Respect the (Side) Hustle

www.ozy.com [OZY]() The newsletter to fuel — and thrill — your mind. Read for deep dives into the unmissable ideas and topics shaping our world. Dec 09, 2021 TODAY It's Christmas time, and that means lots of people are looking for ways to earn a little extra cash for the holidays. And yet there is a subtle joy to the side hustle that often gets missed. Sure, gold is at the end of this rainbow, and who couldn’t use some more dough in their pockets? But while cash is king, the true aim of gig life is something more intoxicating: freedom. Clocking in and clocking out, overbearing bosses and corporate cultures, just making ends meet rather than making it to the end … instead of defaulting to traditional work, people are creating lives that work for them, and in doing so, earning that one commodity you can never get back: time. Whether you are looking to replace your current income or merely add to it, today's Daily Dose will focus on the anatomy of the side hustle, so that you can better understand where it came from, where it’s going and how it could transform your life. Hustle History Is Black History 1 - The OG Meaning The word “hustle” comes from the Dutch husselen, meaning “to shake,” but in English it shifted from “the act of jostling” to “a job” and, finally, “a swindle” — the latter meaning used almost exclusively in African American newspapers for decades beginning in the 1920s. - Why Does This Matter? Because of that old axe about history, and those not knowing it being doomed to repeat it. More Americans [are involved in dubious network marketing schemes]( than all online gigs combined … whether they realize it or not. The lesson? Don’t gig in over your head. 2 - Getting It on the Side It wasn’t until the 1950s that the side modifier came in, and again, we have [the editors of Black outlets]( to thank. The term was used relatively evenly for both legitimate jobs and scams. 3 - Hip-Hop Resurgence The late ‘90s and early 2000s hip-hop scene blew open the divides between Black culture and mainstream American music. Everyone from Notorious B.I.G. (From “Everyday Struggle”: I’m living everyday like a hustle) to Snoop Dogg (“Hustle & Ball”) and Ice Cube (“Supreme Hustle”) brought the hustle into the mainstream … to the point where Rick Ross became a massive star overnight with a 2005 debut single in which he declared, “Everyday I’m Hustlin.’” 4 - Recession Evolution While hustling was mostly associated with drug-dealing and other illicit dealings under its hip-hop resurgence, the Great Recession of 2008 popularized the term as out-of-work Americans looked for other ways to make ends meet … giving birth to the “side hustles” that we know today. Of All Shapes and Sizes 1 - The Sharing Economy Everything is for sale. With Uber and Lyft, where our commutes become a rideshare, or, with Postmates and Grubhub, a meal delivery service. Using TaskRabbit and Handy, you can sell your cleaning services or handyman skills, and on Lugg, your muscle becomes a hot commodity. Meanwhile, your spare bedroom becomes a hotel room on Airbnb, and even your spare garage or attic space is worth a buck with Neighbor, an app that rents out your extra storage space. The point? Nearly everything you own, or can do, [can be commoditized]( … for better or for worse. - Thought Experiment: Could the crowd-fueled economy [replace corporation-driven capitalism](? 2 - Strange Ways to Get Paid Look, we don’t judge the hustle, and certainly don’t suggest looking a gift horse in the mouth. Still, some side hustles just seem odd. Even small-time, micro-influencers are making tens of thousands filming themselves “[unboxing](” products (in particular, subscription box services) on YouTube. Fake luxury shoppers in Paris have been paid hundreds to [wait in lines]( for black-market employers, who then resell hard-to-get merchandise at double or triple the market value (snagging a rare Birkin bag has outperformed the S&P 500 the past 35 years). A [litany of odd ways]( to make a buck: manufacturing doll clothes, fixing fountain pens, impersonating celebrities and orchestrating fireworks shows, to name just a few. - Ask Yourself: What outside-the-box skills, hobbies or interests do you have? Take two minutes right now to type out whatever comes to mind. Is there a niche that could use your unique abilities? An audience that may want to follow your curiosity online, perhaps on YouTube or Twitch? Could your services find a customer base on Fiverr, Upwork or Etsy? 3 - Saving Money Equals Making Money Whether you actually get cash, or get things you would have paid cash to get, the result is the same. Travel hackers sign up for credit cards with lucrative airline mileage bonuses, using [manufactured spending techniques]( to meet the minimum requirements in order to have the costs of their flights, hotels and other expenses covered. If you live in a city and usually commute with Ubers, becoming an electric scooter charger can get you a free ride to and from work … while [netting you an extra $500 a month](. Shopping on cash-back websites like Rakuten can also lead to long-term returns that may make adding another side gig extraneous. Getting Started, Right Now 1 - One Step, a Thousand Miles Don’t pressure yourself to discover a million-dollar idea immediately. You can start making extra from your living room [right now](, from watching videos to answering survey questions. If investing is a long-term goal, but you don’t have much experience, try a smaller test case first, with [low-entry investing apps]( such as Acorns, Stash, Betterment or Robinhood. - Challenge: Write down seven of the side-hustle ideas mentioned so far, or create some of your own. Each day this week, try one of them … whether it’s signing up for a new gig account, building a personal website offering a service or some other method of getting started. 2 - Budget for the Future Grant Sabatier was 25, unemployed and broke before he started side hustling. A key part of the MillennialMoney.com founder’s transformation was realizing that he [needed to save $50 a day]( to retire in 30 years (with $1.25 million in the bank). While that wasn’t an easy number to reach at first, his side hustles soon surpassed that mark … and instead of stopping, Sabatier merely turned his saving into a game, seeing how much he could increase his daily rate each month. By the time he was 30, he had become a millionaire and hit his financial independence goals. The point? Meeting small goals can quickly turn into reaching big ones. - Pro Tip: The [Pretirement app]( allows you to forecast how much each additional dollar you make (and save) brings you closer to reaching your money goals. Doubling your income, and maintaining your current spending, can put you on a path to early retirement in less than a decade. 3 - Answer Your Why Side hustles work when you have a solid motivation behind them. Practical, easily trackable goals can be hugely helpful early on, even ones as humble as “I want my extra monthly income to cover my cell phone bill.” As your money increases, more ambitious goals can take shape, from making enough to fund an extravagant vacation, saving for a down payment for a home or quitting your full-time job, among other things. Regardless how big or small your side hustles become, at some point you should ask yourself a philosophical question: What is this for? Having a clear answer that’s personally meaningful is key to making the hustle not just something you do, but something that makes you happy. Pop Quiz What have you learned? Let us know by sending us your answers here: ozycommunity@ozy.com When did “hustle” first mean “a job” or “a swindle”? - The 1860s - The 1920s - The 1950s Which community’s newspapers predominantly used the term “side hustle” for decades? - Working-class whites - Latino migrant farmers - African Americans Who popularized the “hustle” in American mainstream culture? - Eminem and Ludacris - Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube - Taylor Swift and Shania Twain Next Door is an app that lets you rent your storage space to a neighbor. - True - False Which of these are side hustles that earn people thousands of dollars? - Waiting in long lines outside of department stores - Opening boxes for an audience - Selling toenail clippings to fetishists - Fixing fountain pens - Milking fruit flies to make fruit juices Which of these is not a way to make money on your commute? - Driving Uber or Lyft - Singing loudly along to your favorite banger - Charging electric scooters Go Deeper Read These Blogs: [Getting Rich: From Zero to Hero](, Mr. Money Mustache [22 Best 2020 Side Hustle Ideas](, Millennial Money Man Watch: [11 Unique Side Hustles for 2020](, by Nate O’Brien Listen (podcasts): [The Side Hustle Show]( by Side Hustle Nation [Afford Anything]( by Paula Pant [Choose Fi]( [Future of X Podcast]( The new and the next is in OZY's DNA. 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