Stop Calling It a “Side Hustle” If You’re Not Making Money
👋 Today is "Side Hustle Reality Check Day" and I have some useful information for you! Are you calling your passion project a "side hustle" even though it's not generating income? Let's find out why that might be hurting your progress! Shall we dive in right away?
🤔 Why We Love Calling Everything a "Side Hustle"
There's something incredibly appealing about the term "side hustle." It makes us feel productive, entrepreneurial, and forward-thinking. In today's economy, having multiple income streams isn't just smart—it's often necessary.
But there's a problem brewing. We've started calling everything a side hustle, even when there's no actual "hustle" (or money) involved. This isn't just a semantic issue—it's affecting how we view our work and measure our success.
When we label a hobby or interest as a "side hustle," we immediately place it under pressure to perform financially. This changes our relationship with the activity in subtle but significant ways.
| Hobby vs. Hustle | Mental Approach |
| Hobby | Joy-focused, process-oriented |
| Interest | Learning-focused, growth-oriented |
| Project | Goal-focused, completion-oriented |
| Side Hustle | Income-focused, result-oriented |
The distinction matters because your mindset changes when you're chasing profit versus pursuing passion. This shift can lead to burnout, disappointment, and potentially abandoning activities you genuinely enjoy.
💰 What Actually Qualifies as a Side Hustle?
Let's get clear on definitions. A true side hustle isn't just something you do outside your main job—it's something that generates actual income.
A side hustle has these essential components:
• It creates value for others (not just yourself)
• It has a clear path to monetization (even if you're in early stages)
• You're actively working to make it profitable (not just hoping it might be someday)
• You treat it with some level of business formality (tracking expenses, marketing, etc.)
Without these elements, what you have might be wonderful—but it's not a hustle. It might be a hobby, interest, project, or passion. And that's completely fine! These activities have immense value on their own terms.
🧠 The Psychology Behind Mislabeling Our Activities
Why do we insist on using "side hustle" for activities that don't generate income? The psychology here is fascinating. We're living in an era of "productivity culture" where leisure itself can feel wasteful.
By labeling our hobbies as side hustles, we're essentially giving ourselves permission to enjoy them. We're saying, "This isn't just fun—it could make money someday!" This justification helps ease the guilt many of us feel when we're not being "productive."
Social media amplifies this effect. When everyone seems to be monetizing their passions, simply enjoying something for its own sake can feel inadequate. We see others turning hobbies into income streams and think we should be doing the same.
But this mindset comes at a cost. We're losing the ability to enjoy activities without the pressure of profit. We're turning everything into work, even the things that should rejuvenate us.
| The Side Hustle Terminology Matrix | ||
| Hobby | Passion Project | Skill Development |
| Creative Outlet | Side Hustle | Secondary Income |
| Personal Interest | Money-Making Venture | Business Opportunity |
| Leisure Activity | Income Stream | Entrepreneurial Effort |
🚦 The Danger Zone: When Passion Meets Pressure
The most insidious effect of mislabeling our activities as side hustles is how it transforms our relationship with things we love. Activities that once brought us joy become sources of stress when we impose financial expectations on them.
I've seen this happen repeatedly with friends who loved baking, painting, or writing. Once they decided to turn these into "side hustles," their relationship with these activities fundamentally changed. What was once relaxing became stressful. What was creative became commercial.
For some, this transition works beautifully—their passion translates well into a business model. But for many others, the pressure to monetize kills the very joy that made the activity special in the first place.
This doesn't mean you should never monetize your passions. It just means you should do so consciously and carefully, with clear-eyed awareness of how it might change your relationship with the activity.
The pressure to generate income can lead to:
• Compromising on quality to increase quantity
• Focusing on "what sells" rather than what you love creating
• Feeling like a failure if the financial results don't match your expectations
• Abandoning the activity altogether when it doesn't "pay off"
✅ How to Honestly Categorize Your Activities
It's time for some honest self-assessment. Look at your "side hustle" and ask yourself these questions:
• Has it generated any income in the past three months?
• Do you have a concrete plan for how it will make money?
• Are you actively marketing or promoting it?
• Would you continue doing it if you knew it would never make money?
Your answers will help you properly categorize your activity. And remember, there's no shame in having hobbies or interests that don't make money! These activities have enormous value for your wellbeing, creativity, and personal growth.
If you realize what you have isn't actually a side hustle, you have two options: either develop a genuine business plan to transform it into one, or embrace it for what it is—a hobby, interest, or passion project.
Both choices are valid. What matters is that you're honest with yourself about which path you're on.
🌟 Embracing the Value of Non-Monetized Activities
I want to make a bold claim: we need activities in our lives that aren't about making money. In our hyper-commercialized world, having spaces where we create, learn, and enjoy without financial pressure isn't just nice—it's necessary for our mental health.
Not everything needs to be productive in the economic sense. Some things should be productive for your soul, your creativity, your relationships, or simply your joy.
When we free our hobbies from the pressure to perform financially, we often find they give us something far more valuable than money: they give us genuine fulfillment.
So if your "side hustle" isn't making money and doesn't have a clear path to income, consider embracing it for what it truly is. Give yourself permission to have interests that exist solely because they bring you joy or fulfillment.
| Why is it problematic to call everything a side hustle? |
| It creates unnecessary pressure and can transform enjoyable activities into sources of stress and disappointment. It also imposes market values on activities that might have more personal or creative value. |
| Can my hobby become a side hustle eventually? |
| Absolutely! Many successful businesses start as hobbies. The key is to make a conscious transition with a clear business plan, rather than just applying the label without the strategy. |
| What if I want the financial benefits but don't want to lose the joy? |
| Consider creating boundaries—perhaps keep certain aspects of your activity purely for pleasure while monetizing others. Many artists, for example, have commercial work they do for clients and personal projects they do just for themselves. |
Remember that in our hustle culture, sometimes the most radical act is to do something simply because you love it, with no expectation of financial return. There's profound value in creating space in your life for activities that nourish your spirit rather than your bank account.
Your worth isn't measured by how much money your "side hustle" makes—or whether you have one at all. You're allowed to have hobbies, interests, and passions that exist solely for your enjoyment and fulfillment.
See you next time with another perspective-shifting topic! 🌈
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