So you are thinking you need a side hustle, but you are frustrated because you feel like there is not much you can do until society opens up a bit more? Actually, ground work you do now could put your side hustle or micro-business light years ahead of where you would be if you jumped right in. Here are 5 questions to help find the perfect side hustle for you.
What are my side hustle priorities?
And do not write: “#1 Make money. #2 See #1.”
NO. I mean, really give this some thought, based on your personality and your family situation. What are the underlying reasons you have for wanting a micro-business or side hustle? Is it for little extras like vacations, eating out, or other treats you could give up if the market turned down? Or is it to pay rent or medical bills?
If it just ‘fun’ money, you can choose something that is good in good times and not good in bad times. But if this side hustle is the difference between you making rent or a car payment, you are going to want to give serious consideration to side hustles that will produce income no matter what the general economy does.
Another thing to consider is your family situation and life goals. Do you have kids? If so, what is best for them is going to play a major factor. I’m not trying to be alarmist here, but one of the (several) issues that kept me from every seriously considering using our extra room as an AirBNB was the fact that there was no separate entrance, and I didn’t want strangers in and out of our house when our kids were little.
Another thing that I would love to do is pet sitting. Unfortunately, my husband is allergic to both cats and dogs, so that is a non-started based on our family situation.
Be aware that your goals and situation will change over the years, so don’t try to predict everything that could possibly happen. But don’t be unrealistic about the facts, either. If you have 4 kids under age 4, a Saturday afternoon Mom’s Day Out babysitting service might be a lot more practical than a side hustle that requires hours of uninterrupted concentration.
Some ideas to consider:
Is this going to be ‘fun money’ or is it money you need just to pay the bills?
If you have a significant other is s/he on board?
Is it more important to you to make money right away or to have the potential to grow your income?
Do you need to be able to do your side hustle from home? While watching your own kids? At a certain time of day?
Do you have plans to move to a different city within the next few years?
Are you looking for something that could eventually replace your day job, or do you just want some extra cash on the side?
Is this side hustle recession proof? COVID-19 proof?
There are a lot of great side hustles out there that are only great until the economy goes south or we have another shutdown. That’s why it matters so much whether this is ‘fun money’ or you are relying on it to pay the bills.
If it’s fun money you have a little more freedom to choose based on what you will enjoy doing. If it is essential income, the last thing you want is to choose a side hustle that is super fun, but dries up the second people start cutting back on their own spending.
In the era of COVID-19, it’s also worthwhile to think about whether this is something you can do if your city or state shuts down again. That really limits the choices, I realize. But remember, you don’t have to rely 100% on a single side hustle. You can do Uber AND test websites. You can have a Mommy’s afternoon out where for Stay-at-home-moms AND do VIPKid. But you don’t want to count 100% on a side hustle that will drop to $0 in income with the first blip in the economy.
What side hustles can I pair up to get the best of both worlds?
Let’s look at a specific example. Let’s say you look at the options and decide you LOVE the idea of indexing. It seems right up your alley to be able to read books at home, create an index, and make money for it. (If that sounds like a dream job to you, check out more info here.)
But it just won’t work because you need to make $150 a month to pay your basic expenses. That is non-negotiable. And it needs to start this month, so you don’t have time to wait for the indexing to ramp up. So you think Uber might be better. But you know you can’t do Uber if there is another shutdown. Plus, you hate to give up the chance to create something that you could actually turn into a career in the future.
Newsflash: This ain’t a marriage. You can two-time your side hustles. You can have one to cover the essentials and one to build into the future. So you do Uber until you’ve got th $150 to cover your expenses, then spend the rest of the month on building your indexing side hustle. With luck, the indexing will eventually provide the full $150 you need a month – and more!
This side hustle doesn’t work for me. What else can I try?
OK, going back to that old relationship analogy. No one goes on one date and then dispairs if the person wasn’t Ms. or Mr. Right. Going into the side hustle search with the same attitude – that there will be some things that work out and some things that don’t – makes it a lot more likely you’ll actually be successful.
If you have gone through these steps and really given them some thought, make a list of 10-15 side hustles that could work based on your priorities. You might have to dig deep to get to that number, but sometimes those ideas that you stretch for are the ones that work out.
Here is an example list for someone who wants to work at home, needs to watch their kids at least part of the time, and has some background in art and design: running an in-home daycare, selling crafts on Etsy, flipping items on E-Bay, teaching English online though a service like VIPKid, offering a subscription box service with a focus on art for kids, creating and welling Pinterest templates, doing SEO optimization, testing websites, selling lesson plans on Teachers Pay Teachers, selling photos online, teaching Mom and Me art classes from home or doing calligraphy for weddings.
The important thing is not that you love every idea on the list; it’s that if one idea doesn’t work out, you have others to fall back on. Just don’t fall back too fast. Give each idea at least a couple of months to see if it will work, and longer if it is something that you have to build up, such as art classes or a subscription box.
A final thought: Your priorities will change
Moreover, even if you find a side hustle you love, that doesn’t mean you’ll love it forever. One of my side hustles was selling real estate. Man, I loved it! I’m a real estate addict, and I love talking real estate and helping people find their dream home. It’s totally something I would do for fun even if nobody paid me to do it.
But when I became a single mom, that just wasn’t an option anymore, and I had to say good-bye to that particular side hustle.
In another case, my preschool Spanish classes were really taking off when I realized that our family would be relocating within the next couple of years. Unfortunately, my business model was location dependent. So while I could take what I had learned and start over in a new place, it would definitely be starting over. As much as it broke my heart, I gave up my Spanish teaching business because it didn’t make sense to continue to pour my blood, sweat, and tears into it when it wasn’t portable.
But I didn’t stop. I still love my side hustles. Now I just prioritize options that are location independent.
Like I said, your priorities will change. You are likely to pivot several times before your find your long-term love. Hey, nothing is saying you won’t do the side hustle equivalent of marrying your high school sweetheart. But if you don’t there’s still a happy ending out there for you if you keep on trying.
Whatever happens, remember, you’ve got this.