There’s a lot of reasons to start your own business, but the greatest reason is that you’re going to be able to do what you love while making enough money so that it doesn’t seem like work. Learn how side hustles can help with any issues holding people back from starting their own businesses.
If you’re looking for a side hustle, but have doubts about the feasibility of starting your own business, then this article is for you. In it, I’ll discuss some common objections to starting your own business and how to overcome them.
Tyler Tervooren of Advanced Riskology has written Part 1 of a two-part series.
It’s a rare guy who doesn’t consider how things would be different if he worked for himself at some point in his life. Even a guy who loves his work fantasizes about what it would be like to go it alone and pursue some insane, half-baked idea.
Many men fantasize of working for themselves, but only a few really do it.
There are many reasons for this, but from my perspective, the majority of the reasons practical men never give themselves a chance to start their own side hustle is because much of what we learn about it comes from television shows, movies, and the media, rather than from people who actually run businesses, at least in the United States.
I’ve ran four distinct very tiny enterprises (what I call micro-businesses) in my short life, and I can state without a doubt that the way they came to be does not resemble any fairytale shown on TV.
They were rather diminutive. To begin with, they were very low-cost. And, except from myself, the majority of folks thought they were dull! There were no elaborate business models, swanky downtown offices, or captivating business cards—just a product or service that people desired.
If you’ve ever had a dream like this, I’d suggest that the majority of your arguments to merely getting started aren’t really objections at all. Instead, they might be arguments to your belief that you must start anything on your own.
The reality, on the other hand, might be very different.
It’s Time to Face Your Dissensions
When it comes to creating their own side business, many guys, in my experience, have three basic objections. Consider if one (or more) of these gripes is preventing you from moving forward.
- It takes a lot of time to start a company, and I don’t have any.
- Starting a company is costly, and I don’t have the funds to do it.
- I don’t have a decent business concept.
If any of those concerns spring to mind when you consider beginning a side hustle, you’re in luck because we’re going to debunk all three of them right now.
Let’s get this party started.
I don’t have time to start a second job.
Creating a company from the ground up is a true labor of love that requires dedication. In reality, I’m not aware of anybody who has launched a company and discovered that things went much more smoothly or quickly than they anticipated.
This is a serious worry if you have a demanding career, a family, a life outside of work, or all of the above. With all of these responsibilities, how are you going to find the time to work on a significant income?
The fact is that you will have to adjust your time management habits, but not as severely as you imagine.
The good news is that starting a new company only takes a long time if you believe it must be established rapidly.
Malcolm Gladwell discusses the 10,000-hour idea in his book Outliers, which states that practically anybody can master a skill if they devote 10,000 hours to it. The same may be said for your side business. You, too, can develop a profitable side hustle if you put in enough hours—in the appropriate areas (we’ll get to that later).
It’s entirely up to you how quickly you put in these hours. Yes, it will take longer if you move slowly. But what’s the rush when you have the option of doing nothing at all?
This is the tried-and-true method I use to devote the required time to every new project without being overwhelmed:
Every day, set aside 20 minutes—no more!— to focus on your project, and guard those 20 minutes with all you have. Allow nothing to come in the way of this moment.
This accomplishes two goals:
- It establishes the habit of working on your assignment for a short period of time each day.
- It gets you going every day, and it typically motivates you to work much longer.
I can’t start a company since I’m broke.
When done correctly, a microbusiness should cost no more than $100 to start. When you’re beginning a company, it’s easy to fantasize about all the things you’d want to have that would make it easier and more pleasurable to run—an office, a lot of pricey technology, maybe a few staff, or expensive services that automate parts of your operation.
The amusing (and sad) thing about all of these business “necessities” is that they are much more effective at ruining a firm than they are at making it profitable, at least in the beginning.
Why? Because these are the exciting and enticing aspects of owning a company. They’re the status markers that say, “Hey, take a look at me.” “I’m running a company!”
They divert attention away from the most crucial aspect of operating a microbusiness: generating money. Keeping up with The Joneses will not only put your family in financial jeopardy, but it will also put your small company in jeopardy.
We all like hearing about the risk-takers who sold everything they had, took out large debts, and launched the “next great thing.”
These are the stories that have piqued our interest. However, they make up a very tiny fraction of profitable enterprises. And it’s because the chances of success are so little that we adore them. This makes it simple to keep them in “fantasy mode.”
This is not how a micro-business should be conducted. With significantly less risk, it is feasible to generate a substantial income.
At the end of the day, the only things you need in a micro-business to generate money are:
- There’s something to sell.
- A group of individuals who are interested in what you have to offer.
- A method of collecting money.
That is all there is to it. There aren’t any flashy bells and whistles. There are no intricate business tactics, procedures, or detailed company plans.
All you actually need to get started as a cobbler and sell handcrafted shoes are the raw materials for the first pair, enough equipment to produce that pair of shoes, and one solitary client to purchase them. You should be able to get these items for around $100.
You’re thinking too far ahead if you can’t. Even the largest corporations in the world, such as Coca-Cola, need very little to get started: a few components, a container in which to put them, and a market for the completed product.
I don’t have a good enough company concept to start.
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt and relearned (many times) in my experience creating and growing microbusinesses, it’s that the idea—often referred to as the Holy Grail—is much less significant than we like to portray it to be.
So far, I’ve worked as a single-client gardener, a ticket scalper, a freelance farm laborer, an amateur guitar trader, and now a writer. There are two characteristics that all of these small enterprises have in common:
- They aren’t very remarkable or ground-breaking.
- They didn’t start until I got past the notion that they aren’t very unusual or ground-breaking.
Many individuals seeking to start their first company have a tendency to overestimate the worth of their concept. It’s not good enough until it’s a game-changing, ultra-unique, never-before-seen business plan.
Don’t get me wrong: I used to believe the same thing. I still do that now and again, and I need someone considerably more accomplished than me to tell me that I’m “thinking incorrectly.”
After you’ve begun a few company endeavors, you’ll see that what you do with the idea is considerably more essential than what you start with.
Derek Sivers deserves credit for describing this topic much better than I did.
The fact is that your company concept is almost useless. If you have any romantic notions about this, let me to dispel them right now with a simple challenge:
Take the best company idea you’ve ever had and put it up for auction on eBay. See how many bids you get for it and how much money it generates. “None,” is my informed estimate.
This is because an idea is meaningless unless it has a multiplier—something that can be added to it to increase its value enormously. The multiplier in this situation is effort, or execution.
It’s only worth anything after you’ve brought your concept to reality. Someone could be willing to pay for it after you’ve shown it works.
It occurs all the time that the most great concept in the world is executed poorly and fails terribly, making no money at all. On the other hand, someone with a strong work ethic and a strong will to succeed may take a mediocre concept and turn it into a lucrative business.
When I hear someone remark these days, “I don’t have a great business concept,” my first thought is, “Good!” “How about a typical one?”
To start your own side hustle effectively, you must ultimately stop thinking about it and start doing it. Another advantage is that the sooner you do it, the less time you’ll waste telling yourself that you need a slew of other items to get started.
Win/win!
The First Step in Starting a Side Business is…
Before a guy can begin working on a side hustle, he must first overcome his personal obstacles.
Spend some time this week thinking about all of the boundaries you’ve put up for yourself. Consider the real worries you may have when you decide to establish your own microbusiness.
Then consider all of the inventive ways you can get around them. For some of the more serious ones, you now have a workaround. What’s the last thing you have to deal with? What’s more important, how will you deal with them?
Bonus: Read Part II: Think Big, Act Small! 37 Side Hustle Ideas to Help You Be Your Own Boss
Tyler Tervooren, a do-it-yourself entrepreneur, contributes to Advanced Riskology, a website committed to having a better life by taking risks.
The “old school side hustles” are a way to make money on the side. They are usually not as well-known or respected as other methods, but they can still be very lucrative.
Related Tags
- blue collar side hustles
- construction side hustles
- hood side hustles
- concrete side hustle
- manual labor side hustles