why i've stopped using the term "side hustle"

I will be the first to tell you that it took me a long time to realize what I am about to say. First, some background because this is deserving of a little context.

When I became a Mother for the first time I was truly lost. I didn’t necessarily realize it at the time but I was torn between identities. I had left my corporate job and fully submerged myself into the role of full-time newborn caretaker. It was one of my least favorite “roles” to date. Now, here is where, as a woman I need to defend myself and follow up with the sheer fact that I love my children more than life itself. That should go without saying but, I’d be lying if I told you I haven’t been judged for just that. I digress. My role as a Mother was simply not enough. I mourned the loss of my other identities. My role as a leader, creator, independent thinker, the list goes on. Should I have prioritized these needs better? Probably. But it took me time to realize what I needed and why — and to not judge myself for not feeling completely fulfilled in this new role of Motherhood. How could this beautiful, tiny being not be everything I needed?! Well, it wasn’t, and that is OKAY! I can say this now because I’m out of the weeds. If you’re still in the weeds, I see you!

Moving on. I yearned for something more. I’ve always worked. Even when I didn’t have to. I had three jobs through college, not necessarily because I needed the money but because I wanted the experience and I thrived in those environments. I deem myself a life-long learner and experience, thus far, has been the most valuable tool I’ve given myself. So, as I pondered my next venture I knew I wasn’t ready to jump back into a full-time role. I wasn’t ready to leap back into the corporate world and I wasn’t feeling creative enough to pick up my graphic design work just yet. Enter the world of MLMs. Network marketing, multilevel marketing, and I like to include the term “influencing” but that deserves a whole other blog post.

I won’t get into the nitty gritty details of my MLM journey but I will say that it reached me at the best time possible. It found me through the normal route — a trusted friend who I felt inspired by. I was looking for solutions that they were offering and I dipped my toes in and loved what I found. The more I submerged myself into that world the more I realized that these products that I valued and was using for my family could not only provide me with a solution to my problem but could provide possible income as well. I had found my “side hustle”. I could be a mom, I could be creative, I could make some money and feel like I was contributing to my family again beyond all that I was already doing as a Mother, which has been the most challenging and fulfilling job on my resume thus far. But, this new role felt fitting. I felt happier, I had purpose again.

My mistake in this new role and in the next three roles that I would take on in my career, by the way, was that I deemed them all “side hustles”. I had coined them in my own mind as “not enough”, something that would only ever be a side gig, a supplement to my bigger something. I finally really thought about that and asked myself, WHAT is this term anyways and WHY are we using it? Now, the technical definition of side hustle is: a job or occupation that brings in extra money beyond one’s regular job and main source of income. BUT the really interesting part is where it derives from. From the Merriam Webster Dictionary: “Hustle comes from the Dutch word husselen, meaning “to shake,” reflected in the earliest use of the word in English, as a verb, with much the same meaning. The verb soon took on extended meanings, including “to crowd or push roughly,” “to obtain by energetic activity,” and “to obtain money by fraud or deception.” The noun use of hustle followed a path similar to that of the verb, moving from “ an act of jostling” to “a job” and “a swindle.” I urge you to click the link and read through the full history of this term. It is fascinating.

At the root of this term there is meaning. And, all this is to say that the words we use truly MATTER. As I’ve gotten older I’ve focused my attention to learning about inner work, meditation and mindfulness, if you will. I am NOT a pro by any means but what I’ve learned so far is that this inner dialogue is SO powerful. And, that these societal terms that come into play hold HUGE meaning in our lives whether we realize it or not. Being aware of the negative effect they have on us is so important and this was fully the case for me with the term “side hustle”. In using this term I was never going to fully allow myself to have this “gig” be anything more than that. And as I have SO many conversations with women here at The CC, on our podcast and beyond I see this happening all the time. We are limiting OURSELVES and we don’t even realize it.

SO — for those of you who are working on that something, I hope you’ll declare it with confidence and be wary of how you talk bout it. I hope this inspires you to BELIEVE in yourself and be PROUD of what you are working on. If that project cannot be given your full-time attention does that mean it has any less value in the greater course of your life? NO. I like to think of these experiences as stepping stones that have provided invaluable learning and growth. And what I realize now is that EVERY SINGLE BIG DREAM started in the same place. Most of us don’t have the means to quit our day jobs and jump right into the next thing and that is fine. But, the way we talk about it matters. So, I beg you. The next time you’re chatting with a friend and they ask you what you’re working on, kick the term “side hustle” to the curb.

For now I’ll just be over here thinking about what other terms are holding me back! We’ve got this!

— XO, Rachael