How to Choose a Side Hustle: The Ultimate Guide

In 2019, every man’s best kept secret to career success is by way of a side hustle. Not only is it a great way to earn extra money, it’s often the key to transitioning away from the role you don’t want… into the role you do.

If you’re reading this article, we’ll take it upon us to assume you’ve already read our feature on the Top 10 Side Hustles in Australia. What’s more, you’ve taken your pick of the ten and you’re ready to get started.

If this doesn’t sound like you, and you haven’t explored your top ten most plausible side hustle ideas, stop what you’re doing and read the aforesaid feature now.

Taken your pick? Perfect. Before we get into it, let’s analyse whether that choice was right for you. After all, not every person will be suitable for the same side gig.

Before you dedicate the remaining hours of your day to pursuing a certain hustle, let’s make sure it’s the right one for you.

If you don’t know how to drive, and you hate the idea of being social for more than ten minutes a day, becoming an Uber driver on the side is far from a realistic choice for you.

What’s more, when it comes to our side gigs, we want to ensure that we’ll reap benefit or success from our efforts as soon as possible. After all, we need to make money to warrant our continued efforts.

That’s why it’s so important that when we make a decision to pursue a certain avenue, it is built on a foundation of both our skills and our interests.

Both factors are equally as important as the other in driving your side job. It’s your skills that will initially see your ability to set up your extra income.

Our advice: take the time to consider what you’re good at, as well as what interests you. Consider compiling a list. This way, you’ll be able to physically see where your skills and interests overlap.

After this, take another good look at our list of best side hustles, and re-consider the one that would best suits you.

Remember that the more time you dedicate towards smartly selecting your part-time hustle, the more likely you are to experience success once you get started.

Make a choice that feels most natural to you, based on a combination of your skill set, what you’re passionate about and where you’d like to take your career in the future.

Don’t just take your own word for it. After selecting the part-time job that compliments your overall skills and personality, put it to the test.

If you don’t experiment, how else can you prove that your online business will actually earn money? Before you start a side hustle, you need to find out if people are interested in the service you’re planning to provide.

It’s important to ensure there is an abundance of market need related to the solution you’re offering, whether that’s as:

This confirmation is not only valuable to be able to guarantee the longevity of your side hustle, but also, for ensuring there is ability to earn more money online down the track.

We’d start by gauging the interest of a community around you. Go further than your family (who let’s be honest, will likely support anything you do). Gauge the interest of honest friends and of strangers too.

Go beyond online surveys, by demanding action of your audience. It’s easy for people to express interest in a product or service.

Far harder for them to make the commitment to buying it – unless, of course, they don’t see what you’re providing as a luxury. They view it as a necessity.

To check this is the case, you need to measure their willingness to act. Offer the ability to pre-purchase, to sign up or to hire you in advance. Evaluate the results you get, and adapt your side business accordingly.

If you offered social media management services and no one signed up, but many showed interest in your virtual assistant services, follow this path instead.

Listen to your marketplace and validate your side hustle with customers who are willing to put money where their mouth is.

The truth is, it’s not easy to commit to and to maintain progress when it comes to building a side hustle. Why? Because most of us are also balancing full time jobs, families, friends, a social life, a student loan and many other things too.

To ensure you see results with your side hustle, it’s important to set clear, manageable goals.

Milestones also help to authentically measure the success of your business. When we don’t set goals for our small businesses, it’s far more difficult to discern what is and isn’t working.

We’re not sure when to give up, when to adapt and when to apply more effort.

Goals allow us to evaluate how much we’re putting in, versus how much we’re getting out. They also allow us to break down the steps to building up our passive income.

It’s a daunting process at times, and a key reason that most people stick to their day job comes down to being overwhelmed. Make it easier on yourself by setting weekly goals, that don’t feel too out of reach.

That might mean dedicating a couple of hours of your free time to upwork, perhaps through online courses. For those who don’t have much time, it might mean several hours a week.

What matters for a successful side income is that you design goals which suit your lifestyle and your lifestyle alone. Don’t set yourself up for failure, or you’ll find yourself (quite inevitably) at its doorstep.