For years, I’ve thought that having a job would be the only way to make money. Of course, I was aware that people had their own companies, but that’s about as far as it got. Since I’ve started working, I’ve learned so many things. One of them is that many people make extra income besides their job, with a side hustle. There are many reasons to start your side hustle.
What is a side hustle? A side hustle is basically making extra cash without quitting your day job. For many, it’s the way you can pursue your big dream or a passion project without risking everything.
Complement Your Day Job
While maximizing the return from your day job, having a side hustle can be the perfect way to complement this. At the end of the day, many are not fulfilled with their day job. Your day job will provide you with a measure of security and safety. It will give you the financial base you need, together with continuous growth in your career. It’s okay if you don’t love it every day.
A side hustle is different.
A side hustle is something you truly enjoy, your big dream, or your passion project. You’re making money with it, even though the start-up phase can be slow. You get to be your own boss and decide for yourself what you will do. If it doesn’t work out in the end, that’s okay. You still have the security of your day job.
My side hustle is my blog. Currently, I can’t say I’m making any money with my blog but I’m passionate about writing. I want to teach as many people as possible about personal finance and financial independence or early retirement. I want to help people get ahead with their finances, so they can stop working that job they hate.
If you don’t know yet which side hustle is right for you, I’ve listed some in my side hustle article. Hint: it doesn’t matter what kind of side hustle you do. You can start a blog, go painting, sell stuff online, walk dogs, whatever you like!
Let’s go into the five reasons why you should start a side hustle right now!
#1: Save More
If you want to save more money, starting your side hustle right now can drastically help with that.
Why is saving more money important? If you save more, you increase your savings rate (the amount you save as a percentage of your income – if you don’t know what it is, go read Simplified Look At The Savings Rate). If you increase your savings rate, you’re speeding up your way to financial independence.
The two ways to save more are to either decrease your spending or increase your income. In the perfect world, you do both. I can tell you that it’s more fun to increase your income, for sure.
Additionally, if you have a side hustle income, it’s coming on top of your regular salary. The salary from your day job is paying for all your regular expenses. This means you can save the majority of the money that you earn with your side hustle. How great is that?
If your savings are low now, a side hustle can make a big impact on that.
When you’re earning more from your side hustle, think about what percentage from that you want to save and what percentage you want to enjoy. If you’re only saving and enjoying nothing of your actual side hustle income, you might get burnt out. Take whatever amount you’re most comfortable with.
#2: You Can Test A Business Idea
If you’re curious to try something, but you’re not sure if it’s for you? Try it first as a side hustle. You might have a great business idea that you haven’t tested in the market yet? Try it as a side hustle first.
The great thing is that you can check whether there is demand in the market, without risking it all. When there is a market for it and you like it, you can always decide later to take this business idea to the market full time and go all-in on it.
It’s only a side hustle, if it’s not the big success you hoped it would be, you can stop doing it and try something else you’re interested in.
What is also nice about this, is that you can first dive in part-time in order to build your company and your brand. As soon as you make a steady paycheck from it, you can decide to quit your day job and go full-time on your business idea.
#3: You Will Learn And Master New Skills
When you’re in the same career field for some years, it might start to feel like you want to learn new skills. Actually, I’m personally already feeling like I should actively try to develop myself, keep building my skills over time, and always move forward.
Starting a side hustle can teach you the skill and consequently master it – you’ll be asking money for it which means that you should be at least performing above average.
In some side hustles, you will learn skills you would never have thought about. For example, when I started blogging I did not think that I would be managing a website. I have basic knowledge now about how to build a website and how to set them up. That’s a skill that might come in handy in unexpected ways later on in life.
#4: It’s A Creative Outlet
Side hustles can also be a way to test the waters in something you truly enjoy doing. Something for which others will actually reward you for doing.
Many people I know started their side hustle that way – and so did I. A side hustle is a unique opportunity to do what you enjoy. It’s something where you can let your creativity flow since there’s no pressure at all. You can express your personality and create something that is close to your heart.
#5: Divide And Conquer
While it’s desirable to have your basic needs covered with your day job, your side hustle can give you the opportunity to divide your income. You don’t have to rely on only your day job for income and focus on other streams of income as well.
Side hustles are often started with little to no starting capital, which means that your returns will be big. Only the costs of setting up a website, everything else is profit.
In the current market, putting your money in the bank will not give you this huge amount of interest. Better invest in yourself! The money you invest will most likely come back to you, especially if you’re serious about your side hustle.
The extra money you earn, you can put towards something significant like a house, a car, or pay off your debt. If you save long and invest enough, you will even be able to retire early!
Start RIGHT NOW!
“You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great” – Les Brown
There are many people who say they want to have a side hustle – do they all have one? They don’t. Why? Because they are putting it on the list, but it’s not a priority. I know it might not be what you wanted to hear, but ask yourself: am I making it a priority?
I know, I’ve been there. Last year I wanted to start a side hustle but I didn’t know what I was doing. One day I went to a workshop and there I decided: I will start. I didn’t know what, I just knew I love writing and expressing myself that way.
Do it. Just start. The perfect moment will never come. The circumstances will never be in your favor. Once you start, you will keep going. That’s the most important thing, you have to get moving to create motion.
Make the time. Get up an hour early. Work on weekends. Stop watching so much TV. Read a book, go outside, move.
Do you have a side hustle? Would you want to start your side hustle?
Founder of Spark Nomad, Radical FIRE, Journalist
- Expertise: Personal finance and travel content
- Education: Bachelor of Economics at Radboud University, Master in Finance at Radboud University, Minor in Economics at Chapman University.
- Over 200 articles, essays, and short stories published across the web.
Experience: Marjolein Dilven is a journalist and founder of Spark Nomad, a travel platform, and Radical FIRE, a personal finance platform. Marjolein has a finance and economics background with a master’s in Finance. She has quit her job to travel the world, documenting her travels on Spark Nomad to help people plan their travels. Marjolein Dilven has written for publications like MSN, Associated Press, CNBC, Town News syndicate, and more.