The challenges of a side hustle

Look at these key points from a CNBC article:

“KEY POINTS

• The advent of the gig economy and platforms that make it easy to find flexible work outside of business hours has nearly a third of workers maintaining a side hustle in addition to their regular jobs.
• Two-thirds of side hustlers say they took on a second job in order to have more spending money, and 56% do it to increase their savings, according to CreditLoan.com.
• One study found that the first-year cost of an entrepreneurial side hustle was more than $16,000.
• Many side hustles involve long hours and put one’s full-time job at risk.”

Starting and maintaining a side hustle is not always easy. It may not always be this cool entrepreneurial opportunity you thought you were working on. While side hustles are a great way to pursue your passion, build new skills and bring extra money, they do come with some challenges:

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1. Not enough time.

“Every hour that you spend working is an hour that has to come from somewhere else in your life, whether that’s sleep, leisure time or your time with family and friends.” says Alexandrea Ravenelle, author of Hustle and Gig: Struggling for Survival in the Sharing Economy."

You have a full-time job and you might be a parent and you might have a dog. You probably have a few hours (or minutes) left in the day for yourself. Let alone time to start a new activity. To tackle this, try to create a schedule where you allocate a good number of hours a week. You may have to cancel your weekly dinner with your high school friends but it is good for the long run.

2. Conflict of interest with your day job.

Make sure to check your company policy before starting your new gig. Some companies do not allow employees to have a side activity.

Do no work on your business during your work hours. Do not neglect your day to day job because you find your side hustle more interesting.

3.  Not enough income at the beginning.

It will take time to get your first clients. And then your first 10 clients. Keep advertising your business online but also use the word of mouth. And sometimes the payment from the client will come late.

Source:

Beth Braverman (2019). Here are 5 myths about side hustles you can’t afford to ignore. Retrieved from URL https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/19/here-are-5-myths-about-side-hustles-you-cant-afford-to-ignore.html