1424: What is a Side Hustle? And Why Millions Have One by Nick Loper of Side Hustle Nation on Passive Income

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Work Daily. What is a Side Hustle? by Nick Loper of SideHustleNation.com

[00:00:07] [SPEAKER_00]: A side hustle is simply a way to earn extra income apart from your day job.

[00:00:12] [SPEAKER_00]: There are dozens of examples, which we'll cover in full detail soon.

[00:00:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Today, it's all about the common characteristics of a side hustle.

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Mindset When you think of the word hustle,

[00:00:23] [SPEAKER_00]: what comes to mind? I've found it has two very different connotations. One positive,

[00:00:28] [SPEAKER_00]: he's not the biggest guy on the court but he sure shows a lot of hustle.

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_00]: And one negative, I got hustled by that used car salesman.

[00:00:36] [SPEAKER_00]: In the context of a side hustle, it's universally positive. The type of hustle I'm talking about is

[00:00:41] [SPEAKER_00]: getting more done with less, a finisher's attitude for the love of the game.

[00:00:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Not ripping people off, easy money and mind-numbing work.

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_00]: The first step to building a successful side hustle is to get the mindset right.

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Without the optimistic, can-do, make-something-happen attitude,

[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_00]: it's really difficult to find the positive energy required to build the business.

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_00]: If you're the down-on-your-lock, woe-is-me victim of life, I'll be 100% honest,

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_00]: this whole side hustle thing probably isn't going to work out for you.

[00:01:12] [SPEAKER_00]: It starts with attitude. The good news is attitude is free and it's equal opportunity.

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Everyone has access to the side hustle mindset. As Henry Ford said,

[00:01:22] [SPEAKER_00]: whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right.

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Investment A side hustle should be a low-risk project,

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_00]: meaning it shouldn't take a lot of startup capital. Like Chris Gillibeau discusses in

[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_00]: The $100 Startup, there are a ton of rewarding lifestyle businesses that got off the ground

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_00]: without breaking the bank. I started the business that eventually became Shoesniper.com with just

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER_00]: $5 because that's what it costs to open a Google AdWords account at the time, and I think it's free

[00:01:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Instead of investing a lot of money, the largest side hustle investment is typically the hustler's

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_00]: time. Time

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Side hustles are part-time endeavors people use to build new skill sets, supplement their income,

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_00]: or just to experiment with some new business idea. Initially, a side hustle should take up no more

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_00]: than 20 hours a week of your time. Of course, if the business really takes off, you're welcome

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_00]: to adjust the hours accordingly. But for starters, it's important to keep the time investment to a

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_00]: minimum. The idea is to take some knowledge or skill that you have and leverage it into a small

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_00]: but viable business. If it feels like work, don't do it. Side hustles should be fun. And no matter

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_00]: how busy you are, I'm sure you could scrape up an extra hour or two a day if you really had to.

[00:02:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Quote, lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have 24-hour days.

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Zig Ziglar Of the limitless side hustle

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_00]: I want to focus on time-leveraged ventures. In the beginning, it's 100% okay to take on a part-time

[00:02:50] [SPEAKER_00]: job, freelancing gig, or other by-the-hour types of work. But in the long run, the goal should be

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_00]: to leverage your time so that one hour of work can result in many hours' worth of income. That's

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_00]: what I mean by time-leveraged. Trading hours for dollars can be a good way to get started,

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_00]: to learn new skills, or break into a new industry. But it's not a long-term path to financial freedom.

[00:03:11] [SPEAKER_00]: After all, you only have so many hours in the day.

[00:03:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Income Side hustles are not

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_00]: get-rich-quick schemes but can be quite lucrative. Imagine if you could bring in an extra $500 or $1000

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_00]: a month in your spare time doing something you love. That would be awesome, right? That's what

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_00]: this site is all about. It won't happen overnight, so align your expectations accordingly. But it is

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_00]: absolutely feasible to be earning a significant side income after a few months or a year.

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Regular people make it happen all the time, and so can you.

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Rewards Besides the extra income potential

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_00]: that gets everyone excited initially, having a side hustle can be rewarding in other ways as well.

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_00]: For instance, it can give you a chance to pursue professional goals outside of work,

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_00]: challenge yourself in a new arena, and flex your entrepreneurial muscles, maybe for the first time.

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Filling your days with meaningful work is a path to happiness. If your day job doesn't

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_00]: get you excited anymore, or it never did, a side hustle is the perfect outlet to explore

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_00]: and experiment with something that will. The Hustle

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_00]: To make a side hustle work, it takes real work. That's why it's called a hustle,

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_00]: because it's not for lazy people. Although if you set it upright, an initial time investment

[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_00]: can pay off for months or years down the road without much ongoing work.

[00:04:27] [SPEAKER_00]: But if you're not ready to put in the hours at the beginning, or if you're happy with your job,

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_00]: if you make enough money already, a side hustle probably isn't for you, and that's totally fine.

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_00]: The best side hustlers have a hunger for something more and use their hustles as a means to get there.

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Are you ready to hustle? You just listened to the post titled

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_00]: What is a Side Hustle by Nick Loper of SideHustleNation.com.

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_00]: This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. We all have non-negotiables.

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you never skip leg day or have to take your morning walks.

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[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_00]: slash WorkDaily today to get 10% off your first month.

[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_00]: That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash WorkDaily.

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And I want to give a big thank you to Nick, who used to work full-time for a giant corporation

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_00]: but built his business during nights and weekends. He's also the host of the podcast,

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_00]: The Side Hustle Show. It's for part-time entrepreneurs looking for actionable tips

[00:06:12] [SPEAKER_00]: to start or improve their businesses. It's a great podcast, and it's usually in the top

[00:06:17] [SPEAKER_00]: charts of business in Apple podcasts. Definitely worth checking out. And the blog is great too,

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_00]: of course. So swing by SideHustleNation.com for a lot more.

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_00]: But that'll do it for today. Hope you're having a great weekend so far. If you're listening in

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_00]: real time, I of course thank you for being here as always. And I'll see you back here

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_00]: tomorrow for the Sunday show. That's where your optimal life awaits.