If you’re a product supervisor looking for a aspect hustle, look no additional. I’ve been intensively researching varied methods to leverage my product supervisor (PM) expertise outdoors my 9–5.
Right here’s what I discovered:
Writing is a superb aspect hustle, whether or not it’s blogs, Twitter and even books. Not solely area experience permits PMs to earn an honest buck freelancing and ghostwriting, however additionally it is a superb alternative to sharpen your expertise.
Researching matters you write about brings you extra data, and placing issues on paper will mean you can construction your considering and organise your data.
It additionally offers you some extra publicity and helps you construct visibility and a private model.
It’s a win-win-win aspect hustle.
Should you desire speaking to writing, attempt a podcast. You’ll be able to both share your individual data or interview folks. Don’t fear. You don’t must persuade Marty Cagan to affix you in your first episode. Begin with colleagues and friends.
It’s a good way to realize publicity, meet folks and be taught one thing new. And when you get sufficient followers, firms like Amplitude or Airtable love placing their adverts in product podcasts.
There’s a ton of person expertise work you are able to do for others.
You’ll be able to conduct person interviews, assist with analysing analysis outcomes, construct personas and even put together wireframes.
Extra UX expertise will come in useful in your day-to-day work.
You possibly can write product documentation, person guides, onboarding manuals, and so on.
Your understanding of technical jargon and empathy for finish customers ought to make the entire course of a breeze.
Plus, it’s a superb alternative to be taught in-depth how varied merchandise work.
There’s all the time a requirement for coding work.
Creating technical experience will enable you to empathise with the dev crew and perceive higher how merchandise work underneath the hood. E.g. if you wish to specialise as a cell product supervisor, attempt studying write apps. You’ll achieve tons of sensible data.
If a deep dive into the tech world isn’t for you, Webflow or different low-code options is likely to be your cup of tea.
Product administration is a sizzling profession path proper now.
Increasingly PM-related bootcamps and programs seem each month. Check out instructing at one in every of them.
Whether or not a remote-only bootcamp, or a grasp’s diploma at your Alma Mater, instructing others is the easiest way to develop your individual data.
As a product supervisor, you’re well-suited to assist others put together for the PM interview. Particularly because you most likely went by means of them a number of instances already.
It would enable you to sharpen your interviewing expertise, and listening to different folks’s tales and solutions would possibly deliver you new insights.
You’ll be able to proofread others’ work as a topic professional.
You can be paid to learn stuff. Doesn’t that sound superior? Plus, you’ll most likely be taught a number of cool info by triple-checking the work of others.
In case you are already skilled, attempt consulting. Good consultants invoice a ridiculous quantity per hour. I’m jealous.
You’ve gotten first to determine your model, although. You can begin doing non-commercial work, for instance, for NGOs. You’ll achieve expertise, construct your consulting portfolio, and even perhaps make the world a barely higher place 🙂
eLearning continues to be gaining in recognition.
You’ll be able to create a 30-minute lengthy nano course or perhaps a fully-fledged 50h masterclasses. Platforms like Udemy or Skillshare make it ridiculously simple.
Nothing buildings data and considering higher than constructing an entire digital course on the subject. If completed properly, a digital course would possibly develop into a long-term supply of passive earnings.
Nevertheless, the entry value can be excessive. Competitors is hard, and high quality expectations are ever-increasing. You want nice content material and supply, video, audio, lighting, modifying and, ideally, some animations. Recording a video in your cellphone most likely received’t reduce it.
Mentoring much less skilled folks will likely be an incredible increase to your management expertise.
You don’t even must be very skilled. You simply want a mentee that’s in the identical place you have been a couple of years in the past. Assist them keep away from errors you made.
There are a number of web sites matching mentors with mentees. You are able to do it as a paid service or as volunteer work.
Not everybody can afford a full-time product supervisor. Generally they simply want somebody for a few hours per week to assist them with the fundamentals and information the crew in the best path.
Or generally, they want a part-time PM for a few weeks. In case you are comfy crunching 1.5 FTE for a while, then getting extra expertise elsewhere is likely to be a big profession increase.
Ever thought of being an expert coach?
I don’t imply a product or profession coach, however extra an ICF sort of teaching.
Being an incredible coach requires comparable qualities to being an incredible chief, together with lively listening, empathy, lack of judgement and the artwork of asking nice questions.
The highway to changing into an expert coach ain’t simple, and it’s additionally fairly costly, however in case you are the best individual for one of these work, it’s additionally price it.
Need to enhance your QA expertise? Check out crowdsourced testing.
Platforms like take a look at.io mean you can put on a tester hat and earn a buck alongside the best way. Mechanics are fairly simple:
- A shopper submits tasks.
- A gaggle of crowdsourced testers is assigned.
- You receives a commission for each reported and accepted bug.
Some folks even make it their full-time job. Wonderful means to enhance your consideration to bugs and study some new merchandise alongside the best way.
In case you are extra into testing usability, check out platforms for distant person exams, equivalent to UserTesting.
Should you go the screener, it is possible for you to to finish an task that normally takes 10–half-hour. You can be requested to share your display and video, full a set of duties on a given web site, and share your ideas out loud. You’ll be able to earn roughly $15–30 for such a take a look at.
You knew it was coming, didn’t you?
Probably the greatest methods to place your PM expertise into apply is to seek out an issue and remedy it by yourself. Some even name it an final take a look at of 1’s product ability.
Nevertheless, I don’t just like the push to construct your individual product after hours. Not everybody fancies entrepreneurial, pre-PMF product administration. In case you are extra of a scaleup or company PM, be happy to overlook out on the constructing your individual product prepare.
