Side hustles are in the news all the time to make more money.
They talk about using the hustle to fund a vacation.
Provide discretionary monthly spending.
Cover unexpected bills.
Start a retirement savings.
And more.
My Perspective
While this is a great outcome, I think we miss another point.
New experiences.
Learning.
Growth.
The side hustle is creating new experiences we likely don’t have in our full-time role.
Our jobs tend to be focused on areas like strategy, project management, finance, etc.
They specialize in the tasks we do each day, month, and year.
With a side hustle, we are wearing all the hats of a business.
We become a CEO.
We learn about bookkeeping, marketing, and finance.
We need to resolve our own IT issues and understand how all aspects of the business work.
We face fears.
Running our own business involves doing things that make us uncomfortable.
Those things will be different for each of us.
What we learn in our side hustle comes back to benefit our main job.
We can have better conversations with the finance team.
Understand what the tech team is talking about when they reference our “marketing stack”.
In my opinion, companies should encourage employees to start side hustles.
The experience will bring new perspectives and innovation back to the day job.
Your Turn
Have you ever started a side hustle?
What did you learn and what fears did you face?
How did that experience bring value back to your day job?