It seems like most people lose a bit of their soul once they graduate from college. They know it's time to go out there in the real world and chase after their dreams. Yet, wasn't that the reason why they went to school anyway?
It's hard to leave your friends, and the party scene behind because now you have more responsibilities. And if that didn't happen to you, then you would feel it once you've been working for some time. There doesn't seem to be a lot of time to do the things you want. No more summer vacations and more worries for some reason.
A lot of reasons can be attributed to why you're not as happy as you could be. Yet they can all be generalized. You're not fulfilled in one of the three major areas of your life. If you had all the money in the world a great relationship and time to take care of yourself, you'd be smiling all day long.
So how can you achieve this state of fulfillment over time? The truth is that you have to pay the price. You will struggle for a bit, but it will be worth it. To get yourself unstuck, you want to create a side hustle that's able to support your lifestyle. This doesn't mean you have to quit your job if you like it. But it opens up options for you to do more of the things you want. An additional source of income allows you to face life with a different attitude.
Most people should at least try this endeavour once. You can learn a lot about yourself and also how business works. Even if it's not successful the first time it's something worth pursuing. Here is my short guide on how to build your side hustle without letting your friends and colleagues know.
Find something you're good at
If you're already good at something and you want to do more of it, that works too. But the important thing is that it sparks productivity in you. I won't ask you to do something that motivates you as that will run out quickly. You can't motivate yourself forever. But if you want to be productive at something, you will remain consistent.
So if you're looking to be good at drawing, then you can learn how to do so and eventually turn that into your side hustle. The example that hits close to home for me is that I started with my writing. I wanted to become good at expressing myself and writing gave me that opportunity.
Practice every day
Once you find the thing you want to tackle, then do a little bit of it every day. I won't say how much time to dedicate as that varies from day to day. Some days you'll want to have nothing to do with it and other times you'll spend hours on it. The key is to keep working on this every single day. Over time you can set your schedule as you integrate this new habit into your routine.
To make sure you're keeping to your commitment, share it publicly. When I started writing I made it a point to share everything online. It was that sort of accountability that helped me continue even when things got hard. Over time, sharing my posts got easier and it also allowed me to build an audience. This is very important when you'll be marketing later.
You shouldn't need to share your side hustle with your friends and family. You'll hear a lot of people preaching that to start your business you need to sell it to your friends and family. This can help you get started with a bit of capital. But this is bad business. You're "selling" to people that may not even be interested in what you have to offer. Not only that you'll sometimes be forced to give it at a discount. There's nothing wrong with having those close to you offer support. The key is to let me do it of their own accord, not you shoving it down their throat.
Decide what and when to launch
When you're comfortable doing what you're productive and effective at, then it's time to share it with the world. During all this time you should have already built a sizeable audience. It's the groundwork of sharing the journey that builds curiosity.
This doesn't only have to extend to your audience. You can also start by making connections with others who have already built their audience. That's what marketing is ultimately about. To have a successful launch is to have lots of people know about it. The more you can reach through your own channel or that of others the easier time you'll have to grow.
Marketing and building a product or service is the biggest complaint self-employed people have. So then bypass the marketing by sharing your work. The internet has made that more accessible than ever.
Then find out what you'd like to package as a product. If it's art then are you going to sell it? Or are you going to teach others how to replicate your results? From there you can find a variety of ways to package your product or service. The more product you have, the more you can diversify your income. And so you're now liberated from the pressure of only having one source of income.