Let’s talk about why there is no downside to a side hustle (Forbes)
Whether or not you’re familiar with Forbes, many will have seen the famous quote:
There is no downside to a side hustle.
As mentioned in some of my other articles, I couldn’t agree more.
In fact, I believe that building fully scalable side hustles that grow with you can dramatically help increase your short- and long-term income.
Let’s first talk about this oh-so-famous Forbes quote.
Background
The full Forbes quote: there is no downside to a side hustle, there are only benefits to building more than one source of income. A side hustle is job security.
There is one important phrase in that quote that many will misconstrue; and that is more than one source of income.
The fact is, when a lot of people think about a side hustle, they immediately think about investing in stocks, running a Shopify business, house and pet sitting, or starting a WordPress blog with Bluehost.
These are all great ideas for side hustles. However, side hustles don’t have to be confined to one industry. Neither do they have to follow the conventional trends of a side hustle.
Simply put, Forbes defines a side-hustle as an additional source of income. This may mean having a part-time job, working as a freelancer, being an online marketer, building apps, inventing products etc. Pick your poison!
However, remember, these must also be things that – as author Chris Guillebeau writes about in “Side Hustle: From Idea to Income” – can be done while still holding down a full-time job. Otherwise, your side-hustle is just your primary job (which, for many, myself included, is the ultimate goal!)
Why You Should Start A Side Hustle
Unfortunately, side hustles aren’t always going to make you rich.
However, even a small amount of additional money each month can ultimately be life-changing.
Imagine if you invested every penny that you earn through your side-hustle? After all, it’s probably expendable income (as it’s additional to your primary income). Over many years of compound interest, these “small” contributions could easily snowball into a significant nest egg!
Additionally, remember another of the core benefits of the side hustle – you aren’t limited to having just one!
For example, let’s assume you have 3 fully-fledged side-hustles. Hypothetically, this may include a blog, some freelance work, and house sitting… I’d argue that these are all manageable in your spare time (with a little dedication).
Assume that each of those side hustles nets you $250 to $500 a month. Congratulations! You’re earning an extra $750 to $1,500 per month. This could cover rent, mortgage payments, car insurance, and other bills; allowing you to save more and generate more future wealth. Imagine your full-time paycheck being all disposable (investable) income simply because your side-hustles take care of the bills!
Sounds Great, Can Anyone Start A Side Hustle?
Again, the short answer to this is a resounding yes.
And we think everyone should.
In fact, the average millionaire (as per my “Increase your income” blog) has seven different sources of income. Seven! That’s quite a contrast to the tradition of having just one – your 9-5 job.
Of course, not all income streams can be full-time jobs. Therefore several of these income streams must be side hustles.
If millionaires utilise side hustles to grow their wealth, then it’s probably a good idea for you to have at least one.
Hopefully you’re feeling psyched up and ready to hustle!
Need More Reasons to start a side hustle?
Build knowledge!
Knowledge is power, power is money, and money saves you time (i.e. early retirement or working less hours).
Ok, that’s a highly simplified and flippant way of putting it… but you get the idea.
Whether your side hustle quickly takes off, or takes a little while, you’ll be learning new skills throughout.
Even if your side hustle is something you’re already familiar with, you can still get better! Learning the process and picking up business skills can translate to future earnings. Invest in yourself!
There Is No Downside To A Side Hustle (Forbes)
With that in mind, let’s return back to the infamous Forbes quote.
There is no downside to a side hustle.
Surely that can’t be true?
Can it?
Well, the honest answer to this is that there are plenty of pros… and cons to side hustles. However we still believe that with most side hustles, the benefits tend to heavily outweigh the drawbacks.
Let’s take an honest look at some of the upsides and downsides to side hustles – to really test out Forbes’ theory:
Benefits of Side Hustles | Drawbacks of Side Hustles |
|
|
Benefits of Side Hustles |
|
Drawbacks of Side Hustles |
|
Weighing Up The Good And The Bad
You can see that, contrary to our friends at Forbes, there are some drawbacks to side hustles.
The most important of these, in our opinion is that side hustles still require your time. To combat this, we strongly advocate building side hustles that will one day separate your time from your earnings.
What do we mean by this? Take a blog for example… to start with there is a large time investment needed. There’s also likely a clear correlation between hours worked and growth (earnings). However, consider that you initially work on the blog consistently, adding affiliate links and advertisements. When you grow a large enough audience, you’ll be able to leave your blog for a month and still be making money. This is now real passive income. Amazing!
I bet your regular job wouldn’t be signing your paychecks if you were absent for a month?
The key thing that many don’t realise is that side-hustles can be hard. Harder than your regular job in fact. But go into it motivated and ready to grind. This sets you one step ahead of the masses, who are only looking to “get rich quick”.
Sure, delayed gratification takes some patience. But imagine the sense of achievement from building an income stream that rivals your work salary. Imagine the sense of security that comes from knowing that if you were fired today, you’d still be just fine.
Conclusion
To summarise – sorry Forbes, but we can’t agree with you that there is no downside to a side hustle.
Of course there are downsides.
However, we still believe there are far more benefits to a side hustle(s) than there are drawbacks. The opportunity for greater income, early retirement and financial independence are just a few examples.
In our mind, these far outweigh missing the odd game night or drinking session. Plus, if your side hustle has the potential to become passive, you’ll have all the time in the world to make up for it.
So, there you have it.
We’ve taken a look at the definition of a side hustle and taken a deep dive into the pros and cons.
Let me know what side hustles you’ve started in the past or are looking forward to starting.
Now get out there and hustle!
