I remember being in high school and complaining to my mom that I wanted to work part-time. I wasn’t allowed to babysit because my mom didn’t want me responsible for someone else’s kids. I’d become increasingly frustrated with asking my mom for money for the things that I wanted. And, I was very aware that my mom was working really hard and didn’t really have extra money for what were essentially my wants. Finally, I wore her down and she said “yes” and I quickly got my first part-time job making sandwiches at a local mall for $4.25 an hour which was making bank at the time. And, it’s a little shocking to me that part-time wages are still so low today…but, that’s a different podcast episode. I share this story to give you an idea of how long I’ve worked side-hustles. And, by the end of 2019 I am breaking up with side-hustles and in this podcast episode I wanted to share some thoughts about this transition.
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Show Notes
About a week ago, I was on Twitter and a personal finance blogger mentioned how she was excited to move on from side-hustling and was excited to be around other women who were able to enjoy their interests whether or not they made money from them. The thing is, she was attending a financial retreat with other women who were very happily on the road to financial independence and had likely worked very hard to get to the point where they could decide where and when to exchange their time for money. I pointed this out and they made sure to clarify their original statement. To be honest, I was confused by that for two reasons because she was very clear in her initial tweet-she was happy to move on from side-hustling. The second reason I was confused was she didn’t need to apologize for acknowledging (or explain) that she was at a point where side-hustles weren’t serving her well anymore. This is part of the reason why social media drives me crazy sometimes-it’s very easy to misconstrue intent behind comments made quickly online. I’d already had this podcast idea kicking around for awhile and that exchange solidified the fact that it was time to talk about side-hustling.
- Side-hustles, in layman’s terms, are the part-time jobs or short-term gigs that people work outside of their regular job.
- The gig economy is talked about all the time from charging scooters, delivering food, or driving people around in your car, side-hustles seem to be all the rage. The thing is side-hustles for me represented something different.
- When I was in high school the money from my part-time job was enough. I had no debt and just wants.
- Then, I went to college. I quickly learned from the school of financial hard knocks about debt, going to an expensive university on my own for 4 years. I wasn’t able to afford to visit home and it was really hard. I basically worked in food services so that I could eat for free as often as possible.
- Debt became a constant in my life and my side-hustles helped me keep my nose above water as I struggled to figure out why I couldn’t get my finances right.
- Please note: and I say this candidly. I’d never grown up having conversations about saving money, investing, or credit. I grew up with the following financial conversations-work hard. Seriously, that was it. We’d never talked about careers, or leveraging your career for income growth, etc. And, after blogging about money since 2012 I’ve discovered that my experience wasn’t unusual.
- When I quit my job in 2015 I side-hustled as I figured out what I was doing. As I record this episode I now realize that my extreme exhaustion from my job wasn’t just the 60-80 hour weeks (including commuting times) I also worked side-hustles the entire time because I was underemployed and then I was again trying to pay off debt and finally get ahead.
- After an adult lifetime of side-hustles I’m happy to say that I’m breaking up with side-hustles by the end of 2019. How is this possible, what happened, and what does this mean?
- I’ve always tried to work side-hustles that are fun and pay well. In fact, one of my favorite side-hustles will pay for me to go to the mountains in November and share their product. They will pay for accommodation, food, etc.
- However, side-hustles take time away from my business and now that I’ve begun to make money with my business-it’s become increasingly obvious that the side-hustles are taking away from the time that I need to focus on the tasks that I need to be focusing on.
- I’m energetically tired of side-hustling. I’m just…over it.
- When I figured out what I was making side-hustling each month I realized that the extra $1,000-$1500 could be earned selling my products/books/or services likely in a lot less time. I’d developed these digital products that could earn the same amount in a lot less time.
- My business earnings were consistently more than what I was earning when I worked my old job. I’ve spent a lot of time growing diversified income streams that I prefer to focus on.
- Confidence and belief in myself as they relate to running a business and actually making money with it has changed with each success. I KNOW what I can do.
- I’ve paid off thousands of dollars in debt and live a very different life financially.
- I’m abundance mindset focused. Money is out there, I just need to get myself in front of it consistently.
- Real Talk: I feel no discomfort, embarrassment, or unease telling you that my time side-hustling is about to come to an end…in 6 weeks.
- However, I do feel the following internally
- Relief
- Resolute-I am at the point where I just want to focus on my making money with my products, goods, and services
- Excited-this is a long time coming
- How did I make this decision?
- For the past two years I’ve become increasingly…tired of side-hustling.
- And, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t paying attention to how much I was making monthly side-hustling.
- I decided to figure it out.
- What surprised me was the fact that I was making a lot less side-hustling than I realized. So, I got to work.
- Currently I make money in the following ways
- Affiliates
- Course sales
- Ebooks
- Events
- Sponsorships
- Side-Hustles
- Going into 2020 I now know what works and what doesn’t in terms of my revenue. Moving forward I plan on growing the following revenue streams
- Affiliates
- Course Sales
- Ebooks
- Events
- Sponsorships
- Freelance writing (capped at a specific amount each month)
- Coaching
- What may surprise many of you is that I literally had 2 freelance writing clients in 2019 and I literally wrote 8 posts for other people this year. Yep, that was it. I basically removed freelance writing from my revenue because it just…made me crazy. Why?
- Lack of clarity in terms of expectations by the editors
- My biggest fear about freelancing-I was afraid that I would accidentally become a full-time freelancer and that was not appealing to me.
- The other new income stream-Coaching. I’ve created a new program called The Brand Building Lab. If you’re struggling to launch new products in your online business, networking is the pits, and you’re just stuck-let’s talk! If you’re interested in a 20 minute free coaching session. Sign up here.
- For me, letting go of side-hustles is an energetic release connected to a long period of my life. It’s also an energetic shift as well.
- My goal is to finish side-hustling by December 13, 2019 and I am so dang excited about it.
- If you’re looking for a freelance writer for personal finance, travel, or lifestyle related content-email me at michelleismoneyhungry@gmail.com
- By the way, I have a certain amount I would like to earn for each revenue stream and I make adjustments based on projected earnings.
- I’m plan on recording a podcast episode on building out revenue streams in your online business. Look for it sometime at the beginning of the new year.
- I would like to leave with this. Here is what I loved about side-hustles
- They allowed me to work on my dream of creating my own business
- The flexibility
- I worked a ton of fun events around town
- Meeting the other vendors (who I now pitch for sponsorships for my Colorado podcast-Square State)
- Paid trips to Breckenridge, Winter Park, and Steamboat Springs in exchange for reasonable work shifts at fun events
- What I won’t miss
- Working for someone else’s business
- Working on someone else’s schedule
- The time away from my actual business
- If you’re looking to add side-hustles to your life listen to the following show: How to Make Your Side-Hustle Work for You
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Interesting, I will need to check this out. I had about three side hustles going at one time and I dropped or cut back on most of them, particularly when my day job became busier and paid more. I like how you phrased it “breaking up” with them haha
Now I stick to the ones that are either really fun, like running my blog, or pay really well, like photography, and I still don’t do them as much as I used to. Rest is important too.
I’m so over side-hustling especially now that I have other things that I enjoy doing that make money. I also am working for myself, so I need to focus on what’s the best return for my time.
You’re going to be a busy lady in 2020 for sure. Looks like you’ve got a rock-solid plan to be your own boss and bring in tons of passive income! I like the part where you say you had a fear of your freelancing becoming full-time. I’ve thought about that as well. It seems like a huge time commitment. Good luck on all your endeavors!
I had no desire to become a full-time freelancer. I think a lot of people accidentally tip into freelancing because they don’t have diversified income streams. I don’t worry about that anymore.
Next year will be the turning point for me. I know that a couple of my income streams will grow like no other. I’m focused and ready to make it happen.
I know that it will be. I have NO doubt about that at all.