If you’re a product supervisor looking for a facet hustle, look no additional. I’ve been intensively researching numerous methods to leverage my product supervisor (PM) expertise exterior my 9–5.
Right here’s what I discovered:
Writing is a superb facet 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 it is usually a wonderful alternative to sharpen your expertise.
Researching matters you write about brings you further data, and placing issues on paper will permit you to construction your pondering and organise your data.
It additionally offers you some further publicity and helps you construct visibility and a private model.
It’s a win-win-win facet hustle.
If you happen to choose speaking to writing, strive a podcast. You possibly can both share your individual data or interview folks. Don’t fear. You don’t need to 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, corporations like Amplitude or Airtable love placing their advertisements in product podcasts.
There’s a ton of consumer expertise work you are able to do for others.
You possibly can conduct consumer interviews, assist with analysing analysis outcomes, construct personas and even put together wireframes.
Further UX expertise will come in useful in your day-to-day work.
You may write product documentation, consumer 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 wonderful alternative to be taught in-depth how numerous merchandise work.
There’s at all times a requirement for coding work.
Growing technical experience will assist you empathise with the dev workforce and perceive higher how merchandise work below the hood. E.g. if you wish to specialise as a cell product supervisor, strive studying tips on how to 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 may be your cup of tea.
Product administration is a scorching profession path proper now.
Increasingly more PM-related bootcamps and programs seem each month. Check out educating at considered one of them.
Whether or not a remote-only bootcamp, or a grasp’s diploma at your Alma Mater, educating 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 in all probability went by means of them a number of occasions already.
It is going to assist you sharpen your interviewing expertise, and listening to different folks’s tales and solutions would possibly carry you new insights.
You possibly can proofread others’ work as an issue knowledgeable.
You can be paid to learn stuff. Doesn’t that sound superior? Plus, you’ll in all probability be taught a number of cool information by triple-checking the work of others.
If you’re already skilled, strive consulting. Good consultants invoice a ridiculous quantity per hour. I’m jealous.
You’ve gotten first to ascertain 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 remains to be gaining in reputation.
You possibly can create a 30-minute lengthy nano course or perhaps a fully-fledged 50h masterclasses. Platforms like Udemy or Skillshare make it ridiculously simple.
Nothing constructions data and pondering higher than constructing an entire digital course on the subject. If executed properly, a digital course would possibly grow to be a long-term supply of passive earnings.
Nevertheless, the entry price can also be excessive. Competitors is hard, and high quality expectations are ever-increasing. You want nice content material and supply, video, audio, lighting, enhancing and, ideally, some animations. Recording a video in your cellphone in all probability received’t reduce it.
Mentoring much less skilled folks shall be a fantastic increase to your management expertise.
You don’t even need to be very skilled. You simply want a mentee that’s in the identical place you had been a number 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. Typically they simply want somebody for a few hours per week to assist them with the fundamentals and information the workforce in the appropriate path.
Or generally, they want a part-time PM for a few weeks. If you’re snug crunching 1.5 FTE for a while, then getting further expertise elsewhere may be a big profession increase.
Ever considered being an expert coach?
I don’t imply a product or profession coach, however extra an ICF sort of teaching.
Being a fantastic coach requires related qualities to being a fantastic chief, together with lively listening, empathy, lack of judgement and the artwork of asking nice questions.
The street to turning into an expert coach ain’t simple, and it’s additionally fairly costly, however in case you are the appropriate individual for this sort of work, it’s additionally value it.
Need to enhance your QA expertise? Check out crowdsourced testing.
Platforms like take a look at.io permit you to put on a tester hat and earn a buck alongside the way in which. Mechanics are fairly simple:
- A consumer 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 find out about some new merchandise alongside the way in which.
If you’re extra into testing usability, check out platforms for distant consumer assessments, akin to UserTesting.
If you happen to cross the screener, it is possible for you to to finish an project that often takes 10–half-hour. You can be requested to share your display screen and video, full a set of duties on a given web site, and share your ideas out loud. You possibly can 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 observe is to search out an issue and clear up 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. If you’re extra of a scaleup or company PM, be at liberty to overlook out on the constructing your individual product practice.
