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Do you need a partner for your side hustle?
Generally, most people believe that you need to have a business partner to raise your chances of being successful over the long run. In comparison, some people believe that applies to side hustles as well. However, unlike businesses, side hustles exist in a sort of gray area. There are so many different types that some can benefit with having a partner and others may not. So we will examine if there is a need by breaking down the types of side hustles and if a partner is nesscary.
Small scale side hustles- this includes things like doing surveys online, writing a blog, or putting together a drop shipping business. All of these activities are mostly solo activities that don’t necessarily benefit having a partner. In these cases it ends up being less efficient to spread out the work instead of consolidating it. In the cases of surveys and blogs, these are such individual levels of work that there a second person isn’t necessary.
Medium scale side hustles- this includes things like dog boarding, power washing, and content creation. In these areas having a partner can be very helpful to assist in smaller tasks or the back end logistics. At this point having a partner is still very much at your discretion. You may find that a partner can help save you time, but generally in this realm partners are likely to be your spouse more so than an outside partner. The reason for this is simply at this level you still aren’t scaled up to the level of income needed or you may not have networked enough.
large scale side hustles- these side hustles are the ones that have the most potential to contribute significant income and require much more work. Some examples include vending machines, large scale dog sitting, and selling food. All of these are going to benefit from having either more specialized knowledge or business acumen. The reason for this is because it is very easy for these situations to quickly scale up into full businesses if they are successful. In these cases selecting a partner who has the complementary skill set and personality is vital.
Some broad generalization is that a successful side hustle is going to take outside support. Until you make enough income to make it your main hustle this very much going to be a side project. Expect to work your full time main hustle and work extra. This can be taxing on many types of relationships including romantic relationships so you should take time to make sure that their support is appreciated and valued whether its with nice dinners or gestures of appreciation. Another thing to note is that medium and small scale side hustles can transform into larger ones, and full businesses as well but this tends to be more challenging as they have more specific niches or limitations.
Whether or not you take on a partner for your side hustle is going to depend on what your side hustle is and what you do. Its not always necessary, but it can be a huge help and provide a wealth of knowledge in the right situations.
