Balancing your career and an additional job requires planning and commitment.
Today’s job market doesn’t always offer the financial safety net a lot of us crave. Making do with one source of income can greatly limit your spending power. A popular solution to this predicament has been establishing an additional source to your revenue, otherwise known as a side hustle.
Maintaining a side hustle is not always as easy as it sounds. Balancing your career and an additional job requires planning and commitment. It’s crucial to ensure that your side gig doesn’t interfere with your main job. This means that the two roles shouldn’t cross lines at some point in the future.
Some effective strategies you can use to manage your side hustle include:
a. Scale your business
Working a full-time job means you won’t be able to dedicate a lot of time to your other commitments. Thus, the business you choose shouldn’t demand the majority of your hours. Your side hustle should be small enough to be operated through part-time management. Remember, the larger your business, the more time and dedication it will require.
Selling snacks on the weekend, for example, is a good idea for a side gig. Selling snacks throughout the week, however, will need you to divide your attention between your career and side hustle. At some point, you will have to choose one or the other.
b. Identify a Comfort Zone
A side hustle should be something that you’re already familiar with, to avoid any complications that come with learning a new business. Instead of looking for something you have never done before, you should identify an opportunity that you can grab with ease. A good way to do this is by offering your current skill sets on a freelance basis.
If you’re an accountant, for instance, doing individuals’ or company taxes outside of work can be a great idea for a side hustle.
c. Keep your Two Roles Separate
Bringing your side hustle to your workplace is never a good idea. You should carefully plan your time to be adequately divided between your career and part-time gig. This means that your profession should have your full-time attention during official working hours.
Using company resources to achieve a side hustle objective is also an inadvisable strategy. Should you get caught, the management will most likely take offence at your actions.
d. Be Prepared to Sacrifice
As mentioned earlier, you will need to delegate specific hours for both your primary profession and side hustle. Since most jobs don’t feature a flexible schedule, you will have to sacrifice the free time you have towards your side gig. This might mean long nights and working weekends in the beginning.
