06 Jun

Why a Side-Hustle is Vital to Your Success

A side-hustle can be great, or it can be a huge drain on your finances, your time, and your life.

Trust me; I’ve had plenty of side-hustles ever since I started my bootleg CD business when I was 14. From there, I started my own web-development business (I had a total of 1 client) and I have not stopped the side-hustle game.

The right side hustle can open up doors of possibilities and actually INCREASE the success of your main hustle. It is vital that you have a side hustle that contributes to your overall goals rather than detracts from it.

Here are the 4 key elements of a successful side-hustle:

1. Something that you do part-time. Is your side-hustle 10-20 hours per week max? It needs to be secondary to your main hustle; otherwise, you’ll run out of steam quickly and it will begin to affect your main hustle.

2. Can potentially be a money-maker. Your side-hustle doesn’t have to make money now, but it must have the potential to be a money-maker. Simply think of it as honing your craft or a trial run, especially if you plan on making money with it in the future.

3. You must be providing a product or service. Examples include:

  • Examples of products
    • Food
    • Natural cleaning and bath products
    • Jewelry or clothes
    • Infoproducts
  • Examples of services
    • Coaching
    • Web design
    • Blogwriting
    • Lawn Care

4. You enjoy doing it. If you don’t enjoy your side hustle… what’s the point? You’re going to devote a considerable amount of time and energy to this. If it feels like torture, then quit!

So why you should have a side hustle? For starters, it’s great to have alternate streams of income; diversifying your income is always a good idea in case something goes wrong with your main gig.

Side hustles also give you a different perspective. There’s more responsibility placed on you, so you’re constantly learning new skills building on old ones, and using prioritization and balance to get things done.

Finally, side-hustles can be insanely fun. Because it’s something you aren’t “required” to do, you are free to be more passionate about it. It feels good to make extra income, or make a bigger impact on the world.

Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. It’s how you will spend yours that determines your level of success.

Andrew McDonald
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