Is Side Hustle Still Worth Trying Even When It Is Difficult to Succeed?
Side hustles can broaden your income stream. However, success is not guaranteed, and some “opportunities” may be full of fraud.
The Side Hustle Boom in China
With the advancements in China, an increasing number of young people are realizing that their main job is not only tiring but also less and less lucrative. As a result, many are now searching for another side job after work, also known as a “side hustle”. The word “side hustle” was explained in Merrick Arber’s “Dual Careers”. It means that people can perform several occupations at the same time.
According to the survey results of the Social Investigation Center of China Youth Daily, 47.7 percent of the adults born in the 90s have changed two to three jobs, while 48.2% have worked from one to three years. Nearly 30 percent of them have a side hustle, and most of them have a monthly income of RMB10,000 (US$1,580) to 10,200 (US$1,900). Micro-businesses with low barriers to entry have become their first choice as a side job. Some choose to open Taobao stores or start hobby classes. Females are more involved in micro-businesses, hobby classes and purchasing agent services, while males are more into design and photography, followed by micro-businesses.
Some people disagree with starting a side business after getting off work. This is mainly due to the belief that people have limited energy and should rest after work instead of working on another project. In some cases, individuals prioritize their side hustle over their primary job, causing a fall in inefficiency or even slacking at work. Sceptics argue that if one cannot succeed in their primary business, it will be even more challenging to succeed in a side business with fewer resources.
However, there are also many compelling reasons for people to pursue a side hustle. Some people relentlessly sell their time and energy for work, but many are still unable to achieve financial freedom with their nine-to-five job. Side hustles serve as an alternative to broaden their income stream. The younger generations are now seeking opportunities to try new things. Apart from the financial benefits, exploring new opportunities can also encourage self-development. Developing a side job can make us go further on the road of self-exploration, bringing more options to our future and better adapting to the changing environment. This is especially important in the increasingly complex and uncertain business environment. Without exploring ways to upskill yourself, there is always a risk of becoming irrelevant to the workforce.
The “Professional Help” for Your Side Hustle
As it is increasingly common for working adults to generate multiple sources of income, more people are worried about not having a side hustle. Targeting this group of the population, scams posing as professional support are popping up across China’s social media platforms, including Weibo, Zhihu, Wechat, and Xiaohongshu. These scammers prey on the fear of working adults who do not have a side hustle. Their overall scheme is to defraud a large sum of money by offering highly-priced training courses. These courses emphasize how simple it is to earn large sums of money from side hustles if you get trained by them. As lucrative as it sounds, we must remind ourselves that success is not that easy.
One of the most typical examples is the “professional” dubbing course. The trainer will tell you that the barriers to entry for part-time dubbing is low, and it is easy to make money — you just need to train with him for a period of time. The course fees for the dubbing classes start at RMB 5,000 (US$790), and instalments and loans are available. After the participants signed up, many complained that they discovered the training courses were of poor quality and that the lecture timings were inconsistent. Worst of all, the course fees were not returned.
Even if the trainer has helped to create the foundations for his students in the training courses, famous voice actor Ji Guanlin highlighted that there must still be an opportunity to become a picked talent of a regular voice-over studio. Not only that, it will take two to three years for the student to start dubbing officially. In the initial phase, newcomers often have few opportunities with a relatively low income. The official website of the CCTV program pointed out that the rise of ACGN has broadened the dubbing market, but the industrial chain is fragmented. The barriers to entry for dubbing are high, and the market is at its infant phase. At the same time, the talent gap persists, and voice actors who can reach the top of the pyramid remain rare. With sufficient research, it is not hard to discover that advertisements offering support for low-cost side hustle are nothing more than a hoax, considering the low chances of success. However, in an environment where side jobs are becoming increasingly popular with more people eager to make quick cash, scammers can easily take advantage of the situation.
The Realities of Developing a Side Hustle
We should consciously use side hustles as a way to develop our strengths rather than focusing on quick gains. Everyone has different interests and strengths, and real value comes from this differentiation. For those who want to develop a side hustle as a hobby, the decision should be carefully assessed. The pursuit of new businesses may be due to the fact that your main business is not doing well, and you want something to distract you from the anxiety and frustration you experience. In this case, you have to calm down and take a step back before making a rational decision.
The WeChat public account Rosy Evolution Theory proposed that people should have a strategic plan in choosing their side job. The ideal side hustle would be able to share the capabilities and advantages of the primary business, forming a “1+1>2 Effect”. After all, everyone’s energy is limited, and it is difficult to specialize in more than one field.
Regardless of the industry, it is challenging to succeed in anything without passion and perseverance. There is also the critical factor of balancing your main and side jobs. This requires extreme self-discipline and the sacrifice of a lot of personal time.
