When you’re starting a small business, it’s very important to keep your day job as a means of support in case your side hustle won’t grant you financial freedom. But how does a working solopreneur both juggle work and side businesses? Explore the strategies below.
1. Eat lunch quickly and utilize the extra time
Lunch breaks are very useful for side hustle activities because these are times of the day when you’re active with a lot of freedom at work. So finish your lunch ASAP to have time for answering emails or studying articles to help you in your side hustles.
2. Make a schedule that works for you
Batch your tasks to give yourself time for side hustling by following a strict schedule. Two examples are waking up early every day to do more work before your day job and spending the half days of your weekends for side hustling.
What’s important is, your side hustle won’t interfere with your day job and vice versa. Because if it does, it will ruin the work quality of your sideline business and day job.
3. Avoid the screen when there’s work to be done
Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and T.V. screens only require a few clicks, presses, and touches to warp you away into distraction land. Instead of watching YouTube videos, Netflix, or scrolling through social media, dedicate that time to side hustling.
4. Think long-term
One way to motivate you in spending your free time wisely is to think about the future. Ask yourself, “Is it a good investment for the future to waste money and time today?” The truth is that it isn’t.
The more you hustle today, the more savings you’ll have. You’ll then retire early doing pretty much everything you want in the future with a lot of financial freedom.
5. Pick a side hustle that doesn’t consume a lot of time
Always brainstorm ideas for side hustles that won’t require you to stay in a single place and consume too much of your time. Less ideal side business ideas are opening a store or setting up a shop.
Unless you have employees or family members to look after your shop, go for it. But if you have nobody to help you, pick something else that’s easier to manage. Take online freelancing for example.
6. Learn to say NO
As you side hustle, there will be a lot of invitations and demands in both your personal and work life. Examples would be your friends inviting you to hang out or a colleague asking to fill in for them.
Hanging out with friends is not your responsibility and so is your colleague. Just politely decline and let them understand your situation.
7. Keep learning
Don’t forget to give yourself time to learn about your side hustle’s niche. Read books, online articles, enroll in an online course, join events, or attend seminars. Improve your skills and stay relevant because you will face a lot of competition.
8. Find a mentor or niche community
Side hustling while keeping a day job is just like working for two companies. The only difference is you own the former. It’s not something everyone understands. By having a mentor or being in a community of hardworking solopreneurs like you, you get to share ideas, stresses, and get help from each other that would drive success.
Keep in mind that while it’s important to side hustle to achieve a financially-free future, always make time for self-love and self-care. You can do that by hanging out with your friends, going on short trips with the people you love, and going on a movie marathon once in a while. Only do this when you feel stressed and overwhelmed by work and side hustling. Otherwise, if you feel healthy and energetic, just keep on working and earn those extra bills. Don’t forget to enjoy life as well!
