Do you really need a side hustle?

Having a side hustle seems common these days —especially for young working adults navigating rising costs and uncertain job markets.

Whether it’s selling products online, creating content, or doing freelance work, many are looking for ways to supplement their income.

I gave it a shot myself back in 2020 and 2021. During that time, I monetized my blog with paid collaborations for brands like DBS, SkillsFuture, and NTUC Income.

However, by 2022, I made the decision to stop. While the income was helpful, I simply did not enjoy doing paid content. It took energy away from the work that mattered more to me.

If you're considering starting a side hustle, here are three questions that helped guide my own decision—and might help you figure out if it’s the right move for you.

1. What is the effort-reward-ratio?

One of the key questions to ask yourself is: What is the effort-reward ratio for your side hustle vs your day job?

A simple way to think about this is:

Are you more likely to earn a $2,000 per month increment from your existing main career path through switching roles or promotion or upskilling, or to make $2,000 per month on whatever your side hustle pursuit happens to be?

Is the incremental effort of your main hustle or side hustle more?

For many people, it’s their main hustle, not side hustle that will propel them to further gains in the immediate future.

Another factor to consider is also the energy used. Mental and physical energy for the day is finite as well.

In my case, I decided that if I used my mental energy on writing paid content, it takes away from day job. When I stopped my side hustle and used that time for my work, I saw a significant increase in my income.

2. How closely linked is your side hustle to your day job?

Expanding on the topic of effort-reward-ratio, another question you can ask yourself is: Does your side hustle complement your career and vice versa?

For instance, VC Jeremy Au has been running the BRAVE Podcast since 2020. This branding helps his day job in an industry where reputation is key for deal sourcing. The BRAVE Podcast benefits his main role and vice versa.

Some have multiple side hustles that are completely different from their current jobs or their future career goals.

This approach can be exhausting, especially if your side hustles take up the time you would normally use to rest and recharge.

It is not the most efficient use of time and energy: If you're not using skills that play up on each other, you don't really have time to invest back into yourself with rest.

3. Are you trying to pivot into something new?

Side hustles can be a great way to test new career paths before making a leap.

Take The Woke Salaryman, CoinGecko, or DollarsAndSense—all of which started as side projects before becoming full-time businesses.

For me, I knew from the start that I had no intention of becoming a full-time content creator. I did, however, explore a potential move into education in 2021, thinking it might be more meaningful than tech sales. But after a short pilot, I realized teaching wasn’t for me—it left me feeling drained rather than energized.

So I made a conscious decision: double down on SaaS, and keep content creation as a passion project. It was the right call. I’ve grown professionally, gained useful skills, and now enjoy content creation much more—without the pressure to monetise it.

However, after a pilot phase in late 2021, I realized teaching was not for me and incredibly draining.

Overall, I have made a conscious decision to double down on SaaS and just treat content creation as a passion project.

It has paid off in terms of skills learned and finances. In fact, I wish I made the conscious choice to focus earlier on.

Not every hobby needs to become a hustle.

Sometimes, focusing on your main career and enjoying your interests on the side leads to better outcomes—financially and emotionally.