There's all these threads on here about side hustles.
But presumably you need an income in the first place to have one on the side?
Is noone else Unemployed? Hustless? Incomeless? Gigless? Jobless?
What do you do when you have no hustles / gigs / jobs?
What do you do when you're starting from scratch?
wow thanks trustnoone
I am really surprised that I received a helpful answer so quickly - no trolls yet, very unozbargain like (they are probably asleep in bed because they don't have insomnia from worrying about money lol)
Public holiday in Victoria today so maybe JV is taking the day off.
Alternatively make a side gig a gig - if there’s anything that’s inspired you, that you realistically can make a go of, from previous posts (or other info) re side gigs you could also give that a crack even whilst looking for employment.
When a high school mate was out of a job I suggested he try basic landcape gardening work around my area, which is relatively affluent and has big blocks with a lot of green space and an old socio-demographic population.
He could start first with my property and then I could give him an honest reference.
However, he preferred to wait for his usual "real" office job and spend the day working for the dole and the rest of the time gaming at home, until he found another office job.
There were some practical difficulties for him such as the travel between his home and the area, having the tools of trade and the manual nature of the work. I don't think it would have been for me (but then again, I haven't needed to do try this), although I've done more than the average amount of manual work for my home and investment properties.
There's the NEIS program. If you're on Centrelink and want to start a business, you can continue getting payments for 6 months or so while you start your business (people might be afraid to because if they make some money they might lose Centrelink but if the business isn't established it could fold and then they have nothing, NEIS solves this). You also get coaching in small business to help it be a success. If it doesn't succeed you can keep getting Centrelink payments. Ask at your Centrelink office.
I don't see why you need a Main Gig to have a Side Hustle, unless it has to be a Hustle because there isn't Main Gig for it to be Side-on to.
Don't let your Side Hustle be a hassle…
Side hustles are side hustles because they're modest income earning opportunities but they aren't (usually) scalable to full time positions or reliable pay.
You're meant to spend an hour of your evening after work writing up a blog post/recording a video/influencing brands on TikTok than quitting your fulltime job to spend 7 to 8 times longer on the side hustle style stuff. (Yes, there are "look at me, I make a living from Instagram and you can too" self-made hustlers in YouTube ads trying to sell you courses but in most cases they're just people who won the lottery - see next paragraph).
Spending an extra 7 hours on a "what superfoods I recommend" blog post will likely make it a better post than the 1 hour version, but it won't earn 7 times as much. [In both cases you're usually earning a small (if anything) amount but hoping to win 'the lottery' and suddenly the views and clicks roll in to the extent that it becomes a main hustle. But for every PewDiePie, there's a million unknown streamers].
Who cares which hustle it is, its just semantics.
There are people who willingly live on the gig economy and revel in the freedom it provides.
Whether there is a main hustle is irrelevant, its the money coming in that is relevant.
A side hustle is just a fancy name for a second job.
Some people work during the week Mon to Fri in an office then make coffees on the weekend to get ahead.
For me I wanted to earn a second income mainly as personal challenge but also as a backup should my core job fall through.
Similarly I wanted an income that was reasonably passive in nature, time flexible, and didn't impact my core job or family time.
Look at your strengths & goals when developing your side hustle first.
Side hustles take time to develop, they aren't cash overnight.
It’s called a side hustle for a reason, generally something done on the side to a main job that you have.I would say if you have no hustle/gig/job just work towards getting one of those at the very least. That may open up opportunities for more work in that industry/area.
Once you have something more stable (hopefully full time, or part time at the least) look to work on a side hustle. Good advice from trojanhorse77 who sounds like he/she actually has a side hustle.
I had three part-time jobs (all felt like side-hustles) while at uni, and after graduating, I found myself with a part-time role in the industry I studied for. I gave up 2 of the part-time jobs and pushed to get a full-time job. Looking back I regret it, because the part time jobs allowed a lot more flexibility and 3 different paydays made me financially better off than a 40 hour week and salary. Just.
To answer your question, you dont need a full time job to have a side hustle. You dont need the pressure other people put themselves through for their careers/income/situations.
Be interested in work, be active in pursuing opportunities, and dont be afraid to take a chance to make something big for yourself out of a hobby, part-time job or side hustle, such as creating your own small business (like the landscaping opportunity above from ihbh).
When you are starting from scratch, be frugal, manage your time effectively so you are available and interested in work, keep your motivation high, and have a written set of goals for what you are going to do. View those goals frequently, update them and add to them. And do some personal study, like what you are doing here asking this question.
Good luck and let us all know that you are successful!
Side hustles are good to see if it's for you, and if it is, to build up your skills.
Unfortunately, starting up a business is very specific to your circumstance and skillbase. Some don't have capital, some do. Some don't have good sales skills, some do. Some are good with their hands, some aren't. The list goes on and on.
i've gone through the initial process of coaching people to start their business with many people. My suggestion is always to start thinking about what you want. What are your goals with this new business of yours. Once you have that, then you start the process of research what kind of businesses suits both your goals and also fits your circumstances. If you're short on your skillbase, it's time to learn/train.
Most people skip the initial step of working out their goals and set up business that don't work for them or fit what they want from their life, often taking their life savings (or borrowing money from family and friends) and flushing it down the drain.
An idea I often suggest is consider starting a number of low cost small businesses (side hussles) to see what gains the most traction and it might open you to better opportunities.
I was on centrelink when I had no job, was good enough to get me roof over my head before I finally was able to enter the workforce, though didn't have much of a side hustle besides helping a few friends out for cash.
I feel like once you have enough money from your side hustle, then it becomes your main hustle and you can get rid of your work.
I think it depends on you and your life. Most people require a way to sustain themself (have a place to live and food to eat), I think that becomes priority and so anyway that makes it happen is better, no matter what hustle/work or even if you can live with family.
Once you have that though, then you can move forward from there, if you have money from work then you can start using that to build your hustle. Still though I know others ask for capital money to start their side business, or use their work PC to create apps that they make more cash on (of course be careful of the legal implications of this).
Someone told me once "you need to be looking out for opportunities" and sometimes I think its true, like people I'd talk to day to day as normal. But if I keep this mindset I realise I can talk to them which may help me get a different job, or start up a random business, or sell a specific technology.