A Side Hustle Is (At the Very Least) a Hefty Part-Time Job. Let’s Not Sugarcoat It.

A side hustle is not a fairytale, it’s graft

If I read one more story about someone accidentally stumbling across a 6-figure business and basking in the riches I might actually throw up. And if you thought throwing up was bad, if I read one more story about quitting the 9–5 in order to pursue a life of meaning, one that guarantees to fulfil a dream, I will internally combust. At this point, they are both viable options.

I don’t know where along the line the ‘side hustle’ became so glamorous. I’ve been working away at mine for the last year and I feel like I’ve moved forward half an inch. Seriously. Half an inch.

It’s not glamorous. It’s early mornings, coffee induced, sweatpants wearing guesswork. It’s borderline unbearable some days. Writing for hours on end, to press publish, to wait for the influx of views, to get 7. A side hustle isn’t glamorous. It’s about as glamorous as sitting next to a stinky dustbin writing for hours on end and getting nothing for the pleasure. Whoever came up with the idea that this notion of a side-hustle is a dream come true, obviously never started one.

1. You’re Glamouring Based on the Wrong Data

The reality is a side hustle is squeezed between your normal life. It’s Friday night working. It’s Saturday morning working. It’s thinking about working when you’re not working. I am yet to sip a pina colada on a beach (regardless of the pandemic) because the reality is most people aren’t there yet. And most people think everyone else is there because they are using the wrong data sample.

The reality (since you asked) is that you will write for a whole year (like actually all 365 days) and you won’t even make $1 an hour. No, no, you heard that right. So far I’ve written 200+ articles, I estimate an average of 800+ hours of work (most likely more) and I didn’t cover $800 last year in earnings.

And that’s not a bad thing. There is so much to learn that doesn’t involve money but it is a bitter pill to swallow if you think a few days of this ‘side hustle’ job will land you in infinite riches. It won’t.

2. You Haven’t Properly Calculated the Sacrifice

The truth is, starting your own thing is incredibly difficult. Like trying to constantly wake up at 5 am is kind of difficult. To be honest, it’s a pretty endless and thankless task.

You will be rejected constantly. You will have high hopes and be let down on a daily basis. It’s like emotional torture. It’s a wild rollercoaster emotion after emotion.

Consistency is perhaps the hardest element to master, or maybe it’s positivity. Either way, it feels impossible on the bad days and marginally achievable on the good.

And maybe you should reconsider

But you can’t be in this game if you want to be thanked. You need to put on your big girl pants and do this because you think it’s worth the long term investment. There have been numerous times where I’ve had to look myself in the mirror (metaphorically) and ask myself if this is really what I want to do with my time.

Because honestly, you’ll feel better watching Netflix. You will. Netflix will give you more immediate rewards than what this side hustle will give you initially.

3. All of These Things Come As a Surprise

The reality of the side hustle is this:

• Emotional torment — You’ll be riding high one minute and flying low the next. One minute you have hope for the future that all your dreams will come true and the next you will feel like an imposter barely making ends meet. It’s a dance between feeling great and feeling helpless.
• Financial headache — I’ve just dipped my toe into the deep end of the side hustle pool. And it’s cold. Very cold. You must speculate to accumulate but if you’re not used to either, you feel like a deer in the headlights.
• Obsession — A side hustle is different to your 9–5. It’s different because it’s totally yours. It reflects you. In a way, no job ever could. It’s so authentically you that sometimes it can be hard to accept. Consequently, you spend a lot (and I mean a lot) of time on it.

If You Don’t Want to Don’t Do It

Subsequently, you cannot do this if you are only doing it because you think you should. Maybe your friend at work told you that you should. Maybe you got jealous and decided to take the plunge into the side hustle world. This isn’t for the faint-hearted.

If you want to win (and I haven’t yet) I’m convinced the only way to do it is sheer perseverance. It’s so easy to give up. Two clicks. Two clicks and I could give up on my side-hustle dream.

Contrast that to how hard it is to stay:

• No immediate reward.
• No promise of any reward.
• Long nights and early mornings.
• Emotional, financial and obsessional consequences.

You must do it because you want to and nothing else.

4. You Are Convincing Yourself of an Alternative Story

I can think of precisely 807 other things that are more glamourous than starting a side hustle. My dog had chronic diarrhoea last week, that’s number 806.

This isn’t to scare, it’s to give you the realities. The reality is, this kind of thing takes a while. You need to be able to preserve, not get disheartened, be your own biggest advocate amongst about 200 other things.

If you think it’s glamourous and you think it’s a sure-fire way to your riches in the next 10 days, then honestly, save yourself the time. Watch Netflix. See your friends. Enjoy your life.

It is not like that.

It’s a Story That We Want to Be True

People sell us that story because maybe on some level we all want it to be that easy. Maybe then, and only then, we’ll be happy. It’s a story that sells because there is an audience of people that are desperately hoping that that is the case. That one product in one day will change their life. And maybe for 1 in 1 million, that’s true. But that 1 in a million person isn’t you and it’s not me.

The story is something like this: work so hard that you give yourself a headache thinking about how hard you’ve worked and then carry on for the next 5 years. It’s not to push ‘hustle culture’ it’s to tell you the reality.

My plan is to work my socks off for the next 5 years and see where I am. I’ve already but in 700hrs+ and I’m literally an inch forward.

Final Thoughts

Starting a side hustle is hard. Like trying to ride a bike whilst making a cake hard and juggling fire, kind of hard. Only do it if you are willing to put in that work because you truly want to.

Only do it if you are cool with the fact that you might put your best work out to the world and no one will see it. Only embark on this journey if you can be okay with putting your best work out into the world and getting nothing back for years.

And I’m not saying that will happen but if you are okay with all of that, whatever comes of this side hustle thing will be very welcomed indeed.

So after months and months of work, my first book is out, you can order it here and get full access to my writing here.