of a million dollars in revenue. She attributes her success largely to her strategic use of LinkedIn. The platform put her in front of decision-makers who could unlock brand deals, speaking opportunities, and clients, often starting with something as simple as a DM. As her visibility grew, so did her credibility. After working with more than 30 brands, momentum from word-of-mouth made it easier for new opportunities to follow.

But for Powell, community is the real differentiator. “My audience isn’t a passive group of professionals just watching my content,” she says. “They comment, share, advocate for me, and genuinely want to see me win.” That level of engagement, she adds, is what ultimately turns visibility into income: “That kind of relationship is what turns your content into a bag.”

Still, her success comes with boundaries. “Not every opportunity is worth saying yes to,” she says. “Exposure doesn’t pay bills.” She emphasizes reading contracts, asking for more money, and treating your side hustle like a business—even when it’s small.

Most importantly, Powell is clear about an often-overlooked metric for success among Black women. “My KPI is joy,” she says. “If my side hustle isn’t contributing to that, it’s gotta go.”

The side-hustle economy is ours for the taking. Our mothers and aunties made something out of nothing—stretching paychecks and turning talent into lifelines so we could earn more from our side hustles than we do from our 9-to-5s and stay anyway—not because we’re stuck, but because we choose to.

​And isn’t that the point? Ownership and ease. We can take the benefits, stability, flexibility, and freedom—and give up nothing. Earning your first and next $10,000 this year will not require you to betray yourself or burn out in the process.

​Side hustles have always been part of our economic story. We’re now realizing that we’ve always had the power to rewrite the rules.

Kara Stevens is the founder of The Frugal Feminista and author of  heal your relationship with money and Unmasking the Strong Black Woman.

.

The post A Side Hustle Hates To See Us Coming: How Black Women Are Turning Skills Into $10K+ Income appeared first on Essence.