I am still slowly but surely getting through this book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and lessons are pouring out as I read more. This latest lesson feels a little less mainstream and it’s something I have never done myself. Nevertheless, I am hungry to learn and this is obviously something worth learning, so I will do my best to remember and apply it when I can in the future. Today’s lesson is about holding a side hustle, which is essentially creating some sort of business for yourself to run on the side that can produce other sources of income.
It’s not just about the money:
Obviously, it’s good to have another form of income, but I think it’s more than that. It breaks the reliance we would naturally place on our salary/job to survive week to week and gives us more control and responsibility for how much we can earn. I have never owned a business or run a side hustle so don’t know all the challenges that would come with this, but I imagine that no matter what happens it would be a very valuable experience.
I feel like this would definitely motivate me in the future to work harder, because I would be directly investing time into something I own. Unlike when your reward is limited by a salary which only has minimum requirements, running side hustles has no limits. I guess there are bonuses in some jobs, but even those can be capped, and no matter what you get paid, there is someone above you determining how much of the value/money you generated that gets passed onto you. This doesn’t mean you lower your work ethics within your normal job though. In Robert’s case, all of these factors only drove him to work harder and outperform in his job because he was so motivated to work his way out. Eventually his hard work paid off as he began simultaneously succeeding at work and running his side hustle, which eventually overtook his main income! So in the end, it’s more motivating to chase your dreams than a raise and the focus should be on working your way out instead of up.
Creating new streams:
Another smart element to this side hustle is how it produces fresh streams of income. Now I don’t just mean ‘more income’, I’m talking about new sources of money that didn’t exist before. I have heard many people say that a lot of wealthy people can have close to 7 sources of income, so there must be some advantage in that compared to just having one massive source of income.
I think one reason why this works better is because it can become more and more difficult to generate the same growth in your income if you stayed in one secure job. Taking an example of someone who is very driven and maintains the same effort at work for 5 years, I can see how math can prove this very point (for those that don’t know, I love math). If they start on a salary of $45,000 and get a $5,000 pay rise each year, that growth in income becomes proportionally smaller each year (E.g. $5k/$55k is smaller than $5k/$45k) even though the effort and energy put into the job is the same. Once again, I’m not saying it’s pointless to succeed in a job, there are huge gains to be made with working harder and receiving permanent pay rises and it would all be worth even more if the job you’re working is teaching you valuable lessons. But as I pointed out earlier in my journey, I am always on the hunt for more efficient ways to grow and I think this will play a major role in me growing my financial influence. So, the key point I have learnt here is that there is value in opening up new streams as they can produce more money for your time and energy.
When should I start?:
I would like to give a motivational “START NOW” or “There’s no better time than now!” kind of speech, but being real with myself, I can’t imagine doing this side hustle anytime soon. It could be seen as a lack of motivation, but I chose to see it as discernment for correct timing (but who knows, I could be wrong!). My thoughts are that I haven’t even entered the normal working world yet and when I do finish university I think the best way to do it would be to get a solid job to begin with and then start small with the side hustle. This way I can still get some exposure to the reality of the world and on the other hand, have a decent amount of money to feed into the side gig. There probably are ways to make money without spending too much, but I would prefer to have some money set aside for this very purpose of creating new income streams and any sort of job can help with that portion. For me the key thing is this:
“I can be in the same place as others but it doesn’t mean I’m heading in the same direction”
Also, I have several plans with my girlfriend in the future (shhhhh) which takes priority over financial growth and I will naturally pour energy, time, and finances into each area of my life in line with my priorities. And let’s be honest, that ‘secure job’ mindset does impact those around us even if we ourselves are keen to take risks. If you knew me then you’ll understand that I genuinely weigh up the impacts on those relationships just as much as the monetary side. I am aware that I am not alone on this journey, so if I think something benefits me alone but hurts a teammate, then my optimal decision would land on the one where we both win together.
So in conclusion, minding your own business can create a lot of benefits beyond the money such as more drive and security. But if we are talking about money, you get more return and reward for the energy and effort you put into creating new streams of income. Timewise for me, this side hustle lesson will probably be gradually implemented alongside my journey of getting initial experience in the world, and I will do my best not to let go of this knowledge as I do that!
Key points:
- Work your way out, not up
- New streams give greater gains
