Seriously, y’all, when are we going to quit lying?

Nobody will tell you this, mostly because they’re too busy instructing you to start a side hustle — and hey, buy their course while you’re at it — but it’s true. You shouldn’t start a side hustle.

If you haven’t started a side hustle by now (or monetized your hobby, or whatever else you want to call doing something outside your working hours for pay) then it’s probably not for you.

Why? Because it’s soul-draining, pays very little, and has low odds of success. 

And yet millions of people this year will give up their free time in hopes of making a little extra money while ignoring their actual creative pursuits, relationships, and job. 

Here’s why you should step out of that line.

Starting a Side Hustle Is Soul Draining

Before I achieved my successful life of side hustling enough to go full-time, I worked 80 hours a week. I worked my typical 40 hours at my day job, and then crammed in as many extra hours as I could into blogging, YouTubing, and building my brand. 

This was only possible because I worked a white-collar job, that didn’t demand huge amounts of time or creative energy. Later, I was able to sink in even more time because I was unbelievably lonely. I was back living at home without any friends. There was a world-changing pandemic occurring. I didn’t see my husband for months due to travel restrictions. (And I was one of the lucky ones.) All I had was my work. 

You know what? If I could have it the other way round — a life, time with my husband, no successful side hustle — I would take it. I wouldn’t even think twice.

Starting a side hustle is exhausting because you won’t ever just luck your way into success. You have to give and give and give everything you have in order to stand a chance. I absolutely love writing and creating. But if I loved it one iota less, I wouldn’t be here. 

Starting a Side Hustle Pays Very Little

Let me be upfront with you — I don’t blog because I think it’ll make me rich. I could make far more money at a regular 9–5 job. I’d get good perks, a stable salary, and I’d enjoy my work.

So with that in mind, picture this: it’s September 2018. I’ve published my first article on my blog. I earn $3.32 in royalties that month. I’m overjoyed with happiness and the thrill of success.

That’s exactly 27 minutes’ worth of work at a minimum-wage job, which is already criminally low-priced. Most side hustles will never make you rich. The best they can give you — which is what I have — is extremely flexible working hours and an equivalent salary to whatever you currently make, minus benefits. That’s definitely better than $3.32, but I’ve also worked a lot more than I would have at any other job to get where I am today.

Most side hustles won’t help you get rich. All they’ll do is take up your time and give you less-than-minimum-wage returns — again, unless you’re one of a rare few who has the right combination of talent, experience, and timing. And even then, sometimes you won’t win. One of my best friends is driven. She’s talented. She’s got vision. And she has an Etsy shop, one among the millions of other Etsy shops, that turns a median of just $291 in profit every month.

Starting a Side Hustle Has Low Odds of Success

It’s not even the odds — it’s that you have to wait a very long time to see if the odds are in your favor. I grinded (ground?) for two years before arriving at a place where I knew my writing caterpillar side hustle could turn into a beautiful business butterfly. 

Amardeep Parmar, for example, just became a full-time blogger after fifteen months of writing steadily online. YouTubers like Cathrin Manning took two years to scale successfully. 

Most people don’t have the stamina or willpower or love of creating to carry on working without very much reward until the work finally pays off and starts earning you more than a couple hundred dollars a month. And that’s OK! We don’t all have to cram in extra work every weekend in order to be happy and fulfilled.

Maybe You’re the Exception

I know I am. I started writing because I’d always wanted to be a writer and I found out pretty quickly that I could write and earn hundreds of dollars. That blossomed into an entire brand and business. I’m set to earn six figures this year, my third year of side-hustlin’. So maybe you are the exception, too.

But you probably aren’t. You have to absolutely adore what you choose to build your side hustle on, because it will take sacrifices you probably aren’t ready for. You have to have the time and energy to keep going on the months when the monetary rewards aren’t worth it. I’m childless, with minimal responsibilities beyond my cats. I’m in the ideal setup. And it was still unbelievably tough for me.

If you’re reading this, and you love writing, I’m not saying you can’t start that as a side hustle. You absolutely can earn money by writing about what you love. Many people do, and earn in the hundreds (or thousands) every month. 

But if you’re reading this and you’re only thinking of doing a side hustle because you think it’s a good way to make some extra money, consider this: you probably shouldn’t start a side hustle.