My friend’s teenage daughter informed her the other day that she was enrolling in a nail technician class at high school.
The friend, who has been prepping her daughter for a good college education since she was a toddler, was less than thrilled.
“Why are you taking a beauty school class instead of an advanced placement academic class? Wouldn’t that be better for college?”
“MOM,” she said in an exasperated tone that only teenagers do perfectly, “Doing nails is my side hustle to help pay for college. I can do it anytime, in the dorms, and there is a ready market if I need some extra cash.”
My friend went from worry to admiration for the enterprising spirit of her daughter.
We all need a side hustle.
If you are still working in a corporate job, a side hustle is a great way to test and try new business ideas. It can also be part of your backup plan in case you lose your job. Examples of side hustles I have seen from corporate employee clients and friends over the years:
- Web design
- Home organizing
- Writing and editing
- Coaching
- Computer maintenance
- Massage
- Tax preparation
- Personal training
- Yoga
- Consulting
- Catering
- Photography
A good side hustle will have the following characteristics:
- You like it
- You are good at it
- You are very clear who your market is (for example, if you are good with computers, you could offer your services to other homeowners in your neighborhood on your community bulletin board or in a newsletter)
- You can generate a decent amount of quick cash in a short period of time
- It does not require an extensive website or ongoing brand-building efforts like a more substantial small business. But more substantial businesses can and do emerge from side hustles.
- It will not get you thrown in jail (dealing crack, while profitable and possible from your home, is not recommended)
The side hustle does not only apply to corporate employees, it can also be a great backup for small business owners affected by shifting markets or slow sales.
You are absolutely right! I love my “side hustle” as a graphic designer & web designer. And you tell your friend’s teenager daughter that she is brilliant. I love seeing young people with such ambition!
Your friends daughter is a very smart girl and I know her Mom is VERY proud of her. If only I had that mindset at that age. Anyways, the first I heard of this concept was after I was already done with college AND had two small children. It’s taken me some time, but I am now working on that side hustle which will hopefully become my full time career. But wait, that means I’ll need to find another side hustle?
Hi Pam:
This is a great article. A side hustle is a perfect way to test the entrepreneurial waters (or even satisty your entrepreneurial cravings) without having to take all of the risk. As long as you are clear with your customers so there are no misunderstandings, the side hustle has a lot of benefits.
Two notes I would make about the side hustle (or as I sometimes call a “jobbie” a hobby disguised as a job or a business):
- Set a budget: I have seen a lot of jobbyists spend way too much money on inventory, supplies etc. up front- way more than they can ever recoup
-Don’t do this if you have a bona fide business you are trying to grow; businesses require focus, so hustle to test, make extra cash or fulfill a passion, but don’t compete with your business!
Carol Roth
Writing and photography.
I love the phrase “side hustle”!!!
A good friend and I started an online sex toy company that caters to women over 35. We both have day “jobs” as self employed entrepreneurs and needed to make extra money to help put our kids through college. Our new business venture is proving to be really quite lucrative and we are expanding the business to create intimacy kits for hotels and travelers.
Love this! My side hustle was resume writing when I needed money to finish my Ph.D., and it evolved into a full-time career coaching business that I ran for 10 years. I didn’t plan it that way but it worked out well. My next side hustle will be writing about people’s lives as that is my favorite thing to do.
I am a firm believer that everyone does need a side hustle. I don’t have one specifically, but when I need some quick cash I look to flip items I find in discount stores or on sale racks, on ebay or craigslist, geared toward a pretty specific group of people. I have worked out relationships with some sellers to act as a middleman so as to avoid many of the fees and hassle. This has worked out for me a few times and with little financial risk because I always make sure everything can be returned. Not very lucrative, but fun, and sometimes effective.
As an aside, you “never sell no crack where you rest at” in the immortal words of the late Biggie Smalls. Haters will presumably “send shells where your vest at.”
Carry on.
Thank you for the clarification Mr. Jackson.
Excellent post. Now I need to figure out a side hustle. Ditch digging? Lawn mowing? Dish washing?
Hey Pam,
IT’s funny because I even wrote a post at under30CEO called why your day job is no longer enough. I’m huge proponent of everything you are advocating here. AS somebody who graduated from an MBA 8 months ago and finally found a job in January, I was forced into a side hustle. But that side hustle (my blog) has really paid off and now actually pays my rent. Thanks to freelance blog design work and social media consulting for local businesses I”m in a better place than I’ve been my whole life. I think that if you have any skill it can be turned into a fairly lucrative side hustle.
When I was a personal trainer, I had the opportunity to meet some cool people with very interesting side hustles. I met an animal rights lawyer whose professional work was often unpaid and who made her living teaching aerobics courses. I was surprised and delighted to meet a couple of people who made money at day jobs like “Screen Actors Guild-member actor” (in SF, where there are a lot of films) and “nightclub musician” to support what seemed like less glamorous career goals like, “I really want to pass my civil service exam”!
As for me, I recently had my CV/resume/summary/marketing piece reworked by a professional. She validated how difficult it has been to write these documents myself. I’m a side hustle master – resulting in a lot of long relationships with organizations wherein I’ve been a consultant, a volunteer, a board member, and a staff member to the same organizations or, within the context of “a job” done weirdly varied stuff like “taught ergonomics seminars to technology professionals” and also “provided business analysis to Fortune 500 companies.”
It’s obvious my true calling has some elements of broker-connector. I have yet to figure out how to monetize that!
My side hustle when starting my businesses and paying for college was always tending bar
Good piece
Mine is dog training. I’ve worked in agency for many years, and started a dog training business last year. Then was recently laid off (via loss of large client), so now trying to see if my side hustle can become primary hustle. Or do I need a side hustle to my side hustle! But it’s amazing when your work doesn’t feel like work!
Pam,
This such good advice, but I think there are some significant components that need to be mentioned to those entertaining this. These are especially important the older you get and the more you have going on in your life (kids!).
There are three predominant thoughts on making a side gig a full time gig.
1. I work 50 hours a week, and for a side gig to be successful, it would take an additional 40 hours per week AT LEAST! — This is simply not true. depending on what you are trying to do, and what the competitive landscape looks like, you may have to work harder than others, but it is variable. which leads me to #2:
2. It’s 2010, and the internet, I should be able to build something in an hour that makes me money. — Also not true, in the world of transparency and genuine interaction, sweat equity is king. Don’t be surprised if you side gig isn’t generating a second incoming in 15 days. Follow other metrics for success short term: am I getting talked about in blogs, tweets and other places? Is my traffic going up?
3. I have to “work my face off” for years to get a second gig going, and I am not willing to do that! — Also not true. While you absolutely need to prioritize and schedule your time, you don’t have to abandon the rest of the world. You need to determine what matters, in order: family, kids, friends, etc. Make a commitment to yourself that you are going to stick to a schedule, and include the important people around you in your plans. For example: say your day job consumes you from 7:30-5:30. I would:
1. Commit to taking a one hour lunch each day to just go clear your head, you will need it with the additional workload after hours.
2. Spend 5:30-8:30 with the family and kids, tuck the kids in and kiss the S/O goodnight.
3. “Work your face off” from 8:30ish until 11, 12, 1…whatever you can sustain long term.
4. Commit that part of the weekend is just for the kids, or friends if you are single, something 100% not work related. No iphone, no blackberry, just relax.
5. Commit that one night a week, or every other week, is date night. Again, no iphone, don’t even bring it, and if you have to (babysitter connect) put it in your pocket, prove to that other person that they are primary to you.
These simple breaks will keep you going long term, will put the people important to you in your camp, give you some rest to clear your head and will give you an opportunity to bounce your work off of friends and family, they may point out things you didn’t see.
Establish benchmarks, where do you plan to be in 3, 6 and 12 months, if you are not there, consider your next move.
it isn’t easy, but it is quite possible, and I admire every single person that does it.
Erik
http://ErikBoles.com
http://twitter.com/ErikBoles
I found this post very thought provoking.
I am a DBA by day, and an aspiring blogpreneur at night. Right now, I guess I would have to say my blog is my side hustle. But I am looking at taking that hustle and transforming it in to my main gig. What I had not considered was how keep my current day job around as a side hustle in the future, to help tide me through when/if times get tough. Your post has gotten my weals spinning.
Pam – Great thought process here. This is actually why I started my own business. I found that my passion was running my own thing. And honestly, if it turns into something that can become my full-time, then I’ll move in that direction. But at this time, I enjoy the security of my full-time gig but I love my “side hustle” even more. Make decent money with 2 hours a week of work is a ton of fun.
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My side hustle is weight training, my passion for 23 years. I eat, sleep, dream new ways to make it more awesome than it already is. My goal is to see the doctor only for physicals and that’s what I want for everyone!
The thing is when do you decide to leave your cubicle for the side hustle that you love?
That is the question of the day. Still trying to figure that one out but I have figured out there is no perfect time.
Excellent piece of insight Pam. I now have a word to describe the development of my website and hope to spread the concept to others I know by leading by example.
P.S. your book is fantastic!
Funny joke about the crack, got me thinking about all the side hustles I can come up with, or have in my side hustle stash.
Dara Bell
My side hustle is writing books. Pam, whats urs?
I live this post. Such good advice (as usual).
True story: My side hustle in college was making fake IDs. Posterboard, Polaroid, Laminate, Iron – the whole bit.
It went well, too, until one day I heard a doorman say at a Tucson bar, “There sure are a lot of kids from Idaho at this school.”
Maybe a follow-up post on “knowing when your side hustle threatens your main gig”?
Listen to Pam talk about the side hustle;http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bjmoltz/2010/04/02/75-pam-slim-dan-janal-tom-abbott-and-sally-duros-a
[...] do do the Side Hustle: Make sure there is water in the pool before you [...]
Wow – smart kid! I also like Erik’s comment – he laid out some great points. My side hustle is getting paid for referring people to Melaleuca. My main hustle is working with small businesses to establish social media plans. My hours are whacked – it really varies from day to day depending on the clients.
I needed to have an extra source of income (and frankly, who doesn’t?) and going to work for someone else was not going to cut it. I’ve been a Melaleuca customer since 2004 and know the products are great. I don’t have to sell products – I just introduce people to the company and get paid commissions. I get paid for my hustle – and I love that!
Link? yup – http://www.debrareneebrown.com But don’t go there if you are not interested.
Once again – love the post!
@debworks
Side hustle! I love it! Everyone needs one or two…even a side hustle to a side hustle for that matter. Every person who has their own business needs a side hustle to pick up the slack during slow time because there is going to be a time, especially starting out when you haven’t made the progress you thought you should make and you are thinking about giving up…the side hustle can keep your dream alive and make up that shortfall from your business venture. Great term!
Great article on the ‘side hustle’ for a corporate employee like myself. Since the average workweek is still at one of its lowest points in years and employment opportunities are a lagging indicator of the recovery, these points provide good insight into the process.
I have one as a tax preparation business and thinking about starting another one this summer.
One thing I would caution for the corporate employee, is that many companies have policies where you have to report ‘moonlighting’ activities such as this. It is gray area as one defines ‘privacy’ versus ‘employment contract’. In my company, a Big 4 accounting firm, they have explicitly stated employees should seek approval for things such as this. Many companies do not want the attention from an employee that could potentially end up in the media.