Do You Have The Right Mindset To Grow A Successful Side Hustle?

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Many people want to experience the excitement of running their own (online) business. Even if it’s just a side hustle. You never know what it may grow into over time. Most never get to that point. They give up when they experience their first hurdle. In order to survive in any business your mindset is just as important as whether you have the best tools in the industry!

If you are easily disappointed, and know that you may give up when things get tough, you’ll need to learn to strengthen your entrepreneurial attitude. The question is not “if”, it’s “when”. You are going to need thick skin and “insensive toes” to survive in the world of building a successful “side hustle” – or full time business.

Here are my 6 tips to develop a positive mental attitude that will help you to build your business, whether online or offline.

1. Be Committed

Find your desire to achieve your goals – and commit to them. You’ll need a strong “why” as the foundation of your business. Without a strong “why”, you’ll fail once you get past the honeymoon phase. When something is new and exciting it is easy to do. Once the novelty wears off, often within a few short months (or even weeks), are you going to abandon what you have started? You may think you’re commited now, but what if people are constantly saying “no” to your offering?

Affirm your commitment to achieving whatever target you have set yourself. Remember to reward yourself every step of the way – celebrate your successes, big and small. Baby steps, one achievement at a time, build up to become one large achievement eventually. Taking one step at a time is the best way to achieve any goal in life, and in business.

2. Accept Challenges

Being your own boss and owner of your own business can be scary. It may even be a bit intimidating if you’re just starting out. You may decide to start building your business while still in full time employment. In my Happiness book I recommend that practical approach. Giving up a paycheque in pursuit of  a dream is the most irresponsible recommendation most gurus are making these days, and I refuse to follow suit. Keep your job, for now, and build something amazing on the side.

Leaving your job to “focus” on your dream business is never a good idea! Yes, it takes guts to have a dream and to go for it. But what if your dream turns into a nightmare? What if you can no longer meet your financial obligations and support your family and loved ones? Take it easy, one step at a time. You ultimately determine whether your business succeeds or fails. Eventually it may replace your current income. Until it does, learning to accept challenges is an important part of becoming an entrepreneur.

Not managing your time properly can easily become one of the biggest challenges you will have to deal with. It’s very easy to sit at your computer and do nothing productive for 8 hours a day. As an entrepreneur, the definition of the word “productive” is significantly different from being an entrepreneur. The key is managing your time and focusing on the appropriate tasks. Hint: when you’re just starting out, anything that’s not making you money immediately or at least on short-term is not appropriate.

3. Be In Control

Control starts with keeping your mind focused on important things. Don’t just “set” goals and priorities for what you want to do and accomplish – write them down. Develop a strategy for dealing with potential problems and when those problems surface, feel confident in your ability to address them.

The worst you can do in your side hustle is fail. The “failure” is not even that bad as long as you can learn from it and move on. But before you get there, failure isn’t an option. Keep your eye on the prize. Focus on what you will achieve when you succeed. A positive mental attitude is essential to survive any business venture! Focusing on your mistakes is just going to drain your energy and discourage you. Simply learn from your mistakes and move on.

“I can do it” are probably the four most important words you can continually say to yourself every day. Write them down somewhere where you’ll see them every day.

4. Practice Makes Perfect

I’m a perfectionist, and a control freak. I call it “putting my OCD to good use”. But there’s a point where that mindset becomes nothing but a limiting belief. Today, I challenged myself (and you) to stop worrying about getting everything right. Accept the fact that it’s not going to happen. The only thing that separates you from a (multi) millionaire is one simple thing that you can control: mindset.

Developing that mindset is the focus of my financial freedom course. It’s about adding options to your life to enhance your mindset, and leverage the same financial principles the rich and famous use. The “trick” is that you can use those principles regardless of the amount of money you make today. If you start applying the money management principles in teach in my millionaire mindset class, you’ll be putting in the foundation to be able to handle larger and larger amount of money coming into your life as well. There’s only one thing you need to do: start today. Because if not today, when will you?

Successful people learn, learn and learn some more. They accept the fact that they don’t know it all. Paying for courses and seminars is an investment in yourself and in your business. Sure, the Living By Experience model is to learn things the hard way by trying anything and seeing what works or what doesn’t. Are yoi open to try someting new? Signing up for a course may save you valuable time and money. Following my Living By Experience model, signing up for one of my online entrepreneur courses may just be that next step you haven’t taken yet which is holding you back today. Listen to what works, adapt it to add your own style, and make it work even better!

5. Don’t Go At It Alone

When you run any business you want to work for yourself, but not by yourself. There is nothing wrong with asking for help. Don’t think you’re incompetent simply because you can’t do it all. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Someone out there has already accomplished what you’re looking to do next. That’s the basis of my online courses for authors and creative entrepreneurs. I challenge you to get to know someone who has done something you’re looking to accomplish. Work with them. Sign up for their newsletter (which is often free), and if you can join their programs and courses. See how it can benefit you. Their input and experience is essential to your progress. Whatever you do, don’t just sit back and wait for the money to fall from the sky. It won’t.

A positive mental attitude is essential in life. In business that applies even more. When you spend months on a side hustle project that makes you no money whatsoever, wanting to continue working on your dream is nothing short of depressing. Be willing to look at what didn’t work. It’ll give you a clue (or two) about  what you may need to do to bring about a change. Once you start creating a profit you change being a perceived failure to an entrepreneurial survivor! Welcome to the club. But before you get there, do something good for yourself today. Take that next step. And see where it may lead.

P.S. No pressure, but if this post helped you in any way, please consider buying me a coffee to keep me going. Thanks!