Student loan payments were eating most of my income. So I picked up an extra gig.
For as long as I can remember, Iāve always had an extra job. Whether I was working at Starbucks or even an olive oil store. I will admit that there were moments when Iāve felt embarrassed about having an extra job, more importantly ā Ā the reasons why I had one.
Currently, I am on an entrepreneurial journey. And believe me, Iāve worked a ton of side hustles as Iāve gone through the process of building up my business. I thought it would be fun and enlightening to share different side hustles that Iāve worked on.
Why work a side hustle
There were years when I had more time in the month than money because I had bad financial habits. Letās be clear ā I didnāt know I had bad financial habits. I just knew there was more time for bills to hit in the month than money stashed away.
And there were years when I had great financial habits. But I still had more months than money, because I didnāt earn enough to take control of my finances.
And donāt get me started on my student loans. The average student loan debt in the U.S. is up to $32,731, according to the Federal Reserve. Many people will pick up a side hustle to earn more to gain traction on debts like student loans. I was one of those people for a long time. It was necessary for me to pick up additional work so that I could gain momentum on my bills and get ahead.
My side hustle story
Iād like to share one of my favorite side hustles ā brand ambassador work.
The primary purpose of a brand ambassador is to connect with current and future customers of a brand. You share talking points about the product. And if itās a consumable try to get people to try it. Youāve likely encountered brand ambassadors at fairs, concerts, sporting events, races, and randomly downtown.
I love meeting new people. Even better, I love that I can double my typical income from my retail job in half the amount of time. In my experience, Iāve typically made an average of $20 an hour. Even after taxes were taken out, that was more than what Iāve earned working retail ā and a lot less stressful.
This type of work can be easy to find if you live in a medium to large size city. If your city is large enough, you can find daily listings of upcoming events that need ambassadors to work them. The larger the city, though, the more challenging the job hunt may be. The process of getting hired is a lot more competitive ā because more people are applying. Iāve found brand ambassador work looking on Craigslist under the āGigsā tab and the āEventsā tab. Future brand ambassadors can also go on Facebook and look for closed Facebook groups that post brand ambassador work daily.
The downsides of a side hustle
Many jobs hire side-gig workers as 1099 contractors, which means that you are responsible for withholding taxes. As a brand ambassador, I met a gentleman who hadnāt filed his taxes for five years. Yes, I was scared for him!
Surprisingly, an unexpected issue that brand ambassadors find themselves dealing with is wear and tear on their car from driving to different events (Uber and Lyft drivers feel my pain). I made a point of choosing events located pretty close to my home, carpooling, or taking public transit whenever possible.
As a person with two degrees who has worked many side hustles, I was disgusted by how Owens from the Cosby Show was treated. We donāt know if heās a millionaire whoās bored and wants to be around everyday people at a job like Trader Joeās. But I am sure that I will continue to side hustle well into the future and I look forward to sharing the best and worst of my experiences.
Published by Debt.com, LLC