9 Benefits of Side Hustling—Leverage Your Day Job to Fuel Your Dream Job

Side Hustler's Series Part 2 of 4: 9 Benefits of Side Hustling

The Dream You've Been Sold

Most likely, you’re a listener/reader for two reasons:

You’re ready to transform your hobbies into a side hustle
You’re ready to take your current side hustle to the next level

If so, you've tuned into the right place.

I focus on the side hustle part because hustlin' is a habit, and it's all I know.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to do their own thing full-time right out of the gates. In fact, I'd say the majority of people don't go this route.

You were sold the dream of the traditional route of getting student loans to fund college, so you can land a good job.

You then get married, get a mortgage, have kids, and do the same routine day-in and day-out.

The goal is to pay your dues at your day job to help someone else’s dream come true in hopes of retiring around sixty. Supposedly, that's when your life begins?

If you're like me, you've realized this isn't your dream at all.

Something deep inside you craves to go against the grain and blaze your own path.

I've had this internal craving since college where I was creating tattoos, logos, etc. to pay for video games and 30 packs of Busch Light.

This craving has only grown stronger as I've spent over five years building Perspective-Collective outside my day job.

Trust me when I say I've invested thousands of hours and two power plants worth of energy into finding ways to transform my hobbies into a monetized side hustle/side business—all outside a day job.

I’ve figured out what works through A TON of trial and error (extra emphasis on the error part).

No doubt, it's been a lot of work to navigate this ship to where it's sailing today. Regardless of the storms and choppy waters I've dealt with along the way, every ounce of effort I've invested in my dream has been worth it.

Pursue Your Gift & Make an Impact

If you’re not fully convinced nor confident that you’re ready to invest in the long haul, I have 9 super-convincing benefits of side hustling to share with ya.

Before I begin, I feel it's important to note that there's nothing wrong with having a day job.

You may have landed one that you love and have no desire to do your own thing full-time. That's totally cool!

You also may be in a position where you'll be in your day job for a while due to personal situations like mine. That's cool too!

This episode is solely fuel for satisfying that inner craving to do more with your gift. That's it!

Without further ado, the following benefits are based on my experience, as well as anecdotal evidence from my juggernaut creative friends and podcast guests.

#1. Find Your Purpose

This is #1 for a reason because I know what it's like to feel like you have nothing to offer the world.

If you go to bed each night without something to look forward to, something is wrong. It’s time to change that with a side hustle that feels like play.

I'm jazzed to get up each day because of my side hustle of helping other creatives build their killer side hustles.

I look forward to putting in the work and reapings these 9 benefits that come with it.

Life is dull and unfulfilling when you lack a purpose—side hustles can change that.

#2. Cultivate Killer Relationships

You may have heard the phrases, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” or “Your network = your net worth.” I believe both of these are 100% true.

I also believe in the quote from Jim Rhome, “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

Relationships are everything. Your side hustle can help connect you with like-minded people who have similar goals, work ethics, and values.

Two things to keep top of mind:

Always focus on giving more than you take
Create as many win-win scenarios as possible for both parties

You’ll be surprised by the genuine and abundant friendships you’ll build through your side hustle over time.

#3. Attract a Tribe of Like-Minded Freaks

"Embracing your weird" seems to be the storyline of 2019 and I'm all for it—the weirder the better.

Starting a side hustle or a passion project allows you to go deep on things that interest YOU.

It's a playground to experiment and embrace the YOU in YOU-nique.

Chances are you're not alone—your weird quirks and qualms are most certainly shared by other weirdos.

When you publicly share and own your YOU-niquness, you increase the odds of attracting a like-minded tribe of freaks who vibe to your unique flavor of weird.

Then you circle back to Benefit #2 and cultivate killer relationships—it's a win-win.

#4. Add New Skills to Your Arsenal

This one is obvious but important to stress. My side hustle has allowed me to learn skills that I’ve been able to leverage for raises at work, charge more in freelance, and attract more opportunities.

Pursuing Perspective-Collective has taught me how to:

become a better artist/designer
advance my lettering/illustration skills
market myself on social media
grow my email list
improve my writing through blogging
edit audio and video through the podcast
manage projects and my personal time
attract an audience and community
pitch, price, and present my ideas
communicate and delegate

I could keep going, but you get the picture. Whatever you want to learn, you can create a passion project around it.

#5. Build Confidence & Overcome Fear

I had little to no confidence in myself or my abilities for about the first 24-25 years of my life...until I started Perspective-Collective.

I was able to find my groove when I shared my work consistently on Instagram.

Facing the things I feared the most—like sharing my work, speaking in public, asking for what I wanted in life, or saying NO to people—has resulted in some incredible breakthroughs in my creative career.

Leaning into this fear has helped me unlock confidence in my purpose, my creative abilities, and my mission.

Side hustling builds confidence when you're persistently getting uncomfortable. Period.

#6. Turn Your Work into Play

Hobbies are fun and having fun = play.

There are no set-in-stone requirements that you have to turn that hobby into a side hustle, especially if your play begins to feel like work.

If your side hustle isn’t fun, it’s just another soul-sucking job. Keep your inner creative child alive and enjoy the messy process.

However, when your work becomes play, your potential is unlimited. The passion and fun will fuel you during the low moments.

#7. Make an Impact

I used to chase the glory: more money, more followers, more engagement, etc. However, when I focused on serving people and the impact I had on them, I found a lot of these manifest as a byproduct.

Creating for impact means contributing to something bigger than yourself—the greater whole.

Making an impact leaves a legacy far after I'm buried six feet deep.

I’m hoping the podcast and the Side Hustler's Coaching Program are things my son can be proud of and people can find value in for years to come.

#8. Generate Extra Income

Who doesn’t love to make a little extra money on the side?

For me, money isn't the focus anymore, it's become a byproduct of Benefit #7 and serving people like you.

I've learned that money and opportunities will come your way when you're ready and prepared for them.

Here are multiple ways you can make supplemental income with your side hustle: freelancing, slanging merch, creating digital products, consulting, coaching, teaching, influencer marketing, social media marketing, content creation, affiliates, etc.

For me, I’ve done a little bit of everything. The extra income I've generated over the years has helped me pay off credit cards, put a down payment on my wife's whip, cover emergency medical expenses, take vacations, donate to charities like Inch x Inch, and even buy special gifts for the lovely lady in my life.

Even if extra income isn’t your intent with your side hustle, just know there's a good chance you could probably monetize what you’re doing.

#9. Win Your Freedom

Again, maybe you’re not looking to take your side hustle full-time, and that’s totally okay. I know tons of powerhouse creatives who still hold down a day job like Brian Steely and Nick Slater.

If you're like me, you eventually strive to do your thing full-time.

I have a game plan to get there, but I'm still a few years away from taking that leap.

However, I’ve seen how side hustles and passion projects has unlocked financial and time freedom for my friends like Pandr Design, Lauren Hom, Musketon, and Elizabeth Gray of The Grayter Good.

When they started to take their side hustle more seriously, they were able to evolve them into lucrative creative careers.

Why can’t this be you and me too?

Share Your Gift with the World

Maybe you're ready to transform your hobby to a side hustle.

Maybe you're ready to take your side hustle to the next level?

Whatever it is, I hope you see the crazy benefits a side hustle can yield when you tap into your gifts and share it with the world.

So what if you have a day job? Don't let that hold you back from building a side hustle.

Leverage your day job to fuel your dream job, and have some fun in the process!

Need Some Extra Help? Check out The Side Hustler's Coaching Program

If you're finding that you want some extra hand-holding and accountability to take the next step, sign up for the Side Hustler's Coaching Program now to join the waitlist for September 16th's launch week.

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