The Alchemy of the Side Hustle
Author: Michelle
Description: We're going to explore the unspoken magic behind how to successfully side hustle
Date: 2014-08-06T10:30:00+00:00

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# The Alchemy of The Side Hustle

posted on 6 August, 2014

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It is Tuesday night and I am waiting to hear if I will be able to do a 2 day 16 hour side hustle for $450-not including tips. I’ll know by Friday afternoon. The interesting thing is I was also called yesterday about doing a focus group for $100 on Saturday and I’m hoping that the timing works so that I can do both.

The Alchemy of The Side Hustle has begun to work. What in the heck am I talking about? I’m talking about the concept of turning things like hard work into metaphorical “gold” kind of like Nicholas Flamel was reputed to do.

When I began blogging I just could not figure out for the life of me HOW DID PEOPLE MAKE SO MUCH MONEY SIDE HUSTLING? You have to understand that I had spent many, many years working extra-jobs to help make ends meet. And they never really did. I worked:

- At a fabulous olive oil store-I loved it and am now even more of an olive oil/truffle salt/truffle oil/and 27 year aged balsamic snob than before. Hourly Wage: $11 (pretty decent for a mall job!)
- Starbucks-I loved frothing milk and pulling shots before they got the new machines that even monkeys can operate-sorry baristas, they should return the old machines so that you can learn the magic of pulling the perfect shot. ($7.00 plus hourly tips..usually ended up being around $9 an hour)
- Clothing Retail-Marshall’s/Express Yep, I’ve worked at both. I also really enjoyed those jobs.

There were three huge reasons why I was never going to get ahead with the money from these side hustles.

- I wasn’t making enough money! Duh-In an 8 hour shift I made $56 on the low end or $88 dollars on the higher end of the scale.
- These jobs took up too much time in the day-I had to calculate not only the amount of time I was at work, but the amount of time it took to travel to work and home. This lowered the amount I was making per hour (not including taxes being taken out). I lost out on opportunities to make money in other ways because I was at the mall all day.
- They were consumption driven-These jobs were based on spending money. They were located at the mall and it was almost like being a drug addict, I had to have a hit (shop) before leaving the store for the day. This behavior was very common in the mall. Sales people always, always end up buying something during a pay cycle.

In the past two years as I clawed my way out of debt and cleaned up my financial mess I’ve learned a couple of very important rules about money and the Alchemy of the Side Hustle.

- If you carefully read the extra money posts by Michelle from Making Sense of Cents and other bloggers known for their side hustle mojo you’ll notice something very interesting-she didn’t make money online until about her third month of focusing on side hustles. This leads me to the first rule: Stay focused on your goals, the money will come. She was initially focused on making extra money. That money came in many different ways: rent from her sister, selling books, selling clothes, and then finally making money online. It took 3 months of focus to start showing earnings from online endeavors. So, don’t give up if you don’t make money online immediately, it will probably take a few months for online projects to start showing up.
- Once you start making money with your side hustles, you will spot opportunities all the time (if you are super focused) It’s as if you become a magnet for opportunities and you won’t believe how many possibilities are out there.
- Make as much money as you can in as little time as possible. My goal is to make a minimum of $30 a side hustle, typically per hour unless it’s doing something that I consider fun and not work. You want to really leverage your time. If I don’t get the $450 side hustle this weekend ($28 an hour not including tips) then I still will make $100 doing a 2 hour focus group ($50 an hour) this is great because there is more time in the day to make real money or focus on other projects.
- In order for the Alchemy to work you must look for opportunities. Every.Single.Day. In the morning, afternoon, and night. Everyday I look at Craigslist and other miscellaneous places for opportunities. I am endlessly “pitching” myself and throwing my hat in the “ring.” The more you do it the easier it is and the more likely that you will attract opportunities your way.
- Be smart the process-A couple of things. Use your commonsense. If it seems too good to be true-it is. If the ad says “easy” be leery. Make sure people know where you are and how long you’ll be there. Let the people your with know that other people know your whereabouts. Don’t be a weirdo, but be clear about it. If someone seems like a creeper-THEY ARE!!! No amount of money is worth dealing with creepers. Use a Google Voice telephone number. I don’t use my cell phone number anymore when contacting my side hustles. If I am doing freelance writing I make sure that the organization/person/etc. is well-vetted before providing any personal information.
- Be organized-I have an EXCEL spreadsheet that has the following details noted: Organization pitched, date pitched, pay, the response (did someone contact me? Yes, No?) Contact information and name of person that I’m dealing with. I also have column for notes about the job/the contact/etc.

If you do these things I am sure that you will experience the Alchemy of the Side Hustle. Just remember that it will take time, but the magic will happen.

*Picture off of Google Images**

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#### Michelle

I am an obsessive foodie, but not self-righteous with it, love travel, meeting new people, helping you look good, and am freaked out by people who don't enjoying reading...something! Grab a Perrier, read my blog, feel free to drop me a line! Hope to hear from you soon.

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### Comments

1. Tonya@Budget and the Beach says

   6 August, 2014 at 5:16 pm

   Good luck! Hope you get it! I found that even though a side hustle may occur, it’s not always best to take it. Meaning if the hours worked really aren’t worth the time or the gas money it takes to get there. You could use that time for other more important things instead like job searching. That’s just one example. I’m doing OK with side hustles this year, but not as good as I’d hoped. I was bummed to have lost my volleyball client.

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     6 August, 2014 at 7:05 pm

     I’m with you-I have very strict requirements regarding was of travel/close to home/etc. I only take things that aren’t stressful and easy to get to (read-downtown!) I actually am the first alternate for that gig, which is fine by me. I’m all about fewer hours and more money. BOOM! I’m sorry that you lost that client, she seemed like a dream.

     Reply

2. Michelle (@BudgetBloggess) says

   7 August, 2014 at 7:19 am

   I hope you get it! You’re right it does take time to build up side hustles, I’m finally starting to get a few on the go but I’d ultimately like to get something more creative going that gives me more than a couple hundred dollars here and there.
   Love the Excel sheet idea! I’m going to start using it for my job search too. I’ve come across so many sites that suggest doing these types of things to get your foot in the door. Saving copies of pitches, noting what worked and what didn’t, constantly connecting with a new person each day/week.

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     7 August, 2014 at 9:26 am

     I am the first alternate for the big side hustle-which is ok with me because I made the focus group commitment first. I try to be consistent about doing what I say.So, if I get to do all day Sunday with the big side hustle that still works out great! I have always used a spreadsheet when looking for jobs and it works! Right before the Great Recession(Depression) I was looking to move to NYC and I was doing really well with the leads and it was so easy to keep track of everything.

     Reply

3. Kate @ Money Propeller says

   11 August, 2014 at 4:21 am

   Hey Michelle, that $450-not including tips for 16 hour side hustle is a pretty good income! How I wish we had that same rate in our country too! 🙂

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     11 August, 2014 at 8:40 am

     It was a kick butt amount of money for a really cool side hustle. I ended up not getting it which was fine because I had another 2 hour side hustle lined up for $100.

     Reply

4. Charotte says

   11 August, 2014 at 5:48 am

   I hope you get/got the side hustle! I haven’t really done any side hustling but its something I’m interested in getting into. I see other bloggers doing it so successfully and I figure, if they can, why can’t I? I’d love to have a bit of extra $$$ in my pocket every month!

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     11 August, 2014 at 8:57 am

     I didn’t get the mega side-hustle which worked out fine because I had a ton of other things to do. I did do the shorter side hustle that I already had lined up-a focus group. I ended up in the focus group for 1.5 hours and got paid $100 that worked out well! You CAN DO IT!

     Reply

5. 2CopperCoins says

   12 August, 2014 at 2:43 pm

   I’m in total agreement that after you focus on the side hustle, they just seem to come to you! We just moved across the country and we typically depend on our side income for the fun stuff. We thought we’d be out of luck for a while but within a couple weeks small side hustle opportunities presnted themselves. When you look for it, you’ll find it.

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     12 August, 2014 at 7:26 pm

     It’s weird because when I focus on the side hustles it’s as if they are having side hustle babies (like bunnies). I just find more and more. If you seek it-you will find it. Congratulations on your move and I hope you’re settling in nicely.

     Reply

### Trackbacks

1. […] The Shop My Closet Project – The Alchemy of The Side Hustle […]

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2. […] I do HAVE a process for side hustling that I touched on in an earlier post that I wrote called the Alchemy of the Side Hustle. But, for this post I broke it down even further so that newbies can get the most out of their side […]

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3. […] The Shop My Closet Project – The Alchemy of The Side Hustle […]

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