What's Your Side Hustle

I was the age that my sons are now (17-19) when I started hearing that our generation’s (Gen X) standard of living would be lower than that of our parents.

Twenty-five years later, it seems to have held true in some respects and untrue in others. Gone are pensions, healthcare covered by your employer, and the promise of social security. And I know I sometimes worry I'm going to end up as a Walmart greeter, just doing it for the heathcare.

On the other side, we have so many ways

to earn an income and live with freedom not available to someone showing up to work at the same job, desk, and profession for 10…20…30…40 years. I know many people who work from home/telecommute and enjoy the family benefits of having the cubical next door occupied by a 6 year old on an iPad.

This article from the New York Post published last November and apparently commissioned by GoDaddy (It’s a cleverly disguised add with a defined focus group) shows that 25% of baby boomers and 50% of millennials have a side hustle.

My wife and I started a side hustle when I was still working a relatively traditional job in the automotive industry. We started making video content for other Internet side hustlers. But over the last few years it’s grown. A side hustle no longer has to be that thing you do to make a few extra bucks. It can be that thing you do to make real money.

I currently live on this beach with my wife.

Faye on Arcadia Beach

Together, we run a small production company/digital marketing agency in a little town off the Oregon coast. It’s been a lifelong dream to be able to live here where I can surf just a few minutes from my house.

The internet made all this possible. A YouTube Channel can be just as lucrative as a law degree. And many of the Amazon sellers we work with make millions of dollars right from their homes.

If you’re still collecting a paycheck, watching the stock market, or turning on an open sign, you have a dog in this fight because we're living in a side hustle economy. The world is changing, and everyone is scrambling to keep up. Do you have a side hustle? Or better yet, does your brick and mortar business have one? Setting up an e-commerce store can seem daunting, but putting up a few products for sale online is a great place to start.