I’ve been chatting with friends lately who are looking for their next job and it reminded me of one of my favorite work tips: don’t discount the side hustle.
Side hustles can certainly provide extra income, but they often provide far more than that.
Side hustles can be a sanity saver, dream saver, or fun way to gain new skills and experience. They offer the chance to fulfill other parts of our interests that might not be satisfied in our full-time jobs.
I learned this when I was working at the US Federal Emergency Management Agency as a young political appointee.
My job was in the policy office, which was fine enough, but what I really enjoyed about that job was that I was occasionally asked to support major disasters, which I found meaningful and adrenaline-rushing.
The first time I returned from supporting disaster response, however, I realized my desk job wasn’t totally fulfilling me anymore. So, I set out to augment it with a side hustle.
And this feels like a good time to make clear that I mean legitimate hustle, not that I started pulling people into pyramid schemes outside FEMA headquarters.
I started looking online for some type of side hustle/creative outlet. As a child, I took piano lessons, dance lessons, sang in choirs, and played sports. Surely there was someone, somewhere, looking for a policy analyst to sing and dance at parties while dribbling a basketball, right? And let’s be honest, I once played the score of The Little Mermaid on the piano as background music at a wedding when I was young: I had little shame when it came to creative pursuits. I just needed something to stop me from feeling like I might perish from tedium before reaching my mid-20s.
And that’s how I became a rock star.
Well, by “star,” I mean I sang backup vocals in a local cover band and occasionally kept beat with a tiny maraca shaped like an egg. And by “rock,” I mean we covered mostly mainstream pop songs. But hey – it’s better to have rock-starred a tiny bit than never to have rock-starred at all.
Here’s how it happened:
After returning from hurricane response duties and feeling a bit deflated at the idea of reading policy every day, I perused freelance gigs online. I found a simple ad for someone seeking a harmony vocalist. Just a dude with a guitar who played in the area and wanted someone to sing with him. I knew a little about harmony, so I figured – why not?
I didn’t know this guy, and I wasn’t telling anyone I was trying out to be a singer, so it was low risk. If he thought I was terrible, I never had to see him again and no one would ever know. But if he did like me, singing with him could provide a great way to balance fairly dry day-to-day duties with something a little more dynamic. It might help me get something out of my system (my inner Beyonce?) that wasn’t being currently fulfilled through work. Maybe it would help me focus less on the things I didn’t enjoy about my job and just be happier overall.
Guitar guy ended up liking my audition and not only asked me to start singing with him on his acoustic gigs, but added that he also had a cover band and asked if I wanted to join that too. Thus began a four-year stint of me being a D.C. professional by day, and a singer by night.
Our band played in local D.C. venues, but also at various events like company picnics and weddings. The crowds were usually young and excitable and would tell us they loved us. It was fun to walk in and be “with the band,” having people look at you, likely thinking “ooh, I wish I could play tiny maracas, too!” We had lights on us on stage, and got to say things like “check one, two” in the mic before our show. We even got paid a little, every now and then. Obviously, it was just like being Taylor Swift.
Was I on my way to quitting my day job and pursuing music full time? No. But it did feed my creative side and reenergize me. Adding excitement to my life outside of my job helped me feel more balanced because I was feeding multiple parts of my personality, not just the nerd side that could edit policy.
Even better, I was still actually feeding myself, since I still had a job that paid my bills consistently.
Often, people think it has to be all or nothing. As if you have to quit your job completely to try something else or that you have to do something 100 percent if you’re going to do it all. But I’ve found I can bring a lot of balance – and a lot of fun – into my life even through the tangential stuff. Stuff I just “dabble” in or do in my free time. And getting to experience other worlds, even a tiny bit, has been way better than never experiencing them at all. Plus, it could open doors that lead to other full-time things, simply because I’m inherently expanding my network and continually learning what I’m good at and what I enjoy.
Singing in a cover band wasn’t the only time I’ve experimented with unrelated work outside my day job. I’ve blogged for the Red Cross, wrote and promoted my book, and even tried my hand in the real estate industry.
Doing something part time, or even as a volunteer, can not only feed a part of you that feels neglected, but it allows you to build skills and experience. I wasn’t paid for blogging for the Red Cross but it sure is listed on my resume in my writing experience. I didn’t get paid to attend my local real estate investors association meetings, but it sure did pave the way for lucrative investment opportunities and expanded my friend circle.
My takeaway is this: don’t discount side hustles, even unpaid ones. You can use them to safely test out new industries, build skill sets, or simply get a little more excited about your own life. Maracas are optional.
