If you want to retire early read this advice from a serial side hustler
- Erin Eng
- Oct 16, 2020
- 3 min read
We talked with Erin Eng, founder of Side Hustle Sweetie who is a multi-faceted entrepreneur and creative at heart. Her mission is to help people with her exploration and her variety of side hustling experiences as a woman and mom.
What’s your name, age and occupation?
Hello! My name is Erin, I'm 41 now (although I don't feel like it), and I was a full time UX Designer at Google.
What kind of side hustle do you do?
You name it, I do it! I've tried various delivery apps, shopping apps, online sales, blogging and ecommerce, freelance writing and designing, mystery shopping, usability and user feedback, print on demand, youtube channels, dog watching, flipping and selling furniture and clothing. What can i say? I'm a woman that likes options.
Why did you choose these?
I wanted flexibility, but I also wanted to see what I liked the best. It's important to try a few things that work for my life right now, but I like to "diversify" just like I do with my investments. If something doesn't work or is no longer there than you can fall back on many other things and not be doomed.
What skills do you need to do this side hustle?
You need to be able to be adaptable, like change, not afraid of doing hard work. Other skills might be learning something new fairly quickly and being good with people and customer service. I think I'm good at doing many things because I get bored easily.
What motivated you to do a side hustle?
There are a lot of things out of our control right now, people getting laid off. It's a scary time and we all need to think about the future of work and our economy in a much different way. I quit my corporate job before corona virus, and no longer had as many opportunities in the direction that I thought. People were spending less money as well as changing how they spend their money and I felt compelled to take advantage of that. I also get bored often times in full time jobs and need more freedom and flexibility. Piecing together a few things allows me the time and ability to always have new challenges, take control of how I spend my days and have more time to be creative.
How much time do you spend doing your side hustle?
Right now I spend anywhere from 2 hours to 60 hours on my side hustles, but that's the beauty of it. I can decide, and my efforts pay off in something that directly impacts my life instead of someone deciding for me.
How much money can you make per hour, per week, per month, per year?
Going along with how much time I can spend on them depending on the other important things in my life like my creative pursuits, my family and my health - I can make anywhere from nothing in a week to $1000
What are the downsides to your side hustle?
I doesn't pay enough (yet) for basic living expenses where I live right now. I live in a very expensive area, so I either have to move or balance my side hustles with another higher paying job. I'm slowly using savings and trying to minimize costs so I can work on my side hustle more so I can grow it over time.
What are your future goals?
I want to retire when I'm 50, but I also want more time/stability/money to have creative freedom. I would love to have more time/money to feed my creative hobbies but still have a place to live and take care of my family and eat well!
Any advice for people looking to do a side hustle?
There's a time for experimentation and then there's a time to go all in. If you really love what you're doing maybe there's a way to make it more of a full time thing. Also, don't ever give up. Things happen over time and incrementally. You can achieve them with a little hard work and commitment! Also, try to make money without spending any money. Don't fall for MLM (multi-level marketing pyramid schemes) where you have to invest money and pay upfront with the hopes of making money. It's a little harder, but there's many things that will pay you outright or that you can build and work on that will pay you without having to invest much especially with the internet!
If you're in need of UX consultancy for your small business or non-profit check me out here
Creator of Side Hustle Sweetie, Erin Eng opens up about her motivations in starting this blog to help women find more financial independence and freedom.
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