This piece is part of my 2016–2026 archive migration. Some original formatting, content, and external links may be missing, changed, or not be optimized.
Always have a side gig that gives YOU control over YOUR income
I thought to myself, I’m not into the game of proving myself to anyone. I only believe in doing good work, to the best of my ability, in addition to anything else I can do to help my team succeed. Other than this, you can count me out of expending unnecessary energy to meet ambiguous expectations that might earn me approval and more compensation based on someone’s opinion of me and how they personally rate my performance.
How often do we subject ourselves to financial limitations by putting all of our eggs into the salary and hourly baskets?
For this reason, I will never not work for myself; it’s impossible for me not to because I am incredibly uncomfortable leaving my earnings potential in the hands of someone else – whether they have good intentions for me and my career or not.
33% of People Have A Side Gig
Only 33% of people have a side gig. The other 67% of Americans work a regular job and depend upon someone else to provide them with hourly wages or a salary.
On average, companies offer raises between 3–4% to their employees (Zippia, The Career Expert).
If you earn $50,000 and receive a 3% raise, your new salary will be $51,500.
If you earn $100,000 and receive a 3% raise, your new salary will be $103,000.
If you earn $200,000 and receive a 3% raise, your new salary will be $206,000.
What do these numbers mean?
If you wait on your employer to increase your salary, and they only give average salary increases, you’re going to be getting little bumps the rest of your working days for probably far more work than you’re giving in return.
This is why you need to have more than one source of income. And those additional sources of income should be within your control to increase or decrease, at will, so you can give yourself raises and also be independent of an employer.
While you’re working under an employer, you might as well aim to maximize your earnings potential the best you can. Hence, advocate for yourself to get raises – notably higher than 3%, or 4% raises.
Gratitude With Strategy
I will always have gratitude for every company that employs me, but I will also not be shortsighted and make myself my employer’s “lackey” just to get a bone (money). I’ve seen people exchange years of service in return for a hopeful reward. Sometimes the rewards come; sometimes, they don’t. I rather create my own rewards instead of depending on a raise from an employer who will only give it to me under their timeline, conditions, biases, and power.
This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.