RichardContents
There are a number of ways that you can increase your income, but starting your own side hustle is one of the most powerful.
Not only can you earn extra money in your spare time, but your earnings potential is almost unlimited. At least a few people have even ended up quitting their jobs to work on their business full time.
Of course, that’s all well and good, but what if you haven’t yet started down that road?
As it turns out plenty of people like the idea, but haven’t yet got started, here are some solutions to common problems…
You Don’t Believe Its Possible
For many people the idea of investing your evenings and weekends into a business idea with no guarantee of success sounds like madness.
Its tantamount to placing some money on a horse race.
But while I’d agree there’s at least a small amount of luck involved in successfully earning money on the side, that’s not the whole story.
The biggest factor that decides success or failure is simply the effort you put in.
To use a famous saying: “the more I practise, the luckier I get”.
While its unlikely you’ll hit a hole-in-one at first, over time that effort compounds and turns into a powerful force.
But don’t just listen to me.
There are all sorts of people out there who are successfully doing just this: investing time and effort into a business such as blogging or writing ebooks or selling products on Amazon and making a healthy income doing so.
Possibly the best way to get fired up as to the possibilities is to search Google or Pinterest for phrases such as:
- Monthly income report
- Online earnings report
- Blogger income report
You’ll find a surprisingly broad range of people revealing exactly how much they make each month, and how they’re doing it. Use these as motivation to get started, and also as a guide to what seems to be working right now.
You Don’t Know What To Start
The world is full of possibilities.
That’s the wonder of modern life, but it can also be a curse. After all, how do you know what to start?
Paralysis through analysis is a very real phenomenon.
There are two useful strategies here that will help you to choose a business that works for you.
Firstly, look around at the possibilities, and consult those earnings reports mentioned earlier.
You’ll find plenty of people earning money through blogging and freelance writing, for example. Still others run a pet-sitting business or write Kindle books.
The more often you find a specific business model performing, the more likely it is that you’ll have similar luck.
Secondly, consider your interests and your strengths. Personally speaking I loathe the idea of freelance writing. While I’ve done it in the past, and earned a decent income from it, I don’t like to have other people deciding on what I write about.
To give you an example I landed a well-paid job some years ago researching and writing about various towns in Germany. At first it was quite fun, but all too soon the work got far too repetitive for my liking. Soon after I stopped working on that project.
Blogging is perhaps the most tempting business model because you can potentially start a blog about anything you’re passionate about, whether that’s pets, crafts, gardening or video games.
As a result, you have far more freedom to write about the things that you enjoy, though it can take longer to earn money through blogging than by writing for other sites.
Click here to read my tutorial about how to start your own blog.
So consider what you’re passionate about and what your strengths are. Consider what you’d be excited to do on the weekend and, taking into account the results of other people, make a decision.
You Don’t Have The Time
Finding the time to start your side hustle can be a real sticking point, but its not without its solutions.
One of the biggest keys, in my mind, is to prioritize it over other less-beneficial pastimes.
For example, consider giving up some TV-time in the evenings, or spend less time eating out.
Only by making your side hustle a major priority in your life – and blocking off time each week specifically to work on it – can you find the time to really focus on your endeavour.
You Don’t Have The Money
One hurdle that I hear when it comes to starting a side hustle is gathering the capital needed to get started.
If you decide that selling on Amazon appeals, for example, you might need a four-figure sum to buy stock initially.
Fortunately not all side hustles need to cost so much.
You can start freelance writing for nothing, simply by signing up with one or more of the better-known outsourcing sites (such as Upwork).
Starting your blog isn’t far behind; all you really need to get started is a domain name and some web hosting.
From here you can “bootstrap” your project, reinvesting your profits into buying all the other things (premium themes and plugins, for example) over a period of time.
Of all the problems listed here a lack of money is probably the one you should worry least about. With just a few dollars in your pocket there are all sorts of side hustles that you could consider.
You Don’t Know Where to Start
Of all the issues that hold people back this may be the biggest.
If you want to start your own blog where do you start?
If you want to write Kindle ebooks how do you decide what to write about?
The Internet is a wonderful thing, over-flowing with tips and advice, though admittedly not all of it correct or accurate.
My advice would be to identify a small number of people that you trust – people with their own blogs or participating on forums – and then follow just their advice.
If you try listening to everyone you’ll go stir crazy with all the contradictions, so following someone who knows what they’re doing can make all the difference.
Subscribe to their blogs, follow them on social media, join their email list and just take the time to digest every tip they provide.
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