Start A Side Hustle! Your Doctor Has One, Do You?
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Are you thinking you’d like to start a side hustle? You should!
The side hustle, or gig economy is big business. It seems like everywhere you look, someone you know is blogging, selling, or coaching in addition to their “day job”.
If you take a minute to ask around, I bet you’d be surprised at all the side jobs people have.
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Your Doctor Has A Side Hustle And You Should Too
Written by guest writer Shannon Cairns
I myself am a physician, and people probably think, “Why the heck does a doctor need a side hustle?”.
Aside from the obvious financial benefits, there are several other factors that improve my quality of life by blogging, selling, and marketing.
A side hustle can benefit you, even if you are a busy professional, or feel like there’s no way you could fit it into your already jam-packed lifestyle.
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What Is A Side Hustle?
A side hustle can be anything from mowing lawns to selling makeup. Side hustles are anything that you do to make money outside of your “day job.”
Driving UBER or delivering pizzas is probably going to be the easiest way to make extra money fast, but I am partial to online side hustles.
It may take a little more time to grow your following, blog, or online marketing presence, but the payoff will be way better.
Online side gigs give you the ability to earn passive income once you learn how to leverage the internet and social media to work for you.
5 benefits Of Having A Side Hustle, And Why You Need One
Financial Freedom
This seems like stating the obvious, but it’s kind of an important little advantage.
People assume doctors or other professionals are rolling around in money, but an advanced degree comes with a hefty price tag.
Student loan debt is something most people can relate to, and doctors are especially notorious for being good at accumulating hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt.
This has been a huge motivating factor in starting my side gigs. It’s hard to build wealth when you are giving all your money away to payments, which is why I believe you should do every side job you can possibly find, until you are debt free.
An online business, blog, or direct sales gig can bring in extra income without adding a ton of extra hours to your already packed schedule.
Passive Income
Everyone is looking to make passive income, right? It’s the elusive dream. You’re on the beach, sipping from a coconut, and making money with your laptop and cell phone.
This may have been nearly impossible in the past, but with technological advances it’s now a very tangible thing.
Related: 21 Passive Income Ideas
The idea that you must trade hours of your life for money, is an old way of thinking.
With a side hustle like blogging and affiliate marketing at your fingertips, you really can make passive income online.
In fact, I have income streams that are set completely on autopilot using cool tools like Pinterest and Tailwind.
Job Flexibility
When you have extra income, it frees you up to do more of what you want.
Yes, I love treating patients, but it’s even better to see patients when you do it because you want to, not because you desperately need to make a dollar to pay Sallie Mae.
As a mom of three young children, I enjoy being able to stay home with my kids part time, and earn extra income from my blog and marketing efforts.
- What does your perfect schedule look like?
- Would creating extra income, help you achieve this?
- A side gig can give you something that you own and have complete control over.
- What would happen to your current job if you were in an accident and couldn’t work, or decide that you really would prefer to stay home with your babies while they’re little?
While thinking up a side hustle of your own, remember that a side hustle can provide you with options! If you’re really successful, you might even get to fire your boss.
Related: How To Make Money Blogging, Actually
Credibility
There are many business owners that already take advantage of blogging to build their rapport with potential and established clients.
This can be applied to any business (online or brick-and-mortar). I wholeheartedly believe that just as trademarking your business is essential, every business should have a blog, too..
If you have a blog for your business, and you are reaching a lot of people, you can also add little side income streams such as affiliate links or ads to monetize your blog.
This way you can combine promoting your business with earning passive income, without devoting a lot of extra time to something completely unrelated to your field.
Also, you are already an expert in your line of work, so you will have a lot of content and value to provide to your readers.
Related: 5 Reasons No One Is Sharing Your Blog Posts
Improve Your Mental Health
This is one of the most important reasons why I created both of my blogs.
Practicing medicine, mountains of paperwork, running a business, it can all be quite stressful and overwhelming to say the least.
I myself have struggled with stress, anxiety, and recently postpartum depression revolving around my medical practice. It’s important to be able to disconnect from the stress of the workplace, and do something that inspires you.
Writing fun and helpful blog posts and having the ability to spend more time with my children; these are all things that make me happier and healthier. The practice of medicine is rewarding, but it comes with many challenges.
My side hustles give me hope and happiness in an otherwise mentally strenuous career.
Which Side Hustle is Right for You?
As I mentioned before, there are several different things you can do to boost your monthly income.
There are “traditional” side jobs, such as mowing lawns, delivering pizza, or busting out your barista skills.
These side hustles are probably the simplest way to earn money fast, however there is going to be a cap on just how much you can earn, and they will take up a considerable amount of your time.
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Earning income from online ventures such as blogging , affiliate marketing , or selling products, requires some skills, but once you have everything set up, you can work from anywhere, and sometimes even earn completely passive income.
Do you have a passion for writing, networking, selling?
There are side hustles out there for you! I would encourage anyone and everyone to chase their dreams and create a side hustle that generates income and inspires you.
- What drives you? What lights your fire?
- Can you turn that passion into an online money making machine? I bet you can!
- Start by making a list of everything that interests you, that you are passionate about, or topics that you have a lot of knowledge on.
- You will probably be surprised at how much you know about a variety of topics.
- Don’t let the lie of “no one will want to hear what I have to say” creep in.
Take a look at this list of side hustle ideas to get some inspiration!
Start A Side Hustle – Tell Your Unique Story
Everyone has a great story, and your story is totally unique to you. You can use your story to launch your side hustle in any category! Just get started. Take action.
Start a side hustle and improve your paycheck and your quality of life today!
Shannon Cairns lives in Texas with her husband and 3 kids all under age 5. Both she and her husband are podiatrists, and own their own practice together. Shannon runs the motherhood and lifestyle blog The Freckled Foot Doc.
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