4 Things to Know about Starting a Side Hustle

The Journey From Job to Side Hustle to Main Hustle

Six years ago, I was working full time and doing regular overtime in the financial sector and had zero side hustles. I had a modest salary and a decent job. But there was one significant problem; I was in debt. I had more than $50,000 in credit card debt. Don’t get me started on my student loans. Then, one fateful afternoon, I decided to make a change. I took an assessment of my life and knew I had to do something about it. 

What caused this change? The answer is quite simple. An overdue notice on a medical bill. What was worse? They sent it to the debt collection agency; I started wondering how my life got to be this way? I didn’t have too much time to ponder; I had to pay bills.

I needed more money, so I started a side hustle, and now that pays me more than what I earned at my finance job. 

This is a story that you regularly hear by people who start side hustles. You hear these true recaps because credit woes are real. NPR published a story recently that notes how many people suffer from credit card debt. 

“Credit card debt hit a new all-time high, and delinquencies are rising sharply for younger people. Fortunately, most Americans are in much more solid financial shape than before the Great Recession.”

Many of these seek to get in better fiscal health turn their situation around for the better. There’s only one singular option for them, to increase their income and get out of the paycheck to paycheck life.

That is why many people turn to blogging and creating communities to empower others while providing and extracting value. 

The Turnaround

One simple side hustle is starting an intriguing blog, solving problems, and helping people find answers about money, personal finance, credit, business, or other aspects of life. A large portion of bloggers earn money through some form of teaching in a specific segment of life.

The idea is to start on one platform and then go to several others over time. Then maybe branch into different services and products depending on people and their needs. Those that learn aspects such as marketing, growth, digital maintenance, and other components of the digital domain can parlay that into a job or a company. If the side hustle you plan on doing is not from home, and you need to go around the city using various types of transportation, Amazon Flex bots can be the solution for you. In order to help you be more organized and save you time and money, the bot can be a great assistance in finding the most optimal routes and offers for you.

The idea is to start on one platform and then go to several others over time. Then maybe branch into different services and products depending on people and their needs. Those that learn aspects such as marketing, growth, digital maintenance, and other components of the digital domain can parlay that into a job or a company.

But the turnaround requires patience and will be a different path for everyone depending on their knowledge, skillsets, and learning rates.

Here’s How You Can Turn your Side Hustle Into Your Main Hustle

Some side hustles will earn you money from day one, you know like Uber, Postmates, and Fiverr Alternatives, but others will take some time. That is why many people stay at their jobs while they build up earnings from their side hustle. Here are a couple of tips to get more out of your side hustle.

Have a Clear End Goal in Mind with your Side Hustle

You must always have your end goal in mind when getting started with side hustles. It is easy to get started and then get distracted. But if you keep moving forward with the idea of having a specific debt reduction goal in mind as you work on your side hustle, it is likely that you can meet it and set another goal.

Your Side Hustle Is Different From Others

Start by thinking about what works best for your schedule and your life. If you don’t know about side hustles that are different from Uber, Lyft, or Postmates, look up ideas online.

You don’t know what is out there unless you look and get the details about the opportunities present. There’s opportunities present such as becoming a digital marketing freelancer that generates impressions and sales through Amazon advertisements or Facebok marketing. You might even be keen on becoming an Airbnb host.

Remember that works for others may not work for you, but that’s okay, you’ll have your own opportunities.

Stay Focused on your Side Hustle to Escape Debt

Many people start and then stop what they’re working on due to a variety of reasons. That is why you must focus on your why, (eliminating debt) and make sure to stay in the game. It will take a bit of time (maybe 1-2 years to get it really going) but it can be worth it when the checks start rolling in. A good portion of people spend over 60 hours per week working on their main job and their side hustle to keep everything running smoothly. It can be very tough at the start when making a switch.

Staying in the game is very important and involves spending time regularly on the side hustle. That means making sure to implement checklists and tick tasks off one by one to meet the bigger picture.

Tell People about Your Side Hustle and Skills

You can tell people about your skills by networking online or offline (when COVID-19 subsides). Get your marketing started by blogging and connecting with more people within your industry. This will help you to earn more impressions, connections, and get your side hustle going.

You don’t know who you’re neighbor knows, or who your friend might know that will be able to connect you to a job or project. Before you know it, one referral leads to another, and you’re building a legitimate side hustle. All the while, you’re gaining experience and building up a portfolio of work that you did.

The idea here is to do a great job, learn more about your chosen side hustle, and become better at it day by day while staying in the loop.

Your Side Hustles Generate Other Side Hustles

For instance, you may start in one industry, begin your blog to get noticed and realize that you can earn from your blog through affiliate income, advertisements, sponsored posts, products, and email marketing.

Remember that starting with one stream of income is fantastic, but diversifying over time and having multiple streams of income is worthwhile during hard times.