There’s a common misconception that senior executives haven’t embraced the ‘gig economy’ and ‘side hustle’ or that they don’t need to. In fact, that’s not the case at all. According to a recent survey BlueSteps conducted, 49% of respondents (director level through C-Suite professionals), stated they currently have more than one stream of income.   

Here are the top 4 insights that were uncovered during our survey:

Stay Ahead of Uncertainty

We’re seeing workplaces face continual and rapid disruption. Traditional roles have become obsolete and new roles have emerged, and it’s difficult to predict which industries will be disrupted and when.

Microsoft for example recently ended a contract with PA media in a decision to stop employing humans to select, edit and curate news articles on its homepages. This resulted in around 27 employees losing their jobs. Having multiple revenue streams allows individuals to have income to fall back on if one stream of revenue suddenly ends. 

Enhance Personal Brand

There used to be a stigma about executives who had ‘side hustles,’ and whether they were able to focus on their main role if they were distracted with other ventures. That is no longer the case. In fact, these savvy business leaders often have the strongest personal brands, which make them sought-after candidates due to their motivation, ambition, and innovative spirit – traits most organizations look for in their leadership teams.  

Learn New Skills

With each new role, comes the opportunity to learn new skills and sharpen existing ones. As you’ll be working with many different teams and workplace cultures, you’ll need strong leadership skills that are adaptable depending on which organization you’re working in.  

Additional Income

With the nature of advisory, consulting work, etc. there are a lot of opportunities to negotiate your compensation and set your price. According to renowned executive advisor Mike Lorelli, ‘resist the temptation to price low because you’d like to get the assignment. The danger in doing so is that once you establish your price, you can almost never kick it up.’ 

Thinking about setting up your own side hustle? Get a head start with our free guide!