Breaking news: Life is expensive (thanks, inflation). According to a recent MarketWatch study, in the last year, more than 50 percent of American workers have taken on side hustles to supplement their primary sources of income. Gen Z has been most impacted, with 71 percent of individuals in the younger generation working extra gigs, while 68 percent of millennials are also putting in some additional hours.
But sometimes individuals take on extra jobs for more reasons than financial benefits. In her full-time career, Dallas resident Katie Butler is a talent acquisition manager at a consulting firm and used to have a side hustle as a cycling coach but now runs her own influencer business.
“I needed to have something I was passionate about outside of work for me to feel whole and like I was using my time in the best way possible,” she said. “And extra monies don’t hurt.”
For Dallas resident Laura Hays, who is a CPA specializing in corporate income tax, taking on a side gig as a Pilates instructor helped her test the waters of a potential future outside of the accounting world.
“I have been thinking about a career change, and opening a Pilates studio was an idea that came to mind,” she said. “I had taken classes for many years and loved the workout, but I had never taught before. Becoming an instructor was a low-risk way to find out whether I was really interested in taking the next step.”
Even though it can be stressful trying to balance her already overloaded work schedule at her full-time job, Hays said she has seen tremendous benefits (besides free Pilates classes and discounted athletic apparel from many popular brands) in her life that have transferred over from her role as an instructor.
“I have met a lot of great people,” she said. “I have also built self-confidence and feel more comfortable with public speaking and presentations at work.”
But that doesn’t mean she’s going to be hanging up her CPA hat just yet.
“In theory, I would love to open a studio, but in reality, I still don’t know enough about everything that goes into it,” she said. “Just being an instructor isn’t an option, though, unless I want to sleep in my car—and even then, I couldn’t afford gas to drive it!”
Like Hays, although Butler would like for her side hustle to be her sole source of income, it simply isn’t an idea she entertains right now.
“I do want it to be my full-time job, but I would never make as much money as I do in my current full-time job or have even close to the benefits I have now, so I don’t think of it as an option,” she said.
It can be challenging to turn a part-time extra job into a full-time career, and some individuals take on multiple side hustles to try to establish themselves financially enough to be able to pursue what they truly want. One Dallas resident who wishes to remain anonymous works as a compensation consultant and on the side serves as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard, runs a real estate investing business, and provides consulting for additional companies’ compensation programs. One might wonder why an individual would take on so many different responsibilities.
“For the National Guard, it was a desire for a sense of adventure and a leadership challenge to ultimately grow as a person and make a difference in the community and for other soldiers,” he said. “The real estate investing business came out of a desire to build long-term wealth and create a passive income stream. The additional compensation consulting side hustle came out of a desire to gain more experience in my profession and fill some extra hours I had during the week productively while making some more money.”
He said he eventually would love to work for himself, leveraging both his interest in real estate and his expertise as a subject-matter expert in the compensation field. For now, though, he will continue to try to balance his multiple gigs, recognizing that there are both positives and negatives that come with devoting so much time to work each week.
“The additional income streams and the career growth opportunities have benefited me by making me a better professional with more experience and a better leader of people and giving me the ability to set myself up in a better position financially,” he said. “The challenge has been staying organized and managing my time well while still setting aside time for socializing, hobbies, and fitness to ensure that I’m living an overall healthy life in all aspects.”
For some individuals, though, a side hustle suddenly does become a full-time job. Dallas-area resident Minok Merrick has a finance background and also consistently had side gigs teaching fitness classes. She’s extremely social and loves being able to help her friends, so she would also babysit, housesit, and dogsit for supplemental income.
“I couldn’t believe how much people wanted to pay me to watch their dogs,” she said.
Merrick said she had always had a secure full-time job when she was recruited for an exciting opportunity that paid a significant salary but was laid off after four months. She panicked a little, as she had never been unemployed before, and began letting people know of side hustles she could do—organize homes and offices, dogsit, babysit, sub classes, etc. Though she was hired for another full-time job within six weeks, she realized how much income she had made solely from her side gigs during that time and eventually created a full-time career side hustling.
“I am grateful to have a great network of friends who know my skills in event and people management to offer me jobs and lots of contract work,” she said. “I have been to more Super Bowls than most football players, have traveled to other countries to put on some amazing events, and have met a lot of famous people. I’ve been to lots of sporting events, concerts, festivals—the book I could write!”
Merrick has also been able to guide other individuals who have been laid off to take on side hustles and has grown a network she truly appreciates. She said she enjoys being able to apply her skills with hobbies and activities she enjoys while making money at the same time.
“Most people do not understand what I do and how I got to where I am,” she said. “I tell them ‘me, too!’ I always say ‘sure, I could help’ and ‘I can figure it out.’ It takes a person with a positive attitude to do what I’m doing and really enjoy doing it. I started the side gigs before I was married, but it also helps that I have a very supportive husband who sometimes joins in my fun gigs!”
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