It goes without saying that life is generally difficult for many people with food and fuel prices skyrocketing. Inflation is also out of control, making it very difficult for a lot of people to keep up. What is also worrying is that salaries have remained the same, putting financial strain on households to make ends meet, save and invest.
The question is ‘How do I go about increasing my sources of income?’
A brilliant way is to start a side hustle. But, let me first start by discussing the difference between a main hustle and side hustle.
What is the main hustle?
A main hustle is your primary source of income – how you primarily make your money. It could be in corporate, public or the non-profit sector. Main hustles usually happen between 08:00am to 17:00pm daily. With salaries not growing above inflation (currently 8.8% in Lesotho for June 2022), it is increasingly becoming important to create additional sources of income so you can keep up, save and invest. Inflation is the general increase in prices for goods and services.
What is a side hustle?
Unlike a main hustle, a side hustle is an alternative way to generate money and increase your sources of income. A side hustle can take different forms and usually happens outside the main hustle’s time.
The question many people ask is ‘how do I start a side hustle?’
In conversations with my clients and friends, I often ask them ‘What hobbies do you have that can be monetised?
It could be that you’re a great cook, baker or have great soccer skills. Can you coach or teach someone how to cook, baker or play soccer for a few? Is this something you can monetise? I usually encourage them to think about how they can monetise hobbies, while having fun. The second question I often ask is ‘What skills, knowledge or experience can you use to monetise?
Examples are people who are great mathematicians, economist or public speakers who can offer tutoring services to students, help people who are terrified of speaking in public by coaching or use these skills to unlock additional sources of income.
Another example to unlock additional sources of income would be to think about monetising your resources. Perhaps you are a videographer with equipment that you can hire out or you have a spare room that you can rent out to people looking for accommodation. What resources do you have that can help generate you money?
The last example could be using technology or digital platforms to unlock additional sources of income. We are living in a digital era, where the gig economy is taking off. The gig economy according to Investopedia is a flexible, part-time or temporary jobs where clients connect with services provides via online platforms.
A lot of people, particularly young people are using their social media platforms to unlock additional income streams, getting paid to become social media influencers, content creators on YouTube or podcasts. We’ve seen people start online businesses to generate additional sources of income.
What should I consider when doing a side hustle?
Depending on the type of side hustle you want to start, it is very important do research and determine if there is a market. This includes identifying who your target market is, where they stay and if they would want to buy your product or service. Some side hustles will require time, resources, new skills or capital to start, so doing research is important.
Secondly, a mistake to avoid when thinking of starting a side hustle is doing the side hustle during the main hustles’ time – this can be a disaster. It is important not to jeopardise your primary source of income, rather do your side hustles over weekends or in your spare time.
Starting a side hustle also comes with pressure, so time management is key. Having a side hustle means that you are giving up time for family, friends or giving sleep or resting time. It also comes with mental pressure, because you need to a lot of energy and time management skills to balance your main hustle and grow your side hustle. So you need to be very mindful of your mental health.
Lastly, there are benefits to unlocking addition income streams by monetising hobbies, skills, resources and leveraging on technology. By so do, you can improve your financial position, increase savings and investments or pay off debt, particularly in this tough economic environment. Having additional income can provide money to do afford the things you enjoy doing such as shopping or traveling. So, start one and unlock additional sources of income. What skills what hobbies what knowledge what resources do you have at your disposal?
Catch the episode on my podcast and YouTube video.
