If you spend any amount of time on Twitter or keep up with technology news, you probably feel like Artificial Intelligence (AI) is coming for us like a giant tsunami wave — for better or for worse.

But what do normal, everyday Americans think?

It’s easy to get caught up in social media echo chambers and lose sight of what the true public sentiment is on a topic, let alone awareness. 

To get a clearer understanding of public attitudes and trust towards AI and tools like ChatGPT, DollarSprout recently conducted a survey of 1,177 American adults that revealed some interesting (and surprising) findings.

How We Constructed the Survey

Since every question on the survey was in some way related to AI or ChatGPT, respondents had to be screened in order to get meaningful data.

Only respondents who answered “yes” to having heard of ChatGPT and knew what it was were prompted to complete the rest of the survey:

This simple screening question already reveals something interesting: more than half of Americans have no idea what ChatGPT is, let alone how to use it or how impactful it may (or may not) be.

The rest of the results from this survey are only from people who have heard of ChatGPT.

ChatGPT Adoption and Usage

The survey revealed that 28% of respondents have used ChatGPT for something productive, while 43% have just tried it out for fun. Interestingly, 28% of respondents have not used ChatGPT at all. While many people have started actively using AI tools, there is still a significant portion of the population who have not yet adopted the technology or found use cases that would be beneficial to them yet.

Societal Impact and Potential Danger of AI

When asked about AI’s long-term impact on society, 49% of respondents think AI will have a net positive impact, while 40% say it will have a net negative impact. A smaller portion, 11%, believe AI will have no impact or a negligible one. These mixed opinions highlight the ongoing debate surrounding AI’s role in shaping the future.

The survey results show that public opinion is divided when it comes to the question of whether AI is a danger to society. 32% believe it is, while 33% say it’s not a danger, and 35% remain uncertain, responding with “maybe.” This split suggests that many individuals are still forming their opinions on AI’s potential dangers.

White Collar Jobs and AI

With the near entirety of written human knowledge being fed into machine learning algorithms, many are concerned about what that might mean for basically anyone that works in a non-manual labor job. 

But when it comes to trusting AI in healthcare, only 20% of respondents said they would trust an AI doctor to diagnose a medical issue and come up with a treatment plan for them. On the other hand, 40% outright rejected the idea, while another 40% said they wouldn’t trust AI now but might consider it in the future. It’s important to note that AI has already been shown to pass the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam.

While there is clearly some resistance to AI’s involvement in healthcare, the fact that this is even a possibility is significant. As time goes on and more advances are made, it’s reasonable to assume that public trust in AI will slowly start to build within the healthcare industry.

AI in the Workplace

Even if we aren’t ready to have AI treat us for medical conditions just yet, there is no arguing that tools like ChatGPT are capable of writing emails, performing data analysis, and plenty of other mundane office tasks.

And that begs the question, how should this be used by companies in their day-to-day operations?

Results show that people are generally pro-AI when it comes to workplace usage, but most lean towards an open-disclosure policy. 61% of respondents said that if they were CEO of a company, they would allow employees to use AI but only if the employees disclosed when it was being used. In contrast, 22% said they would allow AI use without disclosure, and 15% of respondents said they would not allow employees to use AI at all. 

From an employee perspective, we asked the following:

The survey found that 59% of respondents would use AI tools to help them get their work done faster if they knew they wouldn’t get caught, while 41% said they would not. 

Government Intervention and Regulation

With how rapidly AI is advancing, many are wondering if there will come a need for government regulation. 

44% of respondents think that government regulation and/or intervention are needed right now. Meanwhile, 48% said “maybe, but not at this point in time,” and 8% said no regulation or intervention is needed or will ever be needed. People familiar with AI are obviously cautious about AI development and believe that oversight may be necessary at some point.

AI and Entrepreneurship

Even if AI may threaten entire industries in the future, there are still opportunities today to use tools like ChatGPT, among others, to start a new business or side hustle. 

Finally, the survey explored the intersection of AI and entrepreneurship. 37% of respondents have considered starting a new business or side hustle with the help of AI tools like ChatGPT, while 63% have not considered this possibility.

The post We Asked Over 1,000 Everyday People About AI. Here’s What They Said. appeared first on DollarSprout.

With the latest inflation numbers coming out, things are not looking great. According to the latest data put out by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of living is 8.2% higher than it was at this time last year and isn’t yet showing signs of decreasing. There is no shortage of opinions among Americans on who is to blame or what the best course of action is from here. 

To better understand how inflation is affecting people, DollarSprout conducted a survey among a wide sample of Americans from all walks of life. Here are the results.

Irony Between Cause and Solution

While it’s reasonable to think that many different factors contribute to inflation, when we asked what people thought the biggest cause was, the leading answer was “government spending.”

What is most surprising, though, was the response we saw when we asked about a possible solution: stimulus checks. In recent months, several states have announced that they are issuing stimulus checks to citizens. 

Despite government spending being cited as the leading cause for inflation, 3 out of 4 respondents supported the idea of stimulus checks as a government response to inflation. 

How Are People Adapting to Increased Prices?

When inflation concerns started to creep up late last year and early this year, many consumers were slow to make changes. The Fed infamously claimed that the inflation was “transitory”, meaning it would quickly pass. The reality has now started to sink in that inflation is here to stay for the time being, and it’s now having a much more noticeable impact on consumers. 

The inflation issue is more significant than just the cost of eggs and bread going up by a few cents. In fact, over 50% of survey respondents reported postponing a major purchase because of the current inflationary environment.

Many Aren’t Using All the Tools at Their Disposal

With food, gas, and housing all becoming more expensive and wages not growing fast enough to compensate, people are running out of options. However, the data shows that many people are still underutilizing all the possible tools at their disposal to combat inflation.

And for how common cash back credit cards are, it’s surprising to see that 65% of people didn’t know that they can double dip on rewards by using a cash back credit card and a cash back mobile app or browser extension on the same purchase. For instance, if a Chase card offers 1.5% cash back and a cash back Chrome extension (like DollarSprout Rewards) offers another 2% cash back at a particular retailer, a buyer would get a combined 3.5% cash back on a single purchase. 

With inflation sitting at just over 8% at the time of this report, double dipping on cash back is perhaps the most significant way to fight back on increasing costs. Getting 4% cash back on something that costs 8% more than it did last year goes a long way. 

Another common blindspot among consumers is actively looking for coupon codes. We most often think of coupon codes when we see an influencer share their code on Instagram or a retailer send out a coupon code in an email, but just because you didn’t see a coupon code marketed to you doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Over 1 in 10 online shoppers never proactively search for discount codes, and only a little less than half always look. The rest only “sometimes” check for discounts. 

Some cash back extensions like Honey, Capital One Shopping, and DollarSprout Rewards will automatically find any available coupon codes without a user having to go out of their way to search.

Peoples’ Finances are Trending in the Wrong Direction

To get a more accurate picture on how people are feeling about their overall finances (not just as it relates to inflation), we asked people if they felt like their situation was better or worse than it was 12 months ago. 

The results were not exactly inspiring, but also not surprising. The same held true for our question on retirement saving, where 25% say they are saving less now and 24% say they are not saving for retirement at all. 

The post 2022 Inflation and Consumer Insights Survey Reveals Concerning Findings appeared first on DollarSprout.

Every year DollarSprout conducts an annual Side Hustle Survey to get a pulse on side hustlers across the country. In 2020, the big story was how the economic halt from COVID-19 forced many workers to find alternative means of income.

In 2021, as the economy has more or less reopened and the pandemic has begun to taper, labor shortages have affected nearly every industry. Restaurants are struggling to get back to being fully staffed, nearly one in five healthcare workers have left their jobs, and countless other industries are facing similar difficulties.

While there are many theories as to why this is happening, the data clearly shows that side hustles are becoming increasingly common in helping people bridge the income gap.

Side Hustling has Become More than Just a Hobby

Last year, just over 1 in 4 side hustlers (27%) were using that income to cover necessary monthly bills and expenses. In 2021, that number has gone up to 41%. People are more dependent on using a side hustle to make ends meet.

The increased dependence we are seeing on side hustles also comes with a significant increase in commitment. Our results show that the average time spent on side hustles has trended upward in 2021.

The percentage of people spending over 15 hours per week on their side hustle(s) more than doubled in 2021, from 12% to 27%:

Earnings are also up dramatically, with nearly 14% of side hustlers earning over $1,500 per month:

Despite more people using side hustles to make income for necessary expenses, enjoyment and flexibility still reign supreme when it comes to what is most important for choosing a side hustle:

In fact, the highest earning side hustlers in 2021 are the ones who have tried 5 or more different types of gigs, showing that it pays to test the field in order to find out what works best:

Another trend of the high performers in our research study shows that side hustlers who have their own website for promoting themselves far out earn those that do not:

For those that use social media to promote their products or services, here’s how the different platforms stack up:

Social media isn’t the only online marketing tool available to new entrepreneurs. Here are ten other digital marketing skills that aren’t taught in school.

With people becoming more invested in earning money on the side this year, it should come as no surprise that side hustlers are overwhelmingly bullish on the trend heading into 2022:

The Downsides of Side Hustling

Although the gig economy is booming, there are certainly challenges facing this portion of the population.

Less time spent with friends and family isn’t the only sacrifice people are making. 9 out of 10 people reported at least some level of sacrifice in pursuit of their side hustle endeavors, with most of them reporting multiple sacrifices:

The post Shifting Side Hustle Statistics Reveal New Trends About How We Earn appeared first on DollarSprout.

From dog walking to delivering food, there’s a side hustle for every personality, preference, and schedule.

Starting a side hustle can be as simple as downloading an app or submitting some personal information on a website. But what you might not be able to tell is if the side hustle is going to be worth the time and effort.

To better understand what our community is doing for side hustles, DollarSprout surveyed 867 newsletter and website subscribers.

We wanted to know who they are, what they’re doing to make money, and what they’re using the income for. We also asked our community how much they’re earning via their side hustles to compare the profitability of different options.

By collecting and sharing this information, we can help you make a better, more informed decision about your side hustle options.

What Percentage of Americans Have a Side Hustle?

According to our survey, 57% of respondents have a side hustle, and 65% of them are age 18 to 34. Women are slightly more likely to have a side hustle than men. This can be attributed to the fact that an increased number of stay-at-home moms are contributing to the family income through side hustles._[1]

One example is Caroline Vencil, a stay-at-home mom who started an in-home daycare. She watched three kids and made an extra $375 per week doing activities she’d be doing anyway. “[It’s] a great way to make money if you love kids and have a lot of free time (and patience!),” Vencil said.

Not all side hustles require as much time as a daycare. There are a variety of ways to make money online and side hustles get more unique every year.

Take Jeff Neal of CritterFam, who sells bugs online. “I sell crickets, roaches, and super worms online to reptile owners,” Neal said. He puts in 15-20 hours of work per week and makes about $1,400 per month.

But what are other readers doing? Here’s how side hustles break down among DollarSprout readers:

• 32% are selling a service such as photography, house cleaning, or fitness training.
• 30% sell new and handmade items or flipping and reselling used items.
• 15% take online surveys, mystery shops, and other miscellaneous jobs.
• 13% participate in the gig economy via Uber, Lyft, InstaCart, Postmates, etc.
• 10% have multi-level marketing businesses such as Avon, Scentsy, or Rodan + Fields.

The most popular side hustle is selling a service, with 32% of readers engaging in this activity. The attractive part of selling services is that you can specialize in a field you’re already an expert in or one you’re passionate about, like Melanie Oates. Oates is a business intelligence analyst by day and styles hair on the side.

“My side hustle as a hairstylist began about 20 years ago while in middle school when someone approached me with a picture of Allen Iverson’s cornrows and asked if I could do the same style to their hair,” Oates said. “I eagerly accepted the challenge and have not stopped braiding hair since!”

Oates averages around $850 per month for 15 hours of work.

What’s the Average Side Hustle Income?

According to our survey, 73% of side hustlers make less than $200 per month. But nearly one in six people are earning at least $500 from their side hustle. So what sets apart a $50 per month side gig from a $1,000 one?

Some of it has to do with the side hustle itself. Of the percentage of readers making an average of $200 per month or more:

• 29% earn money through gig economy jobs.
• 24% make side income selling services.
• 19% make extra money selling items.
• 9% engage in multi-level marketing.
• 20% earn extra money via other forms of side hustles.

People working the gig economy had the highest chance of earning over $500 per month while less than 1% of multi-level marketing side hustles earned over $500.

But what we found that almost any side hustle can be profitable if you work at it. Take Jeff Moriarty for example. Jeff does SEO full-time and on the side, he sells Christmas stockings for pets.

“During the holiday season, I make about an extra $15,000, and about $500 a month through the other months of the year,” Moriarty said. It took him 25-30 hours to set up the site and 5 hours per month to manage it.

“Working on a seasonal site is nice because it allows me to work less most of the year,” he said. “[It] gives me a good amount of spending money to use on travel for the following year!”

Related: Why Weird Side Hustles Make So Much Money (and How to Find One)

Why Do So Many People Have Side Hustles?

Although travel is a big reason people choose to side hustle, it wasn’t the primary reason our respondents reported. In fact, 33% are using the extra funds to make ends meet and 45% use it for extra spending money.

This finding aligns with reports that even though more Americans have side hustles than ever before, average consumer spending is still higher than personal disposable income. And total consumer debt rose 7.6% last year._[2],[3]

But not everyone is spending their side hustle income; 22% are saving it for a big purchase. Caleb Rule has a marketing background and offers marketing services at Rule Your Competition as a side hustle. It allows him to challenge himself and grow professionally and the extra cash has been nice for practical reasons.

“As I’ve progressed in life into marriage and now fatherhood, the extra cash has been used to help pay off student loans, afford needed house repairs, and keep my little one from eating through my budget!” Rule said.

What Does This Mean for You?

These side hustle statistics have shown us that not all side hustles and work-from-home jobs are created equal. Some produce more profit per hour than others, while others require more effort.

When choosing a side hustle, asses your goals first. What do you want to do with the extra money? How fast do you want to earn it? What’s the right amount of work to add to your schedule? Once you know what your goals are you’ll be better able to choose a side hustle that fits your needs.

Your time is valuable so learn from the example of others and stick to the side hustles you enjoy and the ones that will earn you a wage worth your effort.

The post Side Hustle Survey 2019: Who Has One and How Much Do They Make? appeared first on DollarSprout.

Amazon just made dozens of cities jump through hoops to prove they were the right fit for their HQ2. They were very deliberate in why they chose the cities they chose._[1] Amazon knows that, when it comes to business (with the exception of businesses that are run entirely online), it’s all about the location.

While things are a little different for entrepreneurs and small businesses, some of the same factors still apply. Whether it’s better access to top talent, lower cost of living, or local economic growth trends, more and more entrepreneurs are scouting out new venues for their business ventures.

We analyzed all 50 U.S. states to determine the most entrepreneur-friendly places to start a business. Our research focused on three of the most important considerations for new business owners: cost, opportunity, and viability.

In order to determine where each state stands, we considered eleven factors including filing fees, median employee wage, 10-year business survival rates, and state economic growth trends. Each state received a weighted average score that determined its ranking.

The Best States for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners

Based on our calculations, these are the states you might want to consider when choosing your next business location.

1. Texas

Once again, the Lonestar State is not to be messed with.

Boasting low unemployment and a rock solid 6% economic growth rate, Texas continues to leverage its size, diversity, and vast resources to serve as a welcoming home for businesses.

The capital, Austin, is home to nearly 6,000 startups as well as major tech players like Google and Apple. The state also benefits from a significantly lower cost of living than its big state peers.

One interesting note about Texas: it’s one of only two states (Maryland is the other) to base its annual reporting fees on the gross annual revenue of the business. This is a sophisticated way to make its economic environment more amenable to business by charging proportionally instead of asking each venture to pay one flat fee.

2. Michigan

Michigan has a well-educated workforce, low business formation fees, and strong statewide economic growth at 5.4%. It also has a significantly high business survival rate, with over one-third making it to the 10-year mark. Even in its biggest city, Detroit, cost of living is remarkably low for this emerging hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship.

This state has a near-perfect combination of solid infrastructure coupled with resurgent energy and favorable low-cost economic conditions. These factors and more make it ideal for entrepreneurs and small business.

3. Louisiana

Turns out “The Big Easy” might refer to the ease of getting your small business up and running in the Pelican State.

Entrepreneurs can expect to benefit from lower labor costs (and a tighter labor market), a relatively modest cost of living, and a steady growth rate when setting up their new ventures in this deep southern state.

Not the mention the fringe benefits of delicious cuisine and a rich entertainment culture that will keep your employees happy during their free time.

Like Detroit, New Orleans is a hotbed for post-Katrina revival that is attracting top millennial talent in droves. If you can tolerate the sweltering summers down in the bayou, Louisiana is worth considering for your next small business project.

4. North Dakota

Don’t just fly over this entrepreneurial treasure trove in the Great Plains. Consider starting your next business in North Dakota.

With the highest 10-year business survival rate among the fifty states and a rock-bottom unemployment rate of 2.8%, the Peace Garden State is looking pretty good right now for entrepreneurs. Not to mention, North Dakota will go easy on your wallet with its very modest cost of living.

This is another sleeper state hungry to greet new entrepreneurs and small businesses.

5. Alaska

This state lives up to its nickname as “The Last Frontier” for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

While the climate and the distance from the mainland U.S. might deter even the most intrepid businesspeople, Alaska boasts one of the highest average annual income levels for sole proprietorships in the country. You’ll also find a labor market with a significant supply of available workers and a strong 10-year survival rate for businesses as well.

If you’re looking for an off-the-beaten-path option with a lot of upsides, head north to the 49th state.

6. Minnesota

In this case, “Minnesota Nice” isn’t just about manners. It also applies to the climate for new business ventures.

Zeroed out fees for a few filings, low unemployment, and a modest cost of living make the Land of 10,000 Lakes a great option for entrepreneurs. This state also offers an impressive business survival rate and strong economic growth rate. Minneapolis, in particular, has a rapidly growing tech scene.

If the winters aren’t a problem for you, consider the Twin Cities (and the rest of the state) as a location for your business.

7. Massachusetts

On the footsteps of Harvard and MIT, you’ll have no problem finding top talent in The Bay State.

Here’s what Massachusetts offers your venture: a tight labor market with well-educated workers, one of highest business survival rates in the country, and the third highest annual income level for sole proprietorships. Once you get past the state’s uniquely high business filing fees, there are many advantages to basing your business in Massachusetts.

8. Missouri

Missouri boasts low filing fees, strong economic growth, and one of the lowest costs of living in the country. The Show Me state is showing up for new businesses.

With a relatively modest median wage and a middle-of-the-road unemployment rate of 3%, chances are that you’ll find the right talent at a reasonable rate. Coupled with the low cost of living, all of these factors spell opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to put down roots in the Midwest.

9. Kansas

With strong economic growth and a remarkably low cost of living, The Sunflower State is fertile ground for the success of your new venture. A more modest median wage coupled with a moderate unemployment rate also spell a healthy and lower cost labor pool if you’re looking to hire Kansans.

You’ll also enjoy a higher-than-average annual income for sole proprietorships if you set up shop in the state of Kansas.

10. Montana

Montana is not kidding with its state motto of “Oro y Plata” (Gold and Silver). There is serious earning potential here.

Big Sky Country has a very strong economic growth rate to complement its high 10-year survival rate for businesses. With filing fees on the more modest end as well as lower labor costs than most states, Montana has created a healthy environment for entrepreneurs and small business.

Another sleeper pick with a lot of upside for new ventures.

The post 10 Best States for Starting a Small Business in the U.S. appeared first on DollarSprout.