6 Time-Saving Tips to Know Before Starting a Side Hustle This Summer Use these tips to save time and bypass the bottlenecks that entrepreneurs typically experience in the ideation stage.
By Mark Klekas Edited by Mark Klekas
Summer is here, and it's a great time to consider starting a side hustle. There are many guides and resources out there to help you get started, but there are a few things you need to ask yourself before you dive deep into the world of side hustles.
The following six considerations aren't going to dramatically change your approach to side hustles or your ability to make a passive income. Still, they can save you time and potentially bypass many of the bottlenecks entrepreneurs experience in the ideation stage.
1. Curb your expectations from the start
Google was started by two friends who understood the moneymaking potential of a dominant search engine.
But remember for every unicorn, hundreds of thousands of ideas tank. That's why it's usually a red flag when someone says, "I've got a great idea that's going to make a lot of money." If the only reason it's a great idea is because you think it's going to make a lot of money, you're probably wrong on both counts. It's probably not going to make a lot of money, so it probably isn't a great idea, either.
Remember that passive income's main objective is to complement your already established income streams. Shoot for the moon, but keep yourself grounded.
2. Get niche with your target audience
The internet allows us to connect with specific user groups more than ever.
If you're interested in the career statistics of 19th-century baseball players, that's great. Make a note of it. You may think nobody else cares about who played first base for Mudville in 1886, but you'd be surprised. There are probably at least 10,000 people who are as interested in old-time baseball as you are. But what's different now is that you can find out who those people are. You can connect with them almost immediately.
There's also a good chance that you can translate that connection into a passive income stream. It might make you rich someday, or it might not. But it can certainly assist you in meeting your financial responsibilities, which means greater freedom for you to concentrate on other things. Remember, freedom is the main goal of creating passive income.
Related: Shopify's President Breaks Down the Best Ways to Grow Your Ecommerce Business
3. Be aware of how interested you are in what you are trying to create
A side hustle can become a passion project or merely just a way to boost income. There is no right answer to how interested you should be in your side business. We doubt anyone wakes up in the morning dreaming of drop-shipping, but the fruits of the labor can be enough of an incentive. A good way to look at the list of potential side hustles you are considering is by this scale:
- I love doing this.
- It's not my first choice, but I'm good at it, so if it needs to get done, I can do it.
- I'm neutral. I could take it or leave it.
- Although I'm good at this, I don't want to do it for long.
- I'd rather do anything other than do this skill for any length of time.
One of the reasons this is so important is that being in business for yourself has many unexpected twists and turns. No matter how well you plan, once you put yourself in a role or take responsibility, you may get stuck there for much longer than you anticipate.
Being aware of the skills you bring to the table and how you feel about each of them helps you make long- and short-term decisions and set goals. It clarifies who you might need to hire and helps you evaluate which areas of your passive business you might need to build with financing versus using your sweat equity. It helps you make outsourcing and partnering decisions that will greatly impact how you view your implementation timelines and processes, depending on how much work you want to do yourself using your own skill set and how much you want to outsource.
4. Decide how much time you are going to block off
Time is by far one of the most precious, sought-after commodities you possess. It takes time to build an online business. You may not think of your time as a currency, but you absolutely must while working to make passive money online. For most people, time is more valuable than money. It must be treated as the treasure it is.
How much time do you have to spend each week creating your passive online business? Can you carve out one hour per week? Two? Five? More?
It's not enough to know how much time you could devote to this; it's equally (if not more) important to have a plan for where you're going to get that time. If the opportunity were good enough, could you temporarily devote more time to creating your online business? Remember, no is an acceptable answer. The point of this process is to know what resources you have available and how you would get them if you needed or chose to.
People make the mistake of thinking that money is worth more to them than time when starting a business with few resources. But it's more likely that time is an easier sacrifice to make because you literally don't have access to more cash. It's not that people value their time less; it's that their goal is important enough to sacrifice their precious time for the short term so they have more freedom in the long term.
Related: Your Time Is Money, So Stop Wasting It
5. Who will you lean on when times inevitably get rough?
Unless you are one in a million, you are going to hit a few walls while creating your side hustle. When times get rough, knowing who you can count on for professional and personal help is good. Ask yourself: Who is a resounding voice of reason that can help you evaluate what you're doing and how you're doing it when things get stressful? Everyone needs a support structure, even when you are focused on making passive, not active, income.
Related: A Simple Household Chore Turned Into a Side Hustle — Now She Earns Up to $24,000 Per Month
6. Know your deal breakers
Finally, think about your deal breakers and/or limitations. We all have them. You may not want to spend time on your online business during the weekends because they are reserved for family time. Or perhaps you know that you only want to run an online business dedicated to selling fair trade goods. We all have our requirements and limits that are non-negotiable. Know your limits and don't compromise.
We might have already covered some of your deal breakers. For example, you may have an allotted amount of time you are willing to devote to your online business, and if it consistently requires more time than that, then it's not a good match for you. After all, the goal is for this to be passive income, eventually. So, what are your nonnegotiable and personal limitations? This is especially important. It's very disheartening to get halfway into a new passive income business and realize it's not going to work for you.
This story was excerpted from the book The Power of Passive Income. Buy it now from Entrepreneur Bookstore | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple | Google Play
As an Entrepreneur+ member, you get 20% off all books from our website. Buy this book now for a discounted price. Use code SAVE20.
