5 Tips To Help You Succeed at the Side Hustle Game

There’s no lack of side hustlers out there these days. So what differentiates those who “tried a few things” and those who created real results? From our experience, there’s several factors and shockingly, it doesn’t come down to who is the smartest or has the coolest idea. It comes down to planning, being resourceful, and committing. 

My husband and I started our first venture in our early 20s. We were newlyweds with over $120k of debt from my graduate school program and some serious motivation to tackle it ASAP. Like most young people, we found ourselves grinding harder at work than our paychecks represented and felt pretty unsettled about it. So, we got real with ourselves and recognized that our financial challenges and burnout would NOT solve themselves by “waiting for the next promotion” or “finding a remote job”. We honestly just grew sick and tired of someone else controlling our finances and our schedules so dove head first into the side hustle game. We figured by working together we could actually change our trajectory. 

We weren’t overnight wonders by any means but proudly called ourselves DEBT FREE just 2.5 years after I finished grad school and were making a professional income about 5 years after starting our first side hustle. Due to having a clear plan for scaling our businesses, we were able to replace my income as a physician assistant in orthopedic surgery allowing me to step out of working professionally at the age of 30. Here’s some tips that helped us get to where we’re at today: 

Tip 1: Have a clear reason WHY you want to start a side hustle. We see too many people want to start a side hustle because it sounds cool or that’s what everyone on TikTok says to do. I can promise the journey won’t be Instagram worthy or even worthy of telling your mom about at every phase, so you need some serious motivation to keep you going. For Michael and I, we wanted to get out of debt as quickly as possible and have the time (and money) to live out our values the way we always dreamt about. (see this article for more insight on working to live out your values) Ask yourself, how do I want to live 5, 10, 15 years from now? If you’re not on track to create that type of lifestyle, it might be time to change your route and likely start diversifying. If you’re comfortable with your current life trajectory, the real hustle that comes with scaling up a business on the side of your career probably isn’t for you.

Tip 2: Focus on what works, not just what you’re passionate about. If Tip #1 helped you realize your goal is just to have fun building a side hustle, you can skip this tip. The path looks dramatically different for those who are looking to replace a professional income vs. just picking up another hobby for some side cash. If you want to create real financial change through building up a side hustle, I challenge you to choose an established path with some proven systems. Society encourages us to "pursue something you're passionate about and you'll never work day in your life".... but what if your passions aren't easily monetized or would be difficult to scale? There's nothing wrong with opening an Etsy shop or doing photography on the side as a creative outlet. Ask yourself, would I rather keep those activities for fun and work on other ideas that are more easily scalable OR stick with something I'm passionate about and risk getting burnt out? We didn’t feel strongly about being overly innovative or the next Elon Musk. We honestly just wanted a practical, legitimate way to create income so were willing to take non-glamorous routes like e-commerce to do so. As you review the list of side hustle ideas you have, reflect on your 5 and 10 year goals. Which options could be scaled up to create a professional income in the next 5 years outside of your career? 

If you don’t have a plan to scale, you will always be hustling. 

Tip 3: Get real about your distractions. I hate to break it to you, but it will NEVER be convenient to create a different lifestyle than the average person. We don’t have to seek out distractions, they will find us. You’ve had a long day at work, Netflix starts calling your name. You’re bored in the evening, overtime sounds more attractive. You want to be more healthy, cooking and hitting the gym for hours every night seems like the right solution. We all have our guilty pleasures and not all distractions are even bad. The question is… are you willing to rein them in temporarily to free up time to put towards a side hustle? Your side hustle won’t build itself and just like anything worthwhile, it will need a solid investment of your time and energy. Take some time to think about where that time will come from. What are you willing to delay or scale back on to make that time available? 

Tip 4: Don’t treat your side hustle as a side hustle. Treating your business as a business will allow it to eventually pay you like one. If you treat your side hustle like a hobby, it will pay you like a hobby. Too many people dabble in various side hustles or hop from one idea to the next and expect an impressive result. You can’t create significant results just poking at anything really or trying something out for a month or two. One of the keys to creating success is COMMITMENT, following through and doing what you need to do even when you don’t feel like it. Did I always feel like tackling administrative tasks, networking, or even getting creative with new branding ideas? No. But, I did those activities anyways because I wanted the end result bad enough. There is an epidemic of a lack of commitment happening these days. Relationships with a job, spouse, and even a business are shorter than ever. If you're ready to commit to the work required, success is inevitable.

Whoever commits the fastest and follows through the best, wins. 

Tip 5: Don’t try to go at it alone. Guidance and mentorship on our entrepreneurial journey was priceless for us. Coming from a science and medical background I had very limited knowledge when it came to finances, business principles, and even goal setting. I found it extremely important to be selective about who I would accept advice from, especially when it came to starting a business. Your mom is proud of your career so questions why you would start a business. Your friend is about to make it big with a few hundred dollars in crypto so thinks other side hustles are silly. So WHO should you listen to? My husband and I sought out people who had the financial AND life results we aspired to have and got serious about taking mentorship from them in all areas of life. We’ve all heard “you are who you associate with” but how seriously do you take that statement? We became very protective of who’s advice we took and it paid off. 

Success or not, we’re huge fans of people taking action and working towards the goals they have. We believe in you, even if you don’t quite believe in yourself yet. Just remember, a baby step is better than no step at all. Let today be the day that you make your first move. Hope these tips were helpful for you on your journey. Let us know if we can help support you or your side hustle in anyway! 

It's always your move.

Michael & Kelsey Beaupre