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Nowadays, many people work more than just their 9-5 jobs. They’re also taking up side hustles, defined as an additional job taken on the side of the main occupation. It presents a way of earning extra income. This article will share the different motivations for setting up a side hustle, give our top tips for creating a side hustle, and provide some inspirational side hustle ideas.
Well, there are multiple reasons people work on a side hustle:
The most popular reason is to increase personal wealth. Unfortunately, requiring more than one source of income is a necessity for an increasing number of people. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed people’s lives dramatically, leading to a sharp increase in the necessity of side hustles. During the pandemic, many people have assessed how vulnerable they are to financial disaster if their sole source of income were to disappear. As a result, many are trying to diversify their income with a side hustle.
We recommend paying off high-interest debt as soon as possible!
A great use of additional income! Everybody must have an emergency fund of some sort.
This could be for retirement or other long-term financial goals, such as a child’s tuition fund. Those who improve their savings rate early on, before other family commitments kick in, will benefit more from compound interest. As a result, they can retire earlier and hit their retirement fund target with fewer savings than saving more but starting later.
Getting extra income from a side hustle can allow you to start investing and grow your assets.
What’s better than being paid to do something you love? If the sourdough bread you’ve been baking throughout the pandemic has been getting stellar reviews from your friends, why not earn a bit of dough from selling it?
Unfortunately, vacations do not fall into the ‘essential needs’ category of your budget, so using side hustle income to fund travel is a sensible approach as you can focus your main source of income on essential needs.
Working part-time for a socially good cause, such as at a care home, allows you to increase your income and give back to your local community.
Arguably, it has never been easier to set up a side hustle. The rise in social media and digital platforms has presented a wave of new side hustle opportunities, such as content creators, DIY crafters or bloggers.
In recent years, the free-market gig economy has exploded, presenting unprecedented opportunities for individuals to work as independent workers. Gig economy workers can enjoy flexibility not seen before in certain sectors, such as Grab drivers in the taxi industry. Gig economy companies have utilised technology to remove many traditional barriers to entry for part-time work, which has allowed the side hustle community to thrive!
Remember, this is a side hustle, so start small. The need to earn an extra income shouldn't mean that your side hustle starts to conflict with the commitments to your full-time occupation. If you wish to turn your side hustle into a full-time occupation, work on it slowly over a few years.
According to The Hartford, half of American side business owners spend ten or fewer hours per week on their side hustle. This is the amount of time we’d recommend.
Just like a regular job, don’t start a side hustle that you aren’t in a position to perform. Although you’re likely to be better at performing a side hustle in something that’s a current hobby, that’s not to say you can’t retrain to perform in something else!
If you are going to create a side hustle from an existing passion, ask yourself, is this idea financially possible? Do your due diligence on what it is you’re getting into before paying for any upfront costs for a business (e.g. a domain or stock).
Yes, side hustles really can be scams. Again, this comes back to doing your due diligence before committing.
Don’t charge fees way below the service's average rate! Lowering your prices to increase sales can be detrimental to you. It’ll attract customers who prioritise saving cash rather than best solve their problems. If your work is of good quality, customers will be willing to pay good money. Earn well-paying customers by spending time on customer acquisition!
Never jump on a side hustle just because your friends are doing it. Embrace your most vital skills in deciding what the most suitable side hustle is for you.
We’ll dive into some options available for you later in the article.
There are numerous motivations for setting up a side hustle. Knowing what your motivation is will help you set objectives. For example, a side hustle set up to fund a $2,000 holiday in 12 months requires earning an average of $166.66 profit (after-tax) per month.
In short, side hustle opportunities are ever-growing. But if you’re struggling for inspiration, here are some popular ideas:
The process of helping design products, websites, apps etc. A skilled side hustle, but it pays well!
These have become increasingly popular with the growth of Shopify and its plug-in apps, such as Printful and Printify. You can manage this business as a side hustle by outsourcing the manufacturing and shipping to a third party. Great for those with a creative flair!
Another great e-commerce side hustle for those with a creative flair. The global push to move towards a more circular economy has helped spark interest in ‘upcycled’ craft goods on platforms such as Etsy. Popular handmade items include jewellery, fashion accessories, home and living products, art, and collectables.
This involves the process of outsourcing manufacturing and shipping to a third party, as described in the print-on-demand business model. The difference is that this requires no creative flair – you're simply selling items directly online from producer to consumer.
Writers are always in demand. Examples of writing opportunities include magazines, blog posts, e-books, newsletters, etc. Freelance writers enjoy large amounts of flexibility and can earn a great income from it. You can write for either a company or for something of your creation.
Use your marketing expertise to manage clients' paid campaigns on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
This can be a lucrative side hustle if you have both the skills and the (expensive) equipment. You can generate income by selling stock photos online, taking pictures for clients, or selling them in person.
If you’re clued up on a subject, there’s a good chance you could teach it in some way! The popularity of online teaching platforms, such as Udemy, has grown tremendously in recent years.
One of the most popular side hustles. You can write a blog anywhere, anytime, on just about anything. The popularity of blogging means that you may find it hard to stand out, restricting revenue opportunities. Just like teaching, if you’re clued up about a subject, there’s a good chance you can blog about it.
Done on various platforms, including YouTube, TikTok and Facebook. Regarding the subject of the videos, the scope is unlimited. It just has to be something monetisable. Video content revenue can come through ads. Videos can also lead your product(s) elsewhere, such as a blog or a website.
A very twenty-first-century job title! The internet and social media have allowed any user to gather a large audience in a short amount of time. For brands, this provides a creative platform for influencers to promote their products, often with great success. Influencers earn income through payment per post/story or affiliate marketing.
This could come in various forms, such as financial, marketing, IT, Human Resources or PR consulting. There’s potential to earn a fantastic hourly income, provided you're an expert on what you’re being consulted on!
Similar to teaching an online course, albeit more personalised. If you’re clued up on a subject, then there’s a good chance you could teach it in some way. Tutoring is much easier for those already in the teaching profession or has recently finished studying it (provided they received an excellent grade in it)!
Putting your travel, or sales, expertise to good use has never been easier. Being a travel agent mainly involves researching, planning and booking customers' trips. To do it, you'll need to be a good salesperson! To reduce the costs of establishing your travel agency, we recommend joining a host travel agent.
Being a travel agent mainly involves researching, planning and booking customer trips. To do it, you'll need to be a good salesperson!.
After taking qualifications, you’ll be able to help others improve their fitness and wellbeing.
Nothing. Working in these traditional positions is a respectable, more stable, lower-risk alternative to provide an additional income! If, ultimately, what suits your current lifestyle best is working the night desk at a gas station, or flipping burgers at McDonald's, then don’t feel the need to take up one of the new side hustle opportunities.
If you’re interested in taking up a traditional part-time job, many portals list part-time jobs, such as:
With all that said, while side hustles are generally a positive thing to pick up, not everyone will benefit the same way from having one. To help you decide if a side hustle is for you, here are some reasons side hustles might not be a good idea for you:
When starting, we recommend spending no more than 10 hours per week on a side hustle. Some people may even be financially better off spending the extra 10 hours per week on their primary occupation. Ten extra hours per week spent on a sales or commission-based could lead to more high-value sales, overtime pay, increased annual bonus (based on % of annual salary or performance-based), or even a promotion. As such, consider the possible financial benefits of investing more time in your current occupation instead.
Not all employers will allow you to have a side hustle on top of your primary occupation. Make sure to look for non-compete clauses in your contract/employment agreement before starting anything, and remain transparent with your employer. Moonlighting, or doing your side hustle in secret, may seem attractive, but the consequences can be dire if discovered.
Side hustles require a lot of energy to keep up, and it’s an extra workload you must cope with. Without proper planning, stress can put your physical and mental health at risk. If your main reason for a side hustle is just to make ends meet, consider a less taxing alternative, such as changing your spending and budgeting habits.
Not everybody is at a stage in their life where they should be allocating an extra 10 hours per week, on top of their full-time occupation, towards a side hustle. You might be starting a family, caring for elderly parents, or even just taking a mental break in this season of life. In any case, it’s crucial to allocate your time according to what matters most to you in your life stage.
SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) is a government-led initiative. It aims to help Singaporeans update their skills at any stage in their lives, helping them to become/remain relevant and productive.
The SkillsFuture scheme has been in place since 2015, aiming to build a culture of skills development and lifelong learning. So far, the scheme has been popular, with over 540,000 Singaporeans benefitting from it in 2020. The ability to learn skills no matter where you are in life is key to a dynamic side hustle community!
SkillsFuture Credit
SkillsFuture Credit Top-Up
Additional SkillsFuture Credit (Mid-Career Support)
Find out more about the SkillsFuture Program here.
If you're self-employed, you can benefit from the NTUC Training Fund for select courses, such as real estate, media, arts, and tourism. This provides you with an opportunity to earn up to $11/hour to take up a side hustle. On top of the allowance, the courses are eligible for subsidised fees and SkillsFuture Credit.
There are many reasons to have a side hustle and many ways to go about it. Opportunities are out there, but you’ll need to work to find out the types of side hustle you could take on – not everybody can manage a side hustle.
SIDE HUSTLES. COMPLETED. ✅
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