Secret to Job Security: Have a Bunch of Jobs

Kim Palmer, author of The Economy of You: Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur and Recession-Proof Your Life has found the secret to financial security. Unfortunately, it sounds like a lot of work:

Palmer argues that everybody should develop a side gig of some kind, even if you seem safely employed in a good full-time job. One way to do it is turning a hobby, such as jewelry-making or yoga, into a business. Another way is finding something you’re good at in your day job — accounting, writing, social media, cooking or event planning — and doing it during your spare time to pad your income. New online tools make this easier than ever, including websites such as Fiverr, Freelancer.com and Etsy.

Lots of people have ideas for a business, of course. The trick is getting it started — and then sticking with it. The first scarce resource is time, which is why Palmer says you need to get used to the idea of spending evenings, weekends, and even your lunch hour building your side business.

“Whatever little slivers of time you can find during your week, you should be working on your side gig,” Palmer says.

I have a lot of feelings about this! I am dubious of any solutions to job insecurity that involve spending every waking minute working and driving yourself crazy in the meantime. I mean, sure you’ll be more financially secure, but will you be happy?

But if you have a lucrative hobby that you have time to work on when you are not at your regular job, then that is awesome and undoubtedly leads to more financial security — whether it means actual side income or the potential for job marketability in the future. And leveraging the relative security and stability of a day job to start a new venture on the side is a smart way to minimize personal financial risk, if you can manage it.

Side gigs yield benefits even when they don’t fully succeed. Some side-giggers learn new skills that help with their day job. Others enjoy the satisfaction that comes with trying something you’ve always wanted to do, even if you don’t end up being CEO of your own business.

In The Economy of You, Palmer lists 50 recommended side gigs, along with dozens of pragmatic tips for starting one. Of course, you could always spend that time watching TV or playing video games instead. Your job will probably still be there tomorrow.

Oof. I think ultimately having a side gig you love that benefits you in ways beyond fulfillment, or even just fulfills you in some way, is great. Until recently, writing has always been my “side gig”, though it never actually generated any income and I did it for personal and creative fulfillment, not financial security (the idea of writing for financial security is…hilarious). Nevertheless, I know my “hobby” writing (my blog, a book project I did, the few unpaid freelance assignments I’ve done) has benefited me professionally whether I did it with an eye towards that or not.

But life is hard, and not everyone has time for that shit. Should we really develop the expectation that people have jobs, have families, and then have “side gigs” too?

Photo: Hey Paul Studios

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