Side hustle. You’ve probably heard the term before, but what exactly does it mean? A side hustle refers to a job you can do in addition to your full-time job. Some side hustles take as much time and effort as your full-time job, while others may be almost completely effortless. I believe a side hustle does not actually need to be a job, but rather an additional stream of income and I also believe that everyone should have one.
I started blogging back in 2017 while I was working full-time as a senior accountant for a prestigious private school. At first, it was a hobby that I was doing just for fun. I was lucky enough to team up with another blogger (Keith, the owner of MoneyIsNotTaboo) to do a guest post. That first guest post then transitioned into me becoming a consistent and paid writer for the site, turning it into a side hustle. Now, 3 years later, I left my job to become a stay-at-home, but I am fortunate enough to still have a stream of income through blogging.
While my income from blogging is not enough to sustain my family’s living expenses, a side hustle can have the potential to outpace your full-time income. I know a girl who founded a custom beaded bag company on the side with a full-time job in fashion. She has since been able to quit her job, hire employees, get an office and live comfortably off the profits of Island to East Side. A friend of mine was working in Human Resources and started a training program in his garage on the side. While that did not pan out, he took that business failure and turned it into an extremely profitable nutrition company instead, Stronger U, which allowed him to quit his Human Resources job. Read more about his story here.
Even for those of us who haven’t been able to turn our side hustles into full-time jobs, or those of us who don’t want to, the income a side hustle brings you can still be significant enough to make a difference in your life. Let’s say your full-time job provides you with a salary that allows you to pay all of your bills, but that’s all. Income from a side hustle can provide you with money to pay off student loans, save for a down payment for a house, give you free spending money, make extra payments to principal on your mortgage, donate to charity, go on vacations, retire early, etc.
You get out of side hustles what you put into them. The more time and effort you put into your hustle, the more money you’ll make from it. The options for side hustles are also endless. Some examples I received from fellow Twitter friends/bloggers:
- Tutoring math (in exchange for weekly dinners!) – Bo @dollarbloggerbo
- Blog, mowing lawns, building cabinets, flipping cars, flipping houses, building and selling websites – Derek @LAMFinances
- Making jewelry – @masqueradejade1
- Bounce house pickups/deliveries, Uber and Lyft, selling kitchen cutlery, filing/editing videos, running part of the supply chain for an ecommerce store – K.P @hungry_being
- Zazzle – Chris @moneysavvymind
- Freelance catering – Darcy @wewantguac
- Buying and selling collectibles online – @dinkingaroundfi
- Landlord of a duplex – @frugalityonfire
- Renting out PSP – @zerotofinsafety
- Selling tickets to games as a season ticket holder, farm, tutoring Spanish – @javyandrade
Some other side hustle ideas:
- Dog walking
- Pet sitting
- House sitting
- Airbnb/VRBO
- Doing taxes
- Day trading
- Dividend investing
- Making/selling t-shirts
- Making/sell masks
- Etsy/eBay
- Poshmark
- Performing in a band
- Real estate agent
- Teaching an exercise class
- Photography
The list goes on and on and on. If you are passionate about something other than your full-time job, try to turn that passion into income for yourself!
For some more in-depth side hustle posts check out these below:
10 Brilliant Ways to Make Money Online – thedollarblogger.com
I Worked a Weekend Side Hustle. Here’s My Story. – wewantguac.com
Zazzle Side Hustle Review – moneysavvymindset.com
Interesting to see what other have done as Side Hustles. I was doing just such before the term came to be.
My first Hustle was selling toys out of my little red wagon, when I was a out 6.
My second Hustle was lawn care. I kept that business going from 13 to 20, turning it into a Side Hustle when I held jobs and started college.
I’ve also done lawn clean up, remodeling/home repairs, manufacturing, and freelance writing as Side Hustles. Only Side Hustles in the works right now are Money I$ Not Taboo and Vehicular Addiction (Brand I’m building.)
Yep, Side Hustles can be beneficial, both monetarily and for personal growth.