In this episode…

Did you know that around 90% of start-ups fail?!

It’s a pretty crazy but sad statistic. In this episode, we’re sharing our top five tips to avoid the beginner’s traps when starting up your side hustle.

We want to help you get started strong and feel supported in your business, so you can be in the other 10%!

So let’s dive in!

Listen in on:

LINKS AND RESOURCES

Grab your copy of our free Side Hustle Quick Start Guide HERE

Did you Enjoy this Episode?

If you enjoyed this episode and love the Heart Driven Hustle podcast, we have a favour to ask…

Please take two minutes to subscribe, and to write a rating and a review.

You can do that on Apple Podcasts right now by clicking here or Spotify here.

This helps us to reach more people and make launching your own side business much more accessible to others!

Transcript

Amanda: [00:00:00] In this episode, we’re sharing our top five tips to avoid the beginner’s traps when starting up your side hustle. We want to help you get started strong and feel supported in your business, so you’re not one of the failed startups statistics.

Hello, and welcome to [00:01:00] Episode 18 of the Heart Driven Hustle podcast, we’re your hosts, Amanda and Kingsley

So here’s something for you guys. And I don’t know if you’re aware of this stat, but around 90% of startups fail.

Kingsley: [00:01:13] That is a huge percentage, but that’s the reality of it. You can see that when you look through our previous podcasts and one of the questions we always ask, because it’s always interesting is… “Is this the first iteration or is this the first version of your business?” And quite often the answer is no, I started off doing X and then I had went into, so Y Z A, B, C, D, and could, on and on. And if they had have stopped at X, then that was technically, probably a failed business, but then they’ve moved on to the next thing and the next thing . It’s quite interesting when you go back and you can listen to our previous episodes and pick up on that, but it is a massive statistic isn’t it?

Amanda: [00:01:57] Yeah. You really need to be so resilient [00:02:00] when it comes to having your own business. Because if you want to succeed, it’s about that grit and determination and digging your heels in when it gets tough and then you might come out on the other side. We’re not saying that you’re necessarily going to be part of that statistic, in fact, we want quite the opposite for you. We want you to be in the other 10% so today we are sharing our top five tips to help you launch your business strong.

Kingsley: [00:02:24] Excellent.

Amanda: [00:02:25] So tip number one is treat your business like a business. And there’s a really great saying here that if you treat it like a hobby, it’s going to cost you like one. So what we mean is show up for yourself as you would for a boss. When you’re working, you are working. That means you’re spending time doing the high value activities in your business.

What you need to remember is that in this business, you’re not receiving a salary for the work that you do. You’re getting paid for your output. So, if you were to consider what you’d like to receive as an hourly rate, if you were being paid that way, [00:03:00] make sure that you’re putting in the time and the effort that your business requires to actually be paying you what you’re worth is.

Now in any business goals and milestones are critical and they’re not only for traditional business. I mean, how else can you gauge whether your business is successful? You need something to measure it against. And this is really cool. In our Side Hustle Guide, we actually show you a really easy method for goal setting.

Where, you start off with your yearly goals and then you divide those up into your monthly goals and then break them down further into your weekly goals to then drive your daily activities. And that’s a way of being able to create really aligned goals that do align straight back to your business.

So this way you can create goals that are going to be related to what the end outcome is. So essentially when you start with the end goal in mind, you create really daily, actionable tasks, which feed back up into the bigger vision.

Kingsley: [00:03:56] Yeah. Reverse engineering is a great way of working at your [00:04:00] goals and your daily goals from your monthly goals yearly goals.

Amanda: [00:04:03] Yes. Yes, definitely. Yeah. Always need to think bigger. It’s not just about the short term vision. It’s about that longterm vision. because if you don’t, you’re not gonna know which direction you’re headed in. So there’s some really great questions that you can ask yourself around this to get really centered and get really sure and be really driven in your goals.

So ask yourself, why do I want to accomplish this goal?

What will success look like?

What will life look like if I don’t achieve this goal?

And what steps can I take to achieve it?

So by asking these big open ended question. It really gets you to go deep and  understand what the core drivers are behind those goals, and to be that motivation and inspiration that you need each day to wake up and keep achieving them too.

So. Tip number two, invest in your business wisely. [00:05:00] And we’re talking both in terms of time and money. Now when you start up your side hustle, typically this is an addition to other life commitments, you know, that J.O.B or anything else that you have going on in your life. You don’t generally have the luxury of lots of time or any income coming in just yet.

So, what you need to do is spend money where it will have the most impact. And a really great question to ask is “does this touch my customer?” In other words does spending the money on this directly affect the customer or will they know that I’ve actually spent this money on them? And if not, then consider whether you need to do it right now.

Kingsley: [00:05:43] Another way of putting it, a lot of people say moving the needle. will it impact your customers or generate you income?  If the answer is no to that, then it can probably be done at a later date  once you’re a little bit more established.

Amanda: [00:05:55] Yeah, I love that. does it move the needle in your business? And if the answer’s no, then [00:06:00] reconsider.

so spend the money on what makes a real difference to your clients, and focus on the tasks that will generate revenue.  So what are the activities in your business that will get you paid right now? Yes, we know that all businesses have some sort of admin involved, but your main tasks, when you first set up are working and selling your product or services.

These are the things that are going to get you paid. So do you need that flashy website initially? Maybe not. Do you need business cards? Probably not in this day and age…

Kingsley: [00:06:35] maybe in the 1990s, if we’ve managed to travel back in time, then yes, you will need the business cards otherwise…

Amanda: [00:06:42] but it’s more about what’s your Facebook or Instagram handle

How about any comprehensive reporting? So yeah, we probably need to know what the reports are in our business, but maybe not on day one.

Do you need to invest in branding and all the other pretty things too, again? Yeah, [00:07:00] probably. But does it need to occur right now? Likely not. So you’ll find that successuful entrepreneurs in the early days will spend the majority of their time working in the business rather than on it.

So, hear that again? It was working in the business, not on it. Now later though, that will change, definitely. But for now you need to put in the work in your business.

Tip number three, start before you are ready.

Kingsley: [00:07:27] And if in doubt, take major action.

Amanda: [00:07:29] Yes. So good. So planning is great, but it’s so easy to get caught up in the continual planning stage and never actually start. I know we’ve been guilty of this as well, and I’m sure everyone who is starting out does this – you want to make sure that you’re perfect, but the problem is that, well, if you strive for perfection, you’ll never actually start.

Kingsley: [00:07:51] this one’s for all the perfectionists out there.

Amanda: [00:07:53] Yes. I’m a recovering perfectionist, that’s me. Oh, that’s I don’t get [00:08:00] overwhelmed in the detail. So many people who create a side hustle don’t ever get beyond the planning phase. So don’t let that be you. Planning, isn’t a high income generating activity either. Yes, I mean, obviously it’s a really important part of your business, but what is most important here and we’ve mentioned it is taking action. So spend a little time planning, but then spend a lot of time doing. And if you’re unsure. Just start. The thing is you can reevaluate and you can react accordingly.

If you over think it, it can be so easy to simply talk yourself out of it and put it away for later. The other thing to mention here is don’t compare yourself to those who have been in  business for years.

Sure. When you look back on the early days, you’ll think, Oh my gosh. And you’ll have a good chuckle to yourself. I know I look back at what we were doing on day one and it wasn’t great, but the quicker you get moving, the quicker start learning and then the quicker start growing, which is what it’s all about.

[00:09:00] The best part is being able to compare where you started off to where you are now and just seeing that growth that you’ve had and what you’ve achieved during that time. I know it’s pretty cool looking back on our early stuff.

Kingsley: [00:09:10] Yeah. There’s some cringe-worthy kind of days, but, the only way that you start growing and moving forward is if you jump in and then you start learning. Cause, you know, a lot of this stuff you got to learn on the go . it’s just do it and move forward.

Amanda: [00:09:22] That’s what I’m sure if you went back and search some earlier Facebook lives that’s alright bit of homework for you. In other words, don’t feel that you have to wait until you’re ready. Just start, otherwise you never will.

Now tip number four, this is a biggie and it’s something that’s so many successful people in business of all different industries that really adbide by. And this one is investing in personal development and continual learning. I mean, learning doesn’t stop when you finish high school or university or whatever terms of formal education that you had, it’s something that you need to keep up in your [00:10:00] own time, yourself.

And it doesn’t need to be boring either. It can be something that is really fun. It’s just what is of interest to you. So think about how you’re spending your downtime. Are you sitting down on the couch, caught up in the scroll hole or having a binge and the latest Netflix series? I mean, yeah, we’re all guilty of doing that once in a while, but could that time he put to good use and maybe being a little bit more productive?

By this, I mean, are you doing something to broaden your knowledge? And like I said, it doesn’t mean be boring. It can be things like reading an educational blog and a topic of interest. It could be reading, or I know for us and a lot of other people absolutely love audio books because there’s such an easy way of getting that information into your ears.

So it could be reading or listening to say a nonfiction book on entrepreneurship. Strategy or another area in business to stretch your mind.

Kingsley: [00:10:54] you should be able to get whatever book you want to listen to on audio now. And you can just plug it in when you’re in [00:11:00] your car, when you’re doing the dishes, when you’re going for a walk, if you’re going for a long walk and you don’t want to know what, look at the scenery and take it all in, I suppose.

Amanda: [00:11:10] Yeah, you can do both.

Kingsley: [00:11:11] Exactly. So. you know, there’s, there’s a plethora of ways of getting that knowledge now, rather than just reading a book, which I think is fantastic.

Amanda: [00:11:20] Yeah, I know for me, my personal favorite at the moment is just popping in my headphones and heading out the door for a walk outside.

It really gets those endorphins going from exercising and Leaves me feeling really inspired to take action when I walked back in that front door. So I’ve spent time exercising, I’ve spent time learning and I’m ready and raring to go when I come back in.

So podcasts are another really fantastic way of doing that too. There are so many different motivational podcasts and educational ones out there too we really are quite spoiled, so they are fantastic for growth.

Something that we have found particularly useful [00:12:00] and we hear this over and over again in the stories of other successful entrepreneurs is to start your day with some form of personal development.

So even if this is only 15 minutes of listening to something which really inspires you, it means that you’ll start the day with high energy and enthusiasm to make it meaningful and to make a difference and make the most of the day ahead. So we’re highly recommend doing that one too.

And this brings us to our final tip, which is leveraging teamwork and collaboration.

Kingsley: [00:12:32] Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey, but only if you let it be.

Amanda: [00:12:36] Yes. Only if you let it be. I mean, there’s this idea that you’d need to go it alone, but it’s kind of old school thinking.  Sure. You’ve built the business from the ground up. It’s your business. And no one else’s, but where’s the fun in that? You could do it alone,  but it can be a hard and lonely road ahead if you do. So why not have [00:13:00] some fun? I mean, isn’t this the reason why you’re doing this so that you can have a business that you love and you enjoy, and that you can have some fun in.

This particular idea of collaboration and working with others is certainly something which has resonated with a lot of our guests. And in fact, some of their top tips are really find a way to work with another person in your business. So it could be simply from having some business besties, who you catch up with, share ideas, tips, and resources through to engaging the help of someone else in your business as well.

One of the really cool things out there are mastermind groups, and they’re a perfect way to connect with likeminded individuals with similar goals or aspirations to yourself. They’re the perfect arena to brainstorm innovative ideas and feed off the creativity of others too. What you’ll find is that as people move throughout life, [00:14:00] their ideas and their values and things like that may diverge and change over the years.

so through joining community with a specific outcome in mind, you’re able to receive accountability and support from people with a really similar trajectory to yourself.

Another way of doing this is collaborating with others, just because it’s your business doesn’t mean that you need to create every single component of it yourself. If someone has already done it and is offering a solution which can be utilised within your business, why not collaborate? It frees up your time from working on your business and remember from tip number two here to spend more time working in your business, which is where you’re generating income.

Another important point here is if you’re wanting to have a side hustle, which grows with you, there may also come a time when you’re going to need additional help and will likely want to have a team.

Now what this team looks like will depend upon your [00:15:00] business, that you might choose to focus on your core strengths and what you’re really good at and then outsource the other things, which either don’t quite align with what you want to do or where your strengths are. It’s not about admitting defeat. It’s really about being smart and understanding where your strengths lie and utilizing these and then allowing someone else to pick up that gap.

Also within this idea of collaboration and we’ve mentioned it in previous episodes is around having a mentor. Now, this is extremely helpful in both establishing your business and also as it grows in later years.

When we all start out, there are so many unknowns in the path ahead, and a mentor can be a fantastic sounding board too, so you can bounce ideas off them and they can provide you the guidance that you need. They can also offer really invaluable advice and encouragement when the days are tough. And this will happen all along your entrepreneurial journey it is [00:16:00] never a straight path just when you think things are going great. Well, life happens.

It’s all ups and downs, but at the end of the day, having someone there who’s got your back and you can lean into in the days are tough… you’ll come out on top. The key here is to find someone who is a few steps ahead of you and has been there and they’ve made the mistakes, they can then help you to avoid the same traps. It’s as though they’ve made the mistakes on your behalf. So you can bypass that and move on to the next big thing.

I mean, you can still be successful in business on your own, but the chances of success are usually higher when you have a mentor to guide you.

So there you have it guys are top five tips to avoiding the beginner’s traps when starting out in business, let’s take a very quick recap.

So number one, treat your business as a business. Number two, invest in your business wisely, both time and money. Number three is start it before [00:17:00] you are ready, don’t wait until everything is perfect because otherwise you just won’t start. Number four, invest in personal development and continual learning. And then the last one is number five, leverage, teamwork and collaboration.

So there you are our top tips for getting your business up and off the ground successfully, so you can start earning an income.

We’ll see you next time guys.