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5 reasons why you need to start a side hustle right now

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September 26, 2018 BY Elise Darma

Imagine sitting on a beach in Bali.

Sipping on your favorite cocktail, living your best life while earning a passive income on top of your full-time job.

This doesn’t have to be a distant daydream.

Take the first step with a side hustle.

You can turn the skills you already have into a profitable business that will put you back in the driver’s seat of your life.

Here are five reasons why I believe everyone should have at least one side hustle.

1. Side Hustles Are ‘The New Black’

Side hustles and millennials go together like Batman and Robin.

According to a study published by Bankrate, 28% of millennials are hustling on the side. Of that group, 25% are earning an extra $500 a month.

What’s with the spike in popularity?

Millennials don’t buy into the status quo of: go to school, get a degree, start a corporate job, get married, and stay at the same job for 40 years.

We don’t want to sit in traffic for an hour just to get to the office.

We don’t want to stay with a company for decades out of comfort and loyalty.

Instead, we believe in a different reality.

  • One where a work/life balance is possible
  • One where our jobs revolve around us and don’t dictate how much time we get to spend with our families or friends
  • One where we aren’t limited by our jobs, our bosses, or our position’s description to achieve or reach our full potential

Oh, and we are REALLY not into having a cap on our salaries.

Me having a blast at my old 9-5… can you tell?

If you have any people in your life that are running a side hustle, they aren’t special.

The only thing that separates you from them is that they took the first (and hardest) step: they got started.

2. Growth, Both Personally and Professionally

Want to know a secret?

I knew absolutely NOTHING about sales funnels, running online courses or hosting retreats for digital nomads when I started my side hustle back in 2013.

But I had a vision in my mind of my future, and I hustled hard to learn all the skills I needed to become successful.

I spent hours crafting the perfect email marketing funnels with ConvertKit, honing my Instagram growth practices and setting up my own digital marketing services business.

Fast-forward 5 years later and I’ve DOUBLED my skill set (and my income… more than a few times).

If I threw in the towel right now and went back to working a corporate job, my resume would shine like a diamond. 💎

I’ve learned highly valuable skills and tools that have made me more hirable.

No longer am I just a social media manager as I was back in my 9-5 days.

I can now set up profitable funnels, host in-person retreats and teach students so that they achieve life-changing results for themselves.

(All while building a multiple 6-figure business.)

If I had never taken a chance on my side hustle dreams, who knows where I’d be today?

3. You Get To Flex Your Creative Muscles

  • What fires you up?
  • What gets you up in a flash at 6:30am?
  • Are you sitting on an idea that is simply too good not to try out?

A side hustle is the perfect place to get creative and see where your passions may lead you.

Get behind that lens, build your dream app, create amazing crafts or rock the social media world as an Instagram marketer.

The sky is the limit with a side hustle.

You also get to create something for yourself from scratch. From deciding on your brand colors, your voice and everything else in between, you have 100% ownership and control over your creative baby.

Me, really owning my 100% creative control at my first brand photoshoot

Plus, the time investment you put into your side gig will help you build a business that’s unique AND adds value to people’s lives.

It’s a beautiful thing to watch your idea spark, multiply, and make a difference.

4. Multiple. Streams. Of. Income.

When I started my first side hustle as a freelancer, I LOVED how empowered I felt.

Suddenly, I had more money to spend on dream vacations, to treat myself to high-quality (fashionable) clothes, and my savings account steadily grew, too.

While I didn’t realize it at the time, I had figured out something that most self-made millionaires already know: you need multiple sources of income to create wealth.

According to Tom Corley, author of “Rich Habits – The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals,” 29% of self-made millionaires had five or more streams of income.

Of course, it’s nice to be able to have extra money in your bank account each month, but your side hustle is more than just that. It’s a solid strategy you can use to build wealth and a way for you to start earning a passive income.

It’s the ultimate form of financial freedom.

Imagine earning money without having to trade your time.

Your side hustle can make that pipe dream a reality.

5. You Can Live Your Own Form of Freedom

I love the F word.

Flights, freelancing, and most of all: FREEDOM.

Ever since I started my side hustle, I’ve had the opportunity to craft a life around my greatest passions.

If I get tired of staring at the same old Toronto skyline (I’m kidding, it’s gorgeous), all I need to do is pack my laptop, book a ticket and I can run my business from a cafe anywhere in the world.

Armed with my laptop, I can set up my workspace literally anywhere. Here I am working in 1) Bali, Indonesia, 2) Lisbon, Portugal and 3) Encinitas, California. Pretty convenient, right?

But this kind of freedom isn’t reserved just for the elite amongst us.

Way back in 2013, I worked a full-time marketing job and only got 10 days of vacation each year. My salary was capped, and my travel opportunities were few and far between.

I didn’t have a large savings account or trust fund to fall back on. I wasn’t an online marketing prodigy. And I knew nothing about starting my own business.

All I had was my unique skill set and a vision.

I wanted to design a life I loved, and I knew I wasn’t going to be happy sitting in a cubicle every day and working for someone else’s dream.

I’ve created my definition of freedom, and I want to help you find a side hustle that will do the same.

Whether that means spending more time with your family or friends, traveling the world or ditching your desk for a schedule that revolves around you – and not the other way around.


Let’s start your side hustle today.

Not sure where to start… or if your idea is going to take off?

Take my “What’s Your Freelancer Superpower” quiz and find out what skills you can use to kick-start your side hustle today!

 
September 26, 2018 BY Elise Darma
Hi, I’m Elise Darma!

I traded my 9-5 office cardigan for
that 7-figure entrepreneur life. But
I’m no overnight success. I’ve
experienced burnout, overwhelm
and ghosting Instagram for the
entire month of February 2019. I’m
probably the laziest Instagram
marketer you know, but if you want
to know how to sell more by doing
less – you’re in the right place.

watch the free
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Get a weekly dose of what’s
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that you
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I’m that front-of-class type who’s
passing all the notes your way.

Get a weekly dose of what’s working
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that
you can
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elise Darma An extroverted introvert

I teach not-so-Insta-famous
business people how to
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social
in a way that’s bearable and
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Let me show you the
ways. (It’ll be fun, I promise.)