In the personal finance world, it’s a well-known fact that there are two fundamental ways to build wealth: you can save more, and you can earn more. Most frugal folks are excellent savers, but they also know a thing or two about hustling for extra monthly income.
A side hustle, or work done on the side in addition to a full-time job, is a great way to bring in an extra couple hundred dollars to give your savings or investments a boost. But it does take a lot of really hard work and dedication to establish a successful gig that pays a decent amount. There’s also a big time commitment involved, too.
Your time and energy have value, just like the additional money you’re hustling to earn. You wouldn’t squander your dollars – so you need to make sure you’re not wasting time or effort on your side projects, too. You need to ensure you’re getting as much out of your side hustle, both in terms of income and experience, as you can. Here are some tips to help you do just that:
WORK MORE EFFICIENTLY IN YOUR SIDE HUSTLE
Proper time management is crucial. Time is the one thing we simply can’t make more of, so we need to use it wisely. Use whatever tools make the most sense to you to track your time. There are lots of free time management apps and programs available if you search online or in your app store. It might be helpful to create daily to-do lists to keep you focused and use calendars to stay organized. When you’re working, eliminate distractions and avoid procrastination. Developing a routine should help your workflow, too.
CHARGE WHAT YOU’RE WORTH
While working for free has merits on some occasions, if you’re established in your field you need to charge clients and customers what you’re worth. Don’t sell yourself short! Your time and what you offer has great value, so don’t discount that by working for something like $2 an hour on Elance.
MAKE FRIENDS
Your side hustle shouldn’t exist in a vacuum. Network and make connections with potential clients, partners, and sources of leads or information. Seek out others in your niche and offer to lend a hand or solutions to problems they’re currently experiencing. Adding value to someone else’s day is one of the best ways to connect with new people – and is a great way to have them remember you the next time they or someone they know needs to hire a person with your abilities.
SAY YES!
Don’t deny yourself new opportunities before you get a chance to experience them. Learn to say yes to new things, ideas, and projects. You never know where or who they’ll lead to, or what you might discover. You could uncover a new idea for your side gig or realize that you really love doing a certain type of work and want to incorporate more of it in the future. And if you end up hating the task or project at the end of the day, it’s another lesson learned. You’ll figure out what you don’t like, as well.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO SAY NO
Don’t let anyone take advantage of your work ethic or skills. It’s okay to tell someone “no,” to things like unreasonable requests, working for free (if you can’t or don’t want to), or if you’re simply ready to take a different path and no longer wish to continue down the one you were on. It’s important that you honor your commitments, of course, but don’t think you can’t ever decline something to begin with, either.
By keeping these tips in mind, you should be able to start earning more from your side hustle.
Are you starting a new side hustle this year? Do you have any tricks for getting the most out of your side gigs?
I love this! I think having a side hustle is important to have because it keeps you active outside of work and you can use this money to save or travel all you want! It’s like extra cash
I just made a free course and and paid course. I like to look at the paid course as a side hustle that I can eventually turn into a full time thing. I have learned that it def does take persistence and hard work!