A new term has been coined that describes a very common activity among professionals and workers in all walks of life. The term is “side hustle”.
The idea behind side hustle is to have a day job that pays the bills while you are working on your dream situation. The urban dictionary describes a side hustle as:
“A side job that brings in cash; something other than your main job. Maybe playing weekend gigs or life coaching.
Amy Tobin has spent a lot of time considering the future of work in the US and have spent hundreds of hours doing qualitative research with Millennials. Consider this:
- 27 percent of GenY is self employed, and a Pew Research study says that ‘many to most’ Millennials stated a desire to start their own business. 27 % of them are currently self employed.
- GenX is also incredibly entrepreneurial, also out of necessity.
In some regard, side hustle is no different from finding a second job. Any source of income over and above your day job is a second job.
However, people dedicated to running a true side hustle find far greater reward in the outcome of that effort. To have extra income, rather then merely succumbing to the pressures of having a second employer, side hustlers run their own shows. The hopes and dreams of what might become of the side hustle keeps you inspired and creates a new sense of freedom.
If you are still looking at the idea of starting a side hustle, I am going to do you a favor. I’ve compiled a list of common side hustle reference sites, all gathered right here for easy reference.
The Top 68 Side Hustles: Add Some More Money to Your Life
There are so many more. Just Google the term ‘side hustle’. There are 3.4 MILLION references! You will have hours of research to keep you busy. Clearly this is a trending topic.
However…..
As with any entrepreneurial startup, there are a few key considerations to ponder to decide whether you have the stomach for such an endeavor.
1. Startups are hard. Anyone who has made an honest effort at delivering a credible product or service i.e. adding value to the world, will tell you it takes honest hard work. There is only one true way to get rich quick and that involves winning the lottery (I include inheritance as a lottery win with better odds).
2. Not everyone will be an entrepreneur. It takes a special sense of self worth to venture out and start something new. It is not for the faint of heart. The pessimists will be banking on you to fail. The introverts will not believe you can reach out to the world. Even a few well-meaning family or friends may shoot you down before you get started. This is why so many side hustles stay under wraps until momentum builds.
3. There are no overnight successes. Everyone I’ve ever met who is close to being considered an overnight success has actually worked years to make it happen. Usually the story involves numerous failed attempts to build the product or platform the right way, finding the “WOW” factor. Even Facebook started small and took a while to gain its first 1 million users.
4. It takes a special sense of work-life balance. Time management is a huge factor in side hustle. Maximizing the use of your hours before and after the day job can be tricky. It is especially hard if a spouse is not on-board with the business idea.
Ah, but for those brave souls who do venture out and endure, well, the reward is more than the cash you take home. The satisfaction and fulfillment for knowing you made it usually drives you to keep it going.
Side hustle may be the new term, but the spirit of entrepreneurship is as old as world commerce. Every great entrepreneur often started out with a side hustle. Most of the Shark Tank participants are side hustles. The list of businessmen who started in their garage (Hewlett Packard) or in their car (Ross Perot) is legend.
Want some help getting it going?
If you are just starting out to launch your first side hustle, let me share some advice. You can schedule a time with me or one of my business experts at HeadwayExec. I will schedule an introductory phone/Skype interview to hear your plans, answer questions and provide tips. You can get all this is a 45 minute session for $75.
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Or just want to know more? Visit HERE.
PS – What I just offered you is not a side hustle. It’s my life’s work. I love helping new, first time business leaders and entrepreneurs. You are the future of your country. I’m here to help get you to the next level of success.
[reminder]Have you considered starting a side hustle? Do you already have one going?[/reminder]
