My 4 Side Hustles Earn 2x As Much As My Day Job
This October, I totted up how much I made from all my different income streams:
Blogging
Videos
Mailing list
Freelance clients
I came to the proud and happy realization that my income is now 2x what I used to earn at my old day job as an account manager.
Effectively, I doubled my monthly income with my side hobbies.
How? Well, there are four separate income streams. It took me years to build up. I added on one at a time. And I’m not afraid to tweak the formula.
Here are the three factors I believe allowed me to double my income — and let me build a living doing what I truly love.
1. I Really, Really Love What I Do
I get to write! Every day! For my job! The literal dream. I absolutely adore content creation and that’s what let me power through tough times to the good times.
I used to work a typical 40-hour week. Then I used to work another 20–30 hours on top of that on my side gigs.
I did that instead of Netflix, reading, lounging by the pool, and playing video games.
To build up my income, I first needed to work really, really hard. It sounds silly, doesn't it? Maybe even obvious. But a lot of folks read too many passive income articles and think building up side hustles is easy. It isn’t. Especially if you’re trying to do it at the same time as a day job.
The only way to do this is if you LOVE what you do. A desire to earn more money isn’t enough. You have to have a full-fledged passion for your side hustles.
When I was trying to do both side hustles and a day job at once, I would sometimes burn out and need to take a step back from my content creation. But for the most part, my deep, abiding love for writing articles, making videos, and talking shop let me come back to it no matter how tired or overworked I felt.
Today, I can pare back my furious efforts — I write far less than I used to, but my articles are more thoughtful and well-written. My YouTube channel is gaining more views and sponsorships. I’ve settled into the right freelance gigs that pay exceptionally well. But I front-loaded those first years with a lot of work.
If you want to double your income, be prepared to put in a lot of work upfront. To be able to do this sustainably, make sure you do it not for the money, but rather for the love of what you do. You’ll need money as a motivator, but if it’s your only one, you won’t last long.
2. I Added Each Stream of Income Gradually
In 2020, about 50% of my monthly income came from my day job (after tax, health insurance, 401k, and so on).
I started blogging four years ago for fun, and it quickly developed into my favorite hobby. About a year after I started blogging, I developed my newsletter. People kept asking me questions, so a few months after that I created my YouTube channel to bulk-answer them. Clients found me via my YouTube channel a few months after that, giving me my first few freelance gigs.
My point: it built up slowly. I didn’t throw myself into all my side hustles simultaneously — I created a steady base and built up from it in an organic, sustainable way.
The process could happen faster if you go all in, but it’s just as likely you’ll burn out. Pick one, put your heart and soul into it, and keep your eyes open for opportunities that will naturally arise from it.
3. I Looked for High Potential Opportunities
A while back, I broke down how much I make per YouTube video and it turned out to be about 6 dollars an hour.
Not even minimum wage, reader.
I thought about quitting. I thought about canceling my YouTube efforts. If it took 20 hours to write, film, edit, and upload a video only for it to earn $100, was it even worth it?
The short answer: is yes.
I knew this because:
I was not even close to my best YouTube performance in the past.
Others in my niche earned much more.
My platform was still growing.
I kept at it. I:
Learned SEO and collaborated with others to get more views.
Got better at working with sponsors.
Continued promoting my channel to my other audiences, and vice versa.
While I was at the whims of the algorithm and the mysterious ad formula, there was no limit. I continued putting in the same effort and got more and more money each month.
This was a tough choice, but it was the right one for me.
If you want to double your income, you have to be open to the possibility that it may not be worth it, at first. You may have to double down on what looks like a losing bet. To know if you’re making the right choice, examine:
Your learning potential. Can you improve? Is there room for you to get better?
The platform’s potential. Are others in your area earning more? How much more? How long did it take for them to get there?
Your future potential. Will your audience size overall continue to grow? How can you use that growth to fuel your side hustle even further?
Recap for memory:
I love my jobs, and that’s what lets me invest so much of my time and energy into them. But more than just throwing resources at my hobbies, my financial success came from recognizing that each opportunity led to the next, and from understanding that I may not know what the next stream is for me. I kept an open mind and it worked out well.
Here’s what you should do if you dream of taking your side hustles full-time:
Be sure you have a true and deep love for your side hustles. Hard times are coming. Passion will have to see you through because money and fame won’t be there for a while.
Don’t take on too much at once. Instead of looking for “high-paying side hustles” or anything like that, allow each side hustle to add itself organically to your side hustle stack. That way, you won’t overwhelm yourself.
Look for high-potential areas. What could you be doing better? Where is there a high ceiling for your niche? It could be YouTube, TikTok, Patreon, Substack, or anything else. Even if the ROI is low at first, pick opportunities that give you room to grow.
These three tips helped me double my income from my day job. I hope they can help you do the same.
