Hobby = $$$ 

It's a good thing to have a side gig!  Check out the article "Why 3 jobs are better than one" from CNN.com.  Author Paula Caligiuri, says "...it's no longer smart to depend on one job or one source of income."

So it's simple:

You + like to cook = catering on the weekend $$

You + loves fashion = work at the Coach store (I'm sure the employee discount is grrreat!) $$

You + passionate about writing = write and self publish a book $$

You + great html skills = web designing for local start ups $$

This may be a way to start working on your entrepreneurial spirit while still holding down your main job, not wanting to fully dive in before knowing if that's what you really want to do.  Or, you may just have a hobby that can bring in some dollars!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/worklife/06/02/cb.3jobs.better.than.one/index.html

Everyday I'm Hustlin'...

When I was growing up I used to think you go to college, get your degree and get that one great job that will be the start of your career that you'd work at for years to come and then retire. That was it - your one skill set, industry and so on. But what a distorted thought I had.

Once I got settled into my career path and began to get out and network with other professionals I started to encounter not one but two business cards at our departure, often times hearing "I work in Finance by day and I am an interior designer on the side" or "I am an Account Manager and I teach English at a junior college". On the side! What are you talking about, when do you have time, could I do that and many other questions crossed my mind. I then realized that we can indeed do any job or as many jobs as we good and well pleased. I mean, when I was in college I can remember holding down 2 or three jobs at a time - but that was things like working in a deli at the supermarket, tutoring football players or telemarketing, all part-time. But these were adults - trained professionals in some skill or trade or many in fact.

I began to question my thinking all along. I realized that my view of holding down multiple jobs or "hustlin'" meant you needed to earn more money to supplement your main income versus the fact that one has many talents and passions that don't have to be given up just because you've secured a full time job! So, of course I got to thinking - I have things I love to do that I am good at, if I say so myself, and there is nothing wrong with earning extra money!


According to merriam-webster dictionary online search, hustle means "to make strenuous efforts to obtain - especially money or business" (as applicable to this entry). If working forty plus hours a week and then putting in another 20-30 hours into your own side gig isn't strenuous efforts - I don't know what is. People are expanding their work scope to include additional passions and added income potential. Often times your career although you like it - does not satisfy all of your interest. I once read that if you have a hobby or interest something that you enjoy doing, why not make money doing it. Whether it be card making, a cleaning business that is done on the weekends, real estate sales, or investments, freelance writers, web developers, secret shoppers, personal shoppers, teachers and professors, event planning, making jewelry or selling Avon or MaryKay, etc. I would imagine if you are good at it - go for it!

Staying busy will keep you sharp and keep you from becoming stagnant or status quo. Keeping busy with meaningful and enjoyable work and tasks also increases a happier disposition. All while remaining financially sound, increasing your wealth, and preparing for the future.

So I say - get your "Hustle" on! Wish me luck on my state real estate exam!

The Next Chapter...

In all candor - I probably should not be up to my sarcastic antics during this time of lay-offs and economic recessions - we all should be happy we even have jobs - whether we like them or not, right?!

As I personally witness massive reorganizations and job-restructuring as those viewing from the top like to call it - my feelings are bittersweet. From those who can finally leave their unfulfilling jobs with severance packages and buy-outs allowing them to reconnect with their childhood dreams and goals of opening up that bakery or custom auto shop or finally being able to release all that pent up literary frustration and becoming that romance novelist that you've always wanted to do, or simply just traveling the world or spending time with the grand kids - I cheer them on with excitement eagerly awaiting the roll out of their life's ACT 2 or even 3 or 4 - who knows.

Then there are those who lived to work, giving numerous years or maybe numerous months or hours, manual or mental labor, ideas and loyalty to a company all to find themselves without warning being asked to leave, with only a couple minutes to pack up their belongings and no time to inquire about COBRA benefits or unemployment.

I can remember being laid off from my first job out of graduate school - I was a victim of last one in - first one out. I was disappointed and caught off guard, but I can remember my mother telling me, as I was then a very green workforce novice, "this is what happens in the real world. You are experiencing this sooner than most in their working careers, you'll be fine." Fine - I thought, I just graduated grad school, I didn't defer my student loans, I don't have any income - Hel-lo!! I'm broke!

Just like a book is filled with many chapters - so are our experiences. So although hard to hear, embrace and try turning the page to the next chapter with optimism that these next pages will hold even bigger and brighter contents than the chapters before.