How to Be Successful in Your Side Hustle

One of the best ways to close the gap in your budget is to get a great side hustle. There’s a lot of scammy ones out there, but if you find a great part-time gig, you want to make sure you make the most of it. Today we’re talking about how to be successful in your side hustle, and sharing some tips for maximizing the benefits.

How to Be Successful in Your Side Hustle

Find your passion

Is your passion selling weight loss shakes? Is it baking handcrafted, gluten-free dog treats? Whatever you find yourself daydreaming about and wish you could get paid to do it, THAT is your passion. If your day job isn’t making ends meet, you might not have the luxury of choosing something you’re passionate about, but hopefully you can at minimum find something that really interests you. You might not be able to sell paintings at a thousand dollars a pop, but you could open an Etsy shop and sell prints or other custom creations. By choosing something you love, you’ll be sure to stick with it when you get bored, and it will seem less like a chore. If it’s not necessarily your passion, at least make it something fun.

Manage your time

This one is something I struggle with. A lot. My blog started out as a side hustle. Technically I don’t make a full time income from it (yet) though I am well on my way. Unfortunately it tends to take up a disproportionate amount of my time because I am not using it wisely. I get distracted by social media, falling down a rabbit hole on Pinterest and being inefficient. While social media IS part of blogging, it’s monopolizing more of my time than it should. By keeping on your time, you will prevent your side hustle from taking over your life, allowing you to still enjoy your free time.

Make it worth your while

The difference between a side hustle and a hobby is that a side hustle has got to make money. If you want to sell Lularoe because you adore their product, but you are averaging $2 an hour because the market is saturated and you aren’t good at sales, you’re wasting your time. Unless you want selling leggings to be your hobby and not a profitable side hustle, then by all means keep doing it. But if your goal is to bring in money, you need to decide what your time is worth, and not settle for anything less.

Sometimes you gotta cut your losses

This applies a lot to the MLM crowd, but also for other side hustles too. If you find yourself “in too deep” and you’re not making a profit after a reasonable amount of time, don’t be afraid to walk away. I have heard of many people getting sucked into these direct sales opps, then saying”well I can’t quit because I already invested $1000, but then I have to buy new inventory which is another $500″. If it’s not working within your set time frame, STOP. Cut your losses and move on. Don’t keep pumping money onto a sinking ship. Don’t feel like you have to stay. Give it your best effort, but don’t keep doing something that is going to cost you more than you earn, and definitely don’t keep doing something you loathe.

Steer clear of burnout

This is probably the most important part of being successful in your side hustle. Being a soloprenuer or entrepreneur, especially when you’re working another full or part time job on top of your side hustle (or have a house full of children you’re responsible for) can lead to burnout QUICK. Make sure you still make time for yourself, make self-care a priority by having a self-care kit on hand and actually using it. Don’t feel guilty about taking some time to breathe, it’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity.

Remember why you got a side hustle to begin with

Some people start a side hustle so that they can eventually quit their job to pursue their side hustle full time. Some people get a side hustle because their full time job or main job is not paying their bills. In the second instance, it’s not so much about pursuing your dream as it is keeping the lights on, but regardless of why you started be sure to remember your reason. Don’t lose sight of the dream, or the goal. If the goal is simply staying afloat, that’s fine too, just remind yourself that’s why you are doing this and that it’s simply a means to an end.

Don’t forget to thank yourself

This does tie in with what I said earlier about self care, but more importantly you need to take a step back from time to time and congratulate yourself on kicking butt. You are rising to the occasion, you are doing whatever it takes, which is more than a lot of people can say for themselves. Whether you are doing it for yourself or your spouse or your family, YOU are a badass, and you should be very proud of yourself, even if you feel like you’re failing because you’re still being successful in your side hustle. Keep your head up, remind yourself that you are awesome, and remember things will get better.

There were lots of times in my life where I had two or three jobs. It wasn’t fun, but I did what I had to do to get by. Even now, I have a part time job (outside the home), I have my website, and occasionally I still do video captioning and transcription work from home from time to time. Sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do to survive (or save for a vacation, or pay for that unexpected parking ticket, or build that emergency fund or…)

Oh, and if you need some ideas for some great work from home opportunities, be sure to check out this list of unique side hustles.

Do you have other tips for being successful in your side hustle?

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