117: The Rise of the Side Hustle

We recently surveyed our students of the Surface Design Immersion course and I asked a couple of questions about what they're doing in their business today. And I was surprised to find out that while about 70% of students are working as full time surface pattern designers, 30% of them were using their skills as a side hustle. And this really got me thinking as well as got my team doing some research about side hustles that I want to share with you today. I'm Bonnie Christine, and this is where all things creativity, design, business and marketing unite. I'm a mama living in a tiny town tucked right inside the Smoky Mountains, running a multi seven figure business, doing the most creative and impactful work of my life. But when I first set out to become an entrepreneur, I was struggling to make ends meet and wrestling with how to accomplish my biggest dream of becoming a fabric designer. Fast forward to today. I'm not only licensing my artwork all over the world, but also teaching others how to design their creative life and experience the same success. I'm here to help you spend your life doing something that lights you up. I'll help you build a creative business that also creates an impact, changes people's lives, gives you all of the freedom you want, and is wildly profitable. Welcome to the Professional Creative Podcast. Really, the rise of the side hustle is, you know, some people call it maybe like a phenomenon, but I think that it is a wave of the future. And of course, now side hustles are not a new concept. In fact, the term was used as early as the 50s, and thousands of people have engaged in some type of side work for decades. But what has changed in recent years, specifically driven mostly by what happened in 2020 with COVID is that it has now become a way of life for an estimated 50% of Americans. So last year, in 2023 alone, they estimate that 3.6 million a new side hustle. And that, my friends, is incredibly significant. Even more interesting is that it wasn't limited to a certain age group or certain type of person. And every generation is participating in this rise of the side hustle. And so whenever there's a shift in the culture of this magnitude, I think it's wise that we pay attention. Now we'll dive into this a bit more. But before we do, I want to take a look at some of the statistics. Like I said, it's estimated that about 50% of Americans have a side hustle today of some kind. So what's fascinating to me is that 62% of those people are already pulling in six figure incomes at their regular day jobs. So clearly there's something fueling this surge beyond potentially, you know, just more money. So let's break it down. The study shows that 38% want more freedom and flexible hours. And I absolutely love that. Now 27% do want the extra income, but it's to save it or invest it. And then some people are doing it to pay off debt, others are doing it for a creative outlet. So around 80% of side hustlers want to keep that as a side hustle, and 20% are looking to actually leave their current jobs. So I think that having a side gig, something on the side that you're doing that you find enjoyable, that you're passionate about, is something that is new and also really exciting for so many people. So I want to talk about this rise of the side hustle from two different perspectives. One is to you, if you are an educator of any kind, and then the second one is if you are looking for a side hustle. So as entrepreneurs, I just believe this is a critical time. For instance, when I teach surface pattern design, I typically always talk about making it your career. And so really having an ear to the ground over this has made me realize that not everybody wants to leave their job. Not everybody wants to have this entire career or the pressures maybe of having this entire career, even though it's beautiful and it's absolutely possible. But a lot of our student base is wanting to do it as a side gig or a side hustle, which is actually interesting because I had side gigs when I was trying to get started in surface design as well. I had a handful of day jobs that helped me scrape by as I was trying to learn it all until surface pattern design started to create enough income to where I could leave those day jobs behind. I worked as a yoga instructor for kids at a ymca. I worked as a receptionist at a spa. I was someone's personal assistant for a while. And these were all just ways to really make ends meet while I was making my dream come true. So anyways, as entrepreneurs, I think that it's important for you to also position your product and your service as not only potential hobby or a potential new entire career, but also as a legitimate side gig, something that would allow people to bring in a little money on the side and increase their freedom and enjoy learning something new and having fun at the same time. So once you begin to really open this up to the people who are in your audience, you can talk about how valuable it is to develop new skills and how Incredible it is to have flexibility where you can work from anywhere in the world at any time that you want, additional income to save or invest or pay off debt. And then also community like expanding networks based on something that you enjoy and finding purpose. So stats say that nearly 60% of individuals are just searching for a sense of purpose and a new business on the side can really be a source of fulfillment and meaning and connection with something that you just deeply enjoy doing without the pressures of turning it into to an entire career. Have you ever wondered how some artists turn their passion into a profitable career? Well, the secret's out. In fact, my incredibly in depth and entirely free workshop is coming up. It's called the Art of Business 7 Secrets to Success in Surface Pattern Design and I would love to have you join us. Here's what you need to know. You can start at any experience level so beginner, intermediate or advanced. You can start at any life stage if you're a teen, a young professional, a mom or an empty nester. And you can also start with any goal in mind. So if you want to reconnect with your creativity, start with a hobby, build out a side hustle or transition into an entire career, this workshop is for you. You're going to learn the opportunities available to you in the world of surface design. The first steps you need to take in order to get started, the five different types of surface designers so you can choose which one is right for you, how to create a personalized roadmap to reach all of your goals in surface design and ways to create multiple streams of revenue and start making income from your artwork. Now throughout the workshop I'll be sharing my top seven secrets for you to find success in Surface Pattern design. This workshop is truly transformational. We hear every year that through the free workshop people have completely transitioned and transformed their lives. So come join us. All of the sessions are self paced so you can go through it on your own time. But I am also including live Q and A sessions with me and I would love love to see you there and get to know you. You can head on over to BonnieCristine.comworkshop to sign up again. That's BonnieCristine.comworkshop and I'll meet you there. So in the world of possibilities for side gigs and side hustles now I want to talk to you about the potential of making that surface design. So surface Design immersion, my signature course is coming up in February and I love knowing percentage of people in this year's course will be coming in looking to Add something to what they're already doing on the side. Now, I love Surface design for this because at the core of Surface pattern design, you're learning Adobe Illustrator. Now, Adobe Illustrator is considered a hard skill. And what I mean by hard skill is that it is something that if you learn it, you can take it forward in you no matter what you do. So sure, have an entire career in Surface pattern design or side gig. But also, if you ever need to update your resume or apply for a job or work in a company, you've got this incredible skill that's actually a bit difficult to come across and it is in high demand. Meaning I'm. I don't know of a single company that doesn't require someone who knows the Adobe suite, who knows Adobe Illustrator. And so even though I teach it and we use it specifically for licensing your artwork and building Surface pattern designs, my goodness, you come away knowing this program like the back of your hand and being able to do everything from design logos and invitations to cards and printables and all sorts of things like website graphics and calendars and so many things. So truly, Adobe Illustrator has opened up more doors for me than anything else in the world. And I just so happen to apply my skills to surface design and that's what I'm so passionate about. So I've said that several times now. I need to make sure you know what Surface pattern design is, right? So it's designing the patterns, the repeating patterns that go on things like fabric and gift wrap and wallpaper and rugs and stationery and all the things. So it's really, really fun. But my other reason for loving this as a side gig or a career is that it's freedom. It is freedom to work from anywhere in the world at any time that you want. And it's got potential to build in financial freedom for you as well. And so I think this imp particular is so important for creatives because we don't always want to work 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. You know, our creativity is in and is at its best at different times of the day. So you might be wondering, one, is my art good enough? And two, can I really make money at this? And I want to just say absolutely to both of those things. I actually love teaching non artists the art of surface pattern design because as long as you just have a joy in kind of arranging things, you don't have to be an artist. You can scan in things that you find. You can do blobs and doodles on paper. I mean, I know incredibly successful Artists who are famous for their scribbles, you can take photographs and trace over them so many different ways than just being a true artist. Now if you are a true artist, you're going to have so much fun and then yeah, of course you can make money doing this. So we have thousands of students that we keep track with and talk with and hear their stories. And so we've pulled their stories and their stories of success together on this incredible page called Surface Design success dot com. So if you want to go dip into the world of my students past successes and their stories, it's a incredibly inspiring place to hang out. Again, that's surface designsuccess.com so whether you're thinking about really positioning what you do and teach as a side hustle or a side gig for someone in the next year, or if you're looking to maybe have or start your own side hustle, I hope this episode has just given you some ideas and some knowledge about what is happening in the landscape today, right now with the people who are working and really where their hopes are and their dreams are and what they want to build into their life. I mean, amen to more freedom, right? Time freedom, financial freedom and location freedom. It is incredible. A side gig is also a great thing to get started and build until it replaces your day job, if that's something that you want to do as well. What I do know is that every great decision and every amazing journey begins with the first step. So if you want to start a side hustle or a career in surface pattern design, come join us. I have a free workshop coming up and also the Surface Design Immersion course. You can find out more over@bonniecristine.com my friends create the beauty that you want to see come alive in the world. No matter how it is, no matter what you do, always be creating beauty around you. And my friends remember, there's room for you. I'll see you next time, Sam.