The transition from side hustle to slashie for me has been as eagerly anticipated as a hot upcoming episode of Game of Thrones. Here I share with you my journey to uncovering the true definition of what it means to become a slashie.
Slashie: A portfolio career / multi-stranded employment / a person working multiple jobs
In some strange way, I’ve been a bonafide slashie since childhood. Biting off more than I could chew is a fitting description; I felt that in order to become more I needed to do more. I participated in so many extra curricular activities after school, my poor mother had a second job just transporting me to them all! When it came to my GCSEs I was met with resistance as I wanted to complete Art, Religious Education and History all as additional subjects (as if ten subjects wasn’t enough). I eventually ‘settled’ to complete Art as an additional GCSE, which I would fit in after school hours.
My many first jobs
My first job was at the age of sixteen and soon my jobs started overlapping. By university I was working at WHSmith on Saturdays and Topshop twice a week. I bumped this to five days when I wanted to pay for extra driving lessons and travel to Italy for an Art trip. I was also a paid Student Ambassador at Queen Mary University of London. Thinking this might be ‘a tad much’, I left WHSmith, but then quickly replaced it with another Saturday job at Hammersmith Library.
I eventually qualified as a teacher and entered the world of education. Although I worked throughout my evenings, weekends and school holidays, with zero time for myself, I retained my Saturday job at the library. I also took up English tutoring a couple of evenings a week!
The ‘side hustle’
My first encounter of an official ‘side hustle’ was at the end of 2013. I was introduced to what I now know to be called ‘network marketing’. After losing a whopping 45lbs with Herbalife Nutrition as a client, I was persuaded to garner my own pool of clients. I initially declined several times. I had just started my Masters degree two months prior and was also in a new relationship. Was I really going to add another string to my bow? I eventually did! With a lot of organisation I made it work. I studied in the mornings, went to work in the day, and alternated between study and business in the evenings.
One of the key things to contemplate with a side hustle is how it fits around your full time job. As well as, how it is received by your colleagues. Everyone at work knew what I did as I was very open about it, however there was still a degree of conflict. Blurred lines can still exist with side hustles and full time jobs, especially when you have a career where side hustles were not a trending topic when you started.
Conflicts
Although I loved and enjoyed what I did with my Herbalife side hustle, I felt a constant need to ‘choose’ between that and teaching. A transition from making your side hustle to your full time job can be a massive leap, especially when you have commitments or people who are dependent on you. I knew I wanted to take my side hustle to the next level, but I also didn’t want to leave education fully. My heart was in both yet my current situation just left me stressed. I was doing the things I loved yet I wasn’t fully enjoying them. What was wrong with me? Was I being ungrateful? Will I constantly bite off more than I can chew without fully tasting fulfilment?
After reading the book Slay in your Lane in the summer of 2018, my mind gave birth to a new idea for a passion project. Soon after, I attended an inspiring entrepreneurs event at The British Library and decided that I wanted to turn my idea into a business. I handed in my notice at my school in December, stated I’d leave at the end of the academic year in July, and began carving my path as a slashie.
Becoming a slashie
Coincidentally, it was when I was sitting at the kitchen table creating a questionnaire to capture some data for my business idea that LBC radio was on and I overheard a discussion about the rise of the slashie. My mother was in the living room shouting out how she heard about it earlier that day, had thought about me and how ‘in vogue’ I was without even trying. A slashie eh? I Googled it and lo and behold I saw articles from the BBC and The Guardian trending that same day.
With just two months to go, I’m now finalising my steps before the transition. My slashie role is a business founder/network marketer/personal trainer/writer and blogger. Did I also forget to mention that I squeezed in a personal training qualification 18 months ago?
As up and coming as it is, like all careers it comes with its pros and cons. Becoming a slashie is a great way to explore other industries and test-drive any skills you want to carve out as a career. You can choose whether you want to dip your toe into the pool of entrepreneurship or dive straight in. Being a slashie means you take the reigns. I’ve always had a habit of biting more than I can chew but I was hungry to begin with. Being a slashie allows you to sample the buffet first. The legendary Les Brown refers to us as being the directors of our own show. Being a slashie allows us to do just that.
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Written by Kayleigh Benoit
Illustrated by Francesca Mariama
