A business owner hates side hustles.
Shocking.
While not surprising, it’s always disappointing to see business owners who recommend that people quit their side hustles.
Below is a screenshot of a LinkedIn post the business owner made. It has since been removed.
I blacked out the name and picture of the individual who posted it.
There is so much wrong with this.
Let’s start by level-setting on how many American workers actually have side hustles. Per CareerBuilder research:
- Nearly a third (32%) of workers have side hustles
- 35% of women and 28% of men have side hustles
- Of those workers 35 and under, more than 4 out of 10 (41%) have a side hustle, compared to 27% of workers older than 35
- African American workers (46%) and Hispanic workers (40%) are more likely than White (29%) and Asian (26%) workers to have a side hustle
- 1 in 4 workers making more than $75k and 1 in 5 workers making more than $100k have a side hustle
I’m a big proponent of side hustles. They help people dig themselves out of difficult financial situations, build financial stability, and give them a brighter financial future. It also provides a secondary stream of income and a ton of “unexpected” upside (more on that later).
When anyone aggressively attacks side hustles – especially business owners – there is usually a few common themes:
- A general fear of employees who have income streams outside of their 9-5 job, making them less dependent on their 9-5 income and more difficult to control.
- A lack of empathy for people that are in different circumstances and have different goals.
Let’s not sugarcoat it: the business owner I quoted above is telling those with side hustles that their career will suffer at his business if they decide to take one up – or don’t quit one they already have.
Assuming that employees work on their side hustles entirely on their own time, whether it’s in the morning before work, during lunch, after work in the evening, or on the weekends, discriminating against an employee for how they decide to live their life in their spare time is wrong.
You would hope that this would be obvious to most people, but I’m sure there are countless stories of individuals who have been discriminated against because of side hustles or extra income they’ve pursued in their spare time.
The business owner’s advice is that instead of working towards your side hustle you should put more time and energy into your career.
I think we can all connect the dots: this is a way of saying someone should spend more time in the office (40-55 hours is not enough), be available in the evenings and weekends, and in general drop other responsibilities to put in more hours.
Let’s focus on how the business owner started off his post, by saying that those with side hustles “aren’t fooling anyone.”
Huh? I wasn’t aware that by starting a side hustle it’s required that you attempt to “fool” others? Again, the risk of discrimination is the main reason that would drive an employee to stay quiet about what they do in their spare time, and using language like this reinforces it.
Creating an environment that is hostile towards employees who decide to make money in their spare time instead of watching Netflix, playing video games, or other leisure activities is wrong. Employers should treat all employees equally regardless of how they choose to live their life outside of work.
With nearly half of workers 35 and under having a side hustle, it would be wise for employers to think twice about how they are portraying themselves to current, prospective, and future employees who either have a side hustle or may want to start one in the future.
Why Do People Side Hustle in the First Place?
At it’s core, the reason people side hustle is simple: to make more money.
Which is why you get so many people responding to side hustles with the question of “why don’t you just work harder and advance at your 9-5?”
Some people who side hustle do work hard and advance at their 9-5. It’s an oversimplification of the situation to assume that people who have a side hustle do not advance at their 9-5, or that they are under-performing. There are a ton of people who have extra streams of income who are crushing their 9-5.
In some jobs or careers it doesn’t matter how many hours you work or how productive you are. You’ve hit a ceiling, even if it’s temporary, before you would be considered for a promotion.
Let’s take the example of an entry-level accountant. Even if they got promoted a year after starting, they would still have to wait, at minimum, one additional year before getting promoted from that position.
They may be buried in student loan debt, though, or have a wedding they need to save for. And let’s not forget how expensive things like housing and health care have become.
They’ve “maxed out” their 9-5 income. Regardless of how hard they work the next year, they won’t see a pay bump for at least a year.
Another good example is a teacher. They have little control over their income at their 9-5. Assuming they like their job, making money on the side may be the only way to reach their financial and life goals.
The reality is that most people don’t plan on having their side hustle be their full-time gig. According to Careerbuilder research, 67% of workers with a side hustle do not want to turn their side gig into their day job.
Someone who has a side gig doesn’t necessarily want to do it full-time. They may be doing it temporarily to hit a financial goal, like paying off student loan debt, going on a vacation, or building up a down payment for their house.
Again this all goes back to this point that I can’t stress enough: employers should not discriminate against employees based on how they spend their time outside of work. They can choose to make extra money, or not. They can choose to have kids, or not. They can play video games every single night. Or not. It shouldn’t matter.
With that being said, there are employees who would like their side gig to turn into their full-time gig.
Whether an employee leaves the workforce to pursue their side hustle full-time or for some other reason shouldn’t matter to an employer. Employees leave their jobs all the time for a variety of reasons, whether it’s to do a similar role at a different company, to relocate for a partner’s career, to spend time at home raising children, or some other reason.
As long as the employee is performing their job duties and their side hustle does not conflict with their 9-5, the employer has no business having an opinion – especially a negative one – about their efforts to create income streams beyond their 9-5.
Unexpected Upside of Side Hustles
The business owner claims that a side hustle is limiting an employee’s career success, not enabling it.
It’s easy to say that, but he provides no examples of what that looks like. Why is it limiting their career success? If they didn’t know the employee had a side hustle, would it still be limiting it? If not you can chalk it up to discrimination on the part of the employer.
Despite what the business owner claims, side hustles have a ton of upside, much of it “unexpected.” Some of this upside may not be realized for years and years of working a side hustle; other upside could come quickly.
Here are a few examples of the upside somone may experience through working a side hustle. And keep in mind this is above and beyond the obvious benefits of working a side hustle, which is making extra money that can help you reach your financial goals faster and diversifying your income so that your income is not 100% reliant on your employer.
Skill Development
Time and time again I’ve seen people with side hustles develop a wide variety of skills quicker than they would have if they had followed the advice “stick to your full-time job.” Some skills that people gain through side hustles would have never been gained if they hadn’t pursued a side hustle.
As I explained in this blog post, side hustles can give you not only skills but experience that employers are looking for. Side hustles can be better than formal education for making career pivots. Not only are you learning the necessary background info about a career as you would in a classroom, but you are actually gaining experience.
There are countless examples of how people have leveraged side hustles to change their careers, launch a business, or gain promotions in their current career path. From a mortician who became a full-time writer, to someone working in human resources who leveraged their side hustle to land a content marketing job, people are leveraging side hustles to advance or change their career.
Ability to Take Risks
One big reason a business owner may dislike an employee working a side hustle is because it’s much more difficult to control an employee who doesn’t “need” their job, or who have even a little less reliance on their 9-5 than an average employee.
One reason layoffs are so traumatizing is because a large majority of people do not have additional income streams beyond their 9-5, and most do not have emergency funds to cover them for an extended period of time. That forces most employees to operate with a sense of fear – fear they will say the wrong thing, propose an idea that is not popular, or otherwise put a target on their back if layoffs come around.
Side hustles can help employees build an emergency fund as well as income streams beyond their 9-5. Having these in place will allow an employee to not operate from a place of fear on a day-to-day basis. Imagine how many employees would love having a flexible work setup where they work remotely part- or full-time, but are afraid to propose it out of fear of causing waves. An employee with additional income streams can move forward with confidence and not have a fear of job loss be the driving force of their day-to-day life.
While some business owners would prefer a workforce they have more control over who operate primarily out of a sense of fear of losing their job (whether they would admit this or not is a topic for another day), I personally think financial confidence makes for a better employee. If you don’t have employees sharing their opinions and making the workplace – and business – better, how can a business expect to compete long-term? I can guarantee you ambitious, competent employees are going to be the first to leave.
Business Opportunities
My blogging side hustle started with a political blog a decade ago where my Uncle shared the encouraging words of “but WHY would anyone go to this site? Who would want to read what you wrote?”
Thanks.
Fast forward and I have a website with a handful of contributors (both writers and other creatives), a book, influencer/endorsement opportunities, and a startup that will leverage all the work I’ve done the past six years.
Had I never started a side hustle or followed the advice to “kill your side hustle,” I would never have had these opportunities. Especially considering the fact I made no money on my blog the first year.
I am hardly an anomaly. There are many incredible stories of people who started a side hustle that led to opportunities that they could never have anticipated. A common theme is that they stuck with it and continued to work at it.
They didn’t kill their side hustle.
A Lump Sum or “Windfall” of Cash
One of the most unexpected, but most exciting, upside to a side hustle is a potential for a windfall of cash.
Let me first say that for most side hustles this is not what you are working towards. Someone who drives an Uber or waits tables in their spare time is not building an asset that they can sell down the road. And that’s okay.
There are a variety of side hustles, though, that do have the potential for a lump sum of cash. For example let’s say you run a blog that makes a small amount of money each month. If you decide after a few years that you no longer want to work on the blog in your spare time, you could sell it for a lump sum of cash. This could be a significant amount of money that can be used to wipe out debt, build an emergency fund, or invest.
This is also why I recommend anyone who is entrepreneurial to choose a side hustle that allows them to build a business or brand. Even if you break even the first couple years or even the first handful of years, if you consistently build the business you will eventually find a buyer when you decide it’s time to exit.
One final point: you don’t necessarily have to sell a business to get a lump sum of cash out of your side hustle. You may work for years and then finally get a really huge deal, customer, contract, or opportunity. There’s something to be said about sticking with your side hustle long-term, especially if you are building a brand.
Employers shouldn’t be shocked or surprised when employees pursue side hustles. More than 8 out of 10 employees say they are not in their dream job, and more than 4 out of 10 employees think they will never be in their dream job. With those statistics in mind, can employers honestly be surprised when an employee thinks about giving a side gig a try in their spare time?
It also has never been easier to work a side hustle in your free time. Technology has made it extremely easy to start a side hustle. Even a smart phone alone can be all someone needs to start making a secondary income.
Considering the unprecedented level of student loan debt, high cost of living, stagnant wages, and opportunities to make extra money outside of a 9-5, the trend of full-time workers participating in the gig economy or even running full-fledged businesses in their spare time will only become more common.
I for one, think it’s a good thing.
Colin @ rebelwithaplan says
I saw that on LinkedIn and it made me do a double take. The post comes off as having a limited perspective. The person failed to talk about stagnant wages and high cost of living that are affecting many people.
A lot of places give paltry 3% raises and shoot down attempts at negotiating a raise. This happened with a well-known personal finance blogger I follow. They worked a job that gave 3% raises, without the opportunity to negotiate for more. Doing their side-hustle allowed them to make more money (that they couldn’t make at their job) that allowed them to reach their financial goals faster.
Also, a side hustle doesn’t have to replace your day job salary within 3-6 months. Having that expectation from the get-go when starting your side hustle will often set you up to be disappointed.
Side hustles have value. Both in the monetary sense as well as the fulfillment they can provide someone.
Great post, David!
DC @ Young Adult Money says
A 3% annual raise is actually above average from what I’ve seen, which is unfortunate but the reality of the workforce. Appreciate you sharing your thoughts Colin!
giulia says
interesting point of view thanks for sharing it:D
Chonce says
I’m just wondering why he cares if people have a side hustle? It makes me wonder if he’s bitter about something (like good employees leaving because he isn’t paying much and their side hustle CAN replace the job?). Side hustles are the way of the land now. I believe everyone should have a side hustle, even if it’s just to help pay the bills.
DC @ Young Adult Money says
Great question, and I was wondering the same thing. I think it has to do with the fact that even if a side hustle doesn’t fully replace someone’s income it makes them less reliant on their 9-5 and, in some cases, less willing to bend over backwards for the employer. Which is one great reason to have a side hustle in the first place – make it so you aren’t 100% reliant on the employer for your income.
Latoya | Life and a Budget says
Sounds like he is focused on making sure his employees are only building up his dream. You’ve thoroughly broken down the merits of having a side hustle and I for one wouldn’t even want to work for someone who would think like this. You’re right, what one does on their own time isn’t any of their employer’s business. As long as the side hustle isn’t a conflict of interest, hustle on!
Jamie C Hopkins says
I thought this was an excellent article David. I have never had just one job and since I was a teenager I have had side jobs and I probably never will in this economy. I currently have a full time 9-5 job but it is not enough to make ends meet. I have a part time job on the side & a dog sitting business which always helps. If I have an emergency it’s nice to have that extra cash hand because you just never know. I am currently overwhelmed trying to balance the three and actually had an interesting conversation with my boss the other day about this very issue. I felt like m I crossed the line leaving work to go to another ob but I am grateful that he is flexible with me. He understands that I work hard but he knows why I need side gigs. He respects that & we have an understanding that as long as I get my job done & my other jobs do not get in the way, I am free to be as flexible as I can to make it work. He’s proud of me and that takes the stress away.
Josh says
My old employer held a similar position, you can do what you want in your free time but it can’t interfere with our work schedule. When you work 60+ hours a week, you don’t have much time for a side hustle and I didn’t start exploring side income ideas until I quit and finally had time to invest in myself and climb a career ladder that aligned with my personal values.
Thankfully, I made enough money so I didn’t need the extra money, but I feel for those who are “trapped” in similar situations and don’t have the time to earn income outside their current jobs that can help boost their salary and maybe even open the door to a new career field.
I did online surveys during my first few years because it only took 15 minutes and something I could do at home without consuming much time.