Side hustles are no longer just about earning extra money. For many professionals, they've become a strategic part of modern career planning.

Here we break down why side hustles are becoming a normal part of professional life. We look at how building something alongside your career can help you stay relevant, build real assets, and create options beyond a single employer.

We walk through five reasons forward-thinking professionals are choosing to build side hustles intentionally. They can:

• Keep professional skills current, relevant, and adaptable
• Allow you to build assets you actually own
• Increase credibility and professional respectability
• Create a portable network that stays with you over time
• Provide leverage, flexibility, and long-term security

This episode will help you take a more deliberate approach to building a side hustle, not as a hobby or a backup plan, but as a smart extension of your career.

Do you like what you're hearing? Consider giving it a caffeinated thumbs up. We'd really appreciate it!

Need a little (and sometimes big) push to start and stay focused to grow your side hustle? Dive into my online Masterclass: How To Turn Your Thoughts Into Wanted Things.

For the full show notes head on over to the home of Side Hustle Hero. https://www.sidehustlehero.com/180

Connect with Joan:

Instagram

Facebook

About Joan

Be on the show!

Tell us about your side hustle success story!

Most people don't fail because they lack ideas, talent, or motivation. They stall because they're waiting to feel ready.

In this episode, I revisit a powerful conversation from the very beginning of the Side Hustle Hero podcast with my first-ever guest, Joel Young. It opens with a simple but uncomfortable truth: you don't really grow until you're willing to fail ... in front of other people.

Joel shares how he got started recording voiceovers in his closet with almost no experience, no studio, and no certainty about where it would lead. That willingness to start before he felt ready eventually helped him become one of Fiverr's all-time top earners, with $2.7 million in earnings at the time of our interview.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• why waiting for confidence keeps most people stuck
• why practicing in private only gets you so far
• how starting before you feel ready builds real skill
• how reframing what you think of as "giving something up" can make working on a side hustle feel more empowering

If you've been holding back because you don't want to look foolish, make mistakes, or put yourself out there before you feel ready, this conversation will help you rethink what it really takes to get started.

Do you like what you're hearing? Consider giving it a caffeinated thumbs up. We'd really appreciate it!

Need a little (and sometimes big) push to start and stay focused to grow your side hustle? Dive into my online Masterclass: How To Turn Your Thoughts Into Wanted Things.

For the full show notes head on over to the home of Side Hustle Hero. https://www.sidehustlehero.com/179

Connect with Joel:

Joel's Main Site

JumpStart Video

Connect with Joan:

Instagram

Facebook

About Joan

Be on the show!

Tell us about your side hustle success story!

Most "top 10 side hustle" lists recycle the same ideas with very little context. This episode takes a different approach.

These 10 side hustles are drawn from real conversations with guests who are actually doing the work. Some are simple and inexpensive to start. Others require more capital or coordination. None are ranked, because the right side hustle depends on your situation and circumstances.

The list includes mystery shopping, selling at farmers markets, printables, online courses, virtual assistant work, AI workflow consulting, fundraising, direct mail postcards, high-ticket dropshipping, and luxury restroom trailers.

The focus is on what's working heading into 2026, what often flies under the radar, and how people are building income without chasing hype.

Do you like what you're hearing? Consider giving it a caffeinated thumbs up. We'd really appreciate it!

Need a little (and sometimes big) push to start and stay focused to grow your side hustle? Dive into my online Masterclass: How To Turn Your Thoughts Into Wanted Things.

For the full show notes head on over to the home of Side Hustle Hero. https://www.sidehustlehero.com/178

Connect with Joan:

Instagram

Facebook

About Joan

Be on the show!

Tell us about your side hustle success story!