These days, the side hustle is both a trend and a viable business alternative, providing as many as one in three of us with an opportunity to break from the 9-5 without putting our bank balances in jeopardy. Instead, these gentle steps into the world of self-management help us to build a side income in our own time and then decide whether or not we want to turn that 5-9 into our 9-5 at long last. There’s just one issue – many of us never earn enough from our efforts here to make that switch.

Luckily, as remote options including multi-level marketing (MLM), social media influencing, and beyond continue to gain traction, profitability is ever-creeping within all of our reaches. All we need to do to lay our fingers firmly on that benefit is to consider the following secret blueprint to a profitable side hustle at last.

Secret 1 – Do something you love

Many of us jump onto the sidelines with the highest earning potential, regardless of how passionate we feel about them. Unfortunately, with side hustles dependent on self-motivation and the desire to see things through, this is a mistake that can actually keep profitably at bay. Instead, anyone seeking a decent income here needs to ensure that their side hustle evokes enough passion to encourage effort. Profitable hobbies like baking or writing are perhaps the best ways to ensure this, while tapping into existing skill sets can also be a great way to keep the momentum moving. In each instance, you need to make sure that you’re willing to spend hours on this pursuit because as we all know, time and effort will always be the true secrets to profit. 

Secret 2 – Know your worth

Side hustlers are not entrepreneurs (yet) and can often underestimate their worth. This self-doubt will never see you earning big bucks, and is something you need to overcome. After all, regardless of where you do it or when, you’re offering a service, and you deserve to be paid. Instead of undervaluing yourself or jumping into the first half-decent offer, look into going freelancer rates, understand sponsorship standards, or even research what the best MLM’s look like right now. Then, you should be far better able to not only charge more realistic fees upfront, but to also cherry-pick the most profitable avenues for your side hustle moving forward. 

Secret 3 – Plan for growth

Stagnating services are never going to provide ongoing income, meaning that you also need to plan for growth by considering different ways that you could diversify, the possibility of bringing others on board, and also the potential of multiple revenue streams. As well as bringing further profits themselves, these focuses each stand to provide you with the leverage to up your rates, and this is ultimately where profitability will become possible.

With this blueprint to hand, it’s time to ask yourself, what’s stopping your side hustle from pulling a decent profit, and what can you do to finally turn the tides on this sideline?

Until our next rendezvous…

XOXO

Trudy