I hated having to do this. But as the weekly ritual goes, I had to make sure my bank could withstand the gas my car needed to gobble up, while securing enough to pay off another set of student loans. So during the wake of a 2 a.m. insomnia episode just a few months ago, it hit me! I needed a side hustle. Or at least some sort of extra cash I could pocket to help with the small expenses I had here and there. This is not an uncommon route for many Americans, especially for Gen Z, as the cost of living has skyrocketed to the point where it is more likely to need two jobs just to afford a decent living space.
According to an article by Forbes, “Why Side Hustles Are Becoming The New Normal,” written by Caroline Castrillon, she states, “In addition to keeping up with inflation, many workers are underpaid. For example, the median hourly rate in the service industry is $12.49, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, 44% of workers in North America believe they are underpaid based on the ADP 2023 People at Work survey. When you compare state minimum wages with the average living wage for one adult with zero dependents, according to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, no state offers a minimum wage that a person can live on” (Jun 16, 2024). With all that being said, lower and middle-class Americans aren’t the only ones getting into the hustle. From make-up and skincare lines to kitchenware plus a plethora of other random side businesses, the upper class has made sure to carve out a space for themselves too.
Most side hustles start from a humble little hobby. For years I have been an avid thrifter, joining in on my mother’s scavenger hunts to find the best bang for your buck. I learned about different types of clothing fabrics and materials and the brands that are genuinely sustainable or not fast fashion all due to my passion for the hobby. So when I looked down at my small closet, lined inch to inch with all these pieces, I decided that it was time to find a new home for some of them.
When starting a side hustle, there are also time and financial investments you have to be willing to make; for instance, while a good amount of the clothes I am selling were mine already from previous thrifting adventures, I still make sure they are cleaned, well photographed and fairly priced. Everything I do for my side hustle is out of my own pocket, which is stressful since my budget for just breathing air is expensive. But, it’s an investment.
As I walked through the grocery store, rows and rows of celebrity’s personal side hustle brands peered out at me. Pots and pans going for hundreds of bucks by celebrities who don’t really cook, many of whom use plastic material to produce their products. Or clothing brands created by rich individuals who also don’t have much to do with these niches and who make clothing from non-sustainable materials such as polyester or nylon (or worse, acrylic). It frustrated me as I stood there, scowling at these unneeded and poorly executed items.
Writer and comedian Amy Poehler created her own podcast, “Good Hang.” And with no surprise, the first guest was her long-time best friend and often business partner, Tina Fey. Within the podcast, Fey mentions her own take on the rich meddling their way into unneeded side hustles, stating: “I don’t get excited about money… Like if I’m safe and I have enough money to live [I’m good]. I have a problem with rich people having a side hustle…one time, a million years ago, I remember seeing an 80s actress promoting her line of homeopathic children’s medication. And I was like, why on this earth would I trust an actress for pediatric medications?” (time stamp 28:49). One might first instinctively think Fey is depicting a disdain for the rich doing side hustles; however, that is not the case. Instead she is referring to those who are taking up space where they don’t actually have anything to do with a product they are promoting to their audience. Let’s be honest here, a side hustle is meant to be an extra way to make some money. Yes, it often stems from a passion you have; however, now there are customers, websites, social media accounts, time and money investments, etc. In other words, another job. And most of this is all run by one person, which can become quite taxing. However, for those who are not rich, this means they have to love what they do – especially in the beginning stages when they’re practically losing money. But now with the rich and famous getting their fill with projects that might not really mean much to them because they are who they are and have the financial resources to hire employees, manufacture the products etc., it can be very difficult for those who do not share in the same privileges to gain the same momentum. So, as you browse stores with packages decorated with famous faces, yet the items are cheaply made, consider investigating a small business instead, where quality is an essential part of the product.
Photo courtesy of Unsplash.
