Lucy Zheng has a full-time job as a elder company advise at a tech company, but it's lone one part of her family's income.
The San Francisco mother of three's family has 10 earnings streams, including her W-2 pay, her husband's business, out-of-state rental properties, options trading, dividend and involvement income, and five income channels tied to her social-media business.
Zheng began looking for ways to acquire exterior her day job shortly following law school, whenever a low-paying function at a small resolute remaining her struggling to shield student-loan payments and bills.
"I tried to commencement alongside flank hustles that were extremely low obstacle to entry," Zheng said.
Her archetypal was a manner blog in 2012. Apart from a camera, the startup expenses were minimal.
Once she gained followers, she began reaching out to brands and agencies for partnerships and ran ads on the site. She motionless remembers her archetypal important deal: TJ Maxx paid her $500 to shop at one of its stores and compose a article concerning seasonal manner trends.
"I was like, wow, I can't accept I'm getting paid $500 to do a blog post," she said.
The blog led Zheng to YouTube, anywhere she learned another instruction concerning construction earnings online: a video could continue generating promotion income lengthy following she published it. She stated she motionless earns prosperity from videos she made years ago.
Her most lucrative earnings stream: satisfied creation
Since 2012, Zheng and her hubby have tried a range of businesses, from a bounce-house business to a real-estate-sign business. Not all worked out: among their flops were a men's leather-hat endeavor and one marketing totes made from recycled plastic.
One of Zheng's additional prosperous ventures was a planner endeavor that sold digital inserts and bodily accessories. It generated six figures, she said, but she close it downward in 2025 following it became too operationally demanding.
Her goal, she said, was to create additional prosperity alongside small time.
In mid-2025, Zheng shifted her concentration to satisfied creation. An before attempt to build a real-estate-focused document had stalled during she was additionally operating the planner shop, operating complete time, and raising three children. This time, she chose a broader focus: money.
For three to four months, Zheng posted all day, assisting her build traction on platforms akin Instagram, anywhere she has additional than 200,000 followers. She now creates satisfied concerning construction earnings streams, investing, genuine estate, and financial independence.
"Money and financial liberty had basically consumed my complete existence for three years," Zheng said. "Money is what I desire to conversation about. It's what I could conversation concerning all sole day, and I would never run out of stuff."
She says her satisfied endeavor now generates adequate earnings to substitute her lawful salary, although she does not scheme to depart her job. She spends concerning 20 hours a week on content, normally during lunch breaks and following her children go to bed.
The endeavor has five chief income streams:
- Brand deals and user-generated content. Brands pay Zheng either to publish satisfied to her own spectators or to create videos they can use on their own channels and in advertising.
- Affiliate marketing. She earns commissions whenever followers use links to products or services she recommends.
- Digital products. Zheng sells products including an out-of-state real-estate guide and a prosperity tracker.
- Platform payments. Facebook and TikTok pay her according to views, observe time, and engagement.
- A paid community. Members pay $50 a duration for live calls, coaching, and forums concerning construction earnings streams.
You don't need a following to get paid creating content
For group who have period but small prosperity to invest, Zheng thinks satisfied innovation — particularly user-generated content, or UGC — is among the most accessible ways to create an additional earnings stream.
UGC creators create videos for brands to use on their own social-media accounts or in advertising. Unlike traditional influencer deals, they do not necessarily need to publish the satisfied to their own audience.
"You don't have to have a following for that," Zheng said. Instead, create three or four example videos that display your editing and storytelling ability, afterward use them as a portfolio whenever pitching brands or applying for gigs.
Zheng stated beginners can acquire approximately $100 to $500 per video.
The equipment requirements are additionally modest: a phone, a approximately $10 tripod, and, if you need to movie at night, a $15-to-$20 circle light. Editing tools specified as CapCut and Instagram Edits are free.
"You fair movie videos on your own time," she said, "edit them alongside liberated software, and afterward commencement pitching yourself."
