Why and How to Change Your Mindset as a Side Hustler

As a side-hustler, I look over the fence to my full-time friends who work for themselves, sigh and say to myself, ahh sure would be nice.

Those full-timers for themselves get to work from home, spend all day working on projects they love and in their pjs no less. The list of wonderfulness goes on and on.

But the fundamental difference between those who are a full-time entrepreneurs and the rest of us who are side-hustlers, is the simple fact is that one group of us needs to get the clients and the other group wants to get clients.

So, what is the mindset shift that needs to happen in order for us side-hustlers to get to full-time faster. Is there a mindset we need to adopt? Glad you asked :) 

When you work a full-time job and have your business “on the side” (aka side-hustler) you’re waiting for clients to knock on your door and you’re promoting yourself when you have time.

In my situation, I leave for work at 6 in the morning and get home around 3:30 in the afternoon. And jumping right into more work after my day job can be exhausting. And when you finally get a client you’re overjoyed but also very aware that you only have so many hours to work on a project. For that reason I only take on one client at a time.

Whereas on the other hand, if you’re full time for yourself, you may be fearful of where your next client will come from, or worried about slow seasons when you have no clients on the horizon at all.

Both the entrepreneur and side hustler are getting things done, but one deals with legitimate urgency, while the other has no real deadline or pressure for getting clients.

I realized this for myself when I was designing and redesigning my website, working on trivial things, when my husband told me (lovingly I might add) that I was twiddling my thumbs (he didn’t say it quite like that, but it was implied).

“No,” I told him. “I’m working,”
“No, you’re not actually going out there and getting clients, you’re hoping clients will find you.”
Hm…. Maybe he’s right, like he often is.

The thing is, when you’re legit on your own, you HAVE to make it work. You don’t waste time. You get out there, sell yourself cause you NEED to make the sale even if it may seem a little uncomfortable.

As a side-hustler, it’s so easy to get caught up in trivial things that don’t move the needle. When, what we really need to be doing is adopt a sense of urgency and do things that will move us forward.

So here are a few tricks that can help if you’re a side hustler, like myself, and hope to become your own boss one day.

1. Mark Your Calendar

Making things official when you put them on the calendar can give you some accountability that you may need.

Write in dates for when you need to get certain things done and if you need to go the extra step, have someone keep you accountable. Maybe a trusted biz buddy or a spouse, someone who understands your goals and wants to help you achieve them.

 

2. Make a Deadline

If you’re day job is sucking the life out of you and you are in a place where you are desperate to leave, make a deadline for when you will make the leap.

Sometimes having a do-or-die deadline in place is just what you need to start planning now and do you best to make the smooth transition.

Maybe you choose a date before you have clients, or you wait until you have a waiting list of clients. It’s up to you how you want to make the switch but either way, having a deadline in place is a self-imposed and important nudge to make your goal happen.

3. Be Selective

It’s easy to waste time. You pull out your phone and start scrolling through Instagram, then you realize 20 min later, you need to get back to work on your website copy.

Or you hop on Facebook to find out what the latest ISO is for that FB group and an hour later you find that you’ve just been “reading around," when you really need to be planning out your blog post content.

So what are some things you do now that aren’t necessarily improving your business right now?

For me it was constantly tweaking my website or changing my pictures. Those things aren’t helping. Yeah, my site may look a little different, but what would actually help is if I send a follow up email to that person who was interested in my services. Or schedule a Skype date with someone you click with on social media, or reach out to someone who may need your services.

The things that will move you forward are actual interactions with other people and understanding how you can help.

If networking is what you need to be doing, then do that, or blogging about specific, relevant and important topics that will attract your ideal client, or creating a cohesive Instagram feed to attract your ideal client.

And in terms of projects you take on, make sure you choose only the projects that will bring you closer to your goal and improve your portfolio, rather than for just a paycheck.

Especially as a side hustler when we don't have a lot of extra time anyway. Work on things that fuel your passion and projects that will attract more of that kind of work.

4. People to Guide You

Someone who is on the outside of your business has a completely different perspective of your business than you. You may think that you’re productive and busy but someone on the outside may see that you need help streamlining your workflows.

I suggest finding someone who can give you some advise who cares about you.

It could be:

• A spouse

• A business bestie

• A business coach

Having people like this in your life can keep you on track with getting things done, with holding you accountable, with giving you tough love, and encouraging you to take risks.

The more you open up about your business with those you trust the more you can make significant and important changes that can propel you forward.

So adopting the mindset of an entrepreneur can start by making urgency a part of your life by incorporating dates and deadlines which can force you to only work on things that are moving the needle forward and closer to your goals.

I would love to hear your thoughts about this post and where you're at in your business journey. Comment below!

So where is your current mindset, do you have the mindset of a side hustler or of a boss?

Which one of these tips can you implement to move you closer to your goal?