As you get started you’ll inevitably make some side hustle mistakes. And for many people, these mistakes actually stop them from reaching their full potential on their side hustle. For most, they may be on the verge of reaching their side hustle goals or close to being able to work for themselves full-time, but give up right before the momentum shifts.
No matter what side business you pursue, take note of these common side hustle mistakes below to ensure you find the success you desire.
1. You Haven’t Researched Enough
If you listen to any successful entrepreneur or even others who were side hustling, you’ll hear that most figured it out through trial and error. Naturally, this is how most people learn what works and what doesn’t work when trying to make side income.
However, that doesn’t mean you should blindly start something as soon as the idea pops in your head. When you have an idea, even if it’s a simple side hustle, do some research first. Look at the competition out there, your target markets, what can you do differently and also add more or different value from others.
2. Investing Too Much Money Upfront
The worst move you can make is to put all your savings or borrow money to invest all in a side business, that then proves to not be profitable or have as much demand as you originally thought.
There might be some upfront costs to getting started, which is completely fine and normal. However, if you do not have prior experience and are learning as you go, avoid spending too much money on your side hustle in the beginning.
3. Failing to Set Your Priorities
For most, a side hustle is something you are doing in your spare time, whether on weekends or after hours from your regular job. And with most side hustles, you’ll be juggling a lot of different aspects in order to make it successful. Yet, with all those tasks at hand, you need to prioritize your time and which areas will move the needle for you.
4. Mimicking What Others Have Done
While there are some legit people advertising, even then it doesn’t mean following their path will work for you. For your side hustle to be successful, you first want to pick something that excites you and generally is interesting to you.
Maybe it’s something you already have skills in or just enjoy doing already. If you instead pick something because another person was successful in making money, you probably won’t follow through well if it’s not your passion.
5. Not Organizing Your Tasks for Maximum ROI
Each day you work on your side project you are randomly picking things to do. Similar to the prioritization point from above, yet here you need to be highly organized in what tasks you are doing each day.
With most side hustles, there will be small tasks that really are not that important. There are many tasks to your business, but they take time and actually are not contributing to your growth. And the thing is, you might not even realize how much time you are wasting on tasks that are not maximizing your ROI.
6. Forgetting to Give Yourself A Break
Side hustle culture is honestly pretty annoying. But actually having one and working on a side project is not. But for some reason people like to push some weird narratives.
You are allowed to give yourself breaks, you don’t need to work an extra 40+ hours a week on your side hustle. Of course, you certainly can if that is what you desire.
7. You’re Not Separating Your Personal and Side Hustle Finances
Even if you are the sole member of your side business, you want to keep these areas separate for accounting purposes and tax purposes. In order to be set up correctly, you’ll want a simple business checking account where any income you make from your side hustle will go
And any of your business expenses from your side hustle should be paid with your business checking account, not your personal one.
8. Not Setting Aside Enough Money for Taxes
Besides separating your personal and business expenses, another side hustle mistake many newcomers make is not setting aside enough money for their taxes. While having your accounts separate make tax time easier, many forget to put a percentage aside to pay the IRS.
Majority of tax experts recommend setting 20-25% aside for taxes. It’s better to have money aside, then end up with a large tax bill that you can’t afford to pay!
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