Mentally Prepare
Think if you are willing to sacrifice your free time to struggle to establish a side hustle and if you can handle the consequences of it.
If you are willing, develop a system of positive triggers and routines to help support your self discipline and exert all your extra effort to grow your side hustle, then you have the psychological foundation to build a successful business.
Skills and Areas of Interest
Acquire relevant skills, experience or industry knowledge necessary and ensure you have the passion and competence for what you are going to work on.
A good start is to monetize the skills you already have that are related to the side hustle you want to establish. And if you lack key skills that relate to your interest or the side hustle you want to create, theres no better time than the present to learn them.
Validate Your Side Hustle
Your side hustle idea may seem awesome and disruptive to you, but your potential customers will likely ignore it like most brilliant ideas or even not have a need for it. So, ensure you're not creating a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, as this is one the top causes of startup failures.
You can do that with objective feedback from potential customers and asking them to join a waiting pre-purchase your solution or hire you as a service provider.
Differentiate Yourself From Competitors
Secure your value propositions with a serious competitive advantage.
It can be anything that differentiates your business form the competition. This can range from smart pricing, aggressive sales tactics, higher profit margins, unmatched customer service, best-in-class features, strategic relationships, intellectual property and other specific factors that clearly differentiate your brand from the competition.
Define Clear Goals
At the beginning bring in one customer at a time to avoid becoming overwhelmed by the demands of large numbers.
Having practical goals that are attainable on a daily, weekly and monthly basis helps you develop positive habits and train yourself for success. One good framework to use when formulating goals is the SMART Goals Criteria.
Set Milestones
A good, viable side hustle idea should be launched , monetised and iterated. Don't waste time obsessing over trying to build the perfect solution when you don't yet know what exactly your customers will resonate with most.
To help you beat the inertia, draw up a simple action plan that lays out key milestones and deadlines that'll guide you from start all the way to launch date.
Delegate Work Outside
Starting a side hustle you're going to have weaknesses and some of the skills necessary to efficiently running your side hustle must be outsourced so you can free up your time to do only what you're best at within your business.
It's also more affordable in the long run as the value of your time increases significantly.
Ask For Real Customer Feedback
Without feedback from your first customers, you risk failure as your project may not satisfy your customer's needs.
Without objective external feedback, you risk executing the plan investing resources only to lose all in the end. Try to internalise harsh feedback and you'll force yourself continually improve your solution as you progress.
Keep Your Day Job
Don't work on you side hustle during company time or with company resources. Not only is it unethical, but it may violate your employment agreements.
Honour every contract term and perform well at your day job even as your side hustle picks up momentum. Compromising your quality of work and reputation in the office will prevent you from re-engaging and even potentially partnering with your old employers once you go full-time as a business owner yourself.
Before Quitting Your Day Job
Keep your day job until your side hustle is providing you with a sustainable, growing cash flow that exceeds 75% of your day job income.
Moreover, have at least six months of savings for both personal and business purposes.