There are plenty of opportunities out there that can be side-business. There are a ton of courses, youtube videos, conferences, and meet ups that you can use as a starting point. If it’s truly what you want to do, figure out a way.

So many people feel bogged down by their day job, it become tedious and repetitive. When they see others around them trying new things and looking for side hustles they feel like they want to do the same thing, but there is always an excuse.

• I don’t have time.
• It’s too expensive.
• I don’t know where to start.
• Etccccc

Let me tell you something, it’s not easy it’s not simple, it’s never going to be a walk in the park. But one thing you do have control over is taking action. Most people don’t get passed saying “I would love to start a business” and then they go back to their old ways. It’s about 2-3 steps more to actually start. 

Here is where I would start:

1. Dial in on something that you have interest in. 
2. Quick reverse engineer: to see what’s out there - start figuring out if someone is already doing something similar. It’s ok if they are. There is always a missing piece of niche that’s missing within any business no matter how big or small.  Don’t get discouraged when you see a “competitor”. It’s healthy. 
3. Start dedicating time to the idea and doing at least one to two hours of work around it everyday or even every other day. Get the momentum going. It can vary from design, logo, how to create the product (if physical), how to setup a website (if you need one to start). The little things that really matter. 
4. Ask a ton of questions whether it’s in person, online forums, twitter, quora, etc. Just go breathe the thing you want to do. You have to have a level of obsession with it to really grind it out. 

Where my inspiration came from

Whenever I heard someone running their own handyman business, or even have their own 7-11 or anything of that sort, I always thought to myself “wow how did they do that”. Ever since I can remember I was always envious and curious about other people who ran businesses. I always thought they needed a bunch of money, and that it was extremely hard to start a business.

Then when I heard that you can make money online without having to go do work with your hands, that was the biggest light bulb for me. Over the years, the idea, the thought, and the confidence to start a business never seemed too far fetched. I always knew this was what I wanted to do.

One of the very first businesses that I started was my own IT business, I would go to people homes or offices and fix their computers (software/hardware). I believe I was about 17 years old. I would post on craigslist, then I would reach out to people that were asking for help, and just start there. I got a few calls, I had a few jobs. It wasn’t the most fun, but I got to do what I always wanted to do: work with computers. It was a stepping stone. And crazy enough, the passion is still there for technology.

Save your money

Don’t spend on stupid shit (flashy stuff, expensive shoes, the material stuff that is mainly for status purposes) if you are starting a business, tighten up and funnel your money towards the thing that will (hopefully) one day make you more money. The worst thing that can happen to you is that you will learn a good lesson and then find the next thing, and improve. If the business doesn’t work, you mentally write it off as education/knowledge. If it does work, you get to make money while you learn and grow (professionally and personally).

Don’t worry you can still have fun. And you should have fun. But you have to grind.

Don’t look too far

The part that I really enjoy in terms of what’s going in with the “great resignation” is that more people are taking action to start something as a side-business. Whether it’s tik-tok, etsy, handcrafting, doing door-dash, etc. It’s all a side-hustle.

Sometimes the opportunity is right in front of you. You just have to take action and start making moves. You have a phone, you have access to the internet, you can make it happen.