What I Think Is Important for Side Hustles Starting in Your 40s | What Kind of Future It Leads To

Introduction

When people hear the word "side hustle," the first thing that comes to mind is often,

"How much can I earn per month?"

I think many people are curious about that.

30,000 yen a month.
50,000 yen a month.
If possible, even more.

With the cost of living rising and anxiety about the future, it is only natural to want to increase your income.

I don't think there is anything wrong with seeking income from a side hustle either. As long as it is work, income is important.

However, having experienced working as a company employee, a side hustler, a freelancer, and then a company employee again, I now feel that there is a perspective beyond income that is important for side hustles starting in your 40s.

That is,

"What kind of future will this side hustle lead to?"

This is the perspective.

It is not just about whether you can earn a lot of money right away, but
about gradually cultivating experience, skills, and connections with people.

I believe that a side hustle starting in your 40s is also a way to increase your life choices.

✦1 | The purpose of a side hustle in your 40s is different from your 20s

When you are young, there is value in simply diving into things that interest you.

Even if you fail, you have time to start something else.

You have the physical strength, and even if you push yourself a little, you can recover.

Because you have little experience, there are many things you won't know unless you try them first.

On the other hand, when you reach your 40s, the situation changes a little.

Some people have increased responsibilities at work.
Some people are thinking about their family or their parents.

You cannot push yourself as hard as you used to,
and you may find that you need time to recover on your days off.

Both the time you can freely use and your physical stamina are limited.

That is precisely why, before starting a side hustle,

it is important to think about not just

"what will earn the most money"

but also "why am I doing a side hustle?"

Thinking about this becomes essential.

Do you want to increase your income a little?
Do you want a place to belong outside of your company?
Do you want to use your past experience in a different way?
Do you want to cultivate work that you can continue after retirement?
Even if you have no intention of quitting your current company, do you want to keep other possibilities open?

If your purpose is different, the side hustle you choose, the time required, and how you continue it will also change.

✦2 | The reason I have continued my side hustles

I have worked as a company employee for a long time, but
I haven't only been doing company work during that time.

I have worked as an instructor at a vocational school and provided healing and consultation services.
Writing articles on note is also one of those things.

Currently, I continue to engage in multiple activities.

None of them became a large source of income immediately after starting.

There are some that took time to prepare.

There are also times when what I learned did not immediately lead to work.

There are also periods when I write articles and they are hardly read at all.

If I judged them solely by income,

"It's not worth it"
"I should be doing something more efficient"

I might have thought that about some of these activities.

The reason I kept going despite that is
because each experience gradually led to the next.

In my work as an instructor, I gained the ability to organize what I had cultivated in the field for many years into a form that is easy for others to understand.

In healing and readings, I gained experience in listening to others and organizing complex situations together with them.

By writing on note, I honed my ability to put into words what I have thought about and experienced.

Each one looks like a separate activity.

But looking back, they were all connected by the same axis:

“finding structure,”
“organizing,”
“making it into a form the other person can understand.”

They were all connected by the same axis.

While continuing my side hustle, not only did I see the income,
but I also began to see the meaning of the experiences within myself.

✦3 | A side hustle increases your life choices

When you work as a company employee,
your company work becomes the center of your life.

Your salary, job title, relationships, and daily schedule are all strongly tied to the company.

That in itself is not a bad thing.

There is stability that you can only get because you are a company employee.

Sometimes you can get involved in big projects.

Sometimes you can gain experiences you wouldn't be able to get on your own.

However, if the company becomes your only world,
when the environment no longer suits you, your options suddenly become limited.

Transfers or reassignments.
Changes in the evaluation system.
Human relationships.
Business policies.
The company's management situation.

There are things that cannot be changed by your own efforts alone.

At times like that, if you are continuing even a little bit of activity outside the company,

The feeling that "this is the only place for me" becomes weaker.

It is fine if you do not have enough income to quit your job right away.

You are interacting with people in a different place. You are gaining experience different from your company. Even if it is small, you have created work for yourself.

Just that alone changes the scenery you see.

Even if your environment changes, you do not need to start everything from zero.

You can think about your next choice using what you have accumulated so far.

Experience becomes an asset for the future, even if it does not immediately turn into income.

A side job is not necessarily preparation for quitting your company right away.

It is also a way to gradually nurture the possibilities of your life while continuing to be a company employee.

✦4 | If you try to earn money in a hurry, you are likely to make the wrong judgment

When you are researching side jobs,

you may see words like "earn money in a short time with no experience," "1 million yen monthly income in three months," or "anyone can succeed with this method."

These words look attractive, especially when you have strong anxiety about your company or when you want to increase your income quickly.

I myself feel that when I am impatient, I sometimes make judgments that I would not normally make.

I want to change my current state quickly. I feel like I am falling behind. I cannot go on like this.

When such feelings are strong, you tend to want to choose a method that seems to provide an answer all at once, rather than taking the time to nurture it.

However, a side job is something that continues even after you start it.

Attracting customers. Practical work. Customer support. Re-learning. Disseminating information. Trial and error until it becomes income.

The feeling that "this is the only place for me" becomes weaker.

It is fine if you do not have enough income to quit your job right away.

Behind the parts that look glamorous, there is steady, groundwork.

If that work itself doesn't suit you, even if you get temporary results, it won't last long.

That is why I believe it is better not to choose a side hustle based solely on how much you can earn in a short period.

Which parts of the work are you interested in?
Can you keep doing it even if the income is low?
Can you work on it without disrupting your main job or your life?
Is there experience you want to gain by continuing it?

Those things are just as important.

✦5 | Choose something you can continue for a long time

A side hustle starting in your 40s is a long-distance run, not a sprint.

If you try to give your all to both your main job and your side hustle, cutting into your sleep and using all your days off just like you did when you were younger, you will eventually reach a breaking point.

If you ruin your health or cause problems for your main job because of a side hustle you started to increase your income, you will end up losing options instead.

I could also increase my workload if I wanted to push myself.

But now, I want to cherish my life with my cats, the time I spend maintaining my health, and my days off when I can rest properly.

Therefore, for my side hustle, I have also started thinking from the perspective of,

"Can I do this now?"

not just,

"Can I continue this in the future?"

as well.

A lot of work comes up every day.
You have to constantly keep attracting customers.
You have to respond until late at night after your main job is finished.

There may be people for whom such methods suit their personality and lifestyle.

But there are also people for whom they do not.

There is no single right answer for the form of a side hustle.

The important thing is not to copy someone else's successful method exactly, but to find a form that fits your own life, physical stamina, and values.

Start small.
Adjust as you continue.
Change the parts that don't fit.
Stop for a while if necessary.

Growing it in that way can sometimes result in greater strength.

Building it up without rushing will result in greater strength.

Summary

What is important for a side hustle in your 40s,

is not just,

"how quickly you can earn money."

I believe that is not all there is to it.

Of course, income is important.

If you are going to continue it as a job, you also need to think about profitability.

However, what a side hustle brings is not just money.

New experiences. Meeting people outside the company.A different role than before. The possibility of using your experience in a different way.

And, being able to think that the place you are in now is not everything.

These are also great assets that a side hustle will cultivate for you.

A side hustle in your 40s is also something to increase your life choices.

You don't need to become independent right away.

While continuing as a company employee, you can also create another path on a small scale.

Rather than whether it is too late to start, what do you want to cultivate using the time ahead?

Rather than "what should I do to earn the most,"

What kind of future will this activity lead to?

If you choose a side job from that perspective, it might change not only how you work, but also how you see the rest of your life.

Misuzu