Want to start a side hustle in just 5 easy steps? Well, you came to the right place!
You have a business idea or something you are passionate about, but you just don’t know what the actual steps are that you need to take to get it off the ground. Am I right?
I truly believe that we are all put on this Earth with passions for a reason. God wouldn’t just put something so strong in our hearts for nothing right?
If you are ready to dive head first, take a risk in the name of happiness and finally quit the soul sucking job you’ve been at for years…. this is for you!
This post is full of the real and the raw. Actual steps to take to finally jump head first toward getting that idea off your brain and into reality.
I personally like to break things down into steps in order to understand them better. So I took it upon myself to break down some steps for how to start a side hustle into smaller more bite sized pieces.
01. Create an email list
Wait what? You were probably thinking I was going to say to start an Instagram account or post 5 times a day on TikTok. But nope! An email list would be the very first thing I would tell you to start. Email marketing is the most direct way to reach your audience. (Or future audience). It allows you to pop into their inbox directly, vs. hoping they happen to see your social media posts that are constantly being hidden by an algorithm. Another plus to email marketing is how much more intimate it is than social media. Emails feel more one on one, like you are literally having a conversation with a specific person. Whereas on social media everything is a lot more broad.
- My favorite email marketing platform: Flodesk (click here to save 50%!)
02. Use storytelling to share your journey
Before your offer is actually put out into the world, start sharing the journey along the way. You can post about it on your social media accounts and also with that email list you just created! Talk about what kinds of things you are learning, bring your audience behind the scenes. Share the feelings and emotions that come with this new adventure you are embarking on.
When you bring people along the journey with you, it not only helps build connections with them but also prepares them for when you are finally ready to launch. That way it will feel a lot more organic to introduce your offer instead of never saying anything and then just randomly throwing it out into the world.
03. Figure out what you are going to use as your offer
Now comes the part that might feel scary. Actually creating the thing you are going to sell. Maybe it’s a product or maybe it’s a service. But either way, you need to have something completed and ready to go. You might have multiple ideas right now for different things, but my advice is to start with just one. It gets overwhelming really fast to have multiple things to juggle for sale, and when you are getting started there’s a lot to learn. Take it slow and begin with one offer. Once you feel like you have a good momentum with it, you can start to add in more if you wish.
You can sell things on Etsy, or host things on your own simple website. You can use a CRM to manage projects if you’re a service based business. I personally recommend HoneyBook!
04. Talk about your side hustle offer over and over again
I could add 20 more “overs” and “agains” to this statement. But believe it or not one of the biggest reasons businesses don’t succeed is because people do not share about the thing they are actually selling. Sometimes we get discouraged when we first launch because it wasn’t the huge success we were hoping for. And instead of finessing and trying again, we just quit. Don’t be that person! It’s normal for people not to be totally on board with something right from the beginning. Offers take time to nurture and prove to customers why it would be worth a purchase.
You have to BELIEVE in what you sell in order for others to believe in it too. So make sure it’s something you are totally confident in and why!
05. Build value tiers
Also known as a value ladder. To put it simply, a value tier is creating different offers at different price points. This way anyone on any kind of budget can be included in your business. An example might be offering some sort of PDF or E-Book for $45, some kind of group offer or scaled offer (such as a course) for $145, and then one on one services with you for $500. Notice how the more valuable the offer is, the higher it’s priced? Your time being something of the most value.
These are things you can build and add to over time. Maybe you start with the lowest barrier to entry and once you feel good about that, you add on the other tiers as you go. Remember to share about your offers and talk about them over and over again in different ways!
In Conclusion
See how easy it can actually be to start a side hustle? It really just takes about 5 steps to get something up and going. And the best part of being your own boss is you can always adjust, and shift things as needed. No need to stress about making it perfect or over analyzing every detail. You can build the business and life of your dreams and I am pumped to watch you do it!
howdy!
I'm Sarah Elrod
The Podcast
Rural Lifestyle
Personal
Business
I'm a Cowgirl turned serial entrepreneur.
I'm a horse trainer, western wedding photographer, business coach and ranch wife.
I help women in the western industry grow thriving businesses from rural America.
When I am not strategizing new marketing tactics, you will find me riding my horses, cuddling my cattle dog, or kissing my hot husband.
There is also a good chance I am buying way too many outfits from western boutiques.
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