Episode Details

Whether it's a stall at a local market selling hand knitted beanies for dogs, running an online store via Amazon selling rainbow coloured shoelaces, or designing the occasional band logo on 99 designs, I believe EVERYONE should have a Side Hustle.

We're here after all to find ways for you to gain choice in your life – that's what Financial Autonomy is all about. And if it's choice that you want, there are few greater enablers than a Side Hustle.

So in today's post, we're going to explore the reasons why I believe everyone should have a Side Hustle in their life.

I've come up with 6 reasons why I believe we should all have a Side Hustle. I'm sure there's many more, but hopefully these ones will give you the kick along needed to start something of your own.

1. The learning

As I mentioned at the top, a Side Hustle can take all sorts of forms, and the one that's right for you needs to align with your personal interests and skills. But let's take as an example a simple online store. Maybe you sell through Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, or whatever makes sense for you.

Hopefully it's successful and you get the financial rewards that you are seeking. But there is so much more to be gained than just the financial benefits. You have to think about marketing. Will you promote on social media, or Google? Will you embark on a paid advertising strategy, or go for organic word of mouth? If it's social media, which platform will you focus on, how will you source the images, and on and on. You'll learn a tonne just working through that.

But of course if you're running an online store there's a lot more than just the marketing. Where will you source your product? How will you get it to customers? And how will you determine your price?

You've got book-keeping, tax, and all sorts.

Now I'm not trying to put you off here – far from it. You'll be starting on a small scale, and because it's not your full time source of income, you can take things at a pace that works for you. But I'm sure you can get a sense of just how many different things you'll learn as a result of your Side Hustle adventure.

So how will that help you? Well imagine if you're in a meeting at your day job a few months from now and a manager is bemoaning the fact that targets aren't being met. Perhaps someone throws out an idea of a new approach, which meets with no enthusiasm within the room. But you pipe up and say something like, "I think that's worth giving a shot. I could run a small campaign on Facebook to that target market, allocate $10 a day for 3 weeks, and we could see if there's any interest". Your colleagues all rock back in their set like a bomb just went off in the middle of the room, and you're ranking on the internal totem pole just moved up several places in management's eyes.

I could stop just here, because I believe the learning gained from giving a Side Hustle a crack is reason enough that everyone should have a Side Hustle. But I won't stop here.

2. Resilience

Resilience is something we consider a lot when developing financial autonomy strategies for our clients. Life isn't always chocolates and roses. Unexpected things happen, and often you wished they didn't.

One of the biggest set-backs many of us could face is losing our job. But if you have been working away on a little Side Hustle, perhaps this set-back actually provides an opportunity to see where this little side project can go. Instead of spending 5 hours a week, now you can spend 40 or 50.

Maybe the business develops into something to replace your former wages. Or perhaps it gets to a size where it's sellable, as happened with Sharon in episode 41.

Maybe, with what you've learned in your si