Finding Your Sidehustle

Is a side hustle right for me?

Finding Your Side Hustle

By Dave Combs

So what’s all this fuss about side hustles? Perhaps you’ve heard people talking about making extra cash on the side driving for Uber. Or maybe you’ve heard of people finding a kind of personal satisfaction from hustling on the side that they just don’t get from their day job, like the person who sells their own handmade goods on Etsy. Maybe you’ve heard of people running a blog or doing a podcast on the side. It could be something as simple as purchasing items cheaply at garage sales and selling them on Craigslist or eBay for a profit. With all this talk of side hustles, maybe you’ve been thinking about starting your own side hustle. Okay, so let’s start with what we mean by side hustle. For the purpose of this article a side hustle is something you do apart from your day job that may or may not bring in some extra money, but does have the potential to do so if you were to sell a product or service related to whatever it is you do. Though the word “hustle” can sometimes have a negative connotation, it’s NOT a get-rich-quick scheme, or a means of swindling people out of their hard earned money. When we talk about a side hustle, we mean a legal way to earn some extra money and to empower yourself by doing something you truly enjoy that adds value to the world around you.

I’ve been a side hustler for as long as I can remember, even before I had a term for it. I’ve always loved to draw, and in elementary school I started noticing that other kids were impressed by my art. Eventually they began asking me to draw their favorite characters for them. One kid said, “I’ll give you a quarter if you draw Chewbacca for me.” That was the, “Aha!” moment in which I made an important realization. I realized that I had a skill, drawing pictures, for which people were willing to pay. Before that, I only drew for fun simply because I enjoyed it. Looking back many years later, I’ll say I’ve gotten paid quite a few quarters since then for my art skills, and I’ve enjoyed doing it every time.

The question you may be asking yourself is, “Is a side hustle for me?” Here’s a quick test you can take to decide. If you answer, “yes” to one or more of the following questions, a side hustle may be just the thing for you:

1. Could you use a little extra income? 2. Is there something you love to do for which people would pay you? 3. Is there some kind of fulfillment missing from what you do at your day job? 4. Do you want to improve your skills in a certain area?

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Why not get started on your own side hustle today?

5. Would you carve out a few hours each week in your schedule for something you really love to do?

If you answered, “yes” to one or more of the above questions then a side hustle might be something for you to consider.

You might be wondering where to get started so we’ve complied a list of 10 top side hustles on our site with links for you to check out at www.5to9zine.com/top-side-hustles. But here’s a brief rundown of three ways you can get started...

Create stuff and sell it.

That’s what we’re doing here at 5to9zine. We create a print publication which speaks to what a lot of people are doing in today’s world – side hustling. We love to hear and tell inspiring stories about what people do in their off hours so we decided to make a zine about it. But you don’t have to make a print publication. Maybe your skill set is making art or something else that people would like to buy. You can easily sell your stuff online these days with sites like Etsy, BigCartel. and Shopify. If you already have a WordPress site and little technical skill you can even host your own online store with plugins like WooCommerce. If you’re an artist, podcaster, musician, or other creative type you can also get support to do your thing though Patreon, a site where patrons send monthly financial support simply because they dig what you do. Some of the creators on Patreon choose to offer exclusive content to their patrons as an incentive to support.

Be an affiliate.

So maybe you don’t have that creative impulse. You can still create some extra income by joining online affiliate programs.

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Especially if you already have your own blog with some decent traffic, you can join affiliate programs related to whatever you blog about and earn some extra cash. They will provide you with links which you can include with your content and they will pay you when people click those links and make purchases. The keys to being successful at being an affiliate are choosing the right programs and having engaging content that will bring people to your site.

Start a nonprofit.

Maybe you see a need in the world and you want to do something to fill it. That’s a great thing to do. And just for the record, running or working for a nonprofit does NOT meant that you yourself can’t make money at it. Though many people volunteer, many other people who run or work for nonprofits are paid well for the good work they do. My wife Holly and I had worked with several nonprofits in the past and we eventually started our own, The Department of Public Words. It started as a side hustle and eventually became our full-time jobs for about three years. It’s always been rewarding work. Toby Morse, who we interviewed for this issue started his own nonprofit to talk to kids about making good choices and not giving in to peer pressure. When you do nonprofit work the payoff is much bigger than financial gain. It’s about knowing that you’re making a positive impact on the world – something that is so needed today.

So now that you have some ideas, why not get started on your own side hustle today? If you are starting a new side hustle or have been doing one for years we’d love to hear about it. Drop us a line at: 5to9zine@gmail.com.

Good hustling!