In today’s world, no matter your age or income, it can be life-changing to have multiple income streams. Whether that fuels your passions and hobbies or gives you extra cash to have fun with, starting a side hustle is a must. In this blog post, we’ll walk through how to start a side hustle while working full-time.
Manage Expectations
The biggest thing to remember is that depending on your 9-5, you may not have hours to devote to this new side hustle. Take it one step at a time, and don’t get so hung up on whether or not you’re putting in enough time.
Simply getting started, putting yourself out there, and staying consistent is the best thing you can do when it comes to learning how to start a side hustle. It’s hard work, and there will be a lot of ups and downs, but simply doing it is the best thing you can do for yourself.
As a disclaimer, this is going to be about long term sustainable side hustles that support your values and passions. There are plenty of ways to make a passive income through faceless YouTube or digital marketing, but this is about going bigger.
Write Out Your Ideas and Passions
The first step in learning about how to start a side hustle involves thinking about what you want it to be about. Write a list of your hobbies, passions, and different ideas you have. Related to this blog, I wrote out how I wanted my writing to be about skincare, beauty, career growth, and traveling, so I started there. I knew I didn’t want to stick to one niche, so I took an 80%-20% approach to my content.
Think about what your full-time job is. Have you gained skills or expertise from there that you can hone in on? Maybe that can be your starting point. Since I liked the idea of writing, I started my brand journey there and then grew out. Think about what you want to showcase, what you might want to be known for, and what you are comfortable with when thinking about how to start a side hustle.
{Related Post: Unleashing Your Potential: How to Set and Achieve Your Goals as a Girl Boss}
What Type of Side Hustle
In figuring out how to start a side hustle, you first need to think about the kind of side hustle you want to pursue. Is it video creation, services, art, or several other things? If you want to sell art or creative pieces, social media platforms as well as Etsy may be a great place to start. If you want to start a service, like social media consulting, you might need to build a brand on social media and get in touch with your current network. Maybe you want to start a faceless quotes page and need to learn how to use Canva. Different side hustles will have a different checklist. Here are a couple that I have started, and the basics behind each.
Blog: website creation, website management, copywriting
YouTube: video creation, video editing
Instagram: short-form video creation, video editing, caption writing, photography
Digital Products: canvas, topic expertise, sales
Create the Necessary Accounts
The next thing in learning how to start a side hustle is opening up the necessary accounts to make it happen. For me, that was registering this website domain and finding a hosting platform. It also meant starting an Instagram account and switching my personal Pinterest account to a business one. If you want to sell digital products, you may need to start an Etsy store if you haven’t already.
Don’t overcomplicate this for yourself when you are starting. Just switch over or create the one account that you need to get started and go from there.
{Related Post: 9 Time Management Strategies to be More Intentional in Work}
Create Your First Post
Now that you have set up all the admin work, the next step in starting a side hustle is to actually… just get started. The first post or message is always the hardest but can also have the biggest reward. The fear that we have around that first initial jump is usually all in our head and once you get started you’ll realize it’s not so scary.
So by the end of today, post your first reel or photo to Instagram, send a message to a potential client, or publish your Etsy design. Just take that first initial step. There will be ups and downs, and initially your posts might not make sense together. Just take some time to figure out what you like posting about and what attracts viewers or buyers.
That’s your sweet spot.
Find Growth in Different Areas
The last part of learning how to start a side hustle is that it won’t be a quick journey. It might take a while to get the views you want or your first sale. Just make sure you are doing it from a place of passion and excitement. Don’t get too low if it takes time for the side hustle to start getting some steam.
At this point, I have been blogging for a year now and haven’t seen much growth. But, I enjoy doing it and believe that it’ll be worthwhile in the future. I’ve also learned a lot about the online business world. Don’t forget to organize your ideas and growth as well. I love using Notion for this because I can create different hubs for all my ideas.
Final Thoughts
I hope you found this post on how to start a side hustle to be helpful. No one said it was going to be easy, but it can be rewarding if your head is in the right place. Remember to devote the time you can and remind yourself that a little bit of growth is so much better than doing nothing.
With love,
Aditi <3
Aditi Rani – Figuring Out Life in Your Twenties
*Disclaimer: This is not professional advice. Some links are affiliate. By clicking and/or purchasing, I may receive a commission. It does not alter the price or change your buyer experience.
