A lot of people think that their side hustle, aka their 5-8 needs to make them lots and lots of money. This is why I don't love the term "side hustle" though everyone kind of gets the term. Your 5-8 doesn’t need to start making you money TODAY. It should bring you SOMETHING though: money, experience, skills, relationships, joy, something good.
It also does NOT need to be something you do for eight hours a day. It can be something you devote one hour to. Something just for you.
A way to think about it…
What do you want your "someday" job to be?
How can you start on that TODAY while you do the "paying bills" 8-5 job?
Why not spend one hour from 5-8 am or 5-8 pm…
- Read some blogs or Wikis on it
- Take that intro class or watch that intro video
- Try creating your own version of it or practice what you saw in the training
- Connect with leaders in that industry
- Start blogging/sharing/video-making about it (only if you want--you can also keep this just your secret and document in a personal notebook)
These are all things you can do TODAY to start learning more about that job and get past the beginner phase before "someday" arrives.
If you aim to work on this for one hour a day, you will build up a lot of skills in this area in three months. Once you build up some skills and start building relationships, the business opportunity will present itself.
For me, I went to fashion school with no goal other than learning to sew for myself and be able to duplicate dresses that I loved but were out-of-stock. I went to fashion school Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5-8 pm and then did a lab on some Saturdays where much of my time was spent stabbing and burning myself by accident. I made my own clothes for seven years. Only after I started using fabric from Nigeria to make clothes to give keynote speeches in, did people chase me down the street to ask where I got my dress and where could they get one. This was the moment I realized I had a business opportunity.
Not before, not after. Seven years of creating just for me.
Take the pressure off yourself and just focus on learning the skills now.
So what do you want your "someday" job to be and what can you do today for ONE HOUR to learn more about how to do it?
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Dona is the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Prima Dona Studios, a fashion line that helps women achieve economic power. When you put on one of our pieces, we guarantee that you'll feel like the total bad@ss that you are and be compelled to pursue your wildest dreams. We also pay the woman who hand-tailored your garment fair Seattle wages no matter where she lives. To learn more about us, visit us here: https://primadonastudios.com/