Turning Your Passions into a Side Hustle

You’ve clicked on the bait about making fast cash with a side hustle only to be disappointed with a class you must pay for that promises you’ll make your first $5k in a month if you signup or a pyramid scheme. There’s so many schemes, you’ve given up even trying anything outside a local 9-5. You watched your parents push through unfulfilling jobs for the family and now you’re doing the same thing for yours.
 
What if I told you your passion and success are more attainable today than ever before. Many people thought as technology soared, job security would decrease; however, technology actually paved the way for more people to start working for themselves easier.
 
God gave you a passion for a reason. It is part of the answer to your purpose. You were made with a plan in mind, unfortunately, society tells you how to be and you believe it even if it goes against every fiber of your being.
 
Quit accepting the misery, and trust that God will walk you through your true path. Believe He didn’t put that fire in your soul for nothing. Know that even when walking your true and right path, it does not come without hardships and obstacles. Often it’s quite the opposite but lean more on God during these times and he’ll see you through for your faithfulness.
 
We’ve all been convoluted by our environment growing up with parents, teachers, television, internet and society telling us who we are and should be. It’s time to clear your mind and get to know your true self again and live the life you were meant to. Before you read further, check out Stepping into Your Authentic Self in 2024 and follow the prompts. Spend time rediscovering yourself and passion before continuing on.
 
I say side hustle but you can truly turn your passion into a career. Because of your indoctrination, you probably believe your careers should look a certain way. So, many will begin their passion as a side hustle and only half commit to it resulting in it withering and failing.  Few will believe in the possibility of  how great it can be and put in the effort and time to thrive and hit financial and life fulfillment goals never thought possible.
 
Choose one of the following to get started
  1. Something you’re passionate about
  2. Providing a solution to a need

Do not rush choosing the route you want to go. Take the time to really be your authentic self to truly know what you’re passionate about, not what you’ve been taught to be passionate about. If you’re trying to determine a real problem that needs a solution, be practical, think about what could make your life easier and observe and talk to others to help understand what is important to consumers.

You will fall into one of two categories: Service Provider or Product Provider. Once you know what you want to do, follow these steps.

R&D
This is by far the most important step imo. Without researching you will not know the market for your business and without knowing the market you cannot create an effective business plan.
 
Scheduling & Projections
  • When creating your business plan, it is important to create at least a 5-year plan. Within this plan, you will have projections and goals along the way. This helps ensure you keep on track throughout the journey instead of getting to the 5-year mark and realizing you have failed. Instead, you will be able to make adjustments along the way if you aren’t hitting your quarterly goals. This is where research also comes in to help determine projections. For example, in your 5-year plan, you may project your market to increase by 5% at year 2. So, your goals and actions should already be planned to change during this time accordingly. Or, maybe in 2 years, your market will have a 2% decrease and you’ll have to accommodate by putting more money back within the first year or figuring out an additional revenue stream or how your product or service can reach a wider audience to accommodate the decrease
  • When creating your schedule and plan you start at the 5 year mark in this example and work backwards down to your day to day.
Marketing & Sales
  • Please ensure you really do your research & development before creating your sales/marketing plan
  • Your will and passion may get you somewhere but it won’t keep you on an upward projection
  • Knowing everything about your target audience is key
  • With technology, you do not have to spend much to market yourself well
    • Be sure to research which apps and programs you should use for your industry
    • Opt for any free ones at first if you’re on a limited budget until you start bringing in money to put back into your company
Support & Accountability
  • You absolutely need people around you that truly understand and support what you’re doing
    • Most of the time, it isn’t family or close friends. They may say they support you which is great but they probably don’t understand enough to provide real support
  • Finding a mentor, someone who is in your industry or at least has/had their own successful business at one time, is ideal
  • Joining online groups with other entrepreneurs and business owners
  • Becoming a member of your local Chamber, etc.
Top Reasons people fail in business:
  1. They don’t do the R&D before getting started
  2. They don’t follow their business plan closely
  3. They don’t keep up with the numbers as their driving force for decisions and actions
  4. They don’t have a solid Marketing/Sales strategy
  5. They don’t have a Support system
  6. They don’t push through the hard times
Fact is, most people want a get rich quick scheme. But that’s just it, most don’t get rich quickly unless they already start with a lot of money.
 
If you do the R&D and it confirms you have a relevant and profitable product or service to offer and follow the business plan, it will work. You have to suspect a lot of hardships in the beginning and then suspect more throughout because there’s always peaks and valleys in the market. You must be willing to plan for the dips and push through those tough times.
 
Owning your own business is rewarding and freeing but it requires more work and follow through than a 9-5. Not everyone wants to put in the time, effort and stress to come out on top and that’s okay.
 
If you are willing, check back for my course in 2024 about starting your own business equipped with step-by-step worksheets to guide you through the process. The course will include a support group of like-minded individuals who are also taking the leap or working towards the next level in their business. I want to help you get started with the resources you need and provide a valuable support group where you can ask questions, get ideas or just vent.

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