Beginner's Guide to Side Hustles

When you are looking at your online business role models - you might wish you already had their success - but honestly, most of the online business owners you see started from where you are right now - with a side hustle. Today, I want to go over my tips on starting and sustaining a side hustle.

Finding the space for your side-hustle

One of the biggest challenges with starting a side hustle is finding the time. We all have different responsibilities - it could be a 9-5 job, freelancing, children - so the question is - how can you find the space needed to work on your side-hustle?

Use your commute time

If you are working a full-time job, utilize your commute time. If you are riding a bus, subway, or train - you can get some work done on a laptop or notebook. If you are driving, you can use this time to expand your knowledge by listing to podcasts or audiobooks on business, entrepreneurship, or marketing. If you work remotely, calculate the time you would spend driving to the office and dedicate that time for your side-hustle.

Use your breaks and weekends

If you have scheduled lunches and breaks during your work hours - you can be using this time to complete a task or two in your business. Maybe it’s working on some of your social media content, or getting a bit more work done on a digital product you’re creating. Weekends are also a great time to get a lot done in your business. Yes, you might have to sacrifice some relaxation time or skip your scheduled Netflix binging sesh, but if you can spend 5 hours on a weekend to work on your business - imagine how much you could accomplish!

Learn to say “NO”

Start getting comfortable setting boundaries and saying NO to things that don’t serve you. I am the type of person that would love to say yes to everything, but when it comes to building a business on the side, you need to be a little selfish and only say yes to something that you really want or need to do.

Create a system

Time is limited, but it’s how you use it that matters. By creating a system, you will ensure all of your tasks have a time and place to get accomplished. You can make a to-do list or use calendar blocking, whichever method works best for you. I would take some time once a week, I like doing this on Sunday evenings and make plans for the following week.

Create a support system

Working on your side business can feel super lonely if you don’t have the right support. But, if you can create a strong support system, this will make you feel more motivated than ever. Our instincts are usually to look in our current circle of friends and family, which is a great place to start. My mom is a business owner too - so I am constantly going to her to chat about my business struggles and ask for her advice. If you do not have that existing support - you can create a support system online. There are so many people out there who are doing the same thing you are doing, building a side-hustle. Find them, reach out, and I bet you they were looking for support too!

Say goodbye to imposter syndrome

One of the number one reasons so many side-hustles fail - is because of that little devil, imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is loosely defined as doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud - have you ever felt this way? If so, here are some tips on saying sayonara to imposter syndrome.

Talk to someone about it This is where that support system will come in handy. Again, look at all of your online business idols - most of them (yes, including me) have experienced imposter syndrome - and knowing that others are going through that same, negative self-talk can help remind you that it’s all in your head.

Measure your knowledge

You are the only one who knows exactly your level of expertise on a topic and only you can measure it. Look back on your accomplishments, obstacles you have overcome, results you have created, and give yourself some credit.

Learn from your mistakes (and don’t fear them)

Behavior coach Michael Mantell, Ph.D. says “Just because I tripped and made an error doesn’t mean I’m an imposter or a fraud; it means I’m human.” There is no need to fear mistakes because literally, everyone makes them. Instead of fearing them, embrace them when this happens, learn from them, and use them to make you better.

Stop comparing yourself to others and listening to the haters

You are on your own journey and can only control one life... your own. Don’t waste your precious energy focusing on other peoples' life, business, or words.

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I know you probably want to fast-forward this stage of your business, but trust me - starting your business as a side hustle can actually help build the foundation of a successful, full-time business. I am STILL using some of the lessons, time-saving strategies, and support systems I created back when I first started my journey. And I am so thankful for those skills that have helped me build the business I have today.