Wishing you could turn your hobby into a source of income? Here’s how two bright-thinkers were able to do just that. 

An emerging trend, set to be one of Australia’s most popular of 2017, is the ‘side hustle’.

For many Aussies, having a side hustle means making the most of the internet to set up a micro-business or pursue a passion outside of work.

According to research from nbn’s recently-commissioned Side Hustle Report, one in four Australians already have some form of side hustle.

Some are reviewing products in return for money or free samples, while others have set up online stores to sell their artistic and innovative creations to the world.

A side hustle can take up as much or as little of your time as you like, depending on how motivated you are.

The key benefits of this increasingly popular venture are the personal fulfilment that comes from sharing your talents as well as the potential to earn extra cash.

Here are some successful Aussie side hustles that are already up and running: 

Side Hustle: The City Lane 

For qualified lawyer Paul Kristoff, the realisation that his profession wasn’t for him led to him becoming a management consultant instead.

During this transition, he also started a blog as his personal side hustle.

In contrast to his corporate career, Paul’s blog focused on food, culture and travel.

In time, The City Lane evolved to become an online magazine with several contributors and a range of content highlighting food and travel experiences around the world.

Since getting started in 2009, Paul has been able to turn this side hustle into a second source of income for himself.

“I started a side hustle because I was looking for fulfilment outside of the 9 to 5, I wanted to follow my passions and find that ‘something’ my day job wasn’t giving me,” says Paul.

As well as being a money-maker, Paul says his project provides a sense of fulfilment because it allows him to focus on his passion, gives him a chance to be creative and provides a sense of accomplishment.

Paul used the internet not just to set up his blog, but to learn how to maximise the number of visitors.

“I have always been passionate about writing, reviewing, experiencing new cultures, but to further my blog I read, I googled, I watched videos and I went on to social media to learn more,” he explains.

The City Lane is a big success in part thanks to fast broadband.

“The City Lane hosts hundreds of global reviews, images, videos and even a podcast on beer – fast internet via the nbn™ network is vital for me so that I can continue to upload content and run a busy and popular online magazine.”* 

Side Hustle: Tassiegrammer 

Hobart-based Jason Futrill’s hobby of photography turned into a profitable side hustle of his own.

Jason’s day job is running a marketing agency that specialises in SEO and social media strategies.

On the side, he is busy with his website and social media platform Tassiegrammer, which showcases beautiful landscape photos from Tasmania, NSW and beyond.

“The social media pages are examples of all my work and then the website allows me to write, post and sell my images”, explains Jason.

“It started out as me taking a few landscape images and has now turned into a business with thousands of followers and its own income stream.”

Like Paul, Jason took notes and inspiration from existing blogs and social media accounts on the internet.

“I have always been interested in photography but I only ever took photographs like anyone else does – on the weekends, on holidays, at events.

“I knew I wanted to take it further, so I jumped online and started looking at other people’s blogs.

“I even watched online videos and tutorials about photography to get a better understanding of the art.”

Having fast connectivity via the nbn™ network is of great importance to Jason’s business.

“There’s no way I could run Tassiegrammer without fast broadband. My site hosts hundreds of high resolution files, so the nbn™ network has been important for me in being able to upload and edit my images at a fast speed as well as run the online store.”*

Are you one of the many Aussies interested in starting up a side hustle? The School of Life has some tips on how to get started.

* Your experience including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn™ network depends on the technology over which services are delivered to your premises and some factors outside our control like your equipment quality, software, broadband plans, signal reception and how your service provider designs its network.