What is a good side hustle, and why do you need one?

We’ve all heard the term ‘side hustle’, but what does it really mean?

I’ve heard the term a lot in recent years. I’ve heard it used to mean additional employment outside of a regular, full time job. For example, people jumping onto Fiverr to earn some extra cash, or being an Uber driver at night and weekends.
A side hustle though is not an extra part-time job. A side hustle is not the gig economy, rather it is an asset that works for you.

So what is a side hustle?

A side hustle isn’t meant to be your primary income. Usually, side hustles are things that people have a particular passion for. I like to think of a side hustle as a business opportunity that someone starts that supports their personal growth, development, and entrepreneurial creativity, and to earn some extra money on the side.

The huge benefit of the side hustle is that it doesn’t require the huge commitment of leaving your current work or investing all of your time into something you’re not certain about. You keep your job and put whatever time you can into your new opportunity. It’s a win-win.

I meet people every day who would love to be able to follow their passions and start afresh with their careers, but for whatever reason, they feel as they can’t. They have concerns like:

• They can’t afford to quit their job to start something new
• They can’t afford to formally study to master what they’re passionate about
• They feel that they are ‘wasting their time’ pursuing something they love, or that it is somehow not a responsible thing to do in the face of other commitments
• Their families are relying on their existing income
• They feel they do not have the skill or capability required to try something new and be successful
• They don’t know if pursuing their passion will be something they can make work
• Reluctance or hesitation about making big changes in their lives
• They are worried about failing

For the majority of people, quitting your job to pursue your passion just can’t happen because of the reality of life – there are bills to pay and other people to take care of.

That’s where the side hustle comes in. You get to take a risk, that isn’t all that risky!

There is a famous quote that I love from the fabulous Tony Robbins. It is:

I love this quote, and I think it’s a great thought starter for people who want to make change, but haven’t yet. With a side hustle, you can make change and also retain the safety of your full time employment.

The top 5 reasons you need a good side hustle

1. Develop your skills, your experience, and your confidence

Even if you don’t start a side hustle for the purpose of developing your skills and experience, it is a likely outcome. Consider if your side hustle is to sell the artwork you’ve been creating online. You might learn how to build a website, build your brand, become more savvy with social media, develop a pricing strategy, learn more about marketing, engage with the community of buyers and understand their needs, and enhance your customer service skills. There are plenty more skills you will pick up along the way, all of which are transferable business skills.

There are other important things you will learn, too. Like whether you have the same passion for doing it as when you started, and whether you think it could turn into a profitable business. Either way, it will provide you with some clarity about what you want to do, or not do.

2. You will earn some extra money

One of the reasons many people start a side hustle is to earn some extra money. They may want to add to their savings, pay off their debts, or buy something that they wouldn’t be able to afford on just their regular salary. Whatever the reason, a good side hustle will generate some income for you.
If you are in debt, I truly believe that having a side hustle to pay off your debt faster is immensely valuable. You don’t want debt hanging over you and weighing you down.
If you’re really smart about it, you can use your side hustle to generate passive income for you, so it can work for you in the future. I’ll get to that in a moment.

3. It’s a low risk way to try something new, and anyone can do it

A side hustle is an awesome way to test the waters of other ventures without a full commitment. You don’t need to leave the security of a full-time job, or if you’re just not sure what you really want to do, side hustles can help you get there.

Ideally a side hustle won’t require much investment other than your time. There are so many side hustles out there, and you can find one that fits your passion and skill set if you really want to.

4. You have more time than you think

You think you don’t have time? But how much time do you spend watching Netflix?

As someone who never had time to do anything, it’s amazing how much extra time I managed to find by being smart about how I use it. When I started my side hustle, I was working full time with two young children. I managed to ‘find’ time by incorporating online learning into our weekend or after school activities. For example, if my boys had a sports lesson after school, instead of me waiting around doing nothing, I’d pull out my tablet and do an online learning module. Or I’d prepare a blog post. Or I would do something else that contributed in some way to my new business.

5. The Internet has made so much more possible

When you’re thinking about your side hustle, you don’t need to just think locally. You have the whole world at your finger tips! You can collaborate with people across the globe across a range of platforms.

You can do online learning without paying a fortune for it, and in many cases you can find excellent FREE online learning.

You can also do things online more easily now. Where things required technological expertise to set up a few years ago, there are now platforms you can access to set up online shops and websites that require no expertise. The possibilities are endless.

The best online side hustles

There are so many options! Here are just a few:

• Create a blog and monetise it
• Become an affiliate marketer
• Create online courses
• Set up your services to manage small businesses social media channels
• Write ebooks
• Create YouTube tutorials
• Sell products on Etsy
• Set up your own WooCommerce store
• Become a freelance article writer
• Create a smartphone app

The very best online side hustle

I’m going to share with you my very favourite side hustle, which in my mind is something that ANYONE can do. Everyone has a hobby or something they are passionate about. You can turn that into a nice little side hustle.

Say you have a passion for recreational fishing, you just love it and you know all there is know about it. You think you’d love to turn this passion into something that makes money, but you’re not sure how to do it. There are ways! You could start a blog about fishing, and sell fishing related products.

Using affiliate marketing techniques, you can build a website about recreational fishing, and write about and sell products that related to recreational fishing. You never need to physically own the products you sell, you just need to know about them, and how to write about them. Every time someone purchases a product through your website, you make a commission.

There is no limit to what you can promote online. If a product exists, someone needs to sell it, and affiliate marketing is an EXCELLENT way for a seller to move their products, as they don’t need to pay for advertising to make the sale. That’s why you get the commission on it. When you enjoy the topic you write about and post regularly, you start to gain authority in your niche, and your website becomes a trusted resource. Over time, if you choose to, you can build this into a lucrative and sustainable business.

Take the first step to start your online side hustle

You can have your own online affiliate marketing business, and it is much easier to start than you think. You don’t need to give up your day job to make a start, and you can learn as you go. You don’t need to have any experience in building websites, or in marketing. You will be taught all of this via online learning. The platform that I use takes you through the process step by step.

You don’t need to pay anything to sign up. You can create a login and password and check it out for yourself. If it resonates with you, you can sign up for a premium membership which will you allow a comprehensive suite of training, resources, and up to 50 websites (25 of your own domain, 25 siterubix), fully hosted. This is something you can do in your spare time – that’s the whole point of the side hustle, that you do it out of hours when it suits you.

I have written about the features within the platform here. Have a look for yourself and see what you think!

You don’t need to have any special skills to start a hide hustle, and the people you know who have side hustles aren’t special – they’ve just taken a step to do something new. It can be hard to take the first step, but once you’ve taken it, you’re well on your way.

You never know, you’re side hustle may become your full time gig, and it might even turn out to be more profitable than your existing job. In fact, if you work hard at it, it’s achievable.

Please leave me or a comment or a question and I’m always happy to help.