THE MUSE #121
In this edition: Considering a side hustle? Multi-hyphenates Abby Garcia and Bryce Dallas Howard share their advice for sustaining your art and your bank account.
What to Consider When Starting a Side Hustle
by Abby Garcia
This is “What I Learned by Doing,” a column dedicated to real-world discoveries about emerging into the entertainment industry. These lessons are anything but theoretical as actress and producer Abby Garcia shares her experience transitioning from school to professional settings and how she faces the challenges of “making it” today.
After exploring jobs and how to find one in my last article (“What To Do When Finding Work Feels Like a Full Time Job”), I realized I have a lot to say about work. Maybe because it is the thing that I’ve been so focused on since graduation, and while I was in theater school, “work” was often synonymous with “buried treasure” when it came to the art of finding it.
While I am a firm believer that one can make opportunities and work for themselves, I also know that “making it” doesn’t always happen overnight. Therefore, in the meantime, we emerging professionals often need to depend on creative ways to sustain our art and our bank accounts.
A.K.A, the side hustle.
I took my first part-time job at a Filipino bar/burrito spot in the West Village when I moved back to New York City at the end of 2020. Classes were virtual and I was taking a part-time semester to get some credits done while I waited for acting classes to come back in person. Originally, this job was a way for me to pay rent and get ahead on saving up for post-grad life. Little did I know, this job would introduce me to future collaborators and best friends, teach me grit and persistence, AND inspire a scripted TV show pitch that I submitted in my Nine Muses Lab application :)
If you’re considering taking on a side hustle, ask yourself what your goals are. Your side hustle needs to align with these goals. When I was a part of the Nine Muses Lab, one of the most memorable discussions we had with instructor Bryce Dallas Howard was about her experience with part-time jobs. Bryce spoke about how side hustles were a financial necessity in college through the beginning of her career and how she was intentional with the types of jobs she pursued. About her choice to work as a nanny and a dog sitter she said, “There are the jobs that create a (needed) hardened, protective shell and there are the jobs that open you up. I made a conscious decision to lean into the latter and work with children and animals because on the whole, your heart has to be open when working with kids or as a guardian of a pet.”
This work also offered Bryce opportunities to support her craft: “I was really into the Alexander Technique and was trying to save money for two lessons,” she explained, “So working at the daycare, dog walking, and babysitting allowed me to pay for those sessions.” Even more, she described how being around kids taught her about human psychology and emotions — tools she was able to feed into these acting lessons.
For myself, working in restaurants during college introduced me to a world of characters I was able to bring into scene study classes. It also trained me in multitasking, remaining calm in a high-volume setting, and working with (and for) a wide range of people. All to say, side hustles not only bring in supplementary income, they teach you invaluable skills that you can apply to your career and art.
After college, I took on entry-level positions in the entertainment industry and while I’ve been given great opportunities, the truth is that these jobs don’t have the best track record when it comes to wages and I also have my own projects I want to make. For that reason, I’ve taken on freelance producing for indie films. Working on one project a month helps to pay for groceries and allows me to dedicate my spare time to building connections and filmmaking experiences. Side hustles can be an opportunity to contribute your skills to other projects while doing something you love. My boyfriend was an English major in college and now takes on copywriting work during his spare time. His sister is an artist who is great at web design and has been building websites for multiple companies. A friend of mine took a candle making class, loved it so much, and now it’s turned into a business for her.
No matter what the reason is for your part-time job, your side hustle needs to serve you, not the other way around. Even when working is necessary, it cannot interfere with your goals. Bryce continued to work at a daycare right up to when she was starting out on Broadway; it was the first job she had to give up because of the set hours. She said, “I realized that for me, the key was freelance. The benefit of babysitting and dog walking was that I had a ballpark of what I would make, but these weren’t jobs where I couldn’t pursue the projects that were important to me.”
When I started working 5 days a week on a TV set, I really tried to keep my restaurant job for the extra cash, but after my first week, I could barely function from how physically demanding my full-time set job was. I knew I couldn’t go back to the restaurant. So once I got a handle on my schedule and learned to set boundaries for myself in my day job, I was able to take on freelance film work that would supplement my income. I also learned to set boundaries within my side-hustle, which meant I wouldn’t work on budget sheets until 2:00 AM and I wouldn’t set meetings or calls when I was spending quality time with people.
If you are considering a side hustle, know that it is completely honorable to take on work for no other reason beside making money. Regardless, if you are considering a side hustle and are hesitant to take on the workload, think of the many ways it can support your goals and teach you about the world. Bryce advises, specifically for actors and artists, “Consider this phase of your life as ‘research and development.’ Sometimes being in the workforce can feel like a grind, but if you approach your job as research, it gives you space for curiosity. Any interaction with human beings is research if you can perceive it that way.”
More wisdom on the side hustle:
Originally hailing from Tampa, Florida, Abby Garcia is a proud alum of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and the Fall 2021 Nine Muses Lab cohort. She has a passion for innovation and inclusion, both on screen and off, and specializes in creative development and team building. Currently, she is an executive producer for Best Years, an upcoming web series.
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Newsletter run by Nia Farrell, Director of Development & Production at Nine Muses Entertainment
