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I’ve been thinking about the New Year. If you are anything like me, you made some BIG goals for the new year and you may be looking back on those and realizing that they aren’t quite done yet. You might have even forgotten what you wanted to do.
I’m your side hustle heroine and it is my goal to help you focus on something I know that matters to you… your business.
You want to start this side hustle so you can pursue something you are passionate about without having to worry about how you can make it happen with your life and your day job.
You want to avoid that panic of “Where will I find the time/energy/motivation?” every time you think about making this business happen.
I understand. I’d like to offer you some advice for getting back on track and not letting 2019 go by without you getting your side hustle off the ground.
1. Find four 30 minutes blocks of time in your schedule in the next week.
Create calendar appointments for them. Call them “Side Hustle Time”.
2. Use the first 30-minute slot to write down a list of all of your commitments
This includes work, gym time, sleep time, family time, any other commitments. Also, think about how many hours realistically you can spend on your side hustle every week. 10 hours a week may work for some folks, but 2 hours a week may work for others. There is no right or wrong answer here. Just think about what you can commit to every week and write that down.
3. Use your second slot to build your side hustle schedule for the next six months.
Open up Google Calendar and take your list of commitments from step 2 and start blocking them off. Color code them too if that’s more your style. You can use “red” to block off your work time and “yellow” for anything else that you already have going on. What’s left over? Where are those pockets of time you can work on your business to meet your weekly hours? Can you do an hour after dinner a couple of times a week? Or can you use your weekend time somehow? Whatever that schedule is, block off that time too. You can make that color “green” for money.
4. Use your next slot to brainstorm a list of at least 10 side hustle ideas.
What can you make money by offering? Try not to censor yourself here – even if it seems like a crazy idea right now, just write it down. If you find yourself stuck, you can even ask yourself, “What could I charge $50 for tomorrow?”, a great question I learned from the When I Grow Up Coach. Or what do your friends and family always come to you for advice on? Make your list and then put it away.
5. Use your final slot to review your side hustle ideas list and pick one that you can make into an offer.
Write up a description for it: what is it (is it a coaching call, a workshop), who is it for? (is it for busy career women, is it for organizations who could use help with employee engagement), what could you charge for it (you could charge $50 especially if you have some experience with it, or offer it for free if it’s a totally new idea).
Once you are done with the description, put your idea out there. Share it on your social media channels. Tell your friends about it – they may know someone who needs your service. And if you share it with me in the comments, I will happily share it with my networks.
Those are 5 actions you can take RIGHT NOW to get your side hustle started.