Do you have a dream job in your head? A job that satisfies you and you’re passionate about? Oh and wait, it makes you the plenty of money too?

The real question is, what are you doing to turn that dream job into your reality?

If you answered (meekly) with a “not much”, listen up.

What you need to do is get started with a side hustle.

A side hustle? Umm.. what?

A side hustle is a job or a business that you can run on top of your current full time job i.e. you work on it, on the side (geddit?). It’s a second job that gives you more flexibility while bringing you extra money.

Typically, a side hustle will be something that you’re passionate about. Something that you enjoy doing that your main hustle/job doesn’t give you the opportunity to pursue.

It could also be a job or gig that you take on to help you develop certain desired skills to help improve your performance in the main job.

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Related posts:

• How to Start a Side Hustle Online: 12 Ideas to Make Extra Money
• Best Low Cost Businesses to Start: Best Ideas for a Cheap Startup
• Hobbies That Make Money: How to Turn Your Passions Into a Lucrative Side Hustle
• How to Create Multiple Streams of Income (And Why It’s Important)

Why start a side hustle?

While earning extra income is a huge reason why most people start a side hustle, there are other reasons why a side hustle is a step worth taking.

Starting a side hustle is a good first step towards your dream job or dream life. It allows you to do that one thing that you’re passionate about. It gives you the chance to live the life that you’ve always desired.

You could be feeling stuck in your cubicle and simply want the freedom to work from anywhere other than a four-walled cubicle. Or you simply hate taking orders and want to be your own boss.

You’re probably a teacher but you also love interior design. Now you can’t teach your 3rd graders interior design during your science class but you definitely can work as a freelance interior designer during your free time.

Do you feel stuck in your day job? Is there something else you would rather be doing but right now the most logical thing to do is to stick at your day job? We totally get it.

Here’s the thing, all is not lost. You can still build your dream job/business while working your day job, no need to quit. How do you do that? Start a side hustle.

So how can a side hustle help you work your way to your dream job?

1. Develop your skills and experience

Do you dream of being a coder running your own software development business? Or do you want to be a published writer? Or perhaps you want to be an entrepreneur. Whatever it is that you dream of doing pick a side hustle within that industry.

By doing so, no matter how much or little money the side hustle brings you, you will be able to develop your skills and earn enough experience to run your dream business in the nearest future.

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2. Build up your savings

If you are serious about quitting your full time job someday soon so that you can get into your business full on, you will need some money to stay afloat.

Your current income may not be enough to pay your bills and set aside the savings you need to be able to quit your job. So why not start a side business that will earn you the much needed extra income?

A side hustle will not only give you extra money that you can save but will also help you save faster and allow you to quit your job sooner than you imagined.

3. A great testing ground

Testing the waters first before you jump in both feet is the best approach to building a successful business and entrepreneurial life.

Sometimes our dream job may not be as ideal a business idea as we make it out to be.

Now imagine if you quit your job today to only find out a few months down the line that your business idea wasn’t a viable one and it’s gonna be impossible to sustain it?

To avoid getting yourself into such a situation, start a side hustle while still working your full time job. Use this time to study your market to find out if customers truly need the products or services that you’re offering.

Give yourself a chance to learn and get better at your side hustle before you quit your job.

Tweak things up if necessary, change up your services if what you’re offering isn’t bringing you any business, test different business plans. In short, take the time to test out different things until your business is able to stand firmly.

4. Diversify your income

Diversifying your income means having multiple sources of income. In other words, you don’t rely on your full time job salary only but have other several sources of money.

Diversifying your income gives you a safety net because should anything happen to one of your sources you still have the others for a steady income.

So let’s say you lose your job you still have your side hustle to give you some money until you get another job.

You may be earning a six or even a seven-figure salary right now. You could be the best in your job but as long as you’re working for someone else anything could happen to your job.

Today you may be employed and tomorrow you wake up to no job. So it’s a good thing to have multiple sources of income that can cushion you against sudden unemployment.

See also: How to Create Multiple Streams of Income (And Why It’s Important)

5. Discover new passions

Not all side hustles come from existing hobbies or interests. Sometimes you find a new passion by learning a new skill for your side hustle.

A side hustle will give you the chance to interact with other people other than your colleagues.

You’ll get to participate in other things than just working. In the process, you may discover new passions that might just be the thing you need to live your dream life.

6. Make money from your hobbies

Do you find yourself spending hours on end posting on social media? How about getting paid to Facebook? Yes, that can happen.

There are lots of hobbies that people engage in without knowing that they can actually make money doing the very same thing that they enjoy the most.

Are you a good artist but only draw for fun? Sell your paintings and make some money!

You can easily turn your hobbies into a business. Simply identify your hobbies, then pick the one that makes the most business sense and start working on it not as a hobby but as a serious business venture.

7. It’s the first step

For anyone who desires to run a dream business, starting a side hustle is the ultimate first step towards your dream life and job.

It’s the best strategy to take a leap of faith towards building your dream job without getting overwhelmed.

A side hustle gives you the chance to build a solid business idea in your own time without having to give up your full time job, salary and benefits. You can take it one step at a time until you’re ready to go full in.

A side business allows you to take the first step towards building your confidence as an entrepreneur.

So what side hustle can you start?

There are SO many options for you. You can turn your current day job into a side hustle. You can turn a hobby into a business.

Got something you’re good at? That can be your side hustle. Or you can even learn an entirely new skill and make money from it.

The options are truly endless. It all depends on what you want to do and what your dream is.

Here are a few good options you should consider:

• Freelance writing and blogging
• Web and graphic design
• Videography/video editing
• Photography
• Social media
• Selling art and craft
• Reselling antiques
• Creating online courses
• Writing e-books

Among many more. Take a look at our post Hobbies That Make Money: How to Turn Your Passions Into a Lucrative Side Hustle explaining how to turn any hobby into a business.

Starting a side hustle is definitely the first step towards building the dream job or life that you’ve been dreaming about.

Whether you want to pursue an interest or passion of yours or you want to be able to travel the world without any restrictions. Or you simply want to enjoy the freedom of working under your own terms and live life with the freedom to spend your time as you see fit, a side hustle is your ticket towards that dream.

Today is the day you stop dreaming and take action to build the life you’ve always dream of. Take the step to start a side hustle today!

 

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Fulltime Nomad

Fulltime Nomad is your passport to saying no to normal, and yes to a life of unlimited travel. Founded by Radhika & Johnny, this blog will help YOU take that big scary first step towards building your own freedom lifestyle. Are you new? Start here.