Side hustles are a lie

I’ve closed down my company.

Not that company - my skincare brand is in its rebirth era - I’ve actually shut down my side hustle’s side hustle.

We set up our cap business, Best Policy, maybe two years ago. I still love the concept and wear the hats every week. But I set up this company because I wanted to learn about paid media and so started it when I enrolled on a course. Thousands of pounds later, I didn’t do the course and I didn’t make the brand successful. But the experience did teach me a valuable lesson about focus.

Having faced up to the fact that taking on too much is actually a complete waste of time, on a positive note, I did learn a few things from closing down my business, and, it made me heed a few warnings about the glamorisation of the side hustle.

Lesson one:

There’s a lot more to success than a good idea.

To make something - anything - work, you have to put in the graft. And I just couldn’t find the pockets of time required to progress through the course or focus on the business at all. You can create the concept, build the site, but success doesn’t come from a good idea alone.

Lesson two:

Success doesn’t necessarily mean doing more.

Taking on too much can lead to feelings of failure and underachievement. Not doing, when you think you should be, feels rubbish. A key argument for why taking on less in life can breed contentment.

Lesson three:

Side hustles can cause burnout.

With the need for constant proactivity, energy and mental stamina, shifting from one task to another - the whole side hustle experience - well it’s not always that good for you. What’s more, it can be detrimental to your relationships or your focus on the thing which is your main income - which is not ideal.

Lesson four:

Side hustles are an easy way to waste money.

You can’t fast-track your way to success. Success can be about showing up every day, consistently, and patiently waiting for your moment as much as it’s about working as hard as you possibly can. So with a side hustle, you might need to give it time and space to flourish - which you might not be able to afford to do, financially or mentally - therefore wasting your time and money in the first place.

Lesson five:

The side job can actually end up being harder than the full-time one.

At least with a full-time job, you’ve got allocated time each day to do what’s required. A side hustle, in its very nature, means trying to carve out time each day to do the thing, where there isn’t actually the hours to do so. Let that sink in.

Overall lesson learnt?

I wouldn’t rush into to doing something on the side again. I think there’s a lot to be said for doing one job, and doing it well. For your overall wellbeing, not just cramming out your days - finding focus - getting satisfaction in the everyday feels like a positive step towards overall contentment in life. Would you agree?