By Terence — 02 May 2025

The Side Hustle Escape Plan - Edition #12

Escape the 9-to-5, one smart move at a time.

Hey there, Side Hustler 👋

Here’s something to keep in mind this week: momentum matters more than perfection.

If you’ve ever doubted whether you're “doing enough” or if your hustle is really going anywhere, let this be your reset. Progress often looks like sending that pitch, writing one more paragraph, or carving out 30 focused minutes after dinner. Small moves. Big compounding results.

This week’s edition is packed with stories of people who didn’t wait for the perfect moment — they started messy, stayed consistent, and trusted the process. From freelance writers landing $300 gigs to creators scaling up to six figures, each of them followed one powerful principle: Keep moving forward, one clear step at a time.

You don’t need to be extraordinary to start. You just need to start to become extraordinary.

Let’s dig into the tools, tactics, and stories that might just be the nudge you’ve been waiting for.

*Fresh insights to accelerate your escape from the 9-to-5.*

🚀 No Experience Needed: Start Freelance Writing Today

A zero-fluff guide from I Like to Dabble on how to launch a freelance writing hustle from scratch. Learn how to find clients, pitch effectively, and build a portfolio that gets noticed. → Read on I Like to Dabble

🏠 How This 26-Year-Old Scaled Her Side Hustle to $170K/yr Business

What began as a passion project became a six-figure business. Her top advice? Be relentless about learning and charge your worth early. She also emphasizes treating your side hustle like a business from day one. → Read on CNBC

💼 How to Make $1,370/Day with Canva AI and Amazon KDP (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

Looking for a passive income side hustle with real potential? In this video, Wholesale Ted reveals a powerful new method to make over $1,000 a day using Canva AI and Amazon KDP. Learn the exact steps to design, publish, and profit—no graphic design or upfront investment needed.
👉 Watch the full video here

💸 5 Smart Ways to Spend Your Side Hustle Income

Pocketsmith shows you how to direct your earnings toward freedom-building goals: from debt payoff to emergency funds, investing, and business reinvestment. → Read on PocketSmith

⏰ “Mastering the Art of Time Management: A Guide for Side Hustlers”

Juggling a side hustle with a full-time job? This guide offers practical strategies to help you manage your time effectively. Learn how to set clear goals, create a structured schedule, leverage AI tools, and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Mastering these techniques can help you optimize your productivity and achieve success in your side hustle.
👉 Read the full article here

*Unique tools, tactics, and data to build your freedom engine.*

🚀 Escape Tactic of the Week

🧠 Tactic: Theme Days - Feeling overwhelmed by a never-ending to-do list? This time management technique assigns specific focuses to particular days, helping you minimize decision fatigue and enhance productivity. Whether it's a "Self Care Sunday" or an "Admin Work Day," theming your schedule can bring structure and clarity to your week. Explore how to implement this strategy and reclaim control over your time.
👉 Read the full article here

🧰 Tool Stack of the Week

🔧 Tool: Notion's Freelance Dashboard TemplateUse Notion’s free template to track clients, invoices, deadlines, and content. Clean, customizable, and designed for independent workers. → Explore the template

📊 Side Hustle Metric That Matters

💡 Insight: Real estate is the top-earning side hustle, averaging $90/hour - According to The Hustle, side hustlers in real estate work just 6 hours a week yet earn around $29,012 a year. Rental and investment properties continue to be a powerful wealth-building tool—while farming ranks lowest at just $9/hour. → Source

The magic of side hustling isn’t in the huge leaps — it’s in the quiet courage of showing up for yourself, over and over again.

Whether it’s refining your offer, tracking your hours, or pitching one more client — these small, consistent actions are the foundation of something greater. Because your hustle isn't just a hobby. It's a blueprint for the life you're building — one filled with options, ownership, and optimism.

So this week, keep it simple:

Make one smart move.
Celebrate one win.
Protect one hour.

You're not just working harder — you're working toward something bigger. Stay patient. Stay scrappy. Stay in the game.

You've got this — and you’re not doing it alone.

— Terence

Founder of The S.H.E.P.