Make Ends Meet: Get your ‘side hustle’ on

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - With inflation still at 40-year high, American families are experiencing financial strain on everything from gas to groceries to any other important expenses.

What does someone do to get by if everything costs you more money, but they are not making more money? It seems impossible to make ends meet.

According to new data released by trusted data provider Semrush, over the last two years there has been a huge surge in Americans wanting to turn their passion projects into paychecks.

The data reveals that since Jan 2020 there has been a 421% increase in searches for “side hustles to make money.”

A person’s 9 to 5 pays the bulk of your bills, but think of what else could be afforded or saved for if someone found a way to create another revenue stream doing something that they love.

Morgan Overholt, a freelance graphic designer, is a true example of turning your passion projects into a paycheck. She turned her blog TheSmokies.com into an income with a six-figure revenue.

“We did not have a business plan,” Overholt said. “We didn’t know what we were doing.”

Overholt may not have had a business plan, but she had a desire to change her life and the persistence to stay with what she loved.

“I just thought, I’m “Field of Dreaming” again, you know,” Overholt stressed. “If you build it, they will come.”

She built her blog, and viewers did come, and they are still coming.

“We’re kind of living proof that everything doesn’t have to be perfect and you certainly don’t have to know everything that you’re doing,” Overholt said.  “You learn by doing it.”

Google searches in the United States showed an uptick over the past two years of searches by 70% for “how to turn your hobby into a side hustle.”

Overholt said now is the time to stop thinking about it and start doing it. Whatever someone does, they should just get started.

“I would say dedicate, whatever your passion project is, dedicate as much time as you can,” she exclaimed. “Dedicate as much time as you have reasonably without driving yourself completely insane.”

People do not have to quit their day job to get their hustle on. They just need a passion for something and a little bit of time to do the work to get it started. Once that first step is taken, the new adventure should be named.

Try to determine a target audience and estimate material and services costs. Not even Rome was built in a day. It will take time. So be patient.

“Even if it’s one hour a week,” Overholt stressed. “Two hours a week. It doesn’t matter. It might change the rate at which you grow but you know what, you’re going to see more progress there than if you just don’t do anything.”

“It took us two years to get six million page views,” Overholt added.

People should think about what they love to do and what they know how to do. The choices are endless. Start a blog or YouTube channel. Do freelance work. Pet sit or babysit. Manage social media for small local businesses. You just must be creative and do the work.

One thing you may want to think about, earnings from your side hustle are extra money however your earnings are also taxable if you exceed $400. You are required to file a tax return for that income, even if you have a full-time job. It is extremely important to keep a good record of your earnings.

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