Do you have a side hustle? Nowadays side hustles are becoming more and more common.
Taking time to pursue another job after your full time gig has become routine, especially among younger generations.The generational differences regarding side hustles is interesting. It seems that the younger you go, the more people are doing “unconventional” jobs and having less linear careers. My first years out of college were all over the place – I worked at a winery, an accounting firm, a tour company and a nonprofit. On the side, I was writing for fun and making sure to keep up my reading habits. I never forgot what I loved during the journey of figuring out what I enjoyed doing for work. However, that’s a huge privilege! Sometimes you have to choose a job and stick with it. I’m lucky that I was able to try different jobs and side hustles.
According to Forbes, “side hustling has gained mass appeal across all segments of society, though it’s far more common among those aged 25 to 34 aka generation side hustle”. This equates to the millennials. Why this generation? Millennials graduated and worked through the 2008 recession and experienced the economic turmoil firsthand. When you begin working or experience your parents going through this hardship, it makes sense that you’d want extra financial security. That’s where the “side hustle” comes in.
Gen Z and Millennials have tended to have more side hustles than Baby Boomers. If you ask your grandpa about his career, you might hear something along the lines of “I worked at the same company for 40 years”. That just doesn’t happen anymore. With all the new opportunities and technology, the opportunity for side hustles has absolutely exploded. Especially with technology. You can sell just about anything on the internet (within reason…).
Personally, writing for this blog and working with Feminist Book Club is my side hustle. For a long time, my other side hustle was running a business with my aunt (we used to make sauces inspired by our travels and donate all the profits to charity). Don’t get me wrong, my full-time day job is fantastic. I run a nonprofit that teaches personal finance (you can even hear me talk about it). I am so grateful that I feel fulfilled in my company’s mission and the daily work that I’m doing. However, I have other passions and interests – reading and writing being a couple of them! Being able to channel my energy into an after-work interest, like blogging about books, brings my soul a lot of joy. That’s what you need to keep in mind when running a “side hustle” – is it bringing you happiness or causing more stress?
That’s why we closed down our family sauce business. It wasn’t the industry for me and if you want to have a side hustle you have to love it and – well – hustle. If it doesn’t spark joy, it’s not worth it. We only have so many hours in the week and days on this planet. If you have time to spend it on something that is worthwhile, make sure that it’s adding positivity to your day. Writing for Feminist Book Club is what I call “soul time”. Another part of “soul time” includes free style journaling, walking, reading or doing yoga. This should be a time that’s for you and you only. A side hustle can be just that. I’m not saying it won’t be hard work. It certainly will be. But at the end of the day, you better love doing it!
When I started Feminist Book Club, I side hustled as a personal stylist for Stitch Fix. It was a blast and honestly, I’d still be doing it if I had the time!
Ah, how cool! I could have definitely seen you as a personal stylist.