Welcome to a side-hustle themed issue of Monday Night Finace.
6 Reasons Why You Need a Side Hustle Even if You Don’t Need Extra Money
Have you heard the phrase side hustle? It can mean a lot of different things to different people. Typically, it involves some sort of self-employment outside of your nine-to-five. For some people, it involves working in part of the gig economy with a company such as Uber, Lyft, or AirBnB. For others it could be starting their own online business or blog. Whatever the avenue, side-hustlers view their hustle as something they have control over and a path to bring in income on their own terms. Do you have a side hustle? If not, Jim Wang, of WalletHacks, gives six great reasons you should start one today.
When I was a kid, I was taught that the way towards prosperity was through work. I go to school, get good grades, get into a good college, graduate, and then start working for a good company. ~Jim Wang, WalletHacks
First and foremost, a side hustle is a way for you to diversify. While people talk all of the time about having a diversified portfolio, almost no one talks about how most people rely on their job for 100% of their income. The novel coronavirus has shown us just how quickly the tables can turn and even “safe” jobs have disappeared. Having a side hustle can help you weather a financial storm. And unlike a second job that may interfere with your first job, having a flexible form of self-employment can be easily scaled up or down depending on your time. Beyond the financial aspects, having a side hustle can help you achieve satisfaction in life. Jim notes that people are happiest when their job aligns with their identity. While you may not identify fully with your day job, you can craft your side hustle into something incredibly personal. Check out the article for even more ways in which a side hustle can improve your life.
10 Steps for Starting a Side Hustle
So if after reading the WalletHacks article you decided to start a side hustle, then you’re going to want to know where to begin. This can be confusing as there are many different possible side hustles. Real estate investment, ride-sharing, freelancing, and blogging are just a few possible avenues to explore. In this article, Kyle from Financial Wolves shares a flow chart on how to select the perfect side hustle.
Starting a side hustle not only offers you extra day-to-day cash but also opens a plethora of career-changing opportunities that you wouldn’t have encountered from a full-time job. People who try side jobs gain useful job-advancing relationships and lifelong friends while developing skills they wouldn’t have learned within the four walls of an office. ~Financial Wolves
Kyle’s flow chart walks you through some basic questions. Do you have unique, in-demand skills? Do you have cash to invest into your side hustle? What about free time? Are you a people-person or do you prefer to work by yourself? Each of these questions can help lead you to the perfect side hustle. Along the way, you’re going to want to seek feedback from your first few clients. They can give you valuable feedback about what you do well and how you can improve and grow your business.
How to Start a Blog & Make Money in 2021: Your Step-by-Step Guide
One of the most flexible side hustles is blogging. Anyone can start a blog and instantaneously share their knowledge with the world. Blogging does not require a fixed number of hours and can be done from anywhere. Developing a monetized blog can bring in serious income that could supplement or even replace you day job. Finally, you own your blog. It’s your own corner of the internet. If blogging sounds like the perfect side hustle but you don’t know where to start, check out this article!
It’s hard to know what you need to do, what to avoid, where to launch your blog, etc. To help, we’ve put everything together into this one detailed guide. We’ll take you through literally everything you need to do to go from zero to a live, working blog that looks great and has all sorts of helpful features. Collin at MoneyCheck
This article provides detailed how to instructions on launching your blog. According to the article you can launch your blog in less than a half-hour. Additionally, you could be blogging for as little as $60 a year. To get started, you need to find a domain name, purchase a hosting service, and install blogging software on your domain. The article recommends a self-hosted WordPress site; over 35% of the internet is comprised of WordPress websites. If this sounds complicated, don’t worry. The article walks you through the process step-by-step and includes screenshots and links. Once you get your domain and hosting, you can start writing. The post also does a great job of walking you through the WordPress Gutenberg editor for creating blog posts. This is definitely a must read for anyone who wants to start a blog.