If you struggle with balancing your full-time job or commitment with your side hustle, put “me” in the comments below.
I see you, and I’ve been there!
I’ll admit that it isn’t easy all the time, but there are four things that helped me do it and build my side hustle into a six-figure business in less than two years.
First, it takes COMMITMENT.
And you bet your ass, I was committed because I was committed to making my side hustle my full-time gig.
I was committed to:
- Getting out of the cubicle
- Taking more than two weeks of vacation
- Making more than a cost of living adjustment each year
- Paying off our student loans
- Not having to decide between work and family
- Having a flexible schedule that allows me to work when and where I want.
I was COMMITTED to making a change in my life and doing what needed to be done to make it happen… which meant I was COMMITTED to making time for my side hustle because if I was going to make it my full-time gig I needed to treat it like a business, not a hobby.
Speaking of which… that is the biggest mistake I see side hustlers make.
You expect your side hustle to change your life, but you treat it like a hobby. You work on it every so often when you “have time” and do not have a solid plan on what you need to do in order to make that change you’re working towards happen. It’s like reading a half a book in English class and expecting an A+ on your book report or wanting to run an 8-minute mile but only go for a run every two weeks. It isn’t going to happen unless you do the work and are CONSISTENTLY working towards your goal. If you wait until you “have time”, it’s never going to happen.
There is no such thing as “having time”, it’s up to you to MAKE time.
Typically the main reason why you aren’t 100% committed, and you aren’t consistently working on your side hustle, is because you don’t have a clear goal you’re working towards — which leads to lack of motivation.
You need to have a CLEAR, specific goal.
Without a CLEAR, specific goal you don’t know what your working towards, you don’t know if the effort you’re putting in is getting you closer to where you want to be — to the change you want in your life, and you don’t have a game plan on how to get where you want to be because you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish.
All that being said, I think a lot of time when I get the questions “how do you balance your full-time job and side hustle” it’s because we want an easy answer. To quote Rihanna, “WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK“. It takes work!
Recap time!
You need:
1. Commitment
2. Consistency
3. Clear Goal
Now you’re probably like, “thanks, Anna but I still don’t know how I’m going to do it all”. So here is where you should start and what worked for me:
1. Set a clear, specific goal.
If your goal is to leave your job, then how much do you need to be making from your business/side hustle to cover your bills and be comfortable with putting in your two weeks? This will help you know exactly what you’re working towards and stay motivated, which will help with consistency and commitment.
2. Pick a specific time or specific times that you are going to dedicate to working on your side hustle each week.
You don’t need to add 20+ hours to your workweek to make your side hustle successful or even give up your weekends. You just need to dedicate 3-5 hours per week to it. For me, that meant working on my side hustle 30-45 minutes each morning before going to my day job. I found that when I tried to work in the evenings I wasn’t consistent because I’d be exhausted from my day job. I also felt like I needed my weekends to rejuvenate, and I didn’t want to resent my side hustle because I had to work on the weekends. Mornings worked for me. Find what works for you then COMMIT to it.
3. Focus on profit driving tasks.
Too often you get wrapped up in trying to do it all, which is how you get burnt out. You feel like you’re working all the time and putting in tons of effort, but you don’t see the results (aka the money) you want. This is because you’re focusing on the wrong things. Focus on tasks that are going to bring profit into the business. In Advisori Insiders PRO, we first focus on landing clients — NOT building a website or curating the perfect Instagram feed. This is because none of that matters if you aren’t making money. Put profit first.
4. Ask for help. I mean this is two ways.
First, take other tasks off your to-do list. If you have a partner, ask them to help you make time to commit to your side hustle. If you typically make dinner, ask them to do it three times per week. If you usually make the kids lunches in the morning, ask them to take over the task so you can spend an extra 20 minutes working on your business.
Second, ask for help by taking a course or working with a mentor. There is someone out there who has been in your shoes and has built the business and life you want. You can get to where you want to be a lot faster by getting the help of someone who is already where you want to be. They’ve put in the time. They’ve failed and learned what works. And most importantly, they have figured out how to accomplish the goal you’re working towards.
Trust me, spending money on a course, coach, or mentor to skip wasting time (years and tears) trying to figure it all out yourself is one of the smartest things you can do.
One thing to note: do NOT work with or take advice from someone who has NOT accomplished what you want. If you want to make $100,000 per year, don’t choose a mentor who is making $50,000. You get my point.
If you scrolled down here first thing, here are the cliff notes:
- Set a clear, specific goal.
- Pick a specific time or times you commit to working on your side hustle each week.
- Focus on profit driving tasks.
- Ask for help
If you want more ways to grow your side hustle, check out my free training: 5 Steps to a Six-Figure Side Hustle.
[optin-monster-shortcode id=”lzp8qjqunlcwy6siga8f”]Until next time… stay ambitious!
