The Maze of Side Hustles with No Exit.
【The Maze of Side Hustles with No Exit.】
“Is there a side hustle that suits me?”
If you open social media, you will find it overflowing with such desperate questions. I believe many people are seeking salvation in the online world because they feel anxious about their future in their current jobs, their salaries aren't rising, or they cannot find time for themselves amidst such a sense of stagnation.
However, I cannot help but feel that a cruel reality awaits once you step into the online world. Phrases like “earn easily,” “passive income through automation,” and “build a list and harvest it” fly around, and the space is flooded with know-how that treats inexperienced people like prey. What these words have in common is a coldness that fails to treat humans as human beings.
My starting point lies in the field where I worked as a physical therapist in a hospital. At the time, what I valued most, even more than technical skills, was straightening the patients' footwear. If shoes were left in disarray after rehabilitation, someone might feel uncomfortable when putting them on next. I believed that such trivial acts, which don't even count toward performance metrics, were the only dialogue that could build trust with patients.
It is the same with my music activities. I insisted on handing over concert tickets in person rather than having them easily processed online. I would look the other person in the eye, convey the struggles and joys of my current activities, and have them accept the ticket. The handshakes and words exchanged in those moments were everything that business meant to me.
However, in the world of marketing, such actions are considered the “pinnacle of inefficiency.”
“Why go through such troublesome efforts?” “You could save time by creating a list and sending out mass messages.” Every time I was confronted with such words, I felt as if my very identity was being denied. Managing people as a list and discarding emotions to maximize conversion rates—is there truly any heartfelt happiness to be found at the end of such success?
【Business Begins with a Handover.】
I believe that business is something that originally begins with a “handover.”
You find someone’s problem and respond to it in your own way. As a result, you receive gratitude and earn compensation. This cycle is the foundation of business, and it is neither more nor less than that. The moment you interject cold, heartless logic like lists and harvesting into that, the warmth is lost, and it degrades into a mere game of matching numbers.
No matter how much AI develops and automation technology advances, the depth of “trust” that a human feels toward another can never be replaced by a machine. That is precisely why I want you to dare to value the “inefficient” things now.
I believe you should immediately let go of any side hustle that makes you dance to the tune of efficiency while eroding your humanity. The “unrefined dedication” you want to cherish should be the most rare and valuable source of business in this day and age.
【What You Truly Want to Protect.】
As a result of pursuing efficiency, what are you about to lose now?
Are you staring only at numbers and graphs, forgetting the faces of the customers right in front of you? If so, please take your hands off the keyboard for a moment and take a deep breath. Does the warmth you truly want to cherish remain in your current activities?
And, who do you want to have a dialogue with from now on, and what kind of conversation do you want to have?
Please, let me hear your thoughts. I believe your hesitation and your inner conflicts are the very pieces needed to create the next story.