Top 8 Advantages of Side Hustles for Project Managers
Project managers share one thing in common: they all strive to explore new venues for innovation or improvement. That’s the essence of pushing any project further, sometimes beyond its original task.
Thus, embracing new technologies and trends on the market is an ongoing task! And while a job offers many learning opportunities, you may wish to explore your expertise in other areas. For example, you plan a career change or want to create and sustain something authentic.
If all these goals and concerns are right up your alley, side hustles are a helpful path. After all, they can teach new things, offer additional income sources, and create an outlet for creativity. Let’s discuss the most significant advantages of side hustles and suggest where to begin.
What are side hustles?
A side hustle is an activity project managers pursue alongside their primary job. When you clock out at work, you might spend several hours on your side hustle. And, in most cases, a side hustle can mean many things. Some might work in an office, managing their teams efficiently. A side hustle could be an escape from this corporate environment through fixing cars, painting, or taking photos.
In many cases, side hustles include various creative pursuits, which might also reflect your primary employment. Say you have a programming talent and have moved up the ladder in your company. Now, you manage a group of developers and barely have time to code. Thus, you might pick up freelance projects, like developing websites or apps, to avoid becoming rusty.
Of course, side hustles also include passive income. This offers money-making strategies that require little effort. For example, it could refer to renting out your car every weekend! However, passive income can also refer to things like online courses. For example, a programmer turned project manager could create courses helping people learn specific programming languages. While the initial creation of the course took time, your course can continue bringing you money for years.
Top 8 Pros & Advantages of Side Hustles
Side hustles could be about earning more money (in addition to your primary salary). Yet, besides the financial boost, side hustles offer a variety of benefits:
1. Skill improvement
Project managers used to be regular employees, performing tasks like writing, developing, testing, designing, etc. Yet, their brilliant skills rendered them into people managing others in the same department. While this is an excellent career upgrade, it leaves little time to polish the skills that got you promoted.
So, side hustles are fantastic at keeping you sharp in your expertise. Instead of reviewing work or setting up meetings, you can get your hands dirty. Thus, using side hustles to prevent your skills from dulling is wise.
2. Financial stability and security
Your position as a project manager might be pretty stable. Yet, the economy is unpredictable, and many companies can let go of people at any time. Thus, a side hustle gives you more security about your finances. Losing your job without much warning won’t be a tragedy if you have another income stream. So, you will be able to quickly pick up more tasks either from current or new clients.
3. Getting new skills
Besides preventing your current skills from getting rusty, you can also pick up new ones. If you have an area you wish to explore, side hustles can help you with that. Say you have an eye for digital art but still need time to master the popular tools. At first, you might spend some time on tutorials. Then, you can start accepting orders from people for a small fee or free. Once your craftsmanship improves, you can begin increasing prices!
4. Meeting new people
Your clients or partners in your side hustle could become necessary in your network. For instance, a client impressed by your skills could offer you a job. In other cases, you can be invited to join different expert groups. Thus, you can meet like-minded people and discuss topics that intrigue you. Besides expanding your professional network, the new people in your life could also become friends.
5. Personal benefits
As mentioned, side hustles can be a breath of fresh air from your day job of managing teams. For instance, you could feel more relaxed, motivated, and confident by accepting orders and baking cakes. It gives you a creative outlet while adding more money to your wallet.
6. Potential for starting your own business
Starting a side hustle could be just the beginning of something bigger. If your venture starts bringing in serious money, one thought will bug you. What if you quit your primary job and focus on your side hustle? So, while you might enjoy being a project manager managing your own business could be much more rewarding. Of course, getting used to running the entire show might be difficult without consulting other people. Yet, with enough determination, you could turn a side hustle into a successful business!
7. Better time management
The less you have to do, the more difficult it might be to manage your time. When your schedule fills up, you start considering the common mistakes in time management. Taking care of your side hustle could take some time. So, you will become more adept at juggling multiple things at a time. As a project manager, you need to have excellent time-planning skills. After all, not only do you need to perform your tasks. You must also help your team and stay in tune with the other departments.
8. Changing careers
Being a project manager could be rewarding in many ways. Yet, a small voice inside could push you in a different direction. Side hustles are an excellent option for diversifying your resume and honing skills in different areas. So, before deciding, you can practice different fields of interest. Then, you can make better decisions regarding shaping your future career.
Conclusion
Overall, side hustles offer excellent opportunities for honing skills (new or current), meeting new people, and pursuing personal interests. Additionally, it’s terrific to make additional money through active income (like freelancing) or passive income!
