The term “side hustle” has been getting very popular lately. But there are a lot of people who haven’t heard of it or know what it’s all about.
So what is a side hustle and can anyone start one? I’ll show you everything you need to know and how easy it can be to earn money with a side hustle of your own.
Let’s check it out and see if it can help you reach your financial goals!
Definition Of A Side Hustle
There are many definitions of a side hustle, but here’s how I define it:
“Something you do to make extra money on the side that is independent of your regular job and dependent upon how much you hustle.”
Working extra hours at work or getting a part-time job somewhere is not a side hustle based upon how we see it here at Build Your Early Retirement.
Side hustles are opportunities created by you that you have control over as far as when and how you work them. The amount of money that you make depends upon how much time and effort you put into it.
Here’s an example of the difference:
Say that you love to write and love reading books. So to earn some extra cash, you get a part-time job at a book store.
This is not a side hustle because the book store is in charge of almost every aspect of how you make money:
- How many hours you work
- When you have to be there
- How much money you make
- How you handle the tasks you need to do
- Whether or not your employment continues
This is a job, not a side hustle. No matter how much effort you are willing to put into it, you are limited to whatever opportunity that the book store is willing to give you!
But suppose you take your love of books and writing and do something different. You start creating a series of eBooks and sell them online.
You are in control of:
- How many eBooks you write
- What platform you sell them on
- What topics you write about
- The price you sell them for
- How they are designed
- How much time you spend on your eBooks
Since you are in control of all aspects of your money-making business, this is a true side hustle. No one else is telling you how to manage and execute your business of selling eBooks.
In other words, how much you hustle is the determining factor in whether or not you make money and how much!
==>==> See my favorite side hustle I used to retire early! <==<==
Benefits Of A Side Hustle vs A Part Time Job
Now you might be thinking, “But with a part-time job, you will be getting paid regularly and know how much you’re going to make, so isn’t that better?”
If that income and security is something you need now, then yes, getting a part-time job may be the best choice for you. Side hustles typically can take awhile to start earning consistent money.
So if you need the security of a paycheck, I recommend getting a job that works for you and start your side hustle as time allows.
But there are benefits to a side hustle that you should consider if you are looking for more than just immediate income:
~ You can work as little or as much as you want to, which makes fitting it into a schedule with your regular job much easier. I worked as a rural postal carrier sub when I started my online business as a side hustle.
The job only guaranteed me 1 day a week and I was on call 5 other days. It worked well with my family obligations, but was almost impossible trying to find a part-time job that could arrange my hours around this type of schedule.
So to make more income, I worked my side hustle, an online business, whenever I wasn’t being called in to the post office. As a result, I have 6 websites in my online business now!
~ Your income is only limited to the time and effort you are willing to put in. In my example of selling eBooks, you control everything about the process, so what you put into it will determine your results.
The more books you write, the quality of them, and the more experienced you
get at selling them are all ways you control how much money you can make.
~ You can fit your side hustle into your family schedule much easier than with getting a part-time job. Don’t want to miss any soccer games, need to schedule appointments, or want to drive to the beach for the day with the kids?
It’s all doable because you control your schedule. Instead of trying to fit all of your family activities around a part-time job, many side hustles can be worked around your family life!
~ You can choose to do something that you are passionate about. Most of the time, you have to settle for whatever part time job fits your schedule and pays the best–no matter how much you do or don’t like the work. They don’t revolve around things you are passionate about or enjoy.
But you can choose a side hustle that fits with what you really enjoy doing and create opportunities in areas you are passionate about!
~ Typically, a side hustle doesn’t have a lot of upfront costs to start. You can start small and build up from there. Many of them are services that you can perform, which can require very little capital most times.
Side hustles also have some cons to go along with the pros, so here are a few that you’ll want to think about:
~ Some side hustles take a little while to get going before making any substantial amount of money. Here’s a great example of someone who started a side hustle and built it into a lucrative full-time career:
A friend of mine worked part-time when her children were young, but she wanted to make more money. She had some bookkeeping experience, but would’ve had to pay expensive daycare costs if she got a regular bookkeeping job.
So she started finding opportunities to do bookkeeping from home for some small businesses in her area. She started with one company, and it took her about 2 years before building her business up enough to bring in substantial income.
However, once it took off, she quit her part-time job and was making a full time income from home working about 20 hours per week–so her patience and hard work paid off!
~ You’ll need to sacrifice some, if not a lot, of your free time. Starting a side hustle will take time and commitment, sometimes more than what you thought. But the reward of financial stability and independence is well worth it when you achieve success!
The Easiest Side Hustle To Start!
So the easiest side hustle you can start is also one of the most profitable–Affiliate Marketing! If you have a laptop and an internet connection, you can create your own website in minutes and start an online business to work from home.
Don’t know how to create a website or become an affiliate marketer? That’s OK!
My #1 rated program has everything you need to make long-term, consistent, substantial profits. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme, it’s a legitimate platform that specializes in up-to-date affiliate market training.
The program is Wealthy Affiliate, and it’s the awesome system that taught me everything I know about earning money online!
One of the very best features is access to an active community forum where you can get help, support, and mentoring from experienced marketers around the world. It’s an amazing spam-free environment where newbies can learn and get answers to their questions!
Think it’s expensive? Affiliate marketing is one of the most low cost ways to start a side hustle there is. Wealthy Affiliate has a starter program where you can create 2 websites and get training for free–they don’t even require a credit card!
==>==> Check out the FREE starter program now! <==<==
If, like me, you see that this is the right side hustle for you, the entire Wealthy Affiliate platform is available to you for just $49 a month. It’s an incredible value, and you can build up to 50 websites!
Affiliate marketing is a business where you build a foundation that will pay you profits down the road. While it’s one of the most lucrative–you can make $100,000 a year, even part time–it can take months before you start making any money and longer before making consistent income.
So you want to be sure that you’re going into it with the right mindset for success. A good general guideline can be found at How Long Does It Take To Start Making Money With Affiliate Marketing?
==>==> See how I started my side hustle and make money online <==<==
More Side Hustle Opportunities!
So where do you find ideas and opportunities to start a side hustle? First you want to turn to the things you love to do or are passionate about.
For example, do you love to find hidden treasures at flea markets and garage sales? You could clean them up or re-purpose them and sell them on EBay!
Do you have a love for dogs? Maybe you could take care of dogs for owners while they’re at work or out of town.
For more great ideas, there’s a couple of my posts that might be helpful:
20 Money Making Crafts You Can Do!
19 Ideas For A Home Based Business
How about you? Are you thinking of starting a side hustle? Let us know your thoughts and ideas in the comments below!
I am pretty fortunate that my side hustle has been able to become my fulltime job. It took a few years before I was able to quit my day job. But with a lot of hard work, I was able to make it happen. Now, since I work from home, I get to make my own hours and work when I want to work. To me, there is nother better than having the freedom to work when you want to work and take time off when you want to. I also have a couple of other hobbies that have ended up becoming side hustles as well. It is fun making money doing what you love.
Congratulations on your success! You’re exactly right about making money doing what you love. I always advocate having a side hustle in something that you really like doing or from a hobby you love. That makes it easier and more enjoyable to stick with it and start earning income!
In this time and age where job security is a thing of the past. Any side income stream is helpful. As the saying goes, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. You never know when your side hustle will become the main income. I believe using your time and talent to create side hustles to increase your income streams is a wise thing to do. If you cannot sacrifice time and space(location), an online hustle makes most sense. It gives you flexibility and don’t need to be in a specific place to earn the income.
I totally agree! Having multiple sources of income is one of the best ways to ensure your financial stability and independence. My side hustle is designed to give my husband and I the freedom to keep our nest egg intact in retirement and enjoy doing it!
Well, It’s when you are working a full-time job while doing work on the side, known as the side hustle. By this second job, you can work flexible hours and be your own boss.
This is something someone is passionate about and enjoy doing while making money. A good example will be an online job, I am currently working online and things have never been better. I am working my own hours and I’m loving it. I quit my full-time job to make my side hustle full-time.
I love this topic, so thank you and all the best.
It’s fantastic that you’ve been able to quit your job to do your side hustle full time! You’re enjoying the benefits of being your own boss and working the hours that you want to–thank you so much for sharing your experience with us!
Eye opener just learnt of it,i love this affiliate marketing platform and i believe it is the way to go.Interesting post and actually a well worth hustle i should suggest.Income generation working from home this is amazing.
Working from home and earning money online is a wonderful side hustle–good to know affiliate marketing is working for you!
Hii there
This article is so important for me because I didn’t know about side hustle before .but after reading this article now I have options other than just looking for a part time job. Like you said, it’s difficult to find a part time job that fits with my regular job and family life!
So glad I could help, and good luck with your side hustle!
Thanks for bringing the topic of side hustle. I thought it is the same with my part time-job. I love to have control of what I can earn based on how much I’m willing to put effort into it. Affiliate marketing is a new term for me, so I will try to learn about it more. It seems Wealthy Affiliate is a good platform. How long can you start earning money with this platform? Thanks
The answer you’re going to get is the dreaded, “It depends!” because there are so many factors that play into how long it will take you to reach your income goals.
But I have put together a general timeline that will give you a good idea of what it takes to be successful and how long before you can expect sales to come in. I hope it will help give you some guidance–“How Long Does It Take To Start Making Money With Affiliate Marketing?”
I had not heard of a side business being called a ‘side hustle’… . I’m definitely looking to retire early and maybe supplement or create more income when I am retired (down the road) with affiliate marketing. I love the idea of ebooks too! What is a good tool for creating ebooks? Thank you.
One of my favorite tools is Designrr because they have a system that can create professional eBooks in PDF form, even from your own blog posts. I also recommend OpenOffice.org for a terrific free platform that’s easy to use and to convert your eBook into PDF as well.
Good luck!
This is a fun yet serious post. I like the side hustle term. To me this means it won’t come easy, you have to put some work, in which case it must be worthwhile. Having reached 50 and still working, I can’t imagine going to work every morning for the next 15 years if the retirement age doesn’t go up. That is well worth a side hustle for anyone, especially when there are so many other passions that the time could be spent on. Your title is most appealing, building an early retirement.
Starting a side hustle is definitely worth it for anyone who has the goal of being financially independent or retiring early. Most people want to spend time doing something they’re passionate about when they’re not working. The great thing about a side hustle is that you can use those interests and hobbies to make money at the same time!
This content of ours brings amusement on my side. You have had discussed the topic I believe so deliberately that it leaves to your readers points to ponder about generating income in a smart way.
I am on the same niche as yours yet I’m still on the stage of researching relevant and informative topic like your content which I could be able to post on my site.
I’m glad to have this opportunity to visit your site. It expands my horizon on what content best to offer to my site visitors.
The whole idea of this site is to help people generate income streams that can enable them to become financially independent. Come back any time to check out my content–I’m happy to help!
This was a very interesting post. I have heard the term hustle on the side but I totally misunderstood its meaning. I enjoyed having this explained so well and perhaps I will spend more time doing some hustling on the side. I also liked the fact that you included some suggestions of ways to hustle on the side with a few good ideas to explore. The links to the different ideas to try was very helpful so I have kept a copy of that for further reference.
Thank you.
You’re very welcome, and I’m glad you found the information helpful!
Well written & informative post. You clarified and explained really well the difference between a side hustle and part time job as I didn’t realise there were so many differences between the two before. Thank you for that. I’ll take a closer look at my ideas for creating additional income to be sure that they are good side hustles to develop so that I can maintain some flexibility with my schedule as well.
Good luck at finding the perfect side hustle for you, and thank you for stopping by!
Dear Janelle,
Thanks a lot for the informative post on Side Hustle. I got new helpful insights via your post.
I really had a different perspective on side hustle and your definition is an eye-opener. Great definition on Side Hustle – Turning our passion into Profits! Amazing! I really enjoyed reading your post.
In this demanding and growing economy… Multiple source of Income is a must and that too it will be great to earn from what we love to do.
Your recommendation is the same program which helped me to become a full-time blogger working from the comfort of my home. Thanks for guiding people towards a genuine program.
Wishing you great success!
Paul
Before I heard of the phrase “side hustle”, a hustle had always been what someone did to take advantage of someone else! So I was intrigued the first time I heard about people doing side hustles to make extra money.
So glad to hear you are a success as a full-time blogger, and I appreciate you taking the time to visit my site. Any time you’d like to stop by and share your experiences, you’re more than welcome!
Thanks again for the helpful post and very helpful. Looking forward to learn more from your posts.
Paul
You’re very welcome!
Hi Janelle, how are you?
I loved your Article about HUSTLE. I did not know the concept and definition.
So, question: Would my online affiliate marketing website be considered a hustle?
I love the idea that we can do what we have passion for and work as much we want, when and where we what to work and still making money.
Keep up the excellent work.
You rock. Cheers to you success,
Telma
I’m doing great, thanks!
Your affiliate marketing website would definitely be considered a side hustle. You are in control of everything, you don’t answer to anyone else, and your success depends entirely on you.
Good luck with your online business, and I wish you great success with it!
Cool. Thank you Janelle
You are very welcome!
Very interesting post. Never heard of a side hustle before. But you gave a very accurate description, especially the part about earnings. Many people think that they can get rich in a side hustle. Thanks for the good information. I guess I’m in a side hustle doing affiliate marketing. Thanks, Deanna
Affiliate marketing is a great side hustle! Thanks for stopping by and good luck with your affiliate marketing business!
Hey Janelle! This is such a well-written post. I also do believe that a side hustle is a great way to nurture your passion and make some money with it. Of course, it can be a bit difficult especially towards the beginning. But, with patience and satisfactory rewards, it is much better than a part-time job.
I totally agree! If someone needs extra money right now, getting a part time job may be the answer for them. But if they have the ability to take the time to develop a side hustle, they have the chance to make long-term, consistent money with better benefits for their family life.
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Hi there, Janelle. I’m already working online and always looking for a side hustle to make some extra money from. Can you suggest any good Affiliate Programs I can promote on my websites?
Love the idea of your Side Hustle post because working for a Boss in regular work is hard enough. Taking on a second job in the same circumstance is very exhausting and not really sustainable for the long haul.
Thanks, Jeff.
The affiliate programs you will want to choose will be related to your niche. Here’s 2 ways that I find affiliate programs:
1. Do a Google search with your niche followed by a plus sign and the words “affiliate program. For example, if your niche is gardening, you would search for “gardening + affiliate programs” in Google, and you will find programs to check out.
2. Search through one or more of the affiliate networks available, such as ShareASale, Clickbank, or CJ Affiliate. You will be able to find a whole array of affiliate programs that should relate well to whatever niche you have chosen.
I hope this helps and good luck with your online business, Jeff!
Great post ! Creating a side hustle certainly takes time and effort but since you are doing something you truly enjoy it’s more play than work. Of course you have to have time to put into it and the patience to nurture it as it grows but the rewards can be huge as you begin making money while having fun and following what you are passionate about.
You are so right! When I started my blogs and affiliate marketing, the aspect I loved the most was being able to write about things that I was passionate about. Although it takes time and effort, I can always find ways to reinvigorate myself into the business because of how much I love the topics!