The Biggest Lies I Was Told About Side Hustles (and Why I’m Done Listening)
Living in a struggling economy, it's helpful to have some lucrative side hustles to help pay for extra stuff and have a bit of money for yourself.
I’ve always liked the idea of having something on the side, like a project that could grow into something big. I tried.
(BTW, don’t want to hear another word about bloody surveys!)
I really wanted to figure out what I could do before getting a full-time job so that by that time, I’d already have something solid going.
Spoiler: that didn’t exactly happen.
Hence why I’m here, writing this instead of lounging in Bali and selling courses on how I made it.
Thinking back, one of the reasons why I failed at side hustles was because of all the noise out there. You know what I mean:
Advice coming from all directions. Once a person tells you to start a dropshipping store, another swears it’s a scam and you should focus on affiliate marketing, which is apparently oversaturated.
It was chaotic, confusing and sadly discouraging.
So, let's go through the biggest lies I was told about side hustles :)
- Don’t do it! It’s oversaturated
This lie is technically not a lie because everything is saturated now. But this statement stopped me from starting so many things. I’d get excited about an idea, and then I would scroll to another video that would say,
“That space is too crowded. Don’t bother”.
What matters is whether you can offer something unique or tap into a specific niche or community. You don’t need to be the biggest damn fish in the ocean. A pond is more than enough.
If you have the knowledge, resources, and genuine interest, go for it. Saturation is a challenge, but it doesn’t always mean failure. It just means try to stand out.
2. You can make six figures in your first year
Someone throw this statement in the bin and set it on fire. I’m tired.
Yes, someone out there made six figures in six months. Good for them. But most people won’t. And that's not because they are lazy or doing it wrong, it's just not that simple.
It takes time, strategy and experimentation.
Oh, and let's not forget failure!
I feel the idea that some can casually earn £100k while still figuring things out is unrealistic, and it makes people feel like they are failing when they're just starting.
3. It only takes a few hours a week
ALERT: A LIE HAS BEEN DETECTED!
If there is one thing I’ve learnt through side hustle failures, it is that they don’t just take a few hours a week. And they are definitely not straightforward.
Even the smallest projects are accompanied by to-do lists, such as planning, learning, and redos. It’s frustrating.
But this is fine!
What’s not fine is pretending it’s easy and effortless when it really isn’t.
4. It’s passive income
The holy grail of buzz words herself, “Passive Income”.
Now, anyone who talks about side hustles always mentions these two words, but what do they actually mean?
Passive income:
Income that requires little to no ongoing effort to earn and maintain once it’s set up. -Quoted by Google
Sounds great, doesn’t it? I believed it too. I thought I could create something in three hours and then, boom, money while I’m asleep.
But the world is not that generous. And frankly, I was kinda lazy.
The truth? Passive income is not actually passive income. Well, not at first.
In actuality, it takes a ton of frontload work, learning, planning, and a tank of motivation the size of Ireland. In other words, it takes a while to get to the “Low effort” phase.
Overall, looking at the statements, they definitely held me back. But to be fair, the biggest reason I didn’t succeed was that I didn’t fully understand the effort involved. I assumed I could do something for a few hours and make £50.
Yeah, that's not how it works.
This year, I want to try again.
I’m planning to build a SaaS business (Coming from someone who knows nothing about data or coding).
I already know it’s going to take a lot of time, consistency and many, many tears. But now that I understand what’s needed, which is to grind before I can cruise.
Thank you for reading. I had fun writing. If you relate to this, leave a comment. I’d love to hear about side hustle fails or successes.
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