Why I Continue My Side Hustle as a Company Employee | Having a Foundation Allows Me to Take on Challenges

Introduction

Recently, the opportunity to hear the word "side hustle" has increased significantly.

People who start a side hustle while continuing to work as a company employee.
People who start preparing because they want to become independent someday.

Now that work styles have become diverse, side hustles are becoming less of a special thing.

However, when people hear "side hustle," many still have the image of "preparing to quit the company."

In my case, it was a little different.

It is quite difficult for a company employee's salary to go up.

Performance reviews are once every six months to a year, and the increase is not that large.

So, I thought it would be nice to have some extra income.

The reason I started a side hustle was with that level of feeling.

And even now, I continue to be a company employee.

Today, I would like to write about the reason why I continue my side hustle while continuing to be a company employee.

✦1 | Precisely because I have experienced self-employment once

As I wrote in a previous article, there was a time when I quit being a company employee and worked like a freelancer.

What I experienced at that time was the reality that "I love my work, but life is separate."

After working amidst the waves of income, I realized that the way of working as a company employee suits me better.

That is why I still value the way of working as a company employee very much.

On top of that, I continue my side hustle.

✦2 | The sense of security of having a foundation as a company employee

As a company employee, you have a fixed income every month.

I also have social insurance.

Even if I fall ill, my life won't immediately fall apart.

Of course, being a company employee comes with its own stress and worries.

Even so, the sense of security that comes from having a "foundation for life" is immense.

It was precisely because I had that sense of security that I was able to grow my side hustle without rushing.

"I don't have enough sales this month."
"I need to get results right now."

Without being chased by such impatience, I have been able to continue by gradually building experience and making repeated improvements.

You can take on challenges because you have a foundation.

This is something I felt strongly after experiencing it firsthand.

✦3 | A side hustle is also a laboratory for life

While working as a company employee,
I have taken on various challenges in my side hustle.

Telephone consultations.
Healing.
Publishing on note.

These are worlds I could not have experienced as just a company employee.

Of course, things didn't go well from the start.

With telephone consultations, I worried every day about how to handle clients.
With healing, I also reviewed my service content many times and struggled with pricing.

Publishing on note is still a series of trial and error (laughs).

There are articles that don't get read as I'd hoped,
and I am still continuing to review how I write and convey things.

But because it's a side hustle, I am able to keep trying.

Even if I fail, my life won't immediately collapse.

That is why I was able to think calmly about what to try next.

For me, a side hustle has been more like a laboratory to test my own potential than just a place to earn money.

✦4 | Side hustles have also had a positive impact on my work as a company employee

Continuing my side hustle has also brought changes to my work as a company employee.

Through healing and readings,
I have acquired the ability to listen carefully to what people have to say.

On note, I have honed my ability to organize my thoughts into words.

Such experiences are also useful when I interact with my team as a company employee.

Conversely, the experience I have accumulated as a company employee is also being put to use in my side hustle.

The experience of working for many years as a company employee in a position where I coordinate projects.

The experience of developing people.

The habit of organizing things and thinking about structures.

These have become a major foundation for my side hustle as well.

I feel that being a company employee and having a side hustle are not things where you have to choose one or the other, but rather a relationship where they support each other.

There are things I can do as a side hustle because I am a company employee, and
there are things I can grow as a company employee because I have a side hustle.

✦5 | A side hustle is not just for "quitting"

When people hear "side hustle," they tend to have the image that it is "to become independent someday."

Of course, that is one option.

But that is not the only value of a side hustle.

To continue doing what you love.
To be useful to someone.
To have new experiences. To test your own potential.

I think it is fine to start for reasons like those.

I am still a company employee while doing my side hustle.

I do not think about becoming independent right away.

There is value in working as a company employee.
There is also value in working a side hustle.

Choosing one over the other is not necessarily the right answer.

I believe you should simply choose the form that suits you at any given time.

Summary

I was able to have a side hustle because I am a company employee.

It was precisely because I had the foundation of being a company employee that I could take on challenges with peace of mind and continue through trial and error.

That is why I do not really think of a side hustle as 'preparation for quitting my job'.

Rather, I think of it as something that increases the options in my life.

If you are currently hesitating about whether to start a side hustle, why not try challenging yourself little by little, starting from a place that feels comfortable?

Even if it is a small amount, what you do directly becomes income.

That provides a sense of fulfillment that is different from a company salary.

And, to be honest, it is fun.

Start small, at a pace that suits you.

Isn't that kind of working style also a valid choice?

Misuzu