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The Benefits of a Side Hustle: How it Can Help You Launch Your New Career

Are you pursuing a new career path?

Sure, it’s exciting yet career transitions can be challenging and tricky to navigate.

You have to learn new things and unlearn old ways.

You may wonder if your new career path will take off.

That’s why it’s prudent to walk that path slowly and steadily.

One way to do that is to pursue your new career path as a side hustle.

What does that mean?

It means that you stay with your existing career and pursue the new career path on the side. You can work on it after office hours or on weekends.

For example, you’re a Human Resources (HR) professional at a large corporation. You love to cook. The idea of picking up fresh vegetables and stirring up a delicious meal brings you alive. You’d love to pursue it as a business.

You could begin with cooking for friends and catering for events. Or you could take part in a food pop-up festival in your city. That way you could pursue your passion for cooking as a side hustle without quitting your job.

Here’s the single most critical benefit of a side hustle. It gives you a test ride of your new career.

Pursuing your new career as a side hustle gives you the chance to decide if you want to pursue it as a full-time career.

It helps you fine-tune your new career and nurture it with patience. It also cushions you from failure if the idea does not work.

In the above example, the HR professional with a passion for cooking may realise that setting up a restaurant is demanding. It’s labour and finance intensive. After giving it a shot, she may choose to not pursue it. Instead, she may offer her delicacies at the local farmer’s market and stay with her existing career.

Alternatively, on trying out her new career as a side hustle she may realise she enjoys the creative freedom and income it brings. This may motivate her to transition to her new career full- time.

Ensure your side hustle does not violate your terms with a current employer. Or compromise your relationship with them.

If you want to launch a business around what inspires you, then winding up your current work may not be the wisest thing. Instead, doing your job with efficiency and dedication could help fuel your side hustle.

If your current job does not give you enough time for your side hustle, pick up a part-time job or a bridge job.

Or if your current job is unhealthy, you may want to move to a better workplace, to be able to pursue your side hustle.

Don’t let your side hustle be the only work you do – yet.

In conclusion, pursuing your new career path as a side hustle can be a smart and practical way to test the waters before making a full-time commitment. It allows you to develop new skills, fine-tune your ideas, and build a client base. All this without the pressure of relying solely on your new career for income.

Remember to ensure your side hustle does not violate any agreements with your current employer and doesn't compromise your relationship with them. By taking a steady approach, you can find success in your new career while also maintaining financial stability and security. So go ahead and take that first step towards your new career path today.

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