Microsoft's survey of 30,000+ workers indicated that 41% of workers were considering quitting or changing professions this year, citing burnout, a desire to work remotely, poor treatment, or insufficient compensation. The Great Resignation has many dreaming of a business of their own. If you're one of the thousands longing to turn a hobby or side job into a full-time gig, you're not alone. Here are five things to consider if you want to succeed.
Side hustles have shifted from entertaining projects to a primary source of income for many since Covid-19 began.
A recent survey revealed that 54% of respondents planned on starting a “side hustle” due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with some seeing success they never thought possible within their nine-to-five jobs.
Whatever your interest, side job, or gap project, a side hustle can quickly turn into a long-term gig. Here are five things to consider if you want to improve your chances of a successful future:
1. Think accurately about making big changes
It’s easy to leap from a bad situation to worse; yet, it’s also tough to know when it’s the right time to jump. We’d recommend you have enough savings to survive six to eight months without income. If you already have income from your side hustle, calculate a plan and timeframe for closing the gap.
Perhaps, instead, you can wean yourself from your current full-time job while you migrate into your new business, going part-time or consulting until you are more confident and secure. The point here is not to put yourself into a threatened state, making desperate moves to then only extinguish fires. With 20% of business start-ups failing in the first year (only 25% survive 10 years), a new business requires loads of accurate thinking.
2. Before you quit, consider the fundamentals of transaction
If asked to draw a transaction, you’ll likely sketch two stick figures shaking hands while exchanging money for something. Your abridged interpretation may be the root of many struggles. It’s why you may stumble with career, money, people, and the reason satisfaction is always just beyond your reach. A business is a series of transactions; transactions that produce interest, transactions that present your wares, transactions that seek commitments, and transactions to fulfill a customer or product contract.
A significant number of businesses fail because they don’t understand the fundamental nature of transactions. Instead, they naively hope that a thoughtful solution plus hard work is sufficient.
What is the demographic for your product or service? Who specifically is your customer? How do you reach enough of them at a low cost? What number of people would need to say “yes” each year for you to succeed? How do they find out about you? How are your wares presented, and if someone wants to buy, how does that happen?
Most of us could live a very satisfying life selling to a micro percentage of 7.9 billion people. You can now reach a global market. Do a little homework; go to Youtube.com and search for anything that interests you. There you’ll find others like you whose side hustle is now a full-time gig.
One of the big takeaways to look for is hyper-niche markets. A hyper or micro-niche is a niche within a niche market that makes your market and your targeting incredibly focused. A savvy individual specializes in hyper-specific products or services sold to specific customer segments and sub-segments. You can’t be all things to all people. Don’t!
3. Understand your personality well
Although it can be challenging to share your ideas with others, there’s nothing better than working with others who share similar passions. Besides, a team can help handle the work, collaborate on ideas, or get the word out. The sooner you can focus your attention on what you do best, your job will become more enjoyable. Consider the work you prefer. What are the activities you enjoy, and more importantly, what do you dislike doing? Many businesses fail because those who start them aren’t gifted in sales or can’t mind the finances.
We can’t say enough about understanding your personality and where you best fit in any start-up. We offer a personality framework as a foundational orientation to transactional competence; different personalities approach exchanges according to their worldview within the groups we occupy. The truth is, each personality has a different job to do, and each role is necessary for the collective group to thrive.
4. Be ready to team up, work hard, and be humble
Although you (and many personalities) attempt to go it alone, we strongly recommend against it. You might be thinking a side gig can’t support many players. You have two options: hire contractors, virtual assistants, or specialists—or consider ways to engage others for their help. You can transact for others to support you. These transactions might include equity partners, apprenticeships, or trades (trading one service for another). Don’t waste the most valuable asset you have—you—on doing it all by yourself.
Your time is valuable, but as a new start-up, you can’t treat it as currency. Be prepared to put in lots of hours with minimal return. Initially, time may not correlate with financial success; this is an essential mindset to remember. Your time isn’t money yet. It’s groundwork. Building a side gig up from the ground requires wearing many different hats. Play to your strengths and get help to save time, energy, and struggle.
5. Surround yourself with smart people—even if you never plan to work with them
In the beginning, being a solopreneur can be an isolated job. It’s vital to your success to remember how others can help you thrive. Think about whom you’d hang around if you wanted to compete in the Olympics (yes, other Olympic athletes). The same goes for those with big ideas and big ambitions.
Invest your time surrounding yourself with like-minded people. Take time to get to know others and their stories and create valuable relationships. Success is built from opportunities or inspiration from people on a similar journey.
Find people you connect with to talk about your ideas, write about your thoughts online, and build a community that empowers you. Take advantage of those around you who want to see you succeed. You’ll be surprised at how much people want to help!
Turning your side hustle into a full-time gig can be one of the most satisfying things you ever do. Study with those who know, take intelligent risks, and see where your side hustle can go.
Whether you are already underway or thinking about starting, Transactional competence is key to thriving on your own. Influential U offers the fundamental principles to help you think accurately, comprehend transactions, understand your personality, get the support you need, and surround yourself with a global membership of ambitious professionals just like you working together to thrive.
Do you have what it takes to start your own business? Take this two-minute quiz to find out if you’re ready to quit your current job and turn your idea into a full-time gig. See your readiness score and get our tips for success!
AUTHOR
John Patterson
Co-founder and CEO
INFLUENTIAL U
John Patterson co-founded and manages the faculty and consultants of Influential U global. Since 1987, he has led workshops, programs, and conferences for over 100k people in diverse professions, industries, and cultures. His history includes corporate curriculum design focusing on business ecosystems, influence, leadership, and high-performance training and development.
