It’s not an exaggeration to say that side hustles are everywhere today. You’ve likely heard the term “side hustle” before. It may have sounded intriguing or even piqued your interest, but you didn’t know exactly what it meant. What is a side hustle, and why would you want to consider having one?
Defining the side hustle
A side hustle is a side job, but there’s a bit more to it. A side hustle is an additional employment outside of your more traditional, full-time job that provides you with supplemental income.
In years past, this concept was called “moonlighting,” and was often frowned upon. But today, more Americans are working a side hustle than during any point in the last two decades.
With more than 44 million workers in the United States working outside of their traditional jobs, side hustles are not only accepted but having one is starting to become commonplace. And new side hustle opportunities are being created every day.
The rise of the side hustle
Side hustles had already begun to grow in popularity before 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic kicked this interest into overdrive. Almost overnight, millions of people began working remotely while many others lost their jobs. This environment created a catalyst for people to think about and create new ways to earn money outside of their day-to-day jobs. In 2021, 61.1 million Americans (24%) were planning to start a side hustle.
People cite many reasons for having a side hustle, but the most common reasons are to have more disposable income for spending, to cover regular living expenses, to put more into savings, or to diversify their income sources. You might consider starting a side hustle for one or more of these reasons or even another reason altogether.
While side hustles and passive income are most popular among the younger Millenial crowd (48%), Gen Xers (39%), and Baby Boomers (28%) are all getting into side hustles at a steady rate.
Reasons to start a side hustle
If you’re interested in making extra money outside of your full-time job or want to explore a new career, a side hustle might be for you. Here are some benefits of a side hustle and why you might start one:
Freedom and flexibility
Most often a side hustle is something that you control. This means you are your own boss, and can manage your own side hustle’s schedule.
By controlling your schedule, you can make your side hustle accommodate your full-time job and any other events or commitments you have. This gives you flexibility and the ability to maintain your full-time job.
Pursue your passions
Many people turn their passions or hobbies into their side hustles. This gives them the motivation to continue to work hard and drive forward despite setbacks or adversity.
Pursuing your passions as part of a side hustle might also allow you to develop your side hustle into a new full-time career, perhaps one you’ve always dreamed of having.
Develop new skills
A side hustle can be a way to develop specific new skills that may help make your side hustle successful, or even help you be more successful in your main, full-time job.
Small business owners can also use a side hustle to develop additional skills and experiences they can use to improve the productivity and even profitability of their own “primary” business.
Finance or invest in your business
Speaking of small business owners, embarking on a side hustle can also be a good way for you to generate additional cash flow and earn an income on top of operating your own small business.
You can take the additional income generated by a side hustle and invest it into your small business to further finance it and help it grow at a faster rate.
How much can a side hustle earn?
While results can vary, a side hustle has the potential to earn you quite a bit of additional income.
According to a recent survey, a typical side hustler earns an average of $625 per month from their side hustle. Of course, some earn thousands of dollars per month from their side hustle, too. It all depends on the side hustle you choose and how much time you have to devote to it.
One of the reasons millions of people have turned to side hustles is that they can generally be fairly easy to start. However, some side hustle ideas require larger time investments. For example, your side hustle’s growth may be limited by the number of clients you can take on at any given tim.
Examples of side hustles
When considering a side hustle, the world is your oyster. Your choice of side hustle is limited only by your imagination. Here are just a few of hundreds of varied side hustles that people are doing today:
· Driving or delivering food (like Uber or Door Dash)
· Renting Vacation Properties (like VRBO or AirBnB)
· Writing (like blogging or copywriting)
· Podcasting or YouTubing
· eCommerce reselling
· Bookkeeping
· Tax preparation
· Photography
· Creating or teaching online courses
Starting a side hustle
The thought of starting and running it alongside your day job can be daunting. If you’re determined to give a side hustle a go, like starting any business venture, planning is the key to success.
Start by visualizing it. If it’s something you enjoy and are passionate about, you are much more likely to be successful.
Ideally, you would devote a regular time slot to work on your side hustle, or at minimum, a certain number of hours per week. Think about how much time you can realistically devote to it without it interfering too much with your current job.
In summary
· A side hustle is additional employment outside of your more traditional, full-time job that provides you with supplemental income.
· A side hustle can provide you with more freedom and flexibility, an outlet to pursue your passions, a way to develop new skills, and more.
· Millions of Americans of all ages have started side hustles in the past few years.
· While results vary, many side hustles have the potential to earn a few hundred to a few thousand extra dollars per month.
· Side hustles can be easy to start and while a side hustle idea is limited only by your imagination, having a plan for how to integrate one alongside your day job is a good place to start.
