There’s a huge number of people throughout the world that dream of one day being their own boss. While it’d be great if you could just wake up one morning and have a successful business on your hands, this isn’t the reality for anyone. In order to have a successful business of your own, you have to start from the ground up. For most people, this is a long and drawn out process that can make months or even years. During this time, you’ve still got to somehow be bringing some money in for yourself, which is why many businesses start as a side hustle. So to help ensure that your side hustle can become your sole profession one day, here are three tips for running a side hustle while working full time.
Set Specific Work Hours
If you’re already working a full-time job, it can be challenging to find the time to work on your side hustle. But if you ever want to leave your current job and be your own boss with your own business, you’ve got to commit yourself to working on your business. To help make this more manageable, Simon Slade, a contributor to CNBC.com, recommends that you set specific hours for yourself to work on your side hustle. This might mean working late into the night, early in the morning, or on the weekends for a while. But once you’ve made some traction and get your business going, you’ll see just how possible it is for your to make this your career.
Track Your Progress
To keep your side hustle going at a good clip, it’s important that you set goals for yourself so you can easily track your progress. Being too vague with your goals won’t allow you to know if or when you meet them and if your efforts are actually making any headway. For this reason, Sujan Patel, a contributor to Inc.com, advises that you set SMART goals. SMART goals are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. By setting goals that fall under these categories, you’ll feel both the pressure to get things done as well as the acknowledgement once those goals are met.
Outsource What You Need To
With the limited amount of time that you have working on your side hustle, you can’t realistically expect to do everything on your own and still see your business succeed in a timely manner. So to help make the most of the time you do have to spend on your business, Ryan Robinson, a contributor to The Balance Small Business, suggests that you outsource any tasks that you can’t effectively do on your own. While this might cost you a little more money, it will help you get going on your business and move you forward at a faster clip.
If you’re struggling with how to keep working full-time while also working on your own side hustle, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn the best ways to do this.
