In 2019, lawyer Kevin Ha made the news.
The coverage was in financial media - MarketWatch. Among the players in the money crowd there was a fascination with a lawyer who was employed full-time (his wife also worked) and who had 13 side hustles.
There was more in the Ha story. The gigs were, well, without status. They ranged from returning scooters to food delivery.
That was then.
Because of the actual employment carnage and the sustained uncertainty triggered by COVID-19, the Ha model of multiple sources of income is no longer news. It's an option lawyers and staff better take seriously.
No, you are not too busy to think of earning money beyond your day job. Recently, Bryan Cave laid off about 118 lawyers and staff. As the gallows humor goes: A crisis like the pandemic is a terrible ting to waste. I will be exploited by employers, across all sectors, to not only conduct RIFs. Also they will restructure to eliminate those positions forever.
The "barrier to entry" when it comes to establishing multiple sources of income is this: The brands have to managed so as not to put at risk your primary source of income. Sure, Ha could do offbeat hustles. But most lawyers and staff would lose credibility and damage their resume by too far a stretch from their core personal branding.
In addition, in this unforgiving work environment lawyers and staff have to all-there for their jobs. Therefore, the how they earn funds on the side can't drain them.
Here are the 5 fundamental rules of the multiple income game:
- Look for easy fits. That strategy will require less energy and time. For example, the lawyer can tutor LSAT test preparation part-time. On October 8th, there was a help-wanted on Craigslist for such service in Manhattan and online. The compensation is $180 an hour. Unless you excel in logistics, no, you don't want to loop into a manufacturing project with a global supply chain.
- Just as with introducing foods to a baby, take on new opportunities slowly. Monitor how much those take away from your day job. If it isn't a strain, then add on more of those kinds. For example, through Airbnb, you lease out a room in your primary residence. You seem to be skillful in screening potential renters. No trouble. So, you add on doing Airbnb for your getaway. Soon enough you purchase residential property to extend this tactic.
- Be circumspect. Given that the legal sector tends to a tradition-bound industry, incoming-producing side pursuits could be used against you. A middle manager in an equally conservative industry, whom I coached, learned that the hard way. He had been too open about operating a franchise. His objective in coaching was to restore his personal brand Download ReimaginingYourPersonalBrandwithJaneGenova
- Overall, keep the brands separate. The exception is when there is a natural fit. For example, lawyers teach business-law courses in an MBA program. Otherwise, create different resumes, cover letters and personas for each line of work you do. Here is my article on what I call "mutt branding."
- Approach all this as playing in a variety of spaces, one or more of which might turn out to be your day job or self-employment. When doing a side hustle, some discover their passion. They seek a full-time position in that or launch a business. During The Great Recession, when I was operating this blog (since it's syndicated it brings in income), there were requests for career coaching. First that was a side business. Now it's a core competence. Simultaneously, I also continue in content-creation, especially for businesses aligned with the career industry.
Takeaway: "They" can take away your job. But not your ability to make a very good living, through multiple sources. A free read is my book on parachuting out of your comfort zones. Behavior-change organization Dale Carnegie Systems had posted it on its website.
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