Hey y’all. Interesting convo happening today..

Reminder: If you’re self-employed, quarterly taxes are due this Friday. You can pay federal taxes here and state taxes on your state’s website.

Featured Opportunities

For a full list of open opportunities, check out the full list in our app.

✍️ Highlighted Opportunity: Freelance Writer

The poster is looking for freelance writers to join their team. He didn’t specify the type of writing, but it looks like business copywriting (based on my time creeping on his profile).

🫧 Side Hustle: Poplin Laundry Service

I came across this app a few days ago, and it looks pretty neat. You pick up local people’s laundry, wash/dry/fold it, then return it to them…and get paid to do it. There’s a $15 minimum per order, so you’ll never make less than that.

📱 Freelance Gig: TikTok Content Creator for Framer

Framer, the website-building platform, is looking for someone to own the creation and management of their TikTok account. The budget is $500 to $1,000 (assuming per month?) but I’d try to push for higher.

Want to see a specific type of work? Just let us know.

What Does It Take to Feel Wealthy?

A couple months ago, Charles Schwab released results from a survey where they asked adults a variety of questions about wealth. 48% said they already feel wealthy, with an average net worth of $560,000.

Despite feeling wealthy at this net worth, other research has found that people consider others wealthy when their net worth is $2.2 million.

What does it mean to feel wealthy when you aren’t even at your own personal threshold for wealth? Charles Schwab decided to ask respondents to describe what being wealthy feels like.

Respondents mentioned their well-being (40%) more often than money (32%) and assets (26%). 70% of respondents said building wealth is about not having to stress about money, not necessarily having tons of it. Once they reach the point of not stressing about money, the feeling of wealth is present.

When I saw these survey results, it reminded me of one of my favorite quotes from the book Psychology of Money.

While some studies show that happiness increases with salary, nearly every single study on the topic says this feeling plateaus at some point (although each study suggests a different plateau point).

So, it’s fair to say that the desire to feel wealthy isn’t necessarily because of the numbers. It’s because of the desire for choice, autonomy, and freedom.

Maybe you agree, or maybe you don’t, but I encourage you to think deeply about why you value money — and we know you do if you’re subscribed to this newsletter, so don’t be shy in being honest with yourself.

Your answer may guide you in approaching work differently. Maybe you’ll realize that the numbers are what matter to you, but simply because you feel a need to prove yourself to those around you. Or, maybe freedom is truly what it’s all about, but on a day-to-day basis, you’re focused on hitting the next milestone, rather than basking in the freedom you’ve created for yourself today.

I challenge you to think deeply about it this week.

Helpful Resources

If you haven’t read Psychology of Money, I highly recommend it. It was one of the most profound books I’ve read (and I’m an avid reader). It isn’t overly technical like other money books, and it teaches you a lot about how our minds work.

If you’d prefer the TLDR version, this video offers a solid (yet not as in-depth, of course) summary of the book.

Ask the Sidepiece Team

A: I used to think networking meant awkwardly shaking hands with a man in a fancy suit, but as an entrepreneur, I’ve realized it’s kinda the opposite. Here are a few things I’ve done to expand my network (without stiff handshakes):

• Connecting with cool people on LinkedIn. Think someone does cool work? Literally just shoot them a connection request and say that. This is how I’ve met some of my best clients and peers.

Here’s a cold message I sent to someone that eventually became a client:

Here’s a cold message I got from another creator I now speak to fairly often:

• Take on small projects. Know how I got this gig writing this newsletter? I signed up to test a product our founder was building two years ago. Was doing user testing going to pay all my bills? No. But I figured I’d do it anyway because you never know what can happen. She liked me so much she wanted to work together more, and she’s been my client ever since.

• Join virtual groups. I hired a business coach last year and met women I still talk to every single day. I’ve also attended virtual working sessions and networking groups and met people there too.

• Use social media to your advantage. One of my closest friends in my network is someone who found me on social media, thought what I was doing was cool, and sent me a message saying “Hey I just saw your TikTok and I feel like we’d be best friends. I’m also an entrepreneur. Would you be down to hop on a little networking call?”

Have a question you want answered by the Sidepiece team? Just hit “Reply” on this email and let us know.

See ya next week,

Grace