We were raised and bred to work. Even if you despise working, you have to get your butt off the couch and do it anyway or you’ll starve to death. You either get a job and work for someone else, or be an entrepreneur and work for yourself. Either way, you have to do something to earn the right to keep a dollar. It is what it is.
What If…
…you hated your job or didn’t like the business you got yourself into? What if deep down, you really want to do something else? There are many stories of old timers who regret not having the courage to take a leap of faith and follow their dreams, for fear of not providing enough for their families.
If just dropping everything and moving to Tibet to become a Monk is out of the question, you can still pursue your passions and dreams as a side hustle. You don’t need to leave your crummy job and the boss you hate just yet. All you need to do is carve out some time to do the things that really engage your spirit.
If you’ve got the passion and the skills, here are a few side hustles you can do to stay in touch with your artistic side.
Share Your Thoughts as a Writer
If you know the secret to brushing your teeth with a carrot, share it with the world! Seriously, the world needs quality content and valuable advice from experts. If you’ve become an expert in your field, start a blog and share your thoughts. Don’t worry about money when starting out because it may derail you from writing articles that readers will appreciate. Focus on your writing, and opportunities to monetize your blog will follow. You can also write for a number of other blogs and online publications.
Become a Copywriter
If you don’t like writing articles, but have a knack for writing short one liners that make great copy, you can become a part-time copywriter. There are many copywriting jobs available online and most of them are home based, so you can do it after work or on the weekends. Sites like UpWork and Freelancer are good jump off points to land projects.
Form a Band
If you’re passionate about music, can sing like Jagger or play an instrument at a professional level, you should consider either forming your own band or joining one. But this is way different from the band you formed in high school, because at the end of the day, you need to get paid for your efforts. Musicians get paid well, plus they get free booze, food and loads of attention. As a side hustle, you can have gigs every other night or strictly on weekends. As long as band duties don’t interfere with your work and family life, go live your dream as a rock star.
Become a Sound Engineer
If you can’t carry a tune to save your life and have no business behind any musical instrument, you can still have a side hustle that’s music related. You can try your luck as a Sound Engineer. What does a sound engineer do, exactly? According to retired Canadian Broadcasting Corp. sound engineer Joe Dudych, “SE’s are responsible for achieving artistic content in a recording or via a sound system in a live concert.” In short, music will be crap without a sound engineer behind the mixer. This side gig can actually turn out to be a more stable money maker that can replace your current job, so weigh your options.
Capture Moments as a Photographer
If photography is your hobby and you already have the hardware for it, try turning your hobby into a lucrative side hustle. Offer friends and family members to cover events for free to build up your portfolio. Once you have enough, you can market your services. The only issue here is events are fluid and don’t always happen after work or on the weekends. You can try to focus more on events that happen at night such as concerts or parties and if you become big enough, quit your job and do photography full time.
There are many artistic avenues you can explore if you know what you’re passionate about and are willing to do something about it. You need to have the courage to dive in when no one else is doing it and have the drive to keep your current job until your side hustle proves to be more lucrative. How about you? What would you rather be doing?
