In a world where technology makes it easier to reach new clients and work from home, there is a growing interest in side gigs. Indeed, many people are finding that they can make money on hobbies, or start a web site and make money of the advertising. It’s even possible to start a non-profit organization as a side gig, or buy into a local business as a way to make money.
No matter your idea for making a little more money on the side, it’s possible for your side gig to also help you in your day job — if you do it right.
First of All: Thou Shalt Not Compete
Before you decide that your side gig is a great thing for your pocketbook and your career, you need to make sure that you aren’t competing with your employer. Developing a product that competes with your employer’s, and trying to launch it while you still pull down a paycheck, isn’t exactly showing your classy side. Additionally, it’s not exactly ethical moonlighting to work on your side gig during working hours, when someone else is paying you to do work for them.
While your side gig can be a good thing in your life, and while your employer can’t really penalize you for starting a business on the side as long as staying up past midnight doesn’t affect your job performance, you need to make sure that what you’re doing is on the up-and-up, and that your side business isn’t in competition with your day job, or reducing you ability to perform your day job.
Develope New Skills
One of the ways that your side gig can help you in your day career is by helping you develop new skills. Turning your hobby into a source of income requires that you exercise creativity, and develop other skills and abilities that can translate to your traditional job. These skills might be able to help you improve your performance, helping you land a promotion or a raise.
Other skills that your side gig might help you develop — and that can be helpful to you in your career at another company — can include:
- Networking
- Social media
- Time management
- Communication
- Organization
- Business acumen
- New contacts
Some of these skills can help you improve your job performance for your current employer. In other cases, developing these skills can help you advance your career by helping you find a better job. You can improve your career prospects with a little help from the things that you learn working on your side gig. The things that you have to do to build a successful side business often translate to skills that can be applied in the world of a 9-5 career.
Consider the benefits that can come from a side gig, and consider how it can help you in your career. Whether you are providing more value to your employer so that you are more likely to get a raise, or whether you want to develop a new skill that makes you more attractive for a better job, learn from your side gig experience. Knowledge and experience are always valuable, and a side gig tends to provide both.
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