Side Hustle Balance

Two and a-Half-Month Hiatus

Subscribers might be wondering why it has been so long between newsletters. Horse racing jobs didn’t dry up, but my available time did. From March 1st to now, I have completed my winter job (Stakes Coordinator at Fair Grounds), moved my home, and started my summer job (Thoroughbred Racing Secretary at Prairie Meadows). Simply put, I didn’t make time for my side hustle (this Substack newsletter) as I was focused on my main jobs.

What is a Side Hustle?

Per Freelancing School, “Simply put, a side hustle is work you do on the side of your regular job to make additional income.

The way people define side hustle tends to vary, but to most, it involves some type of self-employment—like freelance gigs—or an entrepreneurial endeavor, as opposed to a traditional second job.”

In my case, the StandingStart newsletter is a pro bono endeavor to benefit the horse racing industry, but many within the industry have side hustles to make revenue, a name for themselves, or both. Unlike a side job, a side hustle is one in which you control your own destiny, hours, and scope. A side job might be a 9-to-5 desk job employee picking up shifts as a race track food and beverage server or a high school teacher being a mutuel teller during the summer break.

There are many side hustle opportunities within horse racing. In 2013, now Fonner Park CEO, Christopher Kotulak, authored Jack, From Grit to Glory : A Lifetime of Mentoring, Dedication and Perseverance, the True Story of Jack Van Berg, an American Horse Racing Legend. Jockey agent, Tom Knust, can boast credits as a director, writer, and producer of films. Numerous members of the horse racing community have podcasts as side hustles. Other side hustles include freelance writing, tack repair, exercise rider, and numerous Substack newsletter creators.

Side Hustle Balance

The Portfolio Collective offers advice on how to maintain a balance between your side hustle and your job. Get organized and keep things separate, make time to decompress, and optimize your schedule. The Portfolio Collective additionally offers advice on how not to get in trouble with your side hustle:

Read your employment contract to see what is and isn’t permitted. Typically there are no outright bans on having a side hustle, so long as your day job doesn’t suffer, you don’t work with competitors, and you don’t give away company secrets or use company equipment, you should be fine. If there are bans, these are often illegal to enforce. However, if you have any doubts, it is better to discuss them with your boss rather than avoid the conversation.

Employers can have legitimate concerns about your potential side hustles. Trinet writes “when examining an employee’s outside activity, employers should evaluate whether the outside activity: involves a competitor or an activity that is a conflict with the employer’s business; interferes with an employee’s duty to the company and/or interferes with the employee’s regularly scheduled or expected work hours.”

Circling back to this newsletter, the author, and the hiatus, I simply got too busy to work on my side hustle without impacting the quality of my ‘day job.’ Much of that has been spent on acquiring and training seasonal staff for Prairie Meadows. Prairie Meadows still has many job openings in a variety of departments some of which are listed below.

Highlighted Opportunities

Jobs listed under Highlighted Opportunities will be those sent directly to me by the employer (listed chronologically by posted date). For those hiring who would like to have their positions included in the newsletter, please email me, ovals at yahoo dot com, with “StandingStart Jobs” in the subject field.

• Employer: Prairie Meadows

  • 4 Opportunities: Electrician, Locksmith, HVAC Technician, and Plumber

  • Source: Prairie Meadows

  • Posted: 2023-05-15

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: Charles Town

  • 3 Opportunities: Equip Operator, Mutuel Teller, and Mutuel Manager

  • Source: Penn Entertainment

  • Posted: 2023-05-15

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: Penn National

  • 5 Opportunities: Assistant Starter, Clocker, Lead Mutuel Teller, Racing Gap Attendant, or Racing Valet

  • Source: Penn Entertainment

  • Posted: 2023-05-15

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: Prairie Meadows

  • Opportunity: Pari-Mutuels Teller

  • Source: Prairie Meadows

  • Posted: 2023-05-12

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: NYRA

  • Opportunity: Recruitment & Employee Experience Generalist

  • Source: NYRA

  • Posted: 2023-05-09

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: Prairie Meadows

  • 2 Opportunities: Bartender and Valet

  • Source: Prairie Meadows

  • Posted: 2023-05-08

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: NYRA

  • Opportunity: Bilingual Senior Human Resources Business Partner

  • Source: NYRA

  • Posted: 2023-05-03

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: Prairie Meadows

  • 2 Opportunities: Track Maintenance and Stall Cleaner

  • Source: Prairie Meadows

  • Posted: 2023-04-15

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: NYRA

  • Opportunity: Veterinary Department Administrator

  • Source: NYRA

  • Posted: 2023-04-03

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: NYRA

  • Opportunity: Senior Accountant

  • Source: NYRA

  • Posted: 2023-04-27

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: NYRA

  • Opportunity: Accounts Payable Supervisor

  • Source: NYRA

  • Posted: 2023-04-27

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: NYRA

  • Opportunity: Outrider

  • Source: NYRA

  • Posted: 2023-04-16

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: NYRA

  • Opportunity: Manager, Community Affairs

  • Source: NYRA

  • Posted: 2023-04-14

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: NYRA

  • Opportunity: Team Leader, Customer Service

  • Source: NYRA

  • Posted: 2023-04-11

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: NYRA

  • Opportunity: Customer Service Representative (NY or Oregon)

  • Source: NYRA

  • Posted: 2023-03-18

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: NYRA

  • Opportunity: Payroll Analyst

  • Source: NYRA

  • Posted: 2023-02-21

  • Description: Company Job Posting

• Employer: NYRA

  • Opportunity: Gap Attendant

  • Source: NYRA

  • Posted: 2022-10-07

  • Description: Company Job Posting

Opportunities

The Opportunities section is a curated listing of positions harvested from the internet.

• Employer: Belterra Park

  • Opportunity: Assistant Starter

  • Source: Google Jobs

  • Posted: 2023-05-15

  • Description: Google Job Posting

• Employer: North Dakota

  • Opportunity: Executive Director of the North Dakota Racing Commission

  • Source: Jooble

  • Posted: 2023-05-13

  • Description: Jooble Job Posting

• Employer: Keeneland

  • Opportunity: Track Maintenance Internship

  • Source: Lensa

  • Posted: 2023-05-13

  • Description: Lensa Job Posting

• Employer: Keeneland

  • Opportunity: Parking Associate

  • Source: Lensa

  • Posted: 2023-05-13

  • Description: Lensa Job Posting

• Employer: Fair Grounds

  • 4 Opportunities: Entry Clerk, Claims Clerk, Stakes Coordinator, and Placing Judge

  • Source: Zip Recruiter

  • Posted: 2023-05-12

  • Description: Zip Recruiter Job Posting

• Employer: Caesars Entertainment

  • Opportunity: Racing Horse Identifier

  • Source: Zip Recruiter

  • Posted: 2023-05-12

  • Description: Zip Recruiter Job Posting

• Employer: Jockey Club Information Systems

  • Opportunity: Daily Editor

  • Source: Geebo

  • Posted: 2023-05-11

  • Description: Geebo Job Posting

• Employer: Pocono Downs

  • Opportunity: Paddock Judge

  • Source: Zip Recruiter

  • Posted: 2023-05-10

  • Description: Zip Recruiter Job Posting

• Employer: Remington Park

  • Opportunity: Holding Barn Attendant

  • Source: Geebo

  • Posted: 2023-05-10

  • Description: Geebo Job Posting

• Employer: Gulfstream Park

  • Opportunity: Clocker

  • Source: Zip Recruiter

  • Posted: 2023-05-08

  • Description: Zip Recruiter Job Posting