How to Make Your Side Hustle Your Main Hustle

5 Easy Tips to Make Your Dream Job a Reality

Aunt Sally or Uncle Frank has probably told you, “Make your passion your career” a thousand times. Sure, it sounds great. But, can it be true? We’re here to say: YES! You can make your side passion project your main job.

LinkedIn found that nearly three quarters of employees (71 percent, to be exact) report having a side hustle for extra cash, and more than a third find success in pursuing a passion project (1). This data tells us the time is ripe to consider making your day job your dream job. 

Start working toward your side hustle reality with these simple steps:

1. Put in the hours and keep it consistent.

Dedicate a set amount of time each week to work toward your goal. Don’t pressure yourself; you can always start small. Every 20-minute session counts! What’s equally as important as putting in the time? Making sure you’re consistently putting in the same amount of effort each week. Even if this means editing your website while catching up on Parks and Rec reruns or drafting clever social media posts during your morning coffee.

2. Master your skills.

As much as you may want to be a Jack- or Jill-of-all-trades, attempting to complete a million tasks or be great at everything will render your efforts useless. Instead, focus on a small handful of things—two, maybe three—you think you can nail, and work from there.

3. Save up.

When considering embarking on a big life change, it’s super important to be sure you have your finances in order, and in the best case scenario, have a little extra cash in your back pocket. Staying on a budget is always helpful, as is dipping your toe in the markets. In the meantime, find ways to build up extra cash. Maybe consider skipping on your daily iced vanilla latte and put it toward a graphic design software that will help your side hustle grow.

4. Meet other people just as passionate as you.

Many people who, like you, have amazing ideas turn to Facebook groups and blog posts to help improve their ideas or share successes throughout their journey. Interacting with like-minded people will help keep your creative juices flowing and your ideas maturing.

5. Make your efforts worth it.

Your time is valuable, and you don’t want to spend it doing pointless activities. Do work that inspires you. 

(1) Fast Company “Your 12-Month Guide to Building Your Side Hustle This Year” (2019)