Why a side gig to begin with?
- Want an extra stream of income.
- Want to pursue other passions/interests.
- Feeling burnt out and wanting to test the waters of what else is out there.
I truly love what I do in my day job, however at times I get burnt out and need to switch gears to challenge myself and use other parts of my brain to keep things fresh and interesting.
I have 2 stipulations for side gigs. I need to be able to do the gig anywhere and it can’t interfere with my family time.
Why those 2 things? When I was truly burnt out a few years ago, I finally realized that to stay in a healthier mind set I had to get real about my priorities and values. After a lot of exploration with my life coach, 2 main themes or values emerged: family first or focus and time freedom.
By the way, if you’re struggling with burn out and want to explore the reasons behind it, I may be able to help you. My life coaching is geared towards helping you live your best life and that means getting crystal clear on how congruent you are living out your highest values. Some people don’t even know what their values are. If that’s you, let’s connect and see if I’m a fit to help you. Schedule a free consultation here.
I went on the hunt once for the best side gigs for me now that I knew what I needed in terms of lifestyle. I knew the gigs would appear now that I had my values on the forefront of my mind.
The first gig I tried was a part time therapist with an online counseling service. I know I said this was going to be about not doing therapy as a side gig but stay with me as there’s more to it.
I started taking clients on an online counseling platform in the summer of 2018. I was booked up quickly. I really enjoyed the work and the variety of issues I was working with was really cool and at one point I even thought about moving to full time with them, however that’s when I started to come up with the therapy show idea.
As much as I liked the online counseling, I couldn’t keep it up if I wanted to start the podcast, but before I left, I knew I needed another source of income to help pay for the podcast.
So, I went looking! Enter interest and passion #1 – fitness!
I love working out and of course to do so, I need activewear. I interviewed at a retail store, and it was a no go because of my values, family and time freedom. As much as I wanted to say YES, I ended up turning it down.
But the seed was planted so I got on google and on page 3 or 4 of my search I came across the idea to be a brand rep. I was instantly intrigued and started to do my research and a few days later I signed up and began my home based activewear business.
What else gets you excited? Makeup, jewelry, organic healthy household items, health and wellness supplements, books – are there opportunities out there for you to rep a brand and earn some side money?
Yes, a lot of these opportunities are direct sales models yet there are plenty of affiliate opportunities out there as well. Before you go poo pooing on these models realize that they are legitimate and can be very lucrative if you have the right mindset and a work ethic. Consistency and perseverance are needed to be successful in these gigs.
I love and live in leggings so it’s an easy yes for me. People are always asking me where I get my leggings (or tank top or jacket or joggers) from and all I do is refer them to my website.
Here’s another side gig that I’ve found to be fun and a way to use the creative side of my brain – Tales.com.
Tales is a company that interviews your loved ones and delivers a professionally produced, private podcast episode so you’ll have their stories forever.
This has been the perfect side gig for me. I love talking with people and hearing their stories, love asking questions and going deeper, love building relationships and giving space for others to share, and I love that family members have their own private podcast. I wish Tales had been around when my grandparents were still here.
Why do I love tales? Checks both boxes of family first and time freedom. Tales work around my schedule in setting up the interviews. Once I give them my schedule for the week, they set up the interviews which last about 35-40 minutes. Will you get rich off of tales? Probably not but you will love this gig if you love people and building relationships. And working with tales has made me a better therapist, storyteller, listener and human.
I mentioned you may not get rich off of being a tales interviewer but what if it opened up other doors and opportunities for you? Think about that for a little bit – other solutions and possibilities may appear for you. I love that mindset and it’s my default these days.
The cool part is that Tales is hiring!
Here’s a short description of the interviewer position:
Tales.com is looking for part-time podcast interviewers to speak with our customers about a subject of their choice – most often about their life stories.
Interviewers are matched with our customers to conduct remote interviews that are generally 30-35 minutes in length over the phone or over Zoom.
Ideal interviewers embody the below characteristics:
– Good listener
– Empathetic and non-judgmental
– Curious about other people – even those they’ve never met
– Have a feel for storytelling and how to guide guests through an interview in a way that makes sense (our pre-interview questionnaire we send to our guests helps facilitate this)
– Bonus points if you have experience interviewing others or a background in audio storytelling
Interviewers must have their own professional-grade audio equipment and have familiarity with Zoom.
If you’re a podcaster, this could be a natural fit for you. And if you’re not a podcaster, you’ve already got the skills as a therapist.
Email Spencer to learn more – s (at) tales (dot) com. S@tales.com
Another side gig that is interesting is Upwork. Upwork is the world’s largest freelance talent marketplace. Their vision is to connect businesses with great talent faster than ever before.
I have found some cool and interesting side gigs on Upwork:
Blog writer
Social media coordinator
Content creator
Narrator
Editor
Life coach
Website creator/developer
Researcher
And much more
Yes, you need some specialized skills for these positions however they are also looking for entry level freelancers. Once you set up your profile it’s possible you will get invitations to apply for freelance positions. I’ve received requests to submit proposals for relationship coach, writer, reviewer mental health information for accuracy, just to name a few.
There are other freelance marketplaces out there, but I don’t know much about them. An internet search is all you need to find out what other sites are out there.
So, these are my favorite side gigs I’ve found so far. Others I’ve considered, dog walker (I love to get my steps in) there’s a site –https://wagwalking.com/dog-walker that you can check out. Hanging out with dogs and walking are 2 of my favorite things.
Personal trainer/group fitness instructor. I’ve thought about these over the years and even thought about being an online trainer. Nowadays you can write programs or do virtual workout sessions. If you love fitness and health, this could be a great fit for you. You definitely will need and want specialized training.
Of course, there are the go-tos that therapists often consider when they are looking for a side gig that takes them away from their clinical roles yet still allows them to use specialized skills – coaching, course creator, consultant. While I love these side gigs as options, you may need a guide or mentor to help you get these gigs off the ground. Not everyone needs a mentor to figure out the coaching, course creating and consulting worlds, but it does shorten your learning curve and saves you valuable time. There are plenty of coaches out there who can help you, even therapists turned coaches who offer programs.
So, there you have it. My ideas for side gigs that have nothing (or at least not as much!) to do with therapy. Take what you like and leave what you don’t. These are just a few things I’ve looked into and considered over the years. If none of these ideas resonate with you that’s ok because there are endless possibilities out there.
What I would suggest is figuring out your highest priorities and then identifying your interests and passions. Like I mentioned earlier, mine are family first and time freedom so any opportunities I look at need to check both boxes. If the gigs don’t check these boxes, then it’s a NO for me.
Stuck In a Therapist Rut? Feeling burnt out? Unfulfilled? Are you a therapist who is thinking about leaving the field? Or maybe you’re unsure what your next gig needs to be? I may be able to help. Work with me one on one. Schedule a free consultation here.
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This episode brought to you by:
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