I confess I like money. There. I said it.
Not only that, but the term side hustle has always lit me up. I don’t know what it is about the idea of it, but it almost feels like you’re cheating the system somehow. The minute you realize you have something that might generate some extra cash, all you need to do is carve out the time to do it.
This is what separates the doers from the talkers.
When you have a full-time job, and you have to go out of your home to get to it, like most of us, you can chop 11 hours out of your weekday. Then by the time you get home, do your family time, gym, shopping, or any other obligation, it pretty much looks like you have no available time. I mean, you have to wind down and relax a little right? Boom. That’s where it’s hiding. Right there on the couch, cuddled up with you, keeping you nice and comfortable.
And the weekend? Well, assuming you don’t work on the weekends, your family, friends, or favorite hobbies are reserved for that time, and that makes perfect sense.
The fact of the matter is, the people that find a way to have a side hustle, are finding minutes. They don’t try to find an entire free day, because that would be impossible. If you think that you don’t have a day to dedicate to that side gig, you’d be right.
Again, it’s in the minutes. And you have lots of those.
Side hustles aren’t just for those that want to add more money to their personal finances. Generally speaking, a hustle does so much more for you than put more cash into your wallet. They can give you a new perspective on your life, and here’s why:
So, let’s start with the extra money part
It’s time to remove the negative stigma of having more money. Money is freedom and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to have more freedom. So, now that that is out of the way, let’s go deeper into that idea. If paying off debt, or being able to save for a big purchase, a meaningful vacation, or giving more to the causes you want to support is your “why”, then that is enough reason to validate the idea of having more money.
But the point really is, that you don’t need to have supporting reasons to do that. It’s no one else’s job to make sense of what you have chosen to do with your extra time. You get to decide if shaving off a few minutes in your morning coffee time is worth it or not. If that extra few minutes gets the ball rolling to more money then so be it.
It’s something you actually love to do
There’s a big push for taking time for self-care, having balance, and being a well-rounded person, and it actually is important. But what you see happen most with a side hustle, is that the “hustler” is often pursuing something they actually love. A passion, a skill they have that they have determined isn’t a “real job.” If you are deciding to dedicate your extra time to creating designs in photoshop that you can post on a site that sells various items featuring your design, and make some money, how awesome would that be?
The time used for that is for doing something you love and enjoy, and that means it’s giving your balance. It’s not considered the time that goes into the “working” bucket, but rather the “enjoyment” or “fun” bucket. If you love it, you should be finding a way to do it, even for 20 minutes.
Building confidence in yourself
If you struggle with confidence, having a side hustle that garners some positive feedback, extra cash, or both is a great antidote for that. We like to feel good about things we do and have our talents recognized, and getting praise or paid for it definitely does that. Think of how good it feels when something that you have poured your heart into touches someone else in a similar way, and they rave to you about it. They may even trade money with you for it. That’s a powerful feeling, and it will build your confidence faster than just about anything else.
Allowing yourself to set new goals
If the side hustle starts to cause a few more Benjamins to trickle in, it can change your previously set goals. If you laid out a plan based on your current income that is somewhat static, having a little more can change those plans and allow for a shift in the previous goals. If your goal was to pay off debt by the end of the year, and you can do that several months sooner because of the increase in income, you can either set a new savings goal or accelerate the timeline for the big “why” goal. How good would that feel? Pretty good I would think.
Limits your dependency on outside sources
Your steady job and paycheck are a blessing, especially now, and you undoubtedly have gratitude for that. As you should. That said, you are dependent on that, and that is a fact. We all are. That income is the basis of everything in our budget, the top line. If your side hustle can add to that number and inch closer to the amount of that number, then each little bit of growth in that direction limits your dependency on that steady job.
Having a little financial cushion takes a little bit of the pressure off of you, and that’s not a bad thing at all. You feel more in control of your destiny, and that feels great. If you’re one of the real grinders in the side hustle world, you can even get to the point where that little side gig can become your main gig. Holla!
Growth is easier today than ever
Thanks to the internet and social media, and so many ways to get your idea, product, vision in front of people, it is now significantly easier to have it catch fire. You don’t have to find “the person to talk to”, or “work up the chain” of humans, you can go directly to the consumer, and that is the best way to grow your business, not to mention create direct relationships.
Last but not least, freedom
Full circle, back to the idea that money is freedom. You really can’t underestimate this. People worry so much about money, debt, and their bills that it seems to be a national hobby. Screw that. If you knew that you could ease some of that worry by adding a few hundred extra dollars to your budget a month with your side hustle, you’d do it in a heartbeat, right? Of course, you would. Free yourself and get after it.
Side hustles aren’t for everyone, of course. And after reading this you may decide that you’d rather not change your current lifestyle to pursue a little more cash. If that is the case, then it’s not for you. But if you can commit to finding some extra time to add your passion or hobby into your life, knowing it could be a moneymaker as well as a creative outlet or stress reliever, you’ll reap some real rewards.
It may not happen overnight, and that’s ok too. Even if it inches along, but you are enjoying it and getting some great feedback, it’s worth it. Side hustles aren’t usually get-rich-quick schemes, though they certainly have been for some. They are generally for those who are willing to wedge their idea into their day and let it gradually take root.
Patience is key, and as they say, The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit, so hang in there. It will be sweet.