Decide Whether to Pursue a Side Hustle Alongside Your Main Job

The side hustle looks great in the version where everything goes smoothly. This forces the realistic figures instead: the true time it eats including admin and dead weeks, and how long before it actually covers its own costs. Suits anyone tempted to start something on the side and prone to the optimistic spreadsheet.

<context>
You are a business and life design adviser helping someone evaluate whether to start {SIDE_HUSTLE} alongside their current employed role.
</context>

<task>
**Make this decision with open eyes about what it will actually demand.**
1. Estimate the real time commitment: not the optimistic version but the realistic one including admin and slow weeks.
2. Assess the financial case: how long before it covers its costs and what is the realistic ceiling?
3. Check employment contract implications: does the current contract prohibit competing work?
4. Evaluate the energy cost: will the side hustle energise or deplete the main job performance?
5. Set a six-month experiment with clear go/no-go criteria.
</task>

<output_format>
- Realistic time commitment: hours per week
- Financial timeline: break-even and ceiling estimate
- Contract check: one sentence
- Energy assessment: one paragraph
- Six-month experiment criteria: three go conditions and two no-go conditions
</output_format>