Finding Time to Flex: The Case for the Side Hustle

About 2 years ago I got to check off an item on my bucket-list. No, I didn't hike the Appalachian Trial, see a humpback whale, or throw out the first pitch at a baseball game. However, after months and months of preparation I hit "Launch" on a Kickstarter campaign. I know launching a Kickstarter isn't exactly a normal bucket-list activity, but for me it was something I had dreamed of doing for years.

Fast-forward to last week. Over the last two years the campaign for my stock market inspired board game was successfully funded, I managed and fulfilled over 800 orders, and I also negotiated a deal to sell the rights to a publisher. All of this culminated with my game, Exchange, being re-released by Game by Bicycle, the historic brand behind the #1 playing card in the world.

The Art of Continual Learning

Why is this important? What case does this make for the importance of a side hustle? Great question. Lets again look back to last week, but his time to my 9-5 day job.Last week we prepared and managed a short run social media ad campaign to test a few new propositions for a client. We adopted the lean startup mentality of build, test, and learn to ensure we craft a brand that meets consumers real needs and resonates with their wants and desires. The response was overwhelmingly positive.

The overlapping events of last week caused me to pause and reflect. I learned directly from startup founders and the way the approach their business through a podcast I hosted as a side hustle. I also, first learned how to run Facebook ads through managing that same podcast. I spent years learning (and often failing) at setting up ads, driving traffic and learning how to grow audiences and build marketing strategies by trying it out on my own side hustles. I started with just a few dollars of my own money and evolved to now running campaigns for Fortune 500 companies with very little formal "training" but rather years of learning by doing. Trying. Failing. Trying again.

I often say that being trained as a designer, one of the greatest skills design thinking taught me is how to learn– how to listen, ask questions, try, experiment, and then improve and try again. I learned how to let curiosity drive the ability to learn new things, but not blind me from focusing on accomplishing a task. Embracing a continually learning mindset is one of the greatest gifts a career in the creative field has offered me and it is something I specifically apply and leverage with each new side hustle.

A Side Hustle is a Sandbox

I often describe myself as a serial side hustler. Over the last decade I have started 3 or 4 different blogs, hosted a podcast, won a reality TV show design competition, successfully launched a Kickstarter, and became a published board game designer. (Along with many more ideas that never even left the ground).

On the surface, some of these have been more successful than others. A few of these "ventures" only lasted a few weeks or months, others have gone on for years. However, each one has presented a new opportunity, namely the opportunity to try something new.

To me a side hustles represents is a new sandbox. It is a space that you get to own and control, try and learn, and grow through discomfort. My side hustles have been crucial in building my network, growing expertise, exploring new skills, and every now and then maybe turning a small profit.

However, if we only looked at the bottom line, almost every single side hustle I have had is a failure. However, when I look beyond that to how it has shaped and molded me both personally and professionally, I see growth and opportunity in all of them. The value for me isn't in financial gain, but the freedom to flex and grow my skills.

Finding the Time to Flex

I want to make the case for the side hustle, not just as a means of additional income. Not promising some long shot dream of retiring early and living in exotic places. I am also not here to promote "hustle culture" or romanticize "the grind". In fact, in some ways I think these things are doing damage to our culture and our ability to rest and enjoy the moment. (But that is for a different post).

Instead, I want to make the case for the side hustle simply as the means to find time to flex. And I don't mean flex in the terms of "showing off". I am not talking about the humble brag. Instead, I mean flex in regards to stretching. The side hustle for me is and always will be about stretching outside of my comfort zone. It is the opportunity to explore curiosities and try new things. To flex and build muscles I didn't even know I had or imagine I could need.

When I reflect on what I have learned, I have no doubt that I am better for it. As an Innovation Director it gives me the confidence to speak on the realities of launching new ideas into the world because I have do it first hand. I have experienced both sides of success and failure and I have seen it from the drivers seat. Learning not just through theory, but through practice.

I also believe I am a better person for it. I have learned how to work hard. I have found where my limits lie. I have experienced how to persevere and forced to figure out how to prioritize. It has both sobered me to the reality of hard work and invigorated me to always remain optimistic and explore something new.

I believe in dreaming big, but taking small steps. I believe in chasing dreams, but not being blinded by ambition. I believe in being an expert, but not at the cost of experimenting. And it is because of these things that I also believe in the side hustle.