According to a 2018 survey conducted by Bankrate.com, 37% of American adults claim to have a side gig—a second source of income. And, according to the Hustle, the average extra cash flow equals about $12,609 each year with about 11 hours per week.
This so-called “gig economy” in which people work short-term engagements for goods and services is not a new idea, but with the growth of technology, it has expanded. The share of the US workforce earning money this way has increased over the last 10 years, correlating with the rise of the smartphone.
There’s a wide variety of side hustles available—everything from real estate to selling handmade crafts. Naturally, some gigs are more lucrative than others and how people spend their extra cash also varies. Some use it to save and invest, others use it as disposable income to travel or pay for a hobby, and some pay off debt. While types of jobs, earning potential, and how we spend our extra money widely differ, one thing is for sure: every day we’re hustlin’.
If you find yourself in the ever-expanding search for a side hustle, we have a few tips to get you going.
Tip #1 — Follow Your Passion
Spoiler alert! If you choose to spend your precious and limited free time doing something you don’t love, it’s going to be difficult (though not impossible) to stay focused on achieving your goals. Instead, take a talent inventory. What are you naturally gifted at? What could you teach people? What things do you love to do? Start there.
Tip #2 — Find Your Niche
Once you have a list of potential opportunities, it’s time to get focused and find your specialty. In other words, this is how you will stand out from the competition. Lynda Falkenstein, author of Nichecraft: Using Your Specialness to Focus Your Business, Corner Your Market and Make Customers Seek You Out, suggests that a good niche won’t fall into your lap, it has to be carefully crafted. She says, “Smaller is bigger in business, and smaller is not all over the map; it’s highly focused.”
Tip #3 — Establish a Routine
There are 168 hours in a week. Let’s assume that you spend 40 of them working your regular job and 56 (that’s probably a stretch) sleeping. That leaves 72 hours for everything else from eating, grooming, exercising, and relaxing. What if you set aside just 5 hours to start your side gig? That’s one hour a day on weekdays. Don’t think that’s doable? Evaluate your time and track it for a week. You might be surprised by the amount of Instagram scrolling or TV watching, for example. You will need to give up some things to make this work.
Tip #4 — Be Brave
Don’t be afraid to fail. As Brené Brown says, “You can choose courage, or you can choose comfort, but you cannot have both.” No matter what you choose to do to bring in extra cash, creating it is going to push you. Period. Do not be fooled by the appearance that others create of their super-successful side hustle. You don’t know what they did to get there.
Tip #5 — Have an Abundance Mentality
Have you ever noticed what happens when you buy a new car? Suddenly, everyone has the same car. But that just isn’t the case. When you start out on your side hustle journey, you will find others doing similar things. Don’t let it discourage you. Stephen Covey explained this as shifting from a scarcity mentality to an abundance mentality where there is more than enough for everyone. So arm yourself with abundance and every time you see something similar, just say to yourself, “Good for them; look at them rocking their side hustle too!”
This is just a jumping off point. You can find a plethora of information and inspiration to get hustlin’. Just open the gates and seize the pay! If you’re on the hunt for a sweet side hustle, we just so happen to have a brilliant opportunity in mind. Become a Xyngular Distributor—naturally, it’s our favorite of all the side hustles.
