The What, Why, How of Side Hustles

What is a Side Hustle?

It is a job you pursue in addition to your regular job to bring in some extra income and hence help yourself gain financial freedom. It can also be called an asset that works for you, the precondition of which is that you need to work hard on it.

Now you must be asking, but why do we need to do that? Aren’t we already submerged in the 9 to 5 stress? How come are we going to manage it being so busy already? Better we control our expenses and focus at work to get the promotions with the raise. Moreover, our best friend Teafloor is already helping us reduce stress with its special Ananda tea. We don’t need to get into all this extra stuff!

Why is it required?

Maybe you are right. Most probably not. Ever considered the recession? The company you work for may pull the plug for you. Do you have any savings or back up until you find a new job? What if those savings exhaust before you get a new income source? You might just end up begging your friends for some days of sleep on their couches and some food and tea to go by. This might sound extreme. Even if you are certain that this won’t ever be your case, the extra cash might give some financial security which will make you work better at your regular job as you won’t have that pressure and fear of getting fired anymore.

Hence, money is the most obvious reason if you want to get into a side hustle. For you maybe it’s your passion. If you want to pursue your hobby and learn it deeply or innovate something using your skills and ideas which are not entertained at your workplace, the side hustle will surely help you. Who knows, you might establish the next Teafloor.

How to do it?

Now that you really want to get started with a side hustle, how do you do it? In this digital world, the best way would be online, and trust me there are numerous ways you can start once you know what your existing skills are. Offline would be great to start too, but online is simple and also the trend.

So get on with it quickly, grab a pen and paper, and a full cup of tea, think deep and make a list of all your abilities that you are proud of.

Want some Options?

Whatever your skill set is, freelancing based on that is the simplest option. If you are good at writing you can do blogging, publish your own Kindle e-book or become a ghostwriter. In case you like to communicate your thoughts by talking directly with your audience, you might choose youtubing or podcasting. In case you are apt at a skill that the world would like to learn then you can even create your own course and sell it online. If photography is your taste, you might sell your photos on Shutterstock and similar sites apart from showing them off on social media and getting real offline gigs. People who can code well can even create their own apps or design and develop websites for the nearby grocery store or friends starting businesses. Tutoring the subjects you were good at while you were at school is another way. There are even simpler options like that of becoming a tour guide in your own city or a language interpreter if you know a different language that people might require translators for.

How to avoid burnout?

Managing your time, energy and stress is the answer.

That’s too much of work in itself right? Keeping in mind the workload, the stress you already have at your regular workplace. You might get only 3 hours of sleep instead of the 6-8 hours your unambitious self would want. Then you would wake up groggy the next morning and ruin your work day, may even get scolded from the boss because, as obvious as it is, you won’t be able to concentrate at work. When you get back home at night, the tiredness can take over you and you might want to leave all the thoughts of hustling. You might wish to get back into the usual boring routine of watching television at night, scrolling through social media and then sleeping the not so good in quality sleep. This is exactly what we need to avoid because no side hustle will possibly work in such scenarios.

What will you do then? Firstly, you won’t give up. Every day after the usual work at office, instead of crying over how debilitated you are, you can refresh yourself. How? With a full cup or maybe two of the Kadak masala tea and get to work, this time your side hustle. Finish the tasks you planned for the day and pat yourself on the back once you are done. Treat yourself a good night’s sleep with the help of the Nidra tea and sleep satisfied with how your day went and how you made the most out of it. Get up the next day with a big cup of Urja to energise yourself for an amazing day at work and continue this cycle. There you go! Your best friend Teafloor is here again, elated to help you out.

In case the burnout takes over you, take a weekend off and enjoy a get together with your friends and family. A few cups of relaxing teas and snacks to complement will help you get back into the side hustle with even more vigour and enthusiasm.