Side Hustling - Friend or Foe?

Side hustles. It seems like everyone and their dog has one these days. From the weekend Uber driver, to the mid-week florist or the ‘I’ve got a spare hour or two’ copywriter. Even your Nan probably spends half her day as the admin for the Reddit knitting subreddit. I guess the question is, ‘Why have side-hustles become THE thing to aspire to?’ and why has the working landscape changed so much to accommodate this?

Now, don’t take my word as gospel (I’d be worried if any of you did this…) but I think there’s a few factors at play – and they’re not always as rosy as social media would have you think.

Money

“Hah, millennials spending all their money on avocado on toast so they can’t afford a deposit on a half a million pound one bedroom hovel in central London – HAH HAH!”

Yep. Times are tough for this younger generation – and for the one following. But I’m not going to make this a generation battle – we all could do with being a little less divisive. What I will say, is that many moons ago you could buy a house on a single salary doing what we might call ‘unskilled’ (unfair, retail is HARD) or ‘entry-level’. Now though? You need a combined income, or at least a really well-paying job. And those jobs? They normally state a degree as a requirement. So there you are, fresh out of uni with at least ￡27k worth of debt, wanting to get a foot on the ladder. And your only options are unpaid internships or something along the lines of “100k OTE!!” which means a basic salary of 16k if you’re lucky and targets so high they make you want to claw your eyes out with a rusty spoon.

So, what do you do? Usually, you take the job, because after all a job is better than no job. But you’re barely covering rent, let alone your travel or your avocado toasts. So you start side-hustling. For some, that can mean a dodgy MLM selling bee pollen that can cure cancer, for others it means working all hours of the evening as a taxi driver then getting back up at 6am for your ‘proper job’. You’re knackerd, but at least your bills are being paid – right?

Job Satisfaction

That entry-level role not living up to the expectations you had of work? That ‘Junior Marketing Executive’ position that you thought would be a great step into your chosen career path, but you’ve basically ended up doing admin and getting coffees? Yeah, not particularly satisfying.

It’s because of this, I think, that we’ve seen a huge jump in people taking part in ‘side projects’ or things that satisfy the need to do something they’re passionate about. Obviously, I’m a little biased here, but this behaviour often comes from creatives. Brains that go a mile a minute and need a million and one things to do to feel satisfied. Employer not scratching that creative itch? Cool, I’ll do some freelance copywriting. Or web design. Or I’ll sell paintings or drawings or prints via my own Etsy store.

This isn’t to say that all of the time you’re stuck in a bad job. You might like your job – but ‘like’, isn’t the same as fulfilling a desire. If you are deeply creative, but your role insists you stick to rigid parameters you might find yourself getting restless or feeling unsatisfied which can eventually harbour resentment towards your role – so finding that outlet elsewhere isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

But could businesses be doing more to support an individual’s passions? In a word, yes. If you notice someone in your organisation has a flair for creative copy – give them some writing tasks or get them involved in other projects. Are they social media savvy? Get them to loop in with your marketing team and see what value they could add there. An excel expert or coding champion? See if they want to teach a seminar or a small class. Encourage outside interests and integrate passions and skills with a role and you’ll find you have a much more engaged employee.

Ok, so I sound like I’m being incredibly negative about side hustles – I promise I’m not. In the right way they can be brilliant. They can empower and give a self esteem boost. The side thing can become the main thing. But you have to look at the ‘why?’ behind it.

Am I doing this because I need the money? If so, that’s kinda the wrong reason and is only going to lead to stress and burnout.

Am I doing it because I hate my job? Easier said than done – but get a new one.

Am I doing this because I’m really bloody good at something and want to showcase my talents? There. That’s the reason you should side hustle or freelance or whatever you want to call it. If you’ve got a skill that you enjoy flexing, a skill you want to share with the world then take the plunge and do something you love – just don’t do it because your avo on toast has gone up to ￡6.20

Do you have a side hustle that (in the words of the wonderful Marie Kondo) is sparking joy? Share your forays into freelance below.

(And just so you don’t think I’m against side jobs and whatnot, I actually freelance myself on the side… And if I didn’t use this to promote what I do, I’d be stupid. I write! Job ads and employer-based content, ghostwriting for some blogs etc. and if you watch this space, you’ll see an exciting side project I’m working on with a couple of extremely talented recruiters & writers…)