According to a Bankrate survey, 39% of Americans now have a side hustle. But for anyone who hasn’t started one, there are lots of questions about what exactly a side hustle is, how you find one, which ones are the most effective use of your time, how you manage to fit one into your schedule, etc.
Those are all valid questions, but I fear that a lot of people spend too much time asking questions and not enough time getting to work, especially if they want to pay off debt or start investing. The reality is that if you need to increase your income, you just have to get started. Your debt will continue piling up, that financial stress will continue to permeate your life, and you will keep seeing your goals and distant dreams.
If that last sentence didn’t convince you, here are seven reasons to start a side hustle today:
1. Extra Money Makes Everything Happen Faster
Right now, I want you to think about what your financial goals are. Do you want to pay off your student loan debt? Be done with credit card debt? Start maxing out your yearly IRA contributions?
Those are fantastic goals, but here’s the problem—you only have so much money to go around. With what you currently make, it could literally take you decades to meet your goals. But if you picked just one of the dozens of side hustle ideas out there, you could start earning $500, $1,000, $2,000, $5,000, or more every month. That money will expedite your debt payoff, your retirement contributions, and so on.
On the other hand, some of the most successful people in the financial world say that you need to “do what the numbers tell you to do” when you’re trying to decide between paying off your debt or investing. While I’m a huge fan of paying off student loans and high-interest-rate debt as fast as possible, I agree that investing often makes more sense from a numbers perspective, assuming that you’re not dealing with a ton of high-interest debt.
But what I don’t think is taken into consideration is the mental effect of tens of thousands of dollars of debt. In my experience, having debt loom over me like a dark cloud was a weight I struggled to bear.
The truth is that debt sucks. It’s more than a number; it’s a feeling.
However, side hustles can get rid of the stress and anxiety caused by debt that much faster. You save money on interest charges, maybe throw some cash into an emergency fund to prevent future debt, etc.
And going back to the numbers, more money means you can start investing that much sooner. Or you can invest and save while you’re paying off your debt because you have extra money to do so.
The bottom line here is that you need to make more money. It’s really that simple.
2. You Probably Have More Time Than You Think
One of the biggest objections people have about starting a side hustle is a perceived lack of time. I get it. You work all day, make dinner when you get home, there’s laundry, your kids need you, you’ve got to make your lunch for the next day, etc.
Maybe you don’t have enough time—those cases are legitimate. But I’d argue, that in most cases, you really do have the time to start a side hustle.
Here’s why I think you might have more time than you think: the average person spends 1,300 hours a year on social media or 3.5 hours a day. That’s Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, etc. I know it’s a way to unwind and escape a little bit throughout your day, and trust me, I do it too.
But what if you tried to cut one hour of your social media time-spend and put it towards a side hustle? That’s just one hour a day.
I know what you’re thinking. How is side hustling one hour a day going to help me? Here’s what I’d say to that:
- I’ve spoken to food delivery drivers who take an order or two on their way home from work and make $20 to $25 in the hour it takes to do so.
- Remote bookkeepers dedicate approximately five hours a month to each client, and they make $500 to $1,000 per client.
- Running a Facebook ads side hustle, like I did for years on the side of my blog, pays $1,000 to $2,000 a month per client, and most clients require only 5 to 10 hours of work each month.
- While it’s not my favorite side hustle because of how little it pays, you can make around $3 an hour taking online surveys on your phone.
3. Side Hustles Are Achievable for Everyone
One of the things I love about side hustles is that there’s something for any and everyone. No matter what your education is, the field you work in, or your interests, there is something for you. Really, the only skill all side hustles require is motivation. Once you’ve got your reason for side hustling—like paying off debt or retiring early—you can start making things happen.
Take my all-time favorite side hustle idea, running your own digital marketing agency. That sounds like a job that requires a degree or a background in marketing, maybe even advertising. But no, it’s something you can learn how to do from the comfort of your own home and make an extra $1,000 to $2,000+ every month.
Running digital ads is a legit side hustle idea. See, doing digital marketing on Facebook is a growing industry as small business owners start to realize that they can leverage Facebook’s massive audience to reach new customers. But, and here’s where you come in, most small business owners lack the time it takes to learn and run an effective ad strategy.
As I mentioned, running Facebook ads is the exact side hustle I did after leaving my teaching job to run this site full-time. I didn’t go to school for marketing; I learned it on my feet and the hard way. But after landing my first client and then another and another, I was quickly out earning the teacher’s salary I left behind.
But here’s the deal, running Facebook ads isn’t the only skill you can learn. You can learn how to work as a proofreader, freelance writer, or bookkeeper. There are others that use skills you probably already have, like cleaning houses, walking dogs, or lawn care.
I truly believe there’s something out there for everyone.
4. The Way We Make Money Will Continue To Change in the Future
If you haven’t noticed, the gig economy is the way of the future. And if you need proof of that, check out these statistics found in the 2022 Freelance Forward study done by Upwork:
- 39% of the U.S. workforce, or 60 million Americans, performed freelance work in 2022.
- Freelancers contributed approximately $1.35 trillion in earnings to the U.S. economy.
- 73% of freelancers surveyed say that freelancing as a career continues to be seen in a more positive light.
- Financial gain, flexibility, and control are the top three driving forces for freelancing.
And in a recent study by MBO Partners, 82% of organizations report that independent contractors make up at least half of their workforce. The top reasons for hiring contingent workers are greater access to specialized skills, ensuring the consistency of quality work, and reduced costs.
Trends like what we see in those data points are why I’m so focused on helping people find online side hustles. The internet is where we learn, play, and work these days. The earlier you get on board, the easier it will be to learn new technology and platforms that many online side hustlers use regularly.
5. Diversifying Your Income Protects Your Financial Well-Being
Here’s the harsh reality: when you have one job or one income stream, your finances are at a significantly higher risk if something happens to that job.
What if your workplace joins the growing list of companies laying off this year and your job is on the line? Having a side hustle can keep you afloat while you look for more work. You’re less likely to rely on credit cards or dip into your retirement savings if you have extra money coming in. You can also build up your emergency savings so you’re prepared for a potential layoff.
Also, there are a number of passive side hustles where you aren’t trading time for money. Just think, you could build a passive income stream now to bring in more income, and then be prepared if something happened to your 9-5 job.
The internet has made it easier for companies to spend less money on traditional employees. A side hustle can take advantage of the wide variety of freelance work available while mitigating future risks.
6. It Could Become Your Full-Time Gig
When I started my site, I never anticipated that blogging would become my full-time job. I’ve seen this same thing echoed by countless readers, some of the freelancers who work for me, and other personal finance bloggers I know.
For most people who turn their side hustle into a full-time job, it means they are switching to full-time self-employment, which includes a lot of perks, like increased flexibility, scaling your income over time, and being your own boss.
At the same time, there are disadvantages to working for yourself, like your income probably won’t be as steady in the beginning. But this is one of the best reasons to start a side hustle now. You can build demand and your client list while earning a steady income for your day job.
The point is that the option is out there. And it’s not called a side hustle because it’s easy—earning a full-time income from your side hustle takes work. If leaving your day job is your dream, then side hustles are one way to make it happen.
7. If You Don’t Start One, Someone Else Will
There is a lot of room in the online space for new side hustlers, but why let someone else get a headstart on earning money that you could be making instead?
The people who have already started side hustles have already done the hardest parts of starting one—they took a leap, found a side hustle, and got to work. These people have jump-started paying off their debt, saving for retirement, and diversifying their income.
Honestly, the hardest part is getting started. There are so many side hustle ideas out there, and all it takes is finding one that you’re interested in and fits your situation, and I have an entire list of recommendations here to help you.
Don’t be the person that wished they started a side hustle last year. Start making more money today.
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