What You Need To Know Before Starting A Side Hustle

Side gigs are jobs that you can take out, well on the side of your current, more permanent work, to help you boost the bank balance and give yourself a way to make more money or pursue passions and simply put your skills to good use to support yourself.

The side gig economy is growing, and currently, around 39% of Americans have a side hustle, according to Bankrate. From a generation point of view, Gen Z are more likely to have a side gig (over half), while half of millennials and 40% of Gen X have another job or two on the go outside of their primary employment.

But what do you need to know when starting a side hustle?

You Need To Pay Taxes

You still need to pay taxes when you earn money from a side hustle. Declaring your extra income to the IRS will avoid you landing in hot water and getting a fine for not reporting your income. Even just making a small amount of cash from affiliate links, for example, can affect how much tax you pay, so make sure to declare it all while also ensuring you know all of your deductibles for this extra income, too, if there is any.

You Will Still Need Insurance

Regardless of the type of work you are doing, you will still need to have insurance coverage to protect you and what you do. Getting business insurance quotes means that if anything were to go wrong with your side hustle, you would have the protection and coverage you need to take the hit; for example, let’s say you’re selling coffee from the back of a van of a morning at the local surf spot and someone burns themselves on the coffee and wants to sue you, or your side hustle of delivering food on bicycle means that you had a collision with a pedestrian, you need insurance to help you mitigate the results from these types of incidents and to protect yourself. Always have insurance.

They’re Not Permanent

Side hustles are simply extra bits of work you are doing to diversify your income, and these days, there are literally hundreds of side hustles you can take up. But they’re not permanent if you don’t want them to be. Just because you started doing it, it doesn’t mean you can’t quit and try something else if it doesn’t suit you. Sometimes, you do not know how things will pan out or affect your main employment schedule, so remember you can also quit a side hustle if it’s not working for you and look for something to build those funds instead.

It’s Not Always as Fun If You Need To Do It

This mainly applies to people who decide to make a living for crafts or hobbies they enjoy doing, such as baking, making clothing, blankets, etc. While it might be a fun hobby to pass the time at home, if you’re relying on it to make an income, this can suc the enjoyment out of it so fast. So take your time in deciding what side hustles you are pursuing, and ask yourself if this is going to ruin anything for you. If the answer is no, then don’t do it, but again, if you choose to and find that it has this effect, then stop.