A side hustle paves the way to greater career opportunities.
Aside from a chance to have an alternative source of income, having a side hustle can be a key to saving and investing more, making ends meet, a break from your day job, or paying off high-interest debt.
According to some experts, Filipinos tend to balance multiple jobs at a time. It's not a surprise anymore since the present-day generation is becoming responsible for handling their finances. Plus, as the pandemic extends and the downtown lingers, more and more Filipinos are finding ways to generate income. With the tight competition in the market landscape, maybe launching a side hustle is the best option.
Photo by Corinne Kutz on unsplash.com
Some popular and common instances of side hustle are freelancing (design, writing, etc.), gig work (dog walking, rideshare, food delivery), online tutoring, and creating online courses.
But, before anything else, here are helpful tips that you might want to know.
1. Don't invest right away. Start small.
Small steps don't equate to little chance of success. The value of doing baby steps is oftentimes overstated. If you will do this on a constant process, it places you ahead of those who start tomorrow. The best time to start is right now. However, even if you are venturing this new path, it's also not worth it to quit your day job. Slowly cultivating your side hustle enables you to make adjustments as you move forward.
2. Find what suits you best.
Here are the qualities you should consider to know that its the right side hustle for you:
- You enjoy it
- You're good at it
- You can generate income out of it.
Although this sounds like an impossible and unrealistic goal, but these three criteria help narrow down available side jobs and also consider the things that you are passionate about. In an instance where you can't determine your stellar skills, consider asking from your family, friends, or coworkers. Surely, they notice your capabilities that you aren't fully aware yourself.
3. Be clear on your reason why you want to have a side hustle.
Even if side jobs are becoming a thing now, not everyone wants to leave their day job. Your reason could be building an emergency fund, paying off debt, saving, or investing for your future.
Always start with an end goal in mind. This may sound cliché but it allows you to be clear on why you do it and help measure your progress. It doesn't have to be grand, but more importantly, it helps you pay off your dues. Ultimately, others prefer to have a side hustle as a space where they can express the things they are passionate about. Maybe what you need is an area that serves as your outlet from the mundane activities of a full-time job.
4. Prioritize your time.
Stop glorifying the 24/7 grind and hustle as it only works as a short-term solution. The last thing you want to do is have a side hustle that you like less than your current job, or worse, end up having a burnout. Ideally speaking, a side hustle should be flexible to give you more time and freedom to fulfill your tasks.
A small amount of time matters, because the truth is, is impossible to have an uninterrupted 48-hour block of time to finish your project. Also, don't underestimate time efficiency. Be realistic and transparent with the deadline to your client so both of you could meet in between.
5. Ask for what you're worth.
One of the biggest challenge in starting your first side hustle is the quotation of your services. It's intimidating to think about charging people for the projects you will ask for. However, you create this new career path for a reason. Even if you felt shy about it, you have to place a price on the services you will give to your clients.
Furthermore, spend the time necessary to improve and polish your product. Eventually, you have to publish it and allow potential clients to find your craft.
Creating extra income through a side hustle is a great way to obtain your end goals. Nowadays, people who found a way to look for a side gig is lucky despite the constant rise of the unemployment rate in the country.
