In 2022, Americans started 400,000 new businesses every month, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Of those, nearly 300,000 were side hustles.
40%到45%的美国人在另一份工作中有副业或“兼职”, and those numbers have increased significantly during the past five years. Financial gain, creative expression, 自主和利他主义是激励这些创业企业的众多目标和目的中的一些.
“The economy, COVID-19, 对事业和个人创造力的掌控使更多的人从事副业,” says Alex Krause Matlack, director, Entrepreneurship Scholars (E-Scholars), UMKC Regnier创业与创新研究所的助理教学教授和助理主任. “Some studies indicate that by the end of this decade, 由于零工经济行业中出现的组合职业类型，近一半的人将成为企业家.”
推动这个“副业黄金时代”的企业家精神在UMKC蓬勃发展.
UMKC Launches a Side Hustle Challenge
In 2022, the Henry W. 布洛赫管理学院和雷尼埃创业与创新学院为密苏里大学堪萨斯分校的学生推出了第一个副业挑战. 这项挑战的发起，在一定程度上是对这一蓬勃发展的国家趋势的回应.
“We learned, through a cross-campus survey, 尽管只有一小部分学生对成为企业家感兴趣, many already have side hustles,” says Matlack. “Sometimes it’s hard to self-identify as an entrepreneur, but that’s exactly what these students are doing. 我们希望找到一种新的方式，与那些可能不认为自己是企业家，但正在做一些非常具有企业家精神的事情的学生建立联系.”
The Side Hustle Challenge, which mirrors real-world side hustle development, 两者都与现有的布洛赫学院和雷尼埃学院的课程不同，也相吻合.
“This is the first of our programs specifically targeting side hustles, or smaller businesses, students may be launching on the side,” says Matlack. 这项挑战还与电子学者项目有关，学生们可以在一个学期的课程中启动他们的项目.”
对学生来说，这项挑战是一个机会，让他们能够在一定规模上追求自己的创业计划，从而继续学业. 他们获得知识和技能来发展自己的想法，并与观众的需求联系起来.
“把了解客户作为一种增长途径，而不是风险更高的创业形式，是副业的好处,” Matlack says. “A venture funded by the growth of customers, rather than venture capital, 这是一个很好的方法来知道你已经达到了产品市场的契合度，并拥有了客户愿意为之付费的产品吗.”
Student Entrepreneurs Embrace the Side Hustle Challenge
Elle Domann, 泰特·贝瑞和奥利维亚·格雷探索了这些策略，成为首届“副业挑战”的获胜者.
Domann placed first in the Side Hustle Challenge with her project, Studio L, a rentable studio and coworking space for photographers and creative businesses.
“After moving to Kansas City to attend UMKC, I’ve been able to further my photography career immensely,” says Domann, who will graduate this spring with a degree in business administration, with a double emphasis in entrepreneurship and innovation and finance.
“In my hometown of Springfield, 无法像堪萨斯城那样获得负担得起的创意企业资源. Last year, 我的使命是在斯普林菲尔德开发一个空间，让创作者可以在没有传统工作室成本的情况下工作.”
After extensive work on the space, Domann launched Studio L last October.
“I had no experience owning a brick-and-mortar store,” she adds. “与服务型企业相比，它带来了更多的挑战和学习机会, like photography. 这个空间需要翻新，这是一个挑战，因为我没有木匠的经验. I wanted to save money, so this meant doing the work myself.”
“My favorite part of this experience is that I learn something every day. It’s a continual process of problem-solving and making changes.”
Like Domann, Berry also developed a business focused on creative professionals. 他的项目“音乐人价值提升”是一个音乐商业和创业的在线平台.
“音乐价值提升是支付数千美元上音乐学校，却没有获得生存所需技能的另一种选择,” said Berry, 谁将在今年春天毕业获得爵士研究和商业营销双学位. “音乐家将学习如何使他们的想法可持续发展，并为他人提供价值.”
贝瑞于2021年秋季在布洛赫学院的创业课上开始发展他的想法. He refined his
plans during the 2022 New Product Development course.
“The idea brought my music and business interests together,” said Berry, the 2022 UMKC Bloch School Student Entrepreneur of the Year. “我的创业课程是创造性的孵化器，让我更容易确定目标和寻找资源.”
“我学会了在我的方法中使用设计思维，并就音乐学校以及他们希望学到的东西采访了音乐家和教育工作者. 我还研究了音乐产业的整体价值及其未开发的潜力.”
After he graduates, 贝瑞将继续发展“音乐人价值提升”和他的其他商业项目, including Tate’s Burnin’ Big Band.
“I need to get the capital and develop the materials and website,” he said. “Then, I’ll prototype the product so I can launch.”
2022年初，格雷获得了她的房地产执照，因此她可以参加挑战.
“我没有房地产方面的经验，但在圣诞假期自学了这个行业的来龙去脉，并在春季学期前通过了考试,” recalls Gray, who will graduate with an accounting degree in 2025. “I launched this side hustle because I didn’t want to be a broke college student. Real estate seemed like a good way to make money while also being flexible, so I could still focus on my studies.”
The Side Hustle: A World of Opportunity and Discovery
In contrast to the challenge promoted by Bloch and the Regnier Institute, entrepreneurial initiatives are not always encouraged in the workplace. Until recent years, employees with side hustles, or those who “moonlight,” have been compelled to keep their pursuits under wraps. However, this mindset has seen a shift. 许多组织已经认识到员工的副业对工作环境是积极的，可以提高员工的幸福感. New terms, such as “daylighting” instead of moonlighting, reflect this change.
“一些公司的政策仍然不允许员工承担外部工作，”马特拉克指出. “However, 全国知名的组织心理学家亚当·格兰特(Adam Grant)的研究表明，副业能提高员工的工作效率和创造力.”
At UMKC, entrepreneurial explorers bring their ventures to life, and they learn about themselves in the process. As these discoveries unfold, their initial vision may transform.
“最初，我的副业目标只是赚钱，但现在已经改变了，”格雷回忆道. “我现在正在寻找可以利用我的副业来帮助其他人的方法，并计划在未来几年内实施这些方法. 我的计划包括翻新和出售负担得起的房子给那些可能没有足够资金的人.”