I paid £12.5k of debt in a year trying out obscure side-hustles and I made £1,000 from easy method anyone can try
AFTER years of treading water financially, Lisa Ebsworth decided to try every side hustle she could to make extra cash – and managed to rack up over £12,000 in just 12 months.
The freelance events and communications expert, 43, tried out everything from walking apps to surveys and even writing an e-book to make extra cash, which she then used to clear her student debt and car loan.
The mum-of-one to Fearne, six, said: “Every time I made some money, I put it straight into a different account so it couldn’t be absorbed by buying a coffee or normal day-to-day items.”
“Every single penny went towards paying off my debt.”
Lisa set up a TikTok account to document her money-making journey and help inspire others to follow in her footsteps.
She said: “I started the account in March 2023 from zero and by the time I paid my debt off, a full year to the day from when I started, I had 40,000 followers.
Lisa’s most successful side hustle was an e-book about side hustles, which she sold for £5. She has so far made £1,000 from the sales of the book.
The idea came in month four when she began getting inundated with questions online about how to get started with a side hustle.
Lisa had seen other content creators creating digital products including e-books so she decided to put her seven top side hustles with instructions and links through to sites together in one place.
This included her affiliate links so she was able to get paid commission from the companies she helps to advertise.
She explained: “It took a day to write and design the 20 page document which I then uploaded to a site called Pensite where I could sell my e-book, while paying a small amount of commission for this service.”
The book continues to sell well – particularly after Lisa’s monthly recap on how much she’s earned that month from side hustles.
HOW LISA MADE HER MONEY
Lisa tried a number of side hustles including online surveys, being a secret shopper, using referrals and affiliates on social media, selling second-hand items online and selling her e-book to collectively wipe her £12,300 of debt.
“I was doing surveys that took me two hours a night to do and getting paid £4 for it. It doesn’t sound much but I knew that by the end of the month that’s £120 to come off my debt.”
Once the busy mum had built up a following of over 10,000, she was paid by TikTok to create content on the platform.
One of Lisa’s most popular posts was one of her monthly recaps on how her side hustles had gone and how much money she had earned. It had 1.6 million views and Lisa earnt £800 from that post alone.
Another one of Lisa’s most viewed posts was a Secret Shopper, where you are given a shopping task and this particular one was to check out the display of tomatoes at Tesco.
Looking at the display, the price and the stock levels.
Lisa earnt £6 for her review but there was something about the video that people enjoyed and, in the end, it received 108,000 views.
Lisa said: “I woke the morning after posting the video and the views just kept going up.”
“I’ve genuinely never experienced something like that before.”
Seeing another way to make some money and share all the knowledge, Lisa set up a business coaching people on how to use Tik Tok.
Lisa said: “I’ve learnt so much and there is a genuine interest in my journey so I set up Beyond the Hashtag Facebook group.”
“I’ve had 18 people enrol into my paid programme and the feedback is brilliant – they’re really loving it.”
“And I’m enjoying teaching people about it.”
Now Lisa is challenging herself to pay her mortgage off in two years.
GETTING STARTED ONLINE
In the beginning, Lisa found it difficult to put herself out there and talk about her earnings, but over time she felt more confident and comfortable sharing her videos.
The mum-of-one said: “I was terrified at first to be honest, I wasn’t that active on social media so it was all really out of my comfort zone.”
But not everyone was supportive, and around the six-month mark, Lisa came up against some trolling with people saying she was scamming them, which made her want to quit.
She said: “It was really tough because I was only sharing the side hustles that I was doing.
“The comment that upset me the most was when someone said I wasn’t successful
“But I felt that surely I was, because I was bringing my debt down. But I just kept pushing and it spurred me on.”
Lisa’s Top 5 Side Hustles
Here are Lisa's top side hustles.
Online Surveys – 5/10
Are a way of collecting data through emails or websites to inform companies of the information they’re looking for from a particular demographic.
Pros: You can do them at night while the kids are in bed.
Cons: Time consuming for small rewards.
Lisa has earned approx £2k
Secret Shopping – 6/10
A third party company pays people to evaluate a business’s customer service, products and customer experience.
Pros: Some pay really well and you can do it at the same time as your own food shop to save on petrol.
Cons: You need transport to be able to get to the supermarkets.
Lisa has earned approx £800
Referrals/Affiliating – 8/10
Companies offer content creators with a high number of followers commission for referring or directing people to their website.
Pros: Easy and well paid.
Cons: You need an audience or lots of friends and family to do well.
Lisa has earned approx £3k
Reselling – 6/10
Selling your unwanted clothes, toys and other household items through websites like Vinted, eBay and Depop.
Pros: You can do it from home around your job/family.
Cons: You need to be organised and it can be time consuming.
Lisa has earned approx £300 as she says she’s not that organised
Creating and Selling Digital Products – 9/10
Where a content creator makes, writes or shares a product or information like an e-book, courses, templates, kits or fonts for example, that their audience is interested in buying.
Pros: Create it once and resell forever.
Cons: You need to be a little tech savvy and have a platform/audience
Lisa has earned approx £1k from e-book Side Hustle Starter Guide and £15k from all her digital products including her courses