Have you been working on your side hustle, side gig or whatever you call it for a while now and are you wondering whether it’s time to make the leap and go full time with it? We have information and advice and 3 ways to make your sie hustle work if that is your dream.
Baby boomers are finding that a side hustle is helping them make ends meet once they have retired from full time employment. Many people find that their side hustle is a hobby they have long pursued, but are now looking to turn into a source of revenue.
3 Ways To Make Your Side Hustle Work
Know that the decision to get started is the hardest. It’s scary to “put yourself out there” and take a chance on YOU. I know it. I work with entrepreneurs all of the time who had to take that first step and make the leap by trusting in themselves and that they had a viable business idea. It may be scarier if you are relying on the side gig to bring in full time money, but baby steps.
Chart a path toward success. You may not know the most direct route toward success. You may not even truly know what success means to you. It could mean freedom or success could mean financial success. Only you know what success means to you. You don’t necessarily need to know the end game, but you do need to make forward movement on it in order to move your way down that path.
Write down the path you want to take. Write down what success means to you. Write down how much money you need or want to make. Write down specific steps you need to take to move forward. Writing it down is the first step in putting together a business plan — which you may need in the future.
Don’t measure your success against someone else’s. You are unique. Your idea is unique. Your path is unique.
Are you ready to take your side gig full time? Do you need assistance to bring that dream to fruition? Give us a call. We can help!
We’ve already almost completed the first month of 2019! How can that be? If you’re like me, you are in the midst of new projects, but have you taken the time to set up business resolutions for the new year? They don’t have to be big, sweeping changes, but they should be items you’re committed to achieving in the new year.
Before you look at business resolutions, take some time and make note of all of the successes you’ve achieved and those items you didn’t quite achieve. Look at items you want to continue on with and those you want to jettison.
Business Resolutions For The New Year
Resolve to keep learning. No matter where you are in your business, you can always learn more. What classes can you take? What books can you read to keep you up to date on the latest trends? What can you do next month to learn something new?
Resolve to keep your priorities straight. What means the most to you? Which aspects of your business run on auto pilot? Which of your clients are priorities? Trick question… they all are!? Set priorities for spending time with friends and family and with your work.
Resolve to better use technology. If you have shied away from upgrading and updating hardware and software in your office and are losing valuable time because of system outages or broken down equipment, resolve to rid yourself of that issue.
Resolve to stay in touch with clients. It is easy to let the days get away from you and before you know it, it’s been months and you haven’t reached out to your clients. Put them on your calendar and reach out regularly.
Resolve to give back. Volunteer in your community. Find an organization you love and offer your time and talents. This goes along with #2 and setting priorities.
What is your biggest business resolution this year?
If you’re an entrepreneur or a solopreneur your goal is to make money, right? If that’s the case you may be wondering how to get more clients in 2019 and that is something I talk with my coaching clients about regularly.
After all, if you’re not growing and you’re not bringing in new clients, what are you doing? Is your business going to remain a viable entity or will you be shuttering the doors? Are you barely making ends meet and wonder every month, “how am I going to keep the lights on?” If that’s the case, you need to reevaluate what you’re doing, what you’re selling and how to make it better and more viable.
How To Get More Clients In 2019
What can you do to make your goods and services be more in demand? Where are your ideal clients? What is your marketing plan doing for you? Do you have a marketing and business plan? Are you working in a silo or are you interacting with other solopreneurs and entrepreneurs? There are myriad questions to answer before you throw in the towel.
Another lament I hear from clients is “How can I close more sales?” or “How can I get people to refer clients to me?”
If your client-closure rates aren’t helping you move your business to higher levels of success? Here are some “sales closing” tips that I have found to be effective:
Understand your client’s pain points and make sure your goods and services meet and alleviate those pain points.
You can’t be everything to everyone. Focus on AN ideal client. Build a client avatar and focus your efforts on a specific clientele.
Build relationships. To succeed in business you need to get people to “know, like and trust” you and you do that by listening to what they have to say. Being a good listener is going to bring you more clients than will offering up a sales pitch every time you meet a potential client.
Do you have a tried and true method to bring in new clients? Have you learned from your mistakes on what doesn’t work? Have you ever taken the time to ask a current client to refer you to a potential new client? If you don’t ask, you won’t know if you would have received one.
Social media, for many introverts, is a great way to interact without having to be face-to-face with anyone. Social media how-tos for introverted entrepreneurs is a delicate balancing act. Some days you just need to get out of the office and interact with people!
If you’ve been avoiding social media because of your introverted tendencies, you may be inhibiting your chances at success for your business. You should have a social presence and interacting behind the keyboard is easier for introverts once they get the hang of it and the lay of the land.
Social Media How-Tos For Introverted Entrepreneurs
Share relevant content. No matter who you are and what you’re doing on line, be relevant and share content your followers want.
Keep your status updates simple. No matter if you’re an extrovert, ambivert or introvert, social media updates don’t have to be long and overly involved. Use short, simple sentences and you’ll get interaction.
Feature your customers. If you don’t want to talk about yourself, then talk about and highlight your customers. Shine the spotlight on them, tag them, ask them to share and you’re performing a great service.
Focus on your team. Share information (not overly personal) about your team members. They will love being in the spotlight (ask them first) and will likely share that with friends and family and that will expand your reach in an organic way.
“Talk” with your audience. If they’re commenting on your updates or your blog, comment back. Social media is all about interaction and building connections.
Highlight your expertise in a way that addresses a customer pain point, not in a “hey, look at me!” way. Show your talents and expertise through the content you share.
If you’re an introvert, don’t try to change your personality. You are who you are. Embrace that and move forward!
The new year is the time of year when many entrepreneurs and individuals sit down and decide what their resolutions will be. Getting fit, getting more organized and getting started in a business are many of the things that top the lists. How to be productive in the new year is something that tops the list and we’ve put together some actions you can take to help you achieve that goal.
Remember, it takes twenty one days to be invested in a habit and to make it part of your daily routine. Don’t give up!
How To Be Productive In The New Year
Put your phone away and silence it. If you want to complete a task, you can’t do that if you’re waiting for a chime from your phone. Turn off alerts and put the phone out of reach.
Look for a task that you can complete in five minutes or fewer. This will give you a real sense of accomplishment and will keep you moving forward.
Guard your “planning time.” Set aside time every day to plan the day ahead, the week ahead and the month ahead. Guard that time and use it only for planning.
Know your most productive time and guard that zealously. If you get your best work done at 5 am, don’t go to the gym at that time. If you are on fire creatively at 9 pm don’t turn on the television or plan evenings out. Know yourself and know your best work times of the day — we all have them, you just need to find yours.
Reward yourself for doing a task you don’t want to do and one you’ve been procrastinating on. This is the carrot on the stick principle — work done, reward earned.
Put your to-do list in order. Just as you might categorize your shopping list you can do that with your to-do list for maximum efficiency.
Manage your inbox, don’t let it manage you. You can either react to emails or you can batch time to look at them and be proactive. Turn off email notifications when you’re working. If you feel it necessary set up an “away message” and let people know at which hours of the day you respond to messages so they aren’t waiting for an immediate response.
Be compassionate with yourself. If getting more productive and being more efficient is new, you will have times when you want to give up. Don’t. Give yourself grace to fall off the wagon, but pick yourself up and start over again. It’s a new year, there are so many possibilities to make it great!
We know we are usually uplifting and offer “what to do” ideas for entrepreneurs. Today, though we want to discuss 3 reasons to not be an entrepreneur. The reason for this is that we hear so many people thinking about going into business for themselves and thinking they will be:
Overnight successes
Be rich beyond measure
Will have nights, holidays and weekends off
3 Reasons To Not Be An Entrepreneur
Get rich. We mentioned it earlier, but many would-be entrepreneurs think they will be rich beyond their wildest dreams if only they own their own businesses. They see the income the could potentially make but don’t take into consideration, the expenses needed to support that income. Remember when you’re self-employed you are responsible for so many more bills and expenses than you were when your employer footed the bill on many of those items — insurance, office space, payroll taxes and more.
Unlimited time off. If you think that owning your own business means daily hours-long lunches, coffee dates with friends, weeks-long vacations and not working nights, weekends or holidays please see “get rich” as a reason you won’t get rich. If you’re out on your own and if you’re not big enough to hire a staff or even work with contractors, then you will need to work a LOT of hours. Vacations may become a thing of the past unless you start making enough money to afford one and even then, we bet you’ll be working.
If “he/she” can do it so can I! We call this the “why not me” syndrome. If you aren’t specifically motivated and driven, you’re likely doomed to failure. Not just anyone has what it takes to run a business. Not everyone has what it takes to motivate him- or herself enough to succeed. If you don’t have a boss cracking the whip, will you hold yourself accountable or will you be looking at “unlimited time off” as your motivation to be an entrepreneur?
We applaud any, and every, entrepreneur and solopreneur who comes across our path. We know the sacrifices they made to get there and those they make to remain viable. Do you have the drive to be an entrepreneur? Do you not know where to start? Reach out, we can help!
