With coronavirus concerns putting the brakes on business, Spencer Scott is shifting gears and creating a new way to make money.
“Already, I’ve tuned two or three people’s bikes from Facebook and three or four people’s from the neighborhood,” he said.
Scott, an environmental scientist, is now supplementing his household income by doing bike repairs in his garage on the weekends after his wife’s work hours were slashed.
“She’s a nurse at an asthma and allergy clinic,” Scott said. “She was cut back to two days a week and I felt like a little extra side cash would be nice.”
With the tools and technique, Scott has turned his side hustle, #benderudebikes, into a much larger role. Something economic experts say more people are now doing during this pandemic.
“It’s kind of like diversifying your investment portfolio,” said Christina Huber, Ph.D., an economics professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
With tens of millions of Americans unemployed, Huber says having a supplemental income is becoming more important in this uncertain economy.
“I think this economic downturn is going to last for a long time. things aren’t going to get back to normal for a while,” she said. “So, people that can find the side hustle maybe will be a step ahead of the game.”
For Scott, his side hustle is providing more than money.
“It’s helped financially a little bit and its definitely helped with the psyche,” he said.
Scott says his extra work is giving his family financial flexibility, peace of mind and perhaps a new future
“We’ll see after all this craziness is over if I can keep selling and working on them,” he said. “I’d love to.”