SuperManager: Side Hustles

Christine Lawrence
you’re listening to Super Manager the podcast for people who manage people and business. With ideas, trends and expert interviews to help you be a super manager.

Samantha Naes
Welcome to another episode of Super Manager podcast this week we’re talking about side hustles, thes are second income sources, and I am here with my group of super friends. I have

Rick Shore
Rick Shore from Legal Shield Business Solutions. We basically provide peace of mind for business owners and employees.

Joel Emery
Joel Emery With Ignites Strategies I serve as the sale systems architect for small and midsize businesses.

Natalie Meyer
Natalie Meyer with HooPayz and We Are your benefits concierge. Helping people to understand and maximize the benefits that they have in their package.

Amy Narishkin
I’m Dr. Amy Narishkin with empowering partners. I’m a cultural intelligence strategist, so I come alongside and partner with organizations that want to either reach a broader market or hire people that look like the market they want to hire.

Samantha Naes
I’m Samantha Naes with CNN video. We do corporate video production.
Joel, you brought up that before my generation, I feel so old, just kind of worked a job, and now you get a lot of I’ve got a second job or I’m working multiple part time jobs or things like that. I had an employee a couple of years ago that I hired is a lead videographer and editor. He did wedding videos on his own, and then he came to work here as a videographer for corporate video, and he asked, Can I still do wedding videos on the side while I’m working here? Because they’re typically on weekends and this is during the week, so it shouldn’t be a problem, and not only was it okay for him to do that, but we would periodically get phone calls from people that would say, Do you guys do weddings? And I would say No, but I know somebody. Is that kind of what you meant by…

Joel Emery
That’s part of it. You know, there’s also people for a variety of reasons, might patch together different sources of income. You know, they might intentionally by choice, have different lines of income for scheduling or family reasons or whatever the case may be like

Natalie Meyer
driving for uber. You know, people are doing things that

Samantha Naes
a lot of people doing that now

Natalie Meyer
you know, stuff of that sort. you know people are selling stuff on Facebook, marketplace or people are doing, you know, extra like cleaning jobs, or they’re…

Rick Shore
It’s huge. Everybody has a side hustle.

Natalie Meyer
Yeah,

Samantha Naes
really?

Amy Narishkin
Does parenting count?

Rick Shore
Except you.

Samantha Naes
Except me?

Rick Shore
You don’t get paid for it

Joel Emery
There’s the MLM world. You know there’s the whole area, too.

Rick Shore
So I’ve got some statistics we could actually talk about.

Samantha Naes
Ok, what do you got?

Rick Shore
Yeah, well, you know, the 10 99 is not the W2. the W2 is the conventional way to pay people. 10 99 is independent associate kind of relationship. So in year 2000 there were 2 million 1099s filed with the IRS. Two million. So in 2014 20 million.

Amy Narishkin
Wow.

Rick Shore
So that’s a huge growth in people being self employed, if you will, or having a side gig or side hustle.

Samantha Naes
I think a lot of when we hire for video production most of the applicants that are just out of college list their current employment as freelance videographer. Lot of freelancers. It’s not uncommon at all. In fact, I would say maybe 70 to 80% of the applicants we get are currently freelancers.

Natalie Meyer
There’s just so much more opportunity. There’s a sight that I’ve used for some graphic work in the past, and things of that sort will check in graphic designers, videographers. You know, I think a lot of those creative talents we don’t need someone full time, maybe, but use the site fiver.

Samantha Naes
I’ve heard of that.

Natalie Meyer
Yeah, you said sometimes if I’ve needed,

Samantha Naes
have you had good luck with it.

Natalie Meyer
I’ve had great luck, in all honesty, I’ve used it for, you know, whether it’s maybe a new line of products or something, we don’t. Maybe we need a little logo for it. Or

Rick Shore
is that five bucks? Is that the deal with fiver?

Natalie Meyer
It usually starts around $5. Some of them.

Amy Narishkin
Not my experience, but

Natalie Meyer
yeah. I mean, I have found things for $5. I know that it used to be If you wanted to get more likes or things like that on Facebook page, you could pay people to, you know, if you wanted to have a new page and you wanted to boost it up, I’ve seen people use it for graphic work. That’s what I personally used for if I’ve needed maybe a new flyer. Something like that, or new one pager could be a great way to get new perspective. Someone else’s take if you had, someone may be doing them. all right so I want a different look.

Samantha Naes
it is interesting. As we talk about this, I am seeing it more and more there a lot of people doing fiver and then, like you mentioned uber. And then there’s also like the Wag and Rover. People are pet sitting on the side, and then also, I get a lot of people that are voice talent. They’re putting their service is into these online databases, and

Joel Emery
now is there a difference between a freelancer and a side hustle?

Natalie Meyer
I think to me at least, and this is just my opinion. A side hustle applies maybe that this is something extra you’re doing. And maybe you have something else. A freelancer. That’s how you work. That’s how you collect your money. You’re always freelancing.

Amy Narishkin
And, oh, by the way, I used fiver to publish my book last January. had great success and now they’re working on some one sheets or flyers. I think that’s the term you used for me. So yeah, well, then I think I’m working with somebody in Venezuela and it’s awesome.

Natalie Meyer
Yeah, I’ve got a really great look and it’s very affordable, and you can hire them through fiver to do extra stuff if you like them.

Amy Narishkin
Yeah, for a solo-preneur, whose is just kind of starting out in their business.

Samantha Naes
Maybe that’s why side hustles are becoming so popular because the service’s are so convenient for the rest of us. I’ve been traveling a lot, so I use Wag and Rover to help out with pet care. I use Uber.

Amy Narishkin
Mili.

Samantha Naes
Yeah, Mili. I use uber a lot when I travel. I mean these the service’s I’m using more and more so

Joel Emery
Airbnb

Natalie Meyer
I was gonna say, that’s what I was gonna say too

Joel Emery
It connects the consumer directly with the provider and cuts out kind of that sales person in the middle. You know, somebody’s still making money, but

Rick Shore
you know Airbnb is the biggest provider of overnight accommodations in the U. S.

Joel Emery
Really

Natalie Meyer
I’m not surprised. I mean, it’s a great solution. I mean, I was just in San. Fran. the other week, and obviously it’s a really expensive city. Hotels are very costly, and I was there for a conference. Then my husband flew out there, we were gonna spend the weekend out there, and so we ended up just doing Airbnb. They’re just more affordable and first goes one of those aeas too, all the hotels were kind of in one part of town and not always the part of town you want to stay in so it kind of works out.

Samantha Naes
I’m just catching on to that. Colin is doing some traveling for one of our clients arbitration association, and we’re looking up hotels, and there are certain cities like San Francisco is one L. A. and New York., where hotels are just more expensive. and Boston. For some reason,

Natalie Meyer
Yeah, Boston is really expensive. Nashville’s the same way, too.

Samantha Naes
Yeah, and he said, Well, have you thought about looking at Airbnb? And I’m like, Really?

Natalie Meyer
Yeah,

Samantha Naes
I hadn’t thought of that, but he’s like, Oh, yeah, you get a much better deal… So it’s just happening all around,

Natalie Meyer
and I think it’s just obviously things are getting more and more costly, and some people maybe don’t wanna have to have both people working all the time, But maybe someone’s a stay at home Mom. But they run the Airbnb or they do graphic work through fiver or something of that sort, that it provides some independence with family.

Samantha Naes
I guess if you don’t need that long term relationship with a provider

Natalie Meyer
right

Samantha Naes
then It’s very beneficial because they’re always available, and sometimes when you have a steady provider, they can put you on the back burner and aren’t quick return phone calls. And with Wag and Rover, if I need somebody to take care of the pets, it’s not a matter of going to my neighbors and saying, Are you available at this time? You know, it’s like, Here’s what I need who’s out there? I have my pick of people to choose from

Natalie Meyer
exactly.

Samantha Naes
But the downside is, if you really need to build that relationship… one of the reasons I don’t use Wag and Rover as often is because I want somebody who knows Mili and I also have a bird, Abby at home, who knows them and their habits and

Amy Narishkin
idiosyncrasy.

Samantha Naes
Exactly kind of knows how to take care of a different person,

Amy Narishkin
Mili has them

Samantha Naes
not Mili.

Amy Narishkin
Did I offend? (laughing)

Joel Emery
No I think there could be a lot of different drivers that lead somebody to take up a side hustle, one of the biggest ones as we know it’s in this bin, a fair degree of wage stagnation for the past couple of decades, and a lot of people coming right out of college. They’re anticipating wage income at a certain level is not there

Samantha Naes
right

Joel Emery
The opportunities aren’t necessarily there. And so then they end up picking up one of these more formalized side hustles. So there’s that. I also know a handful of people who have a business on the side that was more like what their passion is and what’s something that excites them, that they monetize that a little bit. So I have a good friend who runs an event space and then on the side, she plans weddings just for select clientele. I know somebody who he is primarily a restaurant manager in a large chain of restaurants, but on the side, he and his wife have a botique shirt manufacturing business, and so that’s their side hustle. Personally, I mean, I primarily do this sales and marketing work with a handful of clients. Then on the side, I do woodworking for people just for fun. People who like it are gonna appreciate it, not a lot of it, but just enough to do it.

Samantha Naes
There are two things that come to mind, listening to what you’re talking about. Two different reasons, I guess, for side hustles. One in the examples that you gave it seems like the person has a passion, but it’s not necessarily going to pay the bills. So they’ve got their full time gig that where they get the paycheck, they pay the bills and then they have a side gig that allows them a little extra income that allows him to do what they’re really passionate about. On the flip side of that, you have people that are doing the side gigs just for money because they need additional revenue. And so they’re doing that to pay the bills

Joel Emery
And then the last reason I see it’s people who, for whatever family reason, they need to have that degree of flexible schedule

Natalie Meyer
right.

Joel Emery
I know personally one of the reasons that I have a variety of different clients as opposed to a full time engagement anywhere is I have a child with special needs, and it gives me the flexibility to plan around that for 3:00PM consistent activities that if I had a 9 to 5, wouldn’t be an option. Or I know that I might get a phone call from school and have to go at 10:30 a.m. Period, end of story, and if you’re in an office, you can’t necessarily do that. So while I wouldn’t describe what I do as a company as necessarily side hustles, I’ve deliberately structured what I do to have that flexibility in order to take care of my Children.

Rick Shore
Right? I think it’s I think it’s financial freedom, and time freedom. Time freedom seems to be the most attractive part of this side hustle gig economy that we’re living in. So they said and I’ve got more statistics, I’m just

Samantha Naes
Rick’s our stat guy today.

[everyone speaking]

Rick Shore
So and we have some cultural differences with the side hustle business too that you could probably speak to Amy, But most people in the beginning in January. So, you know, everybody looks at the year ahead and what’s gonna happen. So 44 million Americans in 2019 said they’re going to start a new job. They’re gonna start a side job. They’re gonna find another revenue stream because they just believe that the there is no job security anymore.

Amy Narishkin
Yeah,

Rick Shore
you know, I mean, you know, like, my dad worked for the same company for 45 years or whatever was going to retire. Going to get it just doesn’t happen anymore. Most people change jobs every three years,

Amy Narishkin
which is ironic. With a 3.9% unemployment rate, there’s no job security

Rick Shore
Yeah, it is. It is kind of hot, But so out of those 44 million that say they’re going to start a new job, only really 1% of them do it. Okay, because there is a barriers to entry and others cross barriers. There’s, you know, you gotta have a product, you gotta have a service. You gotta have something to sell or something to do or something to provide. So that’s where the MLM thing comes in. And that’s why that grows People selling nutrition, people selling vitamins, people selling legal services.

Amy Narishkin
What’s MLM?

Rick Shore
like a multi level marketing.

Amy Narishkin
Thank you, thank you.

Rick Shore
So because they have the company that have the passion, so they want to help people. We see a lot of people,

Samantha Naes
but you don’t have to start the whole thing from scratch.

Rick Shore
but you don’t have to start the whole thing. You don’t have a big investment. You don’t have a big downside. So you know a lot of juice plus people out there?

Natalie Meyer
Yeah,

Rick Shore
it’s a good stuff, you know, But the third leg of that stool doesn’t always work out. They have to have a system. They have to have a way to operated. So that’s why

Amy Narishkin
so that’s why they need Joel, right?

Samantha Naes
What comes to my mind is the whole chicken and the egg thing because you’re talking about people taking these side gigs because of lack of job security. And I wonder if there’s more turnover as a result of it. Somebody takes a full time job and they’re like, You know what? I don’t need this. I’m gonna do my own thing. And so

Amy Narishkin
Is that why companies are experiencing ghosting

Samantha Naes
ghosting and turn… yeah.

Amy Narishkin
Do you know that term? it’s when somebody takes a job and then doesn’t show up for work

Rick Shore
like ever?

Amy Narishkin
like ever. it’s something that my husband’s company, they hired people and then they get ghosted.

Samantha Naes
it, is it’s becoming a big problem, like they get a better offer somewhere else or their existing company, and they just don’t show up.

Amy Narishkin
And they don’t let people know

Natalie Meyer
and they’re too chicken to call and say hey, thanks for the offer. But something else came my way.

Amy Narishkin
for whatever reason

Samantha Naes
haven’t been taught the proper etiquette

Natalie Meyer
exactly, just thank you, but no thank you

Rick Shore
I think most of these side hustles, though, are supplementary. Two jobs versus… the dream is the vision is that they will get big enough

Natalie Meyer
right

Rick Shore
that I could quit my job and I could be my own boss.

Samantha Naes
Do you have stats on how often that happens?

Rick Shore
I do know I, (laughing) but I’ll get them for you.

Natalie Meyer
I think it’s like that. Everyone, yeah, I agree. That’s where something you were talking about, doing your woodworking. I’ve always done some personal styling on the side, and it’s something that maybe it’s like a creative outlet. You know, you and I both work in more of a business sense. So I need something that has a creative release that just

Samantha Naes
right.

Natalie Meyer
you know taps into that. But it’s one of those things. Sure, if something grew, maybe I’d consider, but it’s, I think

Rick Shore
Do you think it’s that entrepreneurial spirit? Do you think people have a desire to sort of do their own thing? And not really be in a structured environment

Amy Narishkin
I’d be curious, to know if that’s an American way of thinking, or…

Rick Shore
well, I’m glad you brought that up, because, actually 57% of entrepreneurs in the United States are African Americans. It’s interesting.

Amy Narishkin
A quarter of all immigrants… sorry 1/4 of all new business in the United States is foreign born nationals

Rick Shore
73% Hispanics, 70% Asians. 55% of whites say they prefer to run our business so

Amy Narishkin
we actually don’t want to be closing our borders.

Rick Shore
And we don’t

Amy Narishkin
don’t want to be cutting people out.

Samantha Naes
Well, is it cultural. Or is it the fact that the people that actually have the spirit to travel to a different country have the same

Amy Narishkin
good question

Samantha Naes
the same courage to start their own business?

Rick Shore
That’s a good question. And I think a lot of the immigrants to the U. S. Don’t have come from having a certain amount of income. And the only way they can replicate that is by starting their own business by running their own business. I think that’s one financial factor

Amy Narishkin
well and the other, another factors they don’t speak the language, and also a CP A, for example, in Venezuela or Mexico isn’t necessarily going to be able to be that here because they haven’t passed the American version of the bar or the medical exam. Or so it’s another barrier that could start as a side hustle. My work started is as a side hustle and it’s evolving into. I was just facilitating multi ethnic conversations and I realized that there was a need in the community and it became like, Oh, this is cool this is work,

Rick Shore
But it doesn’t feel like work, it’s just something you like to do.

Joel Emery
I think for some of us that have side hustles, whether myself with woodworking or friend the wedding planner, or people, the shirt business or you with styling, there’s something liberating about doing that work. But if you make it too much of what you do, then it takes the fun out of it. So finding that little that balance line in there,

Samantha Naes
that’s a big problem in video production. People go through four years of college to do video production because it’s fun. And then they realized that when you’re doing it for someone else by someone else’s specifications and not for yourself

Amy Narishkin
oh no, it’s work!

Samantha Naes
Yeah, it’s actually work. And I’m wondering how all of this is going to affect the corporate environment. Are we talking about a change to where we have fewer corporations? Are we talking about companies having to change to provide some of this additional stimulation, like allowing accountants to do some sort of woodworking project? You know, how do you Is the whole culture going to change where there are fewer bigger companies, or is the company gonna change to …

Amy Narishkin
I would suggest the shift is already happening. My daughter works in New York City with business insider, and there are pool tables for those those younger folks right there, right in the lunch room. So, yeah, it’s happening.

Rick Shore
They want to have time flexibility.

Samantha Naes

Yeah,
Rick Shore
they want to be able to kind of work at their own… wherever they want to work.

Amy Narishkin
Yeah, my daughter Abby’s 24 she has unlimited vacation with Business Insider. But what’s really interesting is it’s really about three or four weeks that everybody ends up taking at the most, and you still have to get your work done. But it gives mentally this kind of room that she really enjoys. So I think the culture is shifting

Rick Shore
I think so too, and I think you know more work from home or capability of doing things remotely. You’ve gotta have a ping Pong table, or a pool table…

Samantha Naes
a basketball hoop.

Samantha Naes
Basketball hoop is manditory

Amy Narishkin
Or Mili, a dog.

Rick Shore
Bring your pet to work

Samantha Naes
Does anybody have, ah, horror story having to do with side hustles? You’re laughing, Rick. Something came to mind.

Rick Shore
No, but you always ask for a horror story. That’s why I’m laughing.

Amy Narishkin
he was ready for you.

Samantha Naes
No horror statistics?

Rick Shore
No statistics on hand.

Joel Emery
I Have a story that I heard about so not firsthand knowledge, but somebody who was an executive at a manufacturing company and he was involved constantly in some MLM or another as a side hustle. And that was fine. Except he would try to bring both vendors and clients of the manufacturing company into his MLM, and he was really crossing that line. And after years of doing it, he got let go for crossing that line repeatedly.

Samantha Naes
His manufacturing clients do not want Avon. (laughing) So quit trying to sell it to them!

Joel Emery
So you definitely have to figure out where those lines are, especially on the MLM thing to the point of people see you coming. No, no, it’s the juice guy again. Uh, own it. Do it. But you figure out a way to navigate that so it doesn’t damage your social credibility.

Christine Lawrence
Thanks for listening to Super Manager by CN Video Production. Visit our website at http://cn-video.com for additional episodes and lots of Super Manager Resources. Or give us a call at (314) Video Me