What is a side hustle?

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I first heard the term “side hustle” about 5 years ago. My husband was invited to a panel to discuss and share his experience on the topic. 

As long as I have known him, he always had a side IT business in addition to his full-time job: building websites, leading a cryptocurrency group or building a running community online. I quickly realized that this type of activity was called a side hustle, or a side job, or a side gig.

After googling "side hustle", I came across two definitions that I like:

• “A side hustle is not a part-time job. A side hustle is not the gig economy. It is an asset that works for you. Picking up a few extra hours at the factory or at the coffeehouse is not a side hustle. Jumping on TaskRabbit or Uber when you feel like it isn't a side hustle, either.”
• “A side job, also informally called a side hustle or side gig, is an additional job that a person takes in addition to their primary job in order to supplement their income.”

I researched further and summarized what is considered a side hustle:

• You work on it outside of your day job – usually in the evening and weekends.
•  You will generate additional revenue with the activity but it won’t be your primary income.
•  You will work on the business consistently – not once a year.
•  You are usually your own boss and will work to make the business scalable. You can start as a dog walker but think about evolving the business into a dog walking company.
•  Your side hustle can become your full-time work overtime – if you make is scalable and start enjoying more than your full-time job.

Starting a side hustle will allow you to pursue a passion and exploit your strongest skills while increasing your income. Are you the baker of the family? You can start your own baking business and use social media to advertise your services. 

I put together a list of top 5 side hustle activities you can start today:

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1. Crafting services: create items to sell on Etsy or Facebook market.
2. Home services: House cleaning, Lawn services, baking, catering, moving services, babysitting services, handyman services.
3. Event planning: Wedding planning, Photography, interior designing
4. Online services: Social media community management, website and application development, blog freelance writing, virtual assistance, digital marketing.
5. Other services: Tax services, Tutoring, Coaching, real estate services.

After watching “Tidying up with Marie Kondo” on Netflix, I thought about starting a side hustle as a professional organizer. Read my next blog post to know more about it.

I would love to hear your opinion: will you pick a side hustle and why one?  Feel free to add other ideas to my list.

Sources

Unknown Author. (2019). Side job. Retrieved from URL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side_job

Unknown Author. (2018). What Is a Side Hustle? Definition of Side Hustle, Examples, Benefits of Side Hustles, and More. Retrieved from URL https://www.wonolo.com/blog/what-is-a-side-hustle

Damon Brown. (2017). This is the Best Definition of a Side Hustle. Retrieved from URL https://www.inc.com/damon-brown/this-is-best-definition-of-a-side-hustle.html