I’ve been researching the benefits of a good side hustle, and toying with the idea for a few years. Even though writing has always been my #1 creative outlet, my side business is on brand for me because it tells a story, brings beauty into the world and helps people feel good.
It’s my artwork in your home or office. Here’s what that looks like:
Nice, huh?
Find an image that speaks to you, and then put it up in your home or office.
ImagesthatWOW.com allows customers to purchase just the right artwork for a specific space. Shop by category, color palate, frame style, size, you name it. You can even upload a snapshot of your living room, and then drop in various options. Interior designers love that.
For consumers it’s the ultimate art shopping ecomm platform.
For me, it’s a turnkey operation that checks all the boxes for a successful side hustle:
• A small upfront investment with good margins, and very little on-going overhead.
• Minimal back-end maintenance and admin work. I can lean into what I do well, and avoid the stuff I don’t enjoy. I just have to keep uploading beautiful new images and handle the marketing of those images. So it’s right up my alley.
• A proven business model. I’m not re-inventing the wheel here. There are plenty of other artists — and even galleries — that use the same ecommerce platform, with varying levels of success. So far, the support has been great. They can’t guarantee sales, but they can make it quite easy to get up and running.
• It leverages a passion of mine. I’ve been shooting photos since high school and collecting images for 20 years. I kept saying, “I’m going to do something with these shots someday.” So finding products to sell was not difficult. And every little day trip or weekend excursion produces new, sellable imagery.
• It combines my natural talent with the latest technology. I am an accomplished amateur photographer. I have a good eye for composition and the patience you need to get the right shot. But I’ve always lacked the technical skill of the pros.
Modern Technology has made that limitation almost irrelevant. The sleek little camera that’s always in my pocket produces better shots than that old bag of camera gear I used to lug around.
Not only that, the back-end tech bundle needed to support this type of art business has become much easier to understand, use and implement. I didn’t need to hire a web developer and a designer to get my little side hustle launched.
• It fits my life and my existing work flow. Freelancers and solopreneurs often have feast and famine cycles where we have some time on our hands. We can either pound our heads against the wall and stress over sales, or we can use that time constructively to pursue a fulfilling side hustle.
If your day job is in a service business, it’s nice to choose a side hustle that involves a tangible product to sell. No need to hand-hold clients or customers through long, drawn out projects. Just get a store up, sell ’em one thing with no direct interaction. That’s one of the benefits of a good side hustle.
However, let’s get real here… beware of all the hype surrounding get-rich-quick side hustles.
Don’t kid yourself into thinking your new side hustle is going to suddenly make you a millionaire, or even replace your main source of income. As the old saying goes, don’t quit your day job.
And before you dive in, do a realistic assessment of the trade offs that a side hustle demands. What’s the opportunity cost of it? What else could you be doing?
I’m a big proponent of focus. I’m constantly telling clients they need to pick a niche and narrow their marketing focus. Not expand into some other, unrelated venture or market. So if a side hustle is going to jeopardize your existing business, don’t do it.
The same goes for your family. My kids are out of the house, so I’m not taking time away from them to work on my side hustle. If a side hustle threatens the most important relationships in your life, NO hustle is probably the wise, strategic choice.
Be prepared to compartmentalize. To really benefit from your side hustle you have to be able separate that effort from your daily, bill-paying work.
Studies have shown that the positive energy from pursuing a side hustle often spills over into the day job. You just don’t want it to go the other direction.
Finally, do your research and choose carefully.
Which reminds me… I need your help!
I’d love to hear from you about the categories of artwork that you’d be most likely to buy. I currently have a Coast Collection, Autumn Images, Mountains, Flowers & Flora, Trees & Forests, Drylands and Artistic Impressions.
Let me know what you’d like to see.
Chances are, I have something in my library that fits the bill. I’ll make my side hustle work for you.
