Why do so many Gen Ys have second jobs?

THEY’RE young, hard working and multi-skilled. Gen Y is embracing the “side hustle”, and not just for the extra cash.

WHATEVER you say about Gen Y, one thing’s for sure: they know how to multi-task.

For many young Australians, working nine to five is just the beginning, with the so-called “side hustle” gaining popularity as a way to earn extra cash, learn valuable skills and potentially launch a whole new career.

The digital economy has birthed a whole range of platforms that make it quick and hassle-free to find extra work, from Freelancer to Airtasker to Sidekicker, while it’s become easier than ever to build a website and launch a small business on social media.

It’s no wonder so many Gen Ys are spicing up their work lives with a bit of fun on the side.

According to Invoice2go Founder Chris Strode, whose payments app processes $200 million a month on behalf of 200,000 Australian small-and-medium business owners, side hustlers made up a growing portion of his clientele. He said 22 per cent of users were processing payments for a side gig.

Mr Strode said that while half of these users pursued their second jobs for financial reasons, 30 per cent were doing it to pursue their passions.

Many were aiming to build up their side job until it was stable enough to become their main source of income, he said, while more than half said they believed they could make more cash side gigging than in their full-time job.

Invoice2go founder Chris Strode says a growing number of his clients are side giggers.

Sidekicker chief executive Thomas Amos said about 30 per cent of Australians on his app were side giggers looking for an easy way to supplement their incomes.

“It’s a great way to pick up a few hours’ work, whereas in the past you would have to get a casual job,” Mr Amos said.

“People like it because they can be in control of their hours and who they work for.”

Gigs range from events and promotional work to business administration for companies like Uber and Airbnb.

Helen Evans, who has completed 27 tasks with Sidekicker, picks up odd jobs on the side of her coaching and silent disco businesses.

“My favourite one so far was recently working with Be Challenged,” she said.

“My role was to coach a team to try and beat an official world record. Being a record breaker is on my bucket list so this felt like a great warm up to achieving that.”

Like many Gen Ys, she reported feeling boxed in by a traditional career, preferring to try her hand at lots of different things.

“I’ve worked as a children’s entertainer, DJ and print production manager at a sign writing company, while studying performing arts, teaching and journalism,” she said.

“When you have a lot of skills you can feel trapped in one career.”

Recycling handbags is a profitable side gig for lawyer Miranda Gillespie.

Miranda Gillespie is a 29-year-old commercial lawyer who runs a side business rehoming luxury handbags.

Luxe. It. Fwd, which sells pre-owned designer handbags that have been scrupulously checked for authenticity, has just started turning a profit after 18 months of hard work. It recently sold its first Hermes Birkin, a highly sought after bag that actually increases in value as time goes by.

“It’s a hectic workload because my day job of being a partner at a law firm is hugely demanding on its own, but I’m really driven to making my side project a success,” Ms Gillespie said.

“I run the business in my spare time, which means daily scrambling to fit it in around every moment I’m not in my day job — before work, during lunchtime, every evening and working a lot of the weekend.”

Ms Gillespie, who identified a gap in the local market that left shoppers at the mercy of eBay counterfeiters, aims to scale up the business and eventually sell it. But, for now, she’s enjoying the chance to indulge her love of fashion and build something she’s proud of.

Other side hustlers use it as a testing ground for entrepreneurialism. Elise Hendrikson works as a PR account manager and counts many start-ups as her clients.

Along with her partner, she recently invested $2000 in starting a side business selling bath soaks.

So far, they’ve sold their wares at weekend markets across Sydney, but the venture is too new to be turning a profit just yet.

Ms Hendrikson said it had been an eye opener to realise how much time and effort was needed to build a social media audience and get traction for her brand.

Events co-ordinator Carissa Moretta works for a hospitality group by day, but after hours she runs a digital start-up with her partner.

The pair launched CarsRus Australia three years ago as an alternative to traditional car yards.

“We help take the stress and hassle out of selling and buying in the private market,” Ms Moretta said, describing the service as “auto advocacy”.

And Anita Stevens supplements her fulltime job in corporate communications with a side business writing and editing wedding speeches.

Most of her clients are men who “struggle to find the right words” for their wedding speech or vows, Ms Stephens said.

“I started a copywriting business awhile back but started to receive more and more requests from men needing help, and discovered that nobody else was really doing it, she said.

“So I refocused my freelance business to be purely about weddings. I love it — It’s very rewarding.”

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Originally published as Why do so many Gen Ys have second jobs?