How to find your side hustle

Hello! And welcome to CNBC’s Work It newsletter about all things work – from landing the job to succeeding in your career. Between inflation crushing your budget ?? and all of these “loud layoffs” ?? happening, a lot of people are worried about money. Will I have enough? What happens if I lose my job?

Last week on CNBC, Jason Greer, the founder and president of Greer Consulting, gave two great pieces of advice for navigating these uncertain times. He suggested that you 1) start working on your network, and 2) think about what a potential side hustle might look like.

Yes! We should TOTALLY start a side hustle. Are you as excited about it as I am? We will make a lot of money! ?????? We will be like those people in the headlines where we will make more than $20,000 a month and only work 2 hours a day! Yeah! There are so many things we can do. Like, um … uh … [looks at ceiling] … so many things! … You know, like …. Oh, this is awkward. I can’t think of what our side hustle will be. ??

I was totally inspired by that guy who made slime in his garage ?? and made $1 million in 3 years. And that part-time wedding videographer ?? who turned her passion into a six-figure business. But I’m not sure slime or weddings are my thing.?

So, how do you figure out what your side hustle is?

Phone a friend

Self-made millionaire Ramit Sethi, author of New York Times bestselling book “I Will Teach You To Be Rich,” had some great advice in the inaugural CNBC Make It: Your Money virtual event on Dec. 13. (Watch a replay of the event here.)

He suggested texting friends or family to ask, “What are three things you think I’m really good at?” Then think about how one of those things could turn into your side hustle.

So many of us wait for some sort of gatekeeper to give us permission to pursue something. But you don’t need to be an expert to do a lot of side hustles, he pointed out. And you don’t need an invitation. You just need to take the initiative.

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What’s your goal?

A side hustle can be almost anything – from driving an Uber to walking dogs or selling your artwork.

To pick one, first establish what your goal is, said Gorick Ng, author of “The Unspoken Rules.” Do you primarily want to:

? Earn more money?

? Explore a creative outlet?

? Build skills you’re not using in your job?

? Build skills that would make you better at your job?

Once you do that, it’s like Wordle – you’ve narrowed down the number of possibilities. And, to quote WordleBot ??, you should solve the puzzle on your next try. Or at least get closer!

Be smart about maximizing your time – and profits

I have always been frustrated with the lemonade stand model ?? of teaching kids about money. When your kid is out there baking in the sun all day and makes 25 bucks, $20 of that from one generous neighbor, you’re not teaching them how to make money. You’re teaching them about hard work. (Still a valuable lesson, though.)

I was impressed with Madison Klimchak, a college student that CNBC intern Jessica Coacci found when writing for the “College Voices” series, and I often relay her story to other students when we’re talking about money.

Klimchak launched a business selling masks during the pandemic while she was at the University of South Carolina. This was at a time when college students were seeing their internships and job offers canceled as the pandemic created economic uncertainty. It would’ve been easy to say, “Oh, I couldn’t find a job, it was the pandemic.”

Instead, Klimchak created her own job.

She identified a need in the market: face masks. And, instead of doing what I probably would’ve done – come up with cool designs and hope a few people buy them, in a variation on the lemonade stand exercise – she decided to focus on fraternities, sororities and other organizations on campus, using their logos as the design on the masks. That way, her typical order was 150 to 400 masks at $10 a pop! To market her business, she used Instagram, where she already had a built-in customer base of her friends and fellow students.

And this was at the height of the pandemic when a lot of people were struggling to make money!

So, when considering what your side hustle might be, figure out what your goal is. Ask friends and family what you’re good at. And be smart about maximizing your time – and your profits.

More from CNBC:

? 3 in-demand side hustles to start in 2023―one pays up to $100 per hour

? This 29-year-old makes $22,000 a month from her art side hustle: ‘I work less than 2 hours a day on it’?

? Online tutoring side hustles are in demand, and can pay up to $180 an hour—here’s how to get started

? 17-year-old ‘Shark Tank’ contestant made slime in his garage, sold it to his friends, brought in $1 million in just 3 years

? 34-year-old spent $17,000 on a tiny home in Idaho—now it brings in $49,000 a year on Airbnb: It’s ‘almost completely passive’?

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