You have probably heard of side hustles a lot in your everyday interactions. Most people you meet will tell you about their full time jobs and also mention either a service or a business that they are running on the side. Side hustle is a form on income generated on the side away from the full time jobs.
Managing two jobs and juggling between family, friends seems cumbersome for most people in formal employment. However, if you manage your side hustle professionally, the rewards can be as fulfilling and as worth it or probably more than your full-time job. Here is how to balance your side hustle with your full time job:
- Put in Effort
As you know, working for yourself gives you a lot leeway as there is no one to report to but yourself. As much as this is a relief, you must be prepared to put in as much effort and commitment as you do your full time job. You wouldn’t want to gather bad reputation from your clients. So whether you are tired or feeling lazy and not in the mood for work, remember your clients are waiting on you to deliver.
- Define Your Boundaries
This applies mostly to our friends and family who may not treat our side hustles with the seriousness it deserves. It will be your responsibility to draw the lines between family, friends and your business. As a startup, you are looking to build your name for yourself. Your family should help you with this. They should encourage your efforts and let you work.
3. Communicate expectations
Do not oversell yourself to a client in order to weed out competition. Make realistic promises and wow your clients when you deliver beyond their expectations. Do not be afraid to say No to your clients especially when their time-frame for service delivery is too short. As much as you are willing to negotiate with clients on delivery time, keep in mind the actual hours you are available to work on their requests.
- Be Cautious of Time
For any side hustle to be productive, you have to utilize the limited time you have maximally. Do not take too much time than necessary on one client. If a client keeps you waiting for too long, do communicate and let the client reschedule to a time convenient for both of you or do charge them on the time you spend waiting for them.
- Prioritize Your Commitments
Since most of your free time will be dedicated to your side hustle, once in a while an important distraction could come up. For example, a friend’s birthday party. What do you do in such a case? You could finish up on any pending tasks and attend your party later on. Unless it’s a dire emergency, always put your clients first before anything else. This helps you stay disciplined to your work.
- Determine what you can outsource
Before you start your side hustle, it is always good to think about other service providers that could make your business easy. This can be a person or a company that could help you serve your clients better. Determine a task that you are too overwhelmed to handle and have someone else do it on your behalf. Of course before delivering the assignment to your client, you can confirm that is well done. Some tasks are too sensitive to pass on to someone else but others can be done satisfactorily with a little supervision.
How productive your side hustle becomes rests primarily on how well you balance yourself. At the beginning, a lot more of your input is required for your side hustle to take off. You need to properly organize yourself to perform at both jobs. How well do you manage your side hustle and your full time job? Let’s hear from you.