The art of the side hustle
Written by听Patrick C. Horton, MBA, DM/IST
Side hustles on the rise
In the past decade, the side hustle has emerged as a听dominant trend in career conversations.听And no wonder! It can be a convenient and personally gratifying way for professionals to earn additional income, whether for discretionary purposes or to make ends meet in
From freelance work to passion projects, figuring out how to monetize your talent and expertise opens opportunities to earn听extra money,听expand your network听and possibly even听transition your career.
What is a side hustle (and why might you want one)?
A side hustle can be described as a second job or source of income that individuals engage in outside of their primary employment. Typically, it鈥檚 something that individuals do听alongside their regular job听(but outside of regular full-time working hours) to earn extra money or pursue a passion or interest.
That translates to a great deal of听flexibility听that may be missing from your day job. You might work a corporate 9-to-5, for example, but offer professional photography services on weekends. Side hustle ideas, in other words, can be as expressive as you are, from freelance writing and consulting to teaching, coaching and being a virtual assistant.
Not everyone wants to or can take on a second job, of course. There are some听听out there too. For example, according to survey results compiled by Side Hustle Nation, the U.S. outpaces both the U.K. and Canada when it comes to holding down a second gig. And while every generation in the U.S. appears to embrace entrepreneurialism, only the younger generations report having a side hustle in Canada and the U.K.
So, what鈥檚 the appeal? Earning extra money, for starters. Side hustles can help you听work toward your financial goals, whether that鈥檚 purchasing a home,听paying down debt, increasing your discretionary income or even funding another side business or future primary business.
I personally consider myself a king of the side hustle. During the day, I work full time as vice president of program management for a Department of Defense company. In my spare time, I run a听听that offers career coaching, tutoring, and digital and print content. I also teach part time as a college professor and as a college workforce project content developer, roles that are not necessarily typical but that align with my education and experience. In this way, I鈥檝e made side hustling work for me and my interests.
In addition to earning a second or supplementary income, you might consider a second gig for the following reasons:听听
You have a passion project
If you have a particular passion, hobby or skill set, such as painting, fitness, writing, math or marketing, starting a side hustle related to that passion can let you make money while听doing something you love.
You want to develop new skills
A side hustle allows you to develop new skills. This can result not only in new skills for a secondary career but also improved skills for your current occupation.
You鈥檙e exploring a career transition
Instead of giving your corporate job two weeks鈥 notice before you commit to becoming a traveling musician, you can use a side hustle as a听way to explore the viability of a career transition.
For example, you can:
- Explore your interests: A side hustle allows you to test the waters of a new industry or field to determine if it aligns with your short- and long-term career goals.
- Test the viability of a career transition: Use your side hustle as an opportunity to test your business idea and your viability as an entrepreneur. If you want to run your own business one day, your side hustle can allow you to assess the market demand, perfect and refine your product or service offering, and validate your business plan and concept.
- Expand your network: It鈥檚 easier to connect with different agencies, professionals and future customers if you are working, even part time, in an industry outside your 9-to-5. This affords you insight to the pros and cons of an industry you may not know as well; plus, you have a better chance of spotting opportunities for a future career transition.听听
- Validate your core competencies: Developing a track record of accomplishments, achievements and satisfied customers provides evidence that you are competent in your (new) chosen field.
- Establish financial stability: Side hustles provide additional income you can use to pay for living expenses in an inflationary climate or while changing careers, or to fund a new business through its ramp-up stages.
How to choose a side hustle
There are many side hustle ideas, but how do you choose the right one that鈥檚 fun or lucrative, or both? When considering a side gig or career transition, you should start by evaluating your听skills, interests and resources.听This isn鈥檛 so different from听choosing a career, but side gigs often offer more flexibility. Where you might settle on a career based on the salary you鈥檒l earn and growth opportunities, for instance, a side hustle can let you take a chance on your interests and talent.
Here are a few side hustle ideas you might consider:
Freelancing
Providing your skills and expertise on a contract basis offers both flexibility and the chance to听expand your skills and portfolio. Consider opportunities like web development, content development, graphic design, virtual assistant, copywriter, social media account management, marketing management, language translation, coaching or consulting.
K-commerce
听requires little to no overhead. Once your knowledge product is complete, you simply place it online for sale. The trick behind a successful K-commerce business, however, is figuring out听what knowledge you have听that puts you two or three steps ahead of your dream client base. Ideally, your knowledge or expertise should help them听solve a problem or create an opportunity听for themselves.
With the right product in place, you can effectively market to your target group.
E-commerce
If your talent is more product-based than knowledge-based, you could start an e-commerce business that sells products on platforms like eBay, Etsy and Amazon. This business model can include anything from听reselling items听you access through a wholesaler to听creating new products听yourself.
Teaching and tutoring
With the proper educational credentials, you might be able to work as an听adjunct instructor听at the college or university level (I鈥檓 an online professor for听, for example) or as a听private tutor听in anything from math to Microsoft products.
Gig-economy work
The gig economy is full of diverse options. You could work for companies like Lyft, Uber or Fiverr to provide听ride-sharing听service,听delivery听service,听household cleaning听or creative work like听web design听services.听听
Online content creation
You could write an e-book or start a听YouTube channel, podcast or blog听where you share your knowledge, offer informed opinions or provide entertainment. You could become a social media influencer if you have enough of a message, niche or following. If being an influencer is not your preference, you could also explore managing social media for a small business.听
If you are successful, you can听听your media听by earning advertising, sponsorships and merchandise sales.
How to balance a side hustle with your day job
Balancing your side hustle with your day job requires effective听time management听and prioritization. It鈥檚 important to define clear goals (along with articulated steps on how to achieve them) regarding what you want to accomplish with your side hustle.
It鈥檚 also important to make sure you have the time to dedicate to an extra project. Sometimes, if you have small children or you鈥檙e still completing your education, there鈥檚 less time to dedicate to launching a side business.
If you do decide to pursue a side hustle, the fact is you have to听work it on off hours. That means before your workday starts or after it ends and on weekends. If you work your side hustle while on the company clock, you鈥檙e moonlighting, and that generally isn鈥檛 tolerated.
I recommend delegating and prioritizing as many side hustle tasks as possible to create efficiencies. If听outsourcing side hustle activities听is cost effective and available to you, it can be an excellent way to avoid burnout and ensure you are making the best use of your time. It can also free up precious hours for your commitments outside of work, like family time.
When I decided to create digital courses for my online k-commerce business, I hired a digital-course creation studio to handle the production end of things. This saved me time on production setup, content review and strategy on how to launch my course. I also hired a marketing company to build out my marketing profiles.
I also recommend听communicating your side hustle with your employer听to ensure it doesn鈥檛 conflict or compete with your day job鈥檚 commitments and organizational policies. I did this myself when I started career coaching. Since career coaching was unrelated to my corporate career, it was approved. This level of transparency provides you peace of mind that you won鈥檛 get in trouble (or fired) later, and it builds trust with your employer.
Career resources at 七色视频
As you explore opportunities in your career or side gig, UOPX is here to help. Discover the following resources!
- Free career resources:听Browse a range of downloadable guides and templates to help you optimize your LinkedIn庐听profile, get ready for a job interview and write a resum茅 and cover letter.
- :听Get career insights every week via UOPX鈥檚 LinkedIn newsletter.
- Career Services for Life: Available exclusively to UOPX students and graduates, this offering comprises complimentary career coaching, including guidance on how to build a personal brand and write a resum茅.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Patrick C. Horton, MBA, DM/IST, is the vice president of program management for Tampa Microwave, a college professor and a veteran U.S. Army sergeant. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Management with a specialization in Information Systems at 七色视频. He launched his business, Professional Career Transformations, in 2021 as a way to guide and encourage others to identify and pursue their career goals. He is a former member of Vistage Executive Coaching Group and a recipient of the Purple Heart in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and he lives in sunny Florida. Learn more about Dr. Horton and his commitment to helping others achieve their highest level of success by and be sure to watch this on his YouTube channel.
This article has been vetted by 七色视频's editorial advisory committee.听
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