CNBC Make It

Jenny Woo’s four streams of income have taught her a few important lessons: how to start side hustles, sustain them and make them more lucrative. Woo is a 42-year-old ex-corporate consultant and Montessori school administrative director who lectures at the University of California, Irvine, runs an online emotional intelligence course and freelances as a business consultant. She also has a side hustle called Mind Brain Emotion where creates emotional intelligence-focused card games — 11 of them so far, on topics ranging from relationship skills to job interviews — and sells them on Amazon. The games brought in $1.71 million in revenue last year, or an average of $142,700 per month, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. The side hustle’s success is due, at least partially, to a three-step process Woo followed, she says.

Many members of the youngest generation of credit card users know their credit score is important, but a sizeable portion feel they don’t have a solid grasp on how to manage it properly, according to a recent FICO study. About 60% of adult Gen Zers, defined as those ages 18 to 27, say understanding how their credit score works is one of the most important aspects of financial literacy, per FICO’s September study. However, around 20% of them say they don’t have the knowledge or tools to do so and nearly 30% don’t feel that they’re in control of their credit score. Here are the two most important factors that impact your credit score and how understanding them can help you give your score a boost.

Chris Pyle spends the entirety of his workdays wearing a white tank top and boxer shorts, sitting in a recliner. It’s an unusual setting for a mechanic, but a profitable one. Pyle started answering strangers’ questions about their gas and diesel engines on JustAnswer as a side hustle in October 2006. It was quickly lucrative: He made $500 in his first month, then doubled it in November, then doubled it again. He quit his full-time $75,000-per-year job at Ford Motors when JustAnswer outpaced his salary in 2012, Pyle says. Pyle made $170,500 in 2023, an average of $14,200 per month, on JustAnswer, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. His monthly income is more than three times as much as the national median monthly side hustle earnings and mechanic’s salary combined.

Bestselling author and leadership expert Simon Sinek recommends asking one simple question to help people trust you: Can you help me out? It’s “such a common misunderstanding” that asking for help makes you seem weak, but people are actually more inclined to trust you when you ask them for assistance than the other way around, Sinek said during a conversation with comedian Trevor Noah at the Brilliant Minds 2024 conference. Here's why. ??

Generally, aggressive investors hold larger portions of riskier assets, such as stocks, while conservatives prefer the safety and predictability of bonds. You’d think, then, that cryptocurrency, an extremely volatile asset, would be the exclusive territory of aggressive investors. But that’s not the case among the young and the wealthy. Among investors age 21 to 43 with at least $3 million to invest, those who identify as aggressive hold 14% of their portfolios in crypto on average, according to a recent study from Bank of America Private Bank. The average holding among their conservative counterparts: 17%. Here are the reasons behind the “ironic” results.

There are a number of factors to consider when choosing a college major. It’s wise to study something you’re genuinely interested in, which might help motivate you to work hard. You may also want to pursue a career that requires a certain degree or certification. Or, perhaps you’re looking for a more versatile field of study and a set of skills that can be applied across various industries. Since the cost of a college education is notoriously high, it’s not a bad idea to also consider how well certain majors tend to pay off — if they pay off at all. In a new study, Bankrate analyzed median salaries and unemployment rates among graduates, as well as the share of graduates with advanced degrees to determine the most valuable college majors. See the full list of the 10 most valuable college majors in 2024, according to Bankrate: cnb.cx/3zLTCHG

Holly Taylor estimates she’s interviewed hundreds of people in her decade-long career in the HR space. The head of people at Public Digital, a London-based consultancy, says she tries to be innovative and equitable in the hiring process, such as recently sending interview questions to job candidates in advance. But one question is her favorite to ask in interviews, even though “it stumped me so much” when she first heard it seven years ago: What is the most valuable piece of feedback that you have received in your career? Here’s why it’s her favorite question to ask.

Anthony Tan didn’t need to start a business to be rich. He grew up as the youngest of three sons in one of Malaysia’s wealthiest families. His father, Tan Heng Chew, is the president of Tan Chong Motor, a multinational automobile distributor founded by Tan’s grandfather in the 1950s, that’s publicly listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. You might call him a “rebel without a cause,” Tan said. But he was on a mission to create something that could be “a force for good.” Now, Tan is the co-founder and CEO of multinational ride-hailing giant and super app Grab. After the business went public in the U.S. in December 2021, it brought in over $2 billion in revenue in 2023, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. Today, along with offering ride hailing, the company offers food and groceries delivery, as well as financial services such as payments, lending and digital banking. As of 2023, Grab also serves over 35 million customers and provides 13 million gig jobs across eight countries in Southeast Asia. Here’s how Tan built his business.

Ashley Quezada has found a career she loves in a place some dread, and others avoid: the dentist’s office. It’s a lot different than the career Quezada, 38, imagined for herself as a teenager growing up in northern Virginia. Inspired by her father, who served in the U.S. military, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy when she was 17 and left for boot camp in June 2004, two weeks after graduating from high school. Quezada spent the next three years working as a military police officer in the Navy. But when Quezada met her now ex-husband — an active-duty Marine — balancing two military careers became difficult, especially after the birth of her first son. In 2007, just a year after becoming a mother, Quezada decided to leave the military. Her transition from the military to working in dentistry was inspired by another family member — her aunt, who served in the U.S. Coast Guard before becoming a dental hygienist. Now, Quezada is a dental hygienist and earns about $140,000 a year as a specialty regional director at Pacific Dental Services in Murrieta, California. Here’s how Quezada made the switch and built a six-figure career that allows her to make her own schedule and pursue a side hustle she’s passionate about — without a college degree.

Wall Street veteran Charles Coristine bought LesserEvil, a failing snack company, in 2011. Now a profitable business known primarily for its coconut oil popcorn, it brought in $103 million in gross sales in 2023. Here’s how Coristine is turning LesserEvil into a household name: cnb.cx/3XO5dhm