Ever notice how many people have a side hustle these days?
I was at a networking event a few weeks ago for people in the financial services industry and met so many who had some sort of side hustle. I met someone who had an event planning services, another a personal shopping service, and yet another had a web development business.
They all manage their side businesses during evenings and weekends with the goal of make more money while keeping their day jobs.
In the last few years, I’ve become all about personal finance. I’ve been budgeting my butt off and been as frugal as possible. I”m not exactly peeing in a bottle to save on my water bill, but gone are the days when I’d run to Starbucks 3 times a day, get my nails done just for the fun of it, or buy a bag because I thought it’s was cute.
My reasons for this drastic change:
- I got tired of being controlled by my finances and decided to control my finances instead
- I want to work hard now so I can relax later
But is cutting out lattes and mani/pedis going to make me rich? Not a chance! Budgeting is great for helping me manage my money, but there’s only one way to increase wealth…
Making more money!
Most people are lucky to get an annual 2% salary increase. Even if that awesome promotion comes along with a $5,000 salary increase, it’s not going to make much of a difference at the end of the day. My take on this is that in addition to your day job, it’s easiest to make more money by hustling!
If having a side hustle can bring in $10,000 – 15,000 a year, it’s definitely worth it.
The question is: what type of side hustles can be done while maintaining a day job?
1) Freelance
More and more companies are outsourcing a lot of services to cut their costs. If you have some type of marketable skill like web design, graphic design, content development or public relations, you can also use elance.com or flexjobs.com.
2) Virtual Assistant
One of the best things about becoming a virtual assistant is that you can work from anywhere and often, any time. It includes things like doing marketing research, data entry and assisting with administrative duties that can be done virtually. You can work in your pajamas or in the evenings when you get home from your day job. The site taskrabbit.com offers a list of virtual assistant jobs
3) Waitressing
I’ve actually interviewed professionals who have second jobs as waiters and waitresses. It’s a great idea because it’s something you can easily do outside of the typical 9 – 5 hours if those are your work hours. Not to mention that if it’s a relatively good restaurants, the tips alone would make it worthwhile.
4) Personal Assistant
There are countless people who are so busy that they can’t manage to pick up their dry cleaning, grocery shop, etc. Why not offer them that service and run your errands at the same time?
5) Cleaning Business
Whether you’re cleaning offices or residential properties, it’s not easy. But starting a cleaning business is a relatively easy business to begin with very little start-up cash. Again, the hours are also flexible enough that you would be able to maintain your day job.
The key to having a successful side hustle is to identify a need and provide that service while maintaining your day job.
Have you ever had a side hustle?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Yup, from tutoring to mystery shopping to freelancing. Waitressing is also pretty conducive to fitting around normal hours, though I haven’t done it since I was a student.
Mystery shopping is a great way to make some extra income on the side while actually enjoying yourself. I used to be a Movie Theater Mystery Shopper and getting paid to watch movies and eat popcorn was great!