Side Hustle Survival

As Americans face the financial strain of the pandemic, students have found innovative ways to make money and stay creative.

By: Sydney Sinks

One in three Americans have a side hustle, and of those people, 31% started their side hustle during the COVID-19 pandemic. Roughly 700 of Millikin’s 2,340 students could feasibly have side gigs, and that might be close to the truth. Between the floundering job market, increased levels of debt and the unique burdens of the pandemic, Americans are facing a financial crisis.

Many students have found innovative ways to make money during this time. By opening Etsy shops, advertising on social media and selling homemade products to their friends and families, students are using their creativity and ingenuity to stay afloat — and to create new business models that might support them long after the pandemic is over.

In fact, senior Taylor Davis’s business wouldn’t exist without the pandemic. When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) imposed mask mandates in March 2020, Davis set to work sewing masks for her family and friends. “It started as something to protect them, but also a kindness thing, like ’Hey, I’m here for you,’” Davis says. She realized that her product was in demand, so she made a Facebook post advertising masks at a low price. “Stores were not stocked and people were looking for masks, so I knew it was helpful, but it was also really therapeutic for me,” she says. While Davis isn’t selling masks currently — it’s hard to balance with her schooling, jobs, and other responsibilities — she looks back on her side hustle as a positive thing to come out of the pandemic. “It really helped me personally, mentally, helped my community,” Davis says. “In this time of frustration and isolation, trying to make the best of the situation, that’s kind of what I did.”

Recent graduate Sophie Kibiger’s Etsy shop started as a way to stay busy during the extra time at home, but Kibiger has turned it into something much bigger — with lots of eager customers. “I think people saw my stuff and they obviously liked it, but I think they liked the idea of, like, I was doing something on the side and they wanted to support it,” Kibiger says. A year after starting the shop, Kibiger has expanded to sell earrings, necklaces and rings. The jewelry, while fun to create, has also added some security to Kibiger’s post-grad life. “That extra income was really nice because I was finishing school and I had just moved, so it was just a lot of expenses coming up, and my business really helped give me that little push,” Kibiger says. While it’s been an adjustment balancing this work with Kibiger’s full-time job, Kibiger is excited to keep growing the business. You can shop Kibiger’s products at GypsophilaJewelery on Etsy or @gypsophila.jewelry on Instagram.

While we shouldn’t gloss over the flaws of an economy that requires people to take on extra jobs to survive — especially during a global pandemic — we should also celebrate the ingenuity and determination that we demonstrate. The pandemic will hopefully end soon, but the innovation lives on.