Managing A Side Hustle with a 9-5

Building Purpose with Prioritisation, Expectation and Motivation

Yes, I know what you’re thinking.

How can I put time into a side hustle?

How do I manage more responsibilities along with my 9-5 job?

What kind of business do I want to start?

Well, let’s take a look into the world of side hustles. Whether it be a florist you’re thinking of opening down the street or your own consulting agency, there are three key pillars to tackle down before you lay the foundations to starting your own business. This I can confirm, is coming from someone who has had knock backs - even with a side business I had many years ago that ended up failing because these pillars were not put into play.

The first pillar is being able to effectively use your calendar.

How do you manage your time?
What do you prioritise from the more urgent side of things to the less urgent side of things?
What is adding value to your time?
Is there anything that you can replace that would add more value to your time?
Are there any white gaps that you can identify where your side hustle can be put to work on?

The second is being able to plan strategically. Yes, you may or may not want to make money. Perhaps your side hustle is based on what community impact you can bring, or for some, how much monetary value you can potentially make with your 9-5 salary. A little bit of extra income does not hurt right to help out your list of expenses ahead.

A side hustle isn’t about what you can always potentially do. It is what you can realistically do using the resources that you have around you. Whether it be people within your network to any skills that you’ve stored away for awhile but can make some use to brush up on, the opportunities are endless. Side hustles need to be thought out strategically. What and where do you ideally see your business growing in the next month, three months, etc. and so forth.

Another question here to ask is, how do you hope to achieve this growth?

What kind of goals will you set for yourself both professionally and personally to help you achieve those goals?

Another question to ask, is there a way in which you can measure progress on your side business’s goals to ensure growth? Having a benchmark or doing your own realistic research on what you can measure your business to grow on is crucial to understanding:

What kind of growth your business is having / projected to have down the line?
Are your goals coming into play based on the growth that you are seeing within your business?
What do you plan to achieve with this growth?

Now possibly we can touch on how to grow your side hustle in another blog post - but being able to realistically envision WHERE your side business will go is the first step to success. Here’s a few follow up points to ask yourself when thinking about what kind of business you want to start:

What will your business be?
What is the aim of your business?
What is the sole purpose of your business?
What makes your business different from other businesses?
How can you make your business different from the other businesses?
What does your business plan look like down the line with your business?
Are you aiming to manage a Not-For-Profit business or a For-Profit business?
What resources do I have that will help me start my business?
What resources do I have and can reach out to in order to help me get started on my business?
Would you be planning any partnerships with other individuals/businesses down the line?

Again, you need to think of the above points before you go out on a pursuit to start your own business. Laying your side hustles’s business model is KEY. You may not have thought out everything 100%, but having an idea of how you foresee your business is crucial to understanding where growth, enlightenment and achievable results can come from.

This moves on to our third pillar. Motivation. At simple, are you willing to put in the extra to work along with your usual 9-5 to manage the responsibilities of your side business?

In my experience, starting Let’s F-ACE It came from a drive and passion to help other individuals around me. So my passion was my motivation to start the business. In saying that, it’s no doubt still a tough gig to keep up with the responsibilities of it all - not to mention your brain is always clocked on to be constantly thinking of new ideas or ways you can navigate your business to.

Pros of Side Hustles:

You’re your own boss - you decide on what you can do, when you can stop and take a break but as long as you don’t take advantage of this you’re fine.
Be introduced to the world of side hustles and business models.
If you choose to, your side hustle can act as an additional source of side income for you.
You become adventurous to explore.
Your side business builds your entrepreneurial experience.
You build confidence - especially if you’re the person to doubt your decisions, your side hustle will very soon teach you that your decisions need to be either a yes or a no.
It keeps you busy! Personally for me, working on my side hustle has ironically reduced the amount of time I used to spend on my phone or doing nothing - in saying so, doing nothing here and there is completely fine to give yourself a mental break.
You find yourself staying on top of your time management more than ever - whether it’s a call with a customer or reviewing a resume on my end, prioritisation is key.

Cons of Side Hustles:

The work does not stop - You’re always in a need to move, move, move through executing new ideas and plans for your business. You’re building the blocks of it all - so no doubt the first few months of managing your side hustle will be a tough one with your 9-5.
You may clock off from your 9-5, but I feel like your body does not feel 100% clocked off in the sense that you’re turning around to your side hustle where either work is too big or too small.

There’s a few more pros / cons that you will run into along the way, but for now here are some learning curves with starting your own business along with your 9-5:

Note down any ideas that come to play on your mind.
Don’t be afraid to experience.
Do what you think is right for your business.
Take breaks.
Learn to delegate (if you have a team under you).
Think big.

So all in all, I hope I didn’t freak anyone out.

Managing a side hustle can have it’s highs and lows at times but in all transparency it’s not as bad it seems to be. If you remember the three key pillars and put an action plan in front of them - you’ll be fine.

Unless you’re truly passionate about doing something, your side hustle will not feel like a big deal of an effort. So whether you’re thinking of opening your side business, just do it and see where it takes you.

Fauzia Hussein

FOUNDER

Jan 7th 2021

A current Small Business Consultant at Salesforce and UTS Alumni, Fauzia is a driven individual and is passionate about helping others.