I always encourage my friends to have side hustles. It’s an easy way to try something new, and working with interesting people can bring so much energy into your life.
My first business was like a side hustle during my studies. (You can read more about that from Starting as a sole trader – what I wish I had known.) Since then, I have always had side hustles in my life. Some have been bigger than others, and some have been more like business hobbies intended to be a fun way to earn extra income.
A side hustle can be defined as a second job you do besides your main work. You get paid to do it, so there is a difference between a side hustle and a hobby. It’s also an easy way to try entrepreneurship among other experiences.
For me, side hustles have always been an excellent opportunity to try new things and learn. I have done many things, such as vlogs, podcasts, eCommerce and designing maternity clothes (when I was pregnant). This has enabled me to use my time for meaningful things and learn something new every day. And often it has brought me joy and amusement.
Why should you have a side hustle?
Having a side hustle is not just a temporary trend that we will forget within a couple of years. No, it’s here to stay, and it changes your whole working life. PwC reported that 49% of HR professionals believe that employees will be working for several employers simultaneously, as soon as 2025. This, as well as the rising number of freelancers, is a tremendous change in what work life is going to be in the future. If you want to learn more, you can read about the uncertainties and possibilities the future of work holds for us.
This change also permits a lot: you can have your day job and besides that run a side hustle and it will be totally acceptable. Meaning that since it becomes a normal, your employer won’t also question this as much as in the past (and I have also experienced this).
Sometimes a side hustle can actually grow into something big. Sometimes you can test yourself a bit – and find out what it feels like to be an entrepreneur. Often you can also find new interesting people with the same passions and values when you take on your side hustle. That is definitely one key benefit, at least for me: learning from new people and co-creating. Working with interesting people can bring so much energy into your life.
Passion was a big reason for me to run side hustles. Another big reason was curiosity: I have always wanted to try new things. Side hustles have helped me get to know myself better and grow as a person. When I was a student, I learned what I did and did not want to do in the future. I hadn’t thought about starting out as an entrepreneur, but through my side hustle, I got more comfortable with the idea.
I also love all the possibilities side hustles give you. Many of my friends started doing art work as side hustles, and they have made careers out of them. I doubt no one would have made that change completely overnight, but with a side hustle you can invest your time and money gradually. You can also test if people love what you do before jumping right into the new waters.
Digitalization is a helping hand to launch your side hustle
Now, it’s very convenient to set up a side hustle. Digitalization and globalization have made it easy to work with amazing people all over the world. Setting up all kinds of businesses in areas like consulting and eCommerce is so easy nowadays.
You often don’t need big investments to start a side hustle. Digital tools (we explored some of them earlier) make it easier to set up a business and stay on track with all different projects.
Invoicing is one example where good tools come in handy. Instead of doing all the work manually, you should consider some useful services for that. Good integration with your financing and bookkeeping helps a lot, as it can eliminate a large source of human error and mistakes. Our sponsor Holvi offers help for both conventional invoicing and e-invoicing. For many, earning some extra money is a big reason for starting side hustles, and that’s why it’s a good idea to make sure that all goes smoothly with billing.
Remember to keep your finances separate – always
When you set up a side business, I have one big advice: you must remember to always keep your personal and your side hustle’s finances separated. It is great that there are easy to use tools to help with this: Holvi offers this service and their Business Account (Starter plan is free). And, you can get a Holvi Mastercard to pay the expenses for your side hustle also.
Even if your side hustle idea is brave and ambitious, you shouldn’t make things too complicated. Having a separate business account and debit card helps with all the paperwork you have to do later, because then you don’t have to try to remember which expenses were for your business and which were for personal use. This is true for all good tools: they help you use your time and resources better.
And one more thing: tell your network about your side hustle! This will help you out and inspire others, too.
This article is sponsored by Holvi. Holvi is business banking for self-employed people who want to manage their finances quickly, easily and digitally. It’s an online business account combined with invoicing, expense management, streamlined bookkeeping and powerful real-time business insights. Everything in one place – to calm the chaos of self-employment.
