This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hey, hey, what's up? Let's have some real talk today here on the podcast. Real talk about a, well, it's a question from a caller, a side hustling caller is having a problem with her side hustle. Is the problem that no one is buying? Nope.
Is she having some difficulties with customer service? Nope. Does she have a question about pricing? Well, I could go on for a while, but let's just fast forward. It seems like business is going along okay, except for something that isn't directly related to the project itself.
It is her partner who is uncomfortable. Her partner is uncomfortable with the amount of time she's spending on the side hustle. And listen, I would say this is the first time I've heard of this dynamic, but that would not be true because I hear about issues like this all the time. Sometimes when you start the side hustle, there's money involved. Hopefully you're making money, not just spending it, but you're making money, which is great of course, but sometimes it's not always perceived as great by everyone else.
Sometimes it can change a dynamic in a relationship. So there's a lot that could go into this, right? So we're not gonna be able to solve everything here, but I do think it's important to talk about what might be going on and how some other people in this situation have handled it. So we're gonna talk about conflicts with a partner over a side hustle, dun, dun, dun. All right, detailed question, my answer coming right up.
[Music]
Hi, Crescent team. I have a problem that I suspect is more common than most people think. In short, I'm sorry to report that my partner is not very supportive of my side hustle. I'll spare you all the details, but basically they resent the time it takes, even when it's not really time that intrudes on something we were supposed to do together. It was to keep asking questions about when I'm going to finish, as if it's a one-off project that's just going to wind down.
I don't want it to wind down. Look like I'm just getting started. I know you aren't a relationship coach, but do you have any advice for me? [Music]
- Hey, listen, thank you so much for calling and thanks for sharing this. I really appreciate your just honesty and straightforwardness here, because as I said, this is kind of common.
It's common, or at least it's not uncommon. It's also complicated because of the root cause. The root cause of this whole situation varies. Could be a lot of different things. In some cases, it's just a matter of someone not feeling included, you know?
Or maybe they feel weird about the other person suddenly earning more money than they do. Maybe, as I said, that creates a shift in dynamic in some way. Maybe they want their own side hustle and they feel bad that their partner has kind of beaten them to it. Or, you know, again, as I said, real talk here, it could just be a simple matter of control. And that is more of a relationship issue than a side hustle school issue that's easily fixed by like, here's the plugin that you add to your WordPress site, you know, you have to kind of discern and decide what your level of comfort/discomfort is in these situations.
You know, what is okay to tolerate? What is an easy fix here? Versus like, oh, this is a deeper issue. You know, might need to create some other bigger change. But, you know, whatever it is, like whatever the problem is, it's probably good to address it directly.
Like everything kind of flows from that. So it's like, hey, partner, you know, there's something going on here and I don't quite know, you know, what's wrong or what's bothering you, but I want to know that, you know. So let's talk about it so that you can feel heard and that both of us can have our priorities on the table. Because, you know, for me with the side hustle, and here's where you say, you know, whatever your goal is, like I'm trying to build some long-term income. I'm trying to build passive income or, you know, whatever it is, the point is it's not just like I'm doing this for, you know, two weeks and then it's done.
Like I'm actually trying to make a really positive change in my life and perhaps it could be positive for both of us, you know. As I said, this is complex, the root cause tends to vary, but I think, you know, first of all, know that you're not alone. It is somewhat, at least not uncommon. And, you know, these direct conversations, like that's where I would start. And of course a lot can happen from that point.
So hang in there and good for you on starting the side hustle. Good for you on moving forward. I'll be thinking of you and listeners, if you've had some experience with this, if you want to share, maybe we can do a compilation of responses. Happy to do that at some point. We'll see what comes in.
sidehustleschool.com/questions. Wherever you are in the world, whatever you're up to, take care of yourself. Try to do something to get closer to a goal you believe in. And of course, subscribe, follow, more's coming up. My name's Chris Guillebeau, this is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
