People like myself tend to love a good side hustle. I know this because people are constantly searching for information about the topic. Many of them find there way through one of our side hustle articles.
But since we don’t have too many posts on the subject (you can never have too many posts, am I right?), I assume searchers would like more. Plus, many of the readers already work side hustles. It’s not easy juggling a full-time job plus a side business. But having a side hustle or business can help you gain peace of mind and feel financially secure.
What’s the difference between a side hustle and a side business? A side hustle is a temporary gig to help you make more money. Side hustles can include driving people, completing tasks, or completing audits. On the other hand, a side business is taking your skills and offering a service to others that aren’t solely dependent on a side gig app.
Here are ways to keep your day job while starting a new side business.
1. Understand Your Goals
Working both a full-time job and a side business means you’ll be stretched thin. You’ll be pushed and pulled in many directions. You’ll look like Gumby being tortured. And you’ll constantly wonder if you should commit yourself more to your day job and forget the side hustle.
Create financial goals aligned with your values. This is why goals are necessary. What exactly do you want out of life? Do you want your full-time job to always be there? Do you want to take the hustle full-time? Can you afford to do that?
If your full-time job is necessary in order to keep food on your table, keeping a full-time job must be your primary goal. And making more at a full-time job should be a top priority. Once you start bringing in good income from a side hustle, you can shift to a new goal. Learn how to ask for a pay raise.
Your new goal may be to take the business full-time. Or, you reach a point where you don’t want it to grow anymore.
Knowing your goals means making decisions will be easier. If your goal is to keep your full-time job – that should be your focus. If your goal is to go out on your own ASAP, your side business deserves more attention. Goals help decision-making.
2. Maximize Your Time
Ah, time. There are only so many hours in the day. When working two jobs, you must cut out as many time-wasters from your life as possible. Time is similar to money because we conceptualize that way.
But as I’ve written in my book, You Only Live Once, that “time is the most valuable asset you own.” So, don’t waste it. It’s more valuable than money because once the time is spent there is not enough money in the world to buy it back.
Here’s a quick list of common time wasters:
- Unnecessarily long commutes
- Doing simple tasks you could outsource to a virtual assistant for little money
- Hanging out with people you don’t really like
- Watching TV even though you don’t know why you’re doing it
- Trying to cook everything from scratch
Find ways you waste time and do your best to eliminate them. The current time-waster I’m trying to eliminate is social media. I need a better routine so I spend less time on these apps.
Are you spending a lot of time sifting through your social media feeds? You have time for a side hustle and consider starting a side business.
3. Outsource Tasks
This is really hard for some Phroogies like myself. It’s hard to give up the money you’ve earned. But math doesn’t lie.
Let’s say you make $20 per hour writing. You can spend an extra $5 per day to buy conveniently packaged groceries which make meals far less time-consuming. This could save you an hour each day. You are now $15 ahead by spending $5 more each day on groceries.
That works out pretty well, doesn’t it? This is why outsourcing makes sense. Even though it’s so hard for me to do.
Outsourcing is hard but often necessary to build a business. Fiverr is a great resource for dipping your toes into the world of outsourcing. You can find anything from cheap meal plans to amazingly great graphic designers.
4. Consider Whether You Should Tell Your Employer
Should your employer know about your side business? The answer differs on a case-by-case basis.
First and foremost, make sure you’re not breaking any employment contract rules by running your side business. Check all employment contracts such as a clause for a non-compete agreement. If you break the contract, you risk your primary income and hurt your side business. Worse yet the company may sue you.
I had a friend who worked for a financial tech company. His boss heard about one of the employees working a side job that was taking up a lot of their time. He told my friend he wished he didn’t know about it. The boss said he’s left to wonder if the coworker’s mind is elsewhere now.
Take the time to ask yourself if your employer should know about the hustle. In most cases, it’s not an issue but you want to make sure any side business or hustle doesn’t hurt your primary source of income.
5. Keep your sanity
You probably started your side hustle because it’s interesting to you. Make sure you keep the passion (and your sanity) in-tact by relaxing every now and then. People do have breaking points. Don’t test yours. Remember, #TheSmileLifestyle advocates for personal growth while being happy. Don’t put either in jeopardy.
It will not be worth all the work and time if you find yourself burnt out. Pace yourself when it comes to your side business and hustles. Set realistic goals and timeframes. Be objective about the desired results. And don’t be afraid to set aside time to RELAX.
