Southern Indiana Business March-April 2020 | Page 30

BEYOND THE JOB
Desiree Shepherd and son, James Zipp, follow the GPS instructions through the application to make the food delivery.
Every day I’m hustlin’
Chasing the dream
By Valerie Zell
I
f it seems like everyone you know
has a side hustle these days, it
might not be far from the truth.
According to Bankrate, nearly half
of all Americans work a side gig,
with most dedicating around 12 hours a
week to it. And while the concept itself
isn’t new, the perception around taking on
a second job has done a 180 over the past
few years.
The reasons people pick up side gigs
are as varied as the types of jobs avail-
able, from delivery drivers to real estate
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March / April 2020
and property rental. But where supple-
mental employment used to signal finan-
cial distress, its rebranding from “second
job” to “side hustle” has made it not
only socially acceptable, but something
of a symbol for the entrepreneurial spirit.
Southern Indiana has a dedicated and
growing population of side hustlers,
some of whom are making extra cash
in ways that might surprise you. We sat
down with some of them to find out what
they do, why they love it, and how they
manage all that work.
Photo by Tyler Stewart