“Frugality was my side hustle. I was really good at it.”
Chris Sullivan, Actor
Pros and Cons of Starting a Side Hustle
Having a side hustle has become increasingly popular over the past years.
Many people are not quite happy with their jobs and want to build a business for themselves.
Side hustles can be a great way to build your business while you actually have a day job that pays for your expenses at the same time.
After a while, you may be able to leave your job and turn your side hustle into a full-time business.
While having a side hustle can have many advantages, it also implies some problems.
In this article, the pros and cons of side hustles are discussed in detail.
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Contents
Advantages of Having a Side Hustle
- You can make additional money
- You can learn a lot
- Side hustles give you flexible job opportunities
- Online side hustles are location-independent
- You can work as long as you want
- Having a side hustle can make you more resilient
- Relatively easy to quit a side hustle
- You can build your side hustle around your passion
- Side hustles may keep you motivated
- Side hustles can help you grow your professional network
- You can meet many new people
- Ideas for side hustles are endless
- You can become more independent from the corporate world
- May be helpful if you are not fully occupied in your job
- A side hustle can give you strengths in case you hate your job
- You can build your personal brand through your side hustle
- You can turn your side hustle into a serious business after a while
- Probably the best way to get out of the cubicle
- Financial pressure will be pretty low
- You can become financially independent in the long run
You can make additional money
One important advantage of side hustles is that you can make additional money.
In fact, especially people who earn rather limited amounts of money in their jobs look out for additional opportunities to make a higher income.
Side hustles are a great way to do so since you can work many additional hours and chances are that this will pay off in the long run.
You can learn a lot
Side hustles can not only help you out from a monetary perspective, you can also learn a lot from your side hustle.
In fact, you will put plenty of work into your side gig and the more you work, the more you will learn.
This is also a main reason why people who work quite hard on things become really good at it.
Those people simply work far more than the average person and by working more, they also get much more experience per year.
Thus, if you really want to develop and get yourself to the next level, sidle hustles are a great way to improve yourself and to learn many additional skills.
Side hustles give you flexible job opportunities
Another benefit of having a side hustle is that it can also give you quite flexible job opportunities.
In fact, while you will be rather inflexible in your day job since you will have to work core times, you will be much more flexible for your side hustle, especially if you choose a side hustle which doesn’t require you to communicate to clients on a regular basis.
Online side hustles are location-independent
Side hustles are also quite popular since you can start many of the online.
In fact, blogging or starting a YouTube channel can be a great way to start your side hustle and to make decent money out of it.
Online side hustles are especially convenient since they don’t require you to work from a fixed location.
Instead, as long as you have a stable internet connection, you can work from basically everywhere you want.
You can work as long as you want
Online side hustles do not only allow you to work location-independent, they also allow you to work as long as you want and also when you want.
In fact, if you work in a regular 9 to 5 job, you can go to work, do your duty and come back home.
After eating, you will have plenty of time to work on your side hustle instead of watching your favorite movies or doing other things that don’t help you to achieve your goals in life.
Having a side hustle can make you more resilient
Another upside of side hustles is that they can make you much more resilient.
In fact, it can be quite hard to have a regular job and to work on your side hustle at the same time.
However, due to this high workload, chances are that you will really learn to organize yourself and also how to deal with stress.
This will not only be quite helpful for success with your side hustle, but it will also benefit you in various other parts of your life.
Relatively easy to quit a side hustle
Side hustles are also quite convenient since you can often easily quit them in case your circumstances in life changed and you have to adjust your lifestyle due to that.
In fact, many people who start side hustles will soon realize that they don’t have the necessary level of perseverance and quit their side hustles without having to deal with too much bureaucratic stuff.
You can build your side hustle around your passion
Another chance of side hustles is that they offer you the great opportunity to build a business for yourself around the things you love.
In fact, it has never been easier to follow your passion than it is right now since the internet and social media provide us with so many opportunities to increase our reach and to share our ideas with other people.
Hence, if you are currently unhappy in your job and with your whole situation, starting a side hustle around your passion can be a great way to get out of your misery.
Side hustles may keep you motivated
Having a side hustle can also keep you motivated and can also help you push through difficult periods of your life.
In fact, if you just work in a job to earn money, you may have a quite hard time to deal with difficult periods in your life since you will not have anything to look forward to.
However, if you have built a side hustle around your passion, you can get plenty of hope out of it and this hope will greatly benefit you to push through difficult times.
Side hustles can help you grow your professional network
Another advantage of having a side hustle is that it can also help you to grow your professional network.
If you just stay in your job for a quite long time, you will always see the same people and your network will be rather limited.
However, if you have an additional side gig, chances are that you can greatly expand your network and this may lead to many additional job opportunities over time.
You can meet many new people
Having a side hustle can not only help you expand your business network, it can also help you to meet many new people.
In fact, especially if you offer consulting services, you can help people out on a regular basis and if you become really good at it, chances are that those people will really value you and also keep in touch with you on a regular basis.
Ideas for side hustles are endless
There are also so many different ideas for side hustles out there.
In fact, depending on your passion, you will be able to build multiple sources of income around it.
While chances are that you will not become a millionaire with your side hustle, you may still be able to earn pretty good money by just talking or writing about your hobbies.
You can become more independent from the corporate world
For many people, it is also quite important to become independent of the corporate world.
In fact, everyone is replaceable and you should not rely on the false belief that you have a safe job.
In fact, due to artificial intelligence and our technological progress, many people will no longer be needed in the workforce in the near future and if you don’t want to become unemployed sooner or later, chances are that you should build something for yourself instead of having to rely on the mercy of your company.
A great way to become more independent of your employer is to start a side hustle since you will earn additional income and even in case you get unemployed, you will still have a business that can pay your rent and other basic things.
May be helpful if you are not fully occupied in your job
Some people are also quite bored with their jobs.
In fact, many people just sit in the office all day long and wait until it is time to go back home.
Thus, if you are one of those people who have not too much to do in their jobs, you may want to start your side hustle to use your remaining energy in the most efficient manner.
A side hustle can give you strengths in case you hate your job
Side hustles can also give you plenty of emotional strengths in case you just hate your job and urgently want to make a change.
In fact, many people hate their jobs and wish to leave pretty soon.
However, many people just don’t know how to do it. If you are currently in this position, you may want to start a side gig so you can build your own business over time.
In turn, also your day job will feel less annoying since you will have the knowledge that you can quit it sooner or later anyway.
You can build your personal brand through your side hustle
Personal branding has become increasingly important over the past years.
In fact, it is crucial that you know what you are good at and focus on this respective field.
In turn, people will consider you an expert in this area and you may be able to charge really good money for potential consulting services related to your side hustle.
You can turn your side hustle into a serious business after a while
Many people don’t start a side hustle since they just want to earn some additional money, they start their side hustle to make it a full-time business sooner or later.
In fact, having a side hustle and building it to a serious business is a quite convenient way to combine ambition with security since you will still get paid from your day job but can still work on your side gig at the same time.
Probably the best way to get out of the cubicle
Many people also feel like they are trapped in the rat race. In fact, many people secretly hate their lives and urgently want to make changes, yet they simply don’t know how to do it.
If you feel like you are trapped in a rather sad life, starting a side hustle can also greatly help you out in this regard since you can do something you love instead of just going to a job you hate every day.
Financial pressure will be pretty low
Since you will still be able to receive your salary from your day job, your financial pressure will be quite limited if you start a side hustle.
In fact, due to this reason, side hustles can be much more convenient from a financial standpoint compared to quitting your job and starting a full-time business right away.
You can become financially independent in the long run
In the long run, you can also become financially independent thanks to your side hustle.
In fact, there are some side hustle opportunities out there that can enable you to create passive income.
This means that you put in the work one time and can benefit from it for many years to come.
Thus, if you plan to retire quite soon and need additional income sources for it, side hustles can also be a great way to accomplish this goal.
Disadvantages of Side Hustles
- Having a side hustle can be exhausting
- Having a side hustle can be stressful
- May lead to burnout
- Some employers don’t allow you to have a side hustle
- Many people give up their side hustle way to early
- You need patience
- You will have to put in plenty of work
- Side hustles can be time-consuming
- You will have to give up plenty of leisure
- You may have to get out of your comfort zone
- Some people underestimate the challenge
- Your side hustle may feel like a job in the long run
- Some people quit their day job far too soon
- Having a side hustle can be especially hard if you have a family
- People may try to bring you down
- Side hustles can fail
- Your performance in your day job may suffer
Having a side hustle can be exhausting
Although having a side hustle can have many advantages as we have seen before, there are still some issues related to it.
For example, one problem with side hustles is that they can be quite exhausting.
You will often come home tired from work and will have to motivate yourself to continue to work at nighttime.
In fact, this can be mentally challenging and chances are that you will feel quite exhausted over time.
Having a side hustle can be stressful
Side hustles can not only be challenging, they can also be quite stressful.
Especially if you have set a strict timeframe for yourself regarding when you want to make your side hustle your main business, chances are that you will put plenty of pressure on yourself.
May lead to burnout
If the workload becomes too high, you may also be at risk of burnout.
In fact, many people don’t know their limit and in the long run, if you work too hard on your side hustle, chances are that you will slowly but surely burn out over time.
In some cases, it can take weeks or even months to recover from those burnouts and you should therefore make sure that you know your mental limit in order to avoid burning out sooner or later.
Some employers don’t allow you to have a side hustle
Another disadvantage of side hustles is that some companies will simply not allow you to have a side hustle.
In fact, in many contracts, it is stated that you have to get permission from your company if you want to work in an additional job.
Hence, you may also put your job at risk if you start a side hustle without giving notice to your company.
Many people give up their side hustle way to early
Since having a side hustle can be exhausting and stressful, many people just give up way to early.
In fact, if your side hustle is not your passion, you will likely not be able to withstand the temptation to give up since it will simply be too hard to push through difficult periods.
Consequently, if you want to start a side hustle, build it around something you really love since only if you really love what you are doing, you will be willing to put in the extra hours for a longer period of time.
You need patience
Another downside of side hustles is that you will also need significant levels of patience.
In fact, you will have to put in plenty of work at the beginning without seeing any payoff.
In many cases, people spend years of hard work on their side hustle until they finally see the financial rewards from it.
Hence, don’t expect your side hustle to pay off immediately.
You should rather see it as sort of a long-term investment instead of a get-rich-quick scheme.
You will have to put in plenty of work
To become successful with your side hustle, you will also have to put in a lot of work.
And when I say a lot, I mean a lot! In fact, everything valuable in life needs time to build and you should not listen to those fake gurus who claim that they have found the magic pill that makes you rich.
Instead, focus on putting in the work every day until it finally pays off after many months or even years.
Side hustles can be time-consuming
Many people also greatly underestimate how much time they actually have to put into their side hustle.
This not only includes the actual work, but there are also some administrative tasks like tax declarations and accounting issues related to it.
Hence, make sure that you really want to start a side hustle quite bad since you may otherwise also quit due to those organizational and administrative hurdles.
You will have to give up plenty of leisure
If you want to start a side hustle, you should also be aware of the fact that you will also have to give up plenty of leisure.
In fact, if you want to turn your side hustle into a real business in the near future, chances are that you will have to give up almost all of your leisure for it.
Thus, make sure that you are really willing to make this time commitment before deciding to start a side gig.
You may have to get out of your comfort zone
Starting a side hustle also implies that you will have to get out of your comfort zone most of the time.
In fact, it can be quite intimidating to start a YouTube channel and to deal with all the hater comments.
However, over time, you will get used to those challenges and it will also feel kind of normal to deal with those issues.
Hence, you should not let this discourage you and there are still also many positive aspects related to getting out of your comfort zone.
Some people underestimate the challenge
Many people also greatly underestimate how hard it really is to turn a side hustle into a successful business.
Since entrepreneurship has become cool over the past years, many people want to be one.
However, what nobody tells you is how hard it really is to build and to maintain a successful business.
If you don’t have a stable mindset, you will likely fail.
Therefore, also make sure to mentally prepare you for those issues before starting and especially before turning your side hustle into a real business.
Your side hustle may feel like a job in the long run
While side hustles can be quite exciting and interesting at the beginning, they will soon take away plenty of your leisure and your side hustle may start to feel like a real job.
In fact, if you turn your hobby into a business, you may lose interest in it and many people also don’t stay satisfied with their side hustle in the long run.
Some people quit their day job far too soon
If you already have a side hustle and consider quitting your job, make sure that you are really ready for it.
In fact, many people quit their jobs way too far and don’t have the financial cushion to overcome financial crisis times or other extreme events that may threaten the existence of your business.
Thus, make sure that you have enough financial reserves before you quit your job and turn your side hustle into a full-time business.
Having a side hustle can be especially hard if you have a family
It will also be extremely challenging to start a side hustle once you have a family.
In fact, children need a lot of your time and you will have less time to spend on your side hustle.
Moreover, only very few people have the power to work at their jobs, come home late, help their children with homework and also work on their side hustle at the same time.
Hence, especially if you have a family, it will be extremely hard for you to build a successful side hustle.
People may try to bring you down
You will likely also have people around you who try to bring you down.
In fact, many people are quite miserable in their own lives and don’t want to see you succeed.
Thus, if you have those toxic people around you, you should also consider changing your circle of friends in order to maximize your chances that your side gig becomes successful.
Side hustles can fail
Even if you put plenty of effort and time into your side hustle, many people fail with their side hustle.
In fact, building a successful business can be quite hard and the majority of people may not be able to do so.
Hence, you may spend plenty of time and maybe also money on your side hustle, only to see it fail after a few months or even years.
Your performance in your day job may suffer
Since having a side hustle can be quite exhausting, also your performance in your regular day job may suffer as well.
If your performance drops too much, chances are that you will even get fired sooner or later and if your side hustle doesn’t earn enough money to provide for you yet, you may get into serious financial trouble.
Top 10 Side Hustle Pros & Cons – Summary List
| Side Hustle Pros | Side Hustle Cons |
|---|---|
| Side hustles can make you additional money | Side hustles can be stressful |
| Side hustles can make you more confident | Side hustles can be time-consuming |
| You can learn a lot from side gigs | Your quality of work may suffer |
| Side hustles can get you out of the cubicle | May lead to social isolation |
| Can help you leave the corporate world | It may be much harder than you think |
| May strengthen your network | Starting a side hustle may lead to burnout |
| You can improve your motivation level | Your side hustle may fail |
| Ideas for side hustles are endless | You may lose your corporate job |
| You can build a personal brand | You have to give up plenty of leisure |
| You can work as much as you want | Side hustles require patience |
Should You Have A Side Hustle?
From the previous discussion, we can conclude that there are many advantages and disadvantages of side hustles.
In my opinion, if you are currently quite miserable and not happy with your job at all, you should give it a try and start a side hustle.
In fact, if you are already miserable, it could not get too much worse 😉.
Sources
https://www.wonolo.com/blog/what-is-a-side-hustle
https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/the-side-hustle-how-to-guide-10-rules-for-side-hustle-success.html
https://www.oberlo.com/blog/side-hustle
https://www.sidehustlenation.com/what-is-a-side-hustle/
About the author
My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.
As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.
After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.
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