Summary

The article advocates for growing a side hustle while maintaining a day job to ensure financial stability and minimize risk.

Abstract

The author suggests that individuals with side hustles should not rush to quit their primary jobs. Instead, they should focus on gradually building their side business while benefiting from the security of a steady income. This approach is particularly important for those with significant responsibilities, such as caring for a child. The article highlights the story of Eve Arnold, who successfully grew her side hustle over three years without leaving her job. The author emphasizes the importance of enjoying the process and avoiding burnout by not relying on the side hustle for immediate financial returns.

Opinions

Quitting a job to focus solely on a side hustle is not practical for everyone, especially those with dependents or significant financial obligations.
The "all-in" approach, glorified by social media, can be risky and is not suitable for the majority of people looking to build a side hustle.
A day job provides a safety net, allowing for a more sustainable and less stressful development of a side business.
Working on a side hustle alongside a day job can be a source of inspiration for content or product development.
The process of building a side hustle should be enjoyable and not a cause for burnout, with the aim of making meaningful progress over time.
It is important to have a long-term perspective and not rush the transition from employment to full-time entrepreneurship.

You Don’t Need to Quit Your Day Job to Grow Your Side Hustle

Besides, many of us aren’t in a position to do that

When Alex Hormozi quit his management consulting job to pursue his dream of owning a gym, he didn’t have much.

To save on rent, he slept on the floor of his gym and spent all day running his business.

Since then, social media has glorified this idea of quitting everything and grinding hard to pursue your side hustle.

People will talk about working all day and night, only eating ramen, and only buying bare essentials to survive.

I don’t think this is the right way to go about building your side hustle.

I’m here to advocate for the slower approach — building alongside your day job and gradually growing until you can leave your job with minimal risk.

The problem with quitting your job on day one

Quitting your job and going all-in on your side hustle sounds simple enough.

Since you don’t have work taking up 40 hours per week, you have more time and energy to spend on growing your side hustle.

But the problems with this mindset appear when you consider that some people have other responsibilities that they can’t just give up.

For example, I have three-year-old child, so Hormozi’s approach wouldn’t work for me.

I can’t ask my son to come sleep on the floor of a gym with me and only eat ramen for months until I start making good money.

And in the meantime, I still have to pay for his school, clothes, and other activities. I also need time to spend with him.

I can’t afford to go homeless for a while and grind hard all day.

If you’re a young person who lives at their parents’ house and has minimal responsibilities, this could be a feasible approach to get your business off the ground quickly.

But I don’t think that applies to the majority of people who are looking to build a side hustle.

What’s the better option?

It may not be quick or attractive, but the better way to build your side hustle is to do it alongside your day job.

This way, you can keep the steady income while your side hustle grows.

As your side hustle starts making money, you gradually reduce your hours at your main job. Once your business is making enough money, you can leave your job.

It’s gonna be a slower process than quitting first and going all-in, but the day job gives you a safety net in case your side hustle doesn’t quite work out.

As a bonus, stories or problems from work can serve as an inspiration for your content or products.

Eve Arnold is a champion of this mentality. She’s been creating content alongside her day job for 3 years. And she did it all without quitting her job.

This means she could take the time to build a sustainable side hustle without having to worry about how she would pay her bills.

This is what I’m trying to do too.

I have a day job as an administrative assistant. This way I can support myself and my son without getting myself in to debt.

Before and after work, I create content online to build my brand and business.

Does it sound as cool as slamming your resignation onto your boss’ desk and walking away into the sunset? No.

Is it gonna take more time than if I spent 80 hours a week on this? Yes.

Does it mean I have less free time to do other things? Yes.

But at the end of the day, it’s something I enjoy doing.

And I don’t have to grind at it 80 hours a week because my next meal depends on it. I don’t want to get burnt out from this.

I try to spend at least 1 hour in the mornings on it. After work, I aim for another 1–2 hours depending on what else I need to get done that day.

My goal is to make meaningful progress each day, while remembering that I’m in this for the long haul. I want to have fun creating content and helping others.

If there’s a day where I don’t have time or energy to work on my content, that’s fine. I just get back on the horse the next day.

So if you’re thinking of quitting your job so you can pursue your side hustle, I urge you to reconsider.

Don’t grind yourself down to the ground because your income is tied to the success of your other project. Keep a steady source of income so you don’t have to stress about money all day. That will also free up more brain space for thinking about your new business.

Once you’ve built up a steady stream of cash, then you gradually reduce your work hours, or leave entirely if that’s what you really want.

The goal of this journey is also to have fun along the way.

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