How to Rock a Side Hustle With a Full Time Job
Holding a side hustle with a full time job could be challenging. If you’ve ever wanted to have a side hustle where you could be your own boss, follow these practical tips to free you from your 9 to 5 once and for all!
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We’ve all been there. Dragging ourselves to yet another day at the office, daydreaming about being our own boss.
Yet, the daily routine of our job drags us back to reality and leaves us drained at the end of the day.
If you’ve ever wanted to grow a side business but haven’t found the time to do it, here’s a few practical tips that will help you rock that side hustle with full time job and all.
Clarify Your Motives
The first step to rocking a side hustle, or any job for that matter, is to be clear on what your motives are.
Working full time and then working some more for yourself isn’t always as glamorous as it may seem, and there will be rough days when you may think you’re just not cut out for it. You may get exhausted from long days or disillusioned from not seeing the results you want in your small business or side job.
You may not make all the extra income you thought you would with your side hustle right away.
However, when you’re clear on why you’re doing what you’re doing, you’ll have the motivation to push through those difficult times.
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When you put things on paper they tend to become real, so write down what you want to accomplish with your side job and what that means to you. Are you saving up for a down payment on a home?
Do you want to contribute extra money towards your child’s college fund? Do you want to get out of debt or eventually replace your full-time income?
Being clear on your reasons to work that second job will keep you motivated when you feel like giving up, and believe me when I tell you, there will be times that you’ll feel like giving up.
Remember that anything that’s worthwhile takes time and effort, so don’t get discouraged!
Find Pockets of Time
I’m not going to advocate for you to work on your side hustle on company time.
Someday, when you run into an old boss you’ll want to be remembered by the awesome contributor you were, not by being “that guy” that routinely made calls related to his side business using the company phone.
I do recommend however, spending as much time as possible outside of your full time job on your side business.
When you have a full-time day job, however, it’s more likely that you’ll find small pockets of time spread out throughout the day than a whole chunk of it all at once.
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If you just don’t know where your time is going, keep a time log for a couple of days.
Seeing how you spend your time on paper will allow you to easily identify any time holes you may want to plug.
For example, if through this exercise you realized you’re spending 4 hours a day watching TV because there’s a show you absolutely love, set a limit to watch only half an hour or an episode a day.
Additionally, be careful with social media.
A social media presence is important for any business to be successful in this day and age, but be aware of your limits so you don’t get sucked into endless scrolling.
Set a timer or some other kind of reminder so you can have a hard stop.
This exercise should show you exactly where you have spare time to dedicate to your hustle idea.
Maybe it’s 30 minutes in the morning, 45 minutes at lunch time and a couple of hours in the evening after the chores are done and the kids have gone off to bed.
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Use Available Time Effectively
Once you’ve identified what kind of time is available for your side hustle, you must use it effectively.
Whether it’s 5 minutes at a time, or if you have a whole afternoon off, effective time management is key.
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Remove any and all distractions and focus on one task at a time.
Additionally, it helps to have a general idea of how long each process in your business takes you, broken down into steps that are more or less self-contained.
That way, you can find an activity to do in each time pocket you may have.
For example, if your side hustle is related to a blog or freelance writing, you may have identified that it takes you 4 full hours to write and publish an article, broken down as follows:
- Brainstorming ideas: 30 minutes
- Coming up with an awesome title: 10 minutes
- Research: 60 minutes
- Writing: 90 minutes
- Graphics: 30 minutes
- Sharing and promotion: 20 minutes
If you can wake up a half an hour earlier in the morning, you know that would be enough time for you to brainstorm ideas.
If you have a half an hour break during your workday, use it to come up with a title and maybe start on the research.
Then, find an appropriate time window in the evening for writing.
If you only have 5 minutes here and there, use that small window for social media sharing, and so on and so forth.
As you do this with each step in your process, you’ll be able to complete it without feeling completely overwhelmed.
Get Organized
Organization is key when it comes to managing two jobs successfully. Thankfully, there’s plenty of resources to help us.
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Have a “to do” list. You may have an actual planner or calendar with to do lists by day or month, or you may use an app to do this.
One organizer I’ve really enjoyed is the Digital Productivity Planner from Million Dollar Habit.
I find it easy to use on the computer and it’s a great resource to plan out your day. You can get yours here:
Use an alarm to organize your time. When you start to actively manage what you spend time on, it’s easier to find “extra” time.
Use the technology available to you. Need to write something quickly or while keeping your hands free? Use a dictation app. These apps are a time saver when it comes to writing out long text.
Need to learn about something that will help you grow your business or simply improve on a skill?
Take a continuing education online course, or listen to a podcast or an audio book on your way to or from work.
Connect With Others
I cannot tell you how connecting with others has revolutionized my world.
When you try to do things alone, you have a limited amount of knowledge and resources, but when you connect with others, that knowledge multiplies.
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Connect with other individuals who are taking on a side job on social media.
Join a couple of Facebook Groups and use these groups to help you grow and learn more, or follow some like-minded people on Twitter and other social media platforms.
Don’t forget to contribute to these groups and communities as well.
There’s no greater satisfaction than to be able to help someone else with the knowledge you have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Now that you know what steps to follow to rock your side hustle with a full time job, let’s address some common questions that pop up on the subject.
What Are Some Ways to Make Money on the Side With a Full-Time Job?
When it comes to side hustles for full time workers, you need to think about flexible gigs that will allow you to earn money without interfering with your full time job.
But it all comes down to satisfying a need. For example, when my son was still in elementary, I realized I had extra hours in the evening when I could babysit my neighbors’ children while I cared for my son anyway.
This worked out great because it didn’t interfere with my routine or my full time job. All the while, I was providing a valuable service for someone else.
When considering ways to make money on the side, think about your talents. How can you be of service for someone else? What need can you fulfill that others would be willing to pay for?
Asking those kind of questions will lead you to find the perfect side hustles for you.
Some ways to make money while working full time include:
- Babysitting
- Dog Walking
- Making Deliveries
- Driving with platforms like Uber or Lyft
- Shopping for Others
- Working as a Virtual Assistant
- Reselling books or other items
- Drop-shipping
- Tutoring
- Starting a blog
- Creating a course or a printable
- Cleaning cars, houses or offices on the weekend
- Writing resumes and cover letters
- House or pet sitting
Where Can I Find Some of These Side Hustles?
There are plenty of ways to make money online or locally these days. If you want to find a side gig locally, you can start with your neighborhood. Check to see if there’s a community center near you where you can advertise the services you’d like to provide.
You can also advertise your services on platforms like Facebook Marketplace, local Facebook groups or Nextdoor. I have hired many a person in these platforms myself so I can tell you that it works.
As far as side hustle ideas to make money online, there’s several resources for you to find the best side gig for you!
FlexJobs
FlexJobs is the #1 site to find great remote jobs in over 50 different career fields. From entry to executive level, FlexJobs is bound to have something for you.
I’ve found great work opportunities through FlexJobs and I highly recommend it.
For a limited time, you can save up to 30% when you use the code SAVE30. To sign up with FlexJobs and find the perfect side job, check them out today!
Fiverr
Fiverr is a marketplace for freelance services. When a company or an individual needs a small, one-off job done, they turn to Fiverr to find a great freelancer to provide that service for them.
That’s where you come in. As a freelancer, you can easily make money online by offering your services on the platform. Some of the services you can offer on Fiverr include writing, translation, graphic design, data entry, and much more.
Signing up is pretty simple. To get started with Fiverr today, check out all the different services you can offer on their platform from the eyes of a potential client!
Surveys
If you don’t want to officially get a side gig, there’s other ways to make a little extra cash on the side without having to get a side job per se.
You can answer surveys on Pannel Place or Survey Junkie on your free time for example, or you can scan adds to a plethora of apps like Fetch Rewards or Swagbucks.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes it can feel like having a full-time job is sucking the life out of you. I’ve been there.
However, with the proper organization, mindset, and connections, you can totally rock that side hustle, in spite of your full-time gig.
What side hustles have you tried? What has been the best (or worst) thing about working two jobs?
