Guest Blog: Yet Another Side Hustle

Guest Author: Dan Giaime, Chief Marketing Officer at Delight Rewards

Hi, I'm Dan.

I used to work at Microsoft and Facebook, and now I work on my own startup. Even now, I constantly find myself thinking I need other ways to make money, and have to curb those thoughts. Today, I hope to share a perspective I've found helpful in the past that could help stop you from YASH (Yet Another Side Hustle).

Do you ever find yourself saying, "I need a side hustle?" Or maybe:

• I wish I had passive income
• I want many income streams
• I want to start a business
• More money will make me happy

Any of those sound right?

Whelp, me too. All the time. And even though I’m already hustling at my own startup, I STILL find these thoughts coming up more and more, especially amidst the pandemic. So, I’d like to share with you a perspective that has helped me reason through these feelings.

Investing in yourself IS a side hustle.

Let's define a side hustle as some additional project you do to get more income. Maybe you start drawing, maybe you start a YouTube channel, or maybe you pick up some freelance work on Fiverr. Whatever it is, you invest extra time for extra money.

But why do you need it? Do you just feel that it's something you should have? Do you worry you're not doing enough? Are you unsatisfied with your current circumstance and just looking for a change?

Take a step back and ask yourself that question. Ask yourself what thing you want more of in your life. When you think of money as the obvious, and possible only answer, think of these alternatives:

Do you wish you were more attractive, strong, or confident?

Do you value feeling good daily and sleeping well?

Or maybe new friendships?

If any of these are a yes, then let me offer you a few other "side hustles":

• Go to the gym
• Start eating healthily
• Find a new hobby and a new community

Why are these side hustles? Because, just like a side hustle, these actions have a Return On Investment: ROI. The time you input returns something in output. For a standard side hustle, that output is money. However, with a widened definition of a side hustle, your outputs ⁠— what you gain from your effort ⁠— could be confidence, physical health, or even new friendships and bonds.

The goal of this article is not at all to say you shouldn't start a business. You may already go to the gym plenty, you may be happy in your day-to-day, and you may also just desire money more than any of those other things on the list.

The goal of this article IS, however, to say that there are many ways you can improve your life, and it doesn’t just have to be economically. Sometimes, it gets difficult to feel like anything other than money has value. But you have value. Your health and happiness have value. And your emotional wellbeing has value.

So, if you find yourself about to start another side project or business when you’ve already got a lot on your plate, just take a step back for me, and ask yourself:

"What do I want most right now?”

About Dan Giaime

Dan’s journey as an entrepreneur began in middle school when he sold gum and homemade beef jerky at sky-high profit margins. Quickly, this morphed into an actual interest in business, and Dan has since founded Payble and Delight Rewards, his current venture, with an awesome team he met in college. Dan has worked at Microsoft and Facebook and is about to begin his third stint in the 1871 PYROS program. Although his background is in software, Dan handles marketing and growth as the CMO of Delight Rewards. He and his co-founders are currently participating in the Alchemist Accelerator.