UW-Madison students welcome Side Hustle Society as a student organization on campus during the spring semester. The organization aims to facilitate a community with forums for students to discuss their “side hustles” — or extracurricular hobbies and passions that earn additional income.
“Nearly half (45%) of U.S. workers say they earn extra income on the side aka a 'Side Hustle,'” the Side Hustle Society profile states. “It is a path to entrepreneurship, space for professional growth, and a way to earn income in your spare time.”
Robinhood trading, investing, DoorDash delivery driving and buying and selling work on Etsy all may be considered “side hustles,” according to the Side Hustle Society.
“We are new but we all have prior experience with jobs on campus and other student organizations,” Side Hustle Society President Alex Becker said. “This organization is what we are passionate about.”
The new club is led by five upperclassmen with prior leadership experience in student organizations that highlight their wide range of passions and interests. Becker is a senior studying Marketing and Management and the president of the Sports Business Club. Co-founders Nikholas Parker, Daniel Tabaska, Liam Dolan and Tommy Lamers each hold leadership positions for other clubs on campus.
The founders said that one of the motivating factors for the club’s creation was the pandemic and its effect on students’ finances.
“If you recap the past year for students we lost our internships, our on-campus jobs, we did not get stimulus since we are all dependents on our parents,” Becker said. “I think a lot of us reverted to our passions with all the time we had. We looked to our side hustles to gain income and do what we wanted to do. A lot of our friends became door dash delivery drivers, but I also have a friend that buys and sells sports cards.”
This semester will feature multiple virtual events that host entrepreneurs and side hustle experts. Some planned speakers and UW students/alumni include:
- Troy Vosselor, the co-founder of gener8tor, Sconnie Nation and Sconnie Beer
- Aaron Nowak, the founder and CEO of SlabStox
- Wes Schroll, the founder and CEO of Fetch Rewards
- Carrie Bohlig, an entrepreneur, co-owner of Tandem Consulting and author of “So You Want to Build a Side Hustle”
“We are also looking to do a monthly showcase where we have four to five different students share their side hustles,” Becker said. “Each would have a 20-minute time slot for them to talk.”
Any UW-Madison student can join, regardless of major or year. The only requirement is a $10 membership fee.
“Entrepreneurship is something that is touched on here at UW, we have a major for it and other student organizations, but I do not think the side hustle is given any awareness,” Becker said. “Delivering for door dash or what you are doing on Robinhood does not come up in class discussion but it comes up in discussions between friends all the time.”
Side Hustle Society aims to create forums around different entrepreneurial interest areas and promote discussion participation between students and the speakers at events.
Despite being a new club, Parker expressed his confidence in its success.
“In the Sports Business Club, we were able to double the enrollment for the year,” said Parker, who is the vice president of the Sports Business Club. “We felt that we could really get attention out and if we are able to do that with this organization, we will see the same results.”
Their first event will be Monday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. Students interested in joining the Side Hustle Society can fill out their google form or email uwsidehustlesociety@gmail.com with any questions.
