Thinking of a side hustle? Do this.

 

There is no denying that each of us has a deep desire to retire early and enjoy life to the fullest. Most of us dread going to work everyday and are helplessly caged in the endless rat race as Robert Kiyosaki puts it. The rat race comprises of living paycheck to paycheck hoping that you pay your bills kn time and that you don't get fired the next day. Retiring early from work is not unachievable as we have seen or heard many people who have done it in the past. I have a neighbor who retired in his 40's and lives very well. His kids have gone to some of the best schools in the country and even went to university abroad. While this may seem unrealistic to most of you, am informing you today that it is within reach but only if you only have the will to do what's necessary. Some of the proven methods of retiring early is by generating multiple sources of income and one way is by starting a side hustle. You are able to generate a second source of income that will help you in the long run in retiring early. Below are some of the steps in my opinion are necessary in setting up a successful side hustle.

STEP 1: DON’T STEP TOO FAR FROM YOUR AREA OF EXPERTISE

If you work in engineering, you probably understanding design and prototyping better than most people. If you work in banking, you understand finance and it’s second nature to you. Find something that is in your natural sphere of influence.

STEP 2: ALWAYS START SMALL

Famous motivational speaker Eric Thomas once said “Dream big but start small”. Just because you are starting with the little that you have does not mean that you cannot aim very high. However, there are no guarantees in business. Your business can fail despite the best laid plan and even top notch implementation. Start small, then grow slowly until you can it full-time.

STEP 3: WORK WITH A PARTNER

It is important for one of the business owners to work full-time in the business. If that’s not feasible, give a small equity holding to your most senior employee. That way someone in the business has ownership stake that binds him/her to the firm.

STEP 4: DON’T LEAVE YOUR DAY JOB TILL YOUR HUSTLE CAN PAY THE BILLS

So you have slowly built a business while working for the big man. Is it time to resign and face your hustle full time? Maybe. However, make sure that your hustle can cater for your expenses before making the jump. Most of the time people get excited when their side business starts making money and they immediately resign only for the business to collapse in a few months. Once the business has picked up the pace and is consistently making more money than your job, then its time to make the leap.