The Rise of the 5-to-9 Entrepreneur and Hustling After the 9-to-5

Something interesting is going on around the world that not many people are paying attention to. It’s the trend of people who continue their work long after their usual day shift ends. No, we aren’t talking about people picking up overtime for extra pay; we’re talking about people building businesses on the side. 

According to a recent LinkedIn Workforce Confidence survey, over 31% of American workers had some sort of side hustle, separate from their primary occupations. This insight came from polling 12,698 workers.

There’s a reason why a quarter of America is engaging in this trend. The fact is, several advantages come with this type of hustle. In this article, let’s find out whether or not you should be considering a 5-to-9 hustle as well.  

What’s Behind the 5-to-9 Trend?

For many Americans, a single income just doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s easy to call them entitled and greedy, but for the average person, it’s actually a serious problem. 

Living on a single paycheck, especially with a family, feels too fragile. Combine this with layoffs and inflation, and relying on one income source isn’t a great idea. People want a safety net, and that only happens with multiple incomes. If your partner works and brings in income, that makes things better. However, if they stay at home or if you’re single and live in an expensive city, it’s natural to be a little nervous. 

A study by the Financial Health Network has data that backs this up. They found that among traditional workers, 43% lacked enough savings to cover three months of living expenses. Similarly, 39% were not confident that their insurance policies would cover them in an emergency.

All these factors explain why there’s a strong appetite to build your own business. Thankfully, it helps that many of the steps behind getting started are easier today. Need marketing help? You can hire someone on Fiverr to help at budget price points. Need to build a business website? You can do that with an AI website builder. 

As Hocoos points out, there are tons of businesses you can create with little to no money or skills. Everything from dropshipping to online lessons is possible with a little bit of effort. That said, many businesses also fail, and this brings us to our next point. 

Tips to Make The 5-to-9 Operation Successful

If you wish to make your side hustle work, then start treating this operation like a real business and not a hobby. This means bringing a certain level of seriousness that drives results. 

Start setting goals, tracking your progress, and acting like this matters to you. Obviously, you aren’t going to be staying up the whole night. So, if you have only an hour to devote to the operation, try to make it count. 

Similarly, try to create a clear vision of your endgame. Do you wish to work on two operations? Or do you hope to grow your 5-to-9 into your primary income source? Think about these factors and let them influence the kind of side hustle you choose.

In a recent post on Entrepreneur, we found that the number one growing side hustle was operating a mobile car wash service. We’re surprised as well, but it comes out on top, followed by selling stock photos, crypto trading, and personal shopping, to name a few.

Why the 5-to-9 Hustle Isn’t For Everyone

As with most great opportunities in life, there’s also a flip side and some negatives that come with this trend. For one, burnout is a risk that you’ll have to factor in from day one. Your 9-to-5 job isn’t going to adjust itself to make things easier for you. That means you’re dealing with double the workload and stress when you start something of your own. 

Moreover, you may not see results immediately, so it’s easy to get demotivated and burned out. Moreover, any time for relaxation gets third priority now. That can be quite difficult for some people, so keep these realities in mind. 

All things considered, the 5-to-9 hustle is something that you’re going to keep hearing a lot about in the coming years. Even if you feel somewhat secure in your job, it’s worth looking into. The fact is, this trend is more about ownership and the security it brings than just about the extra income.