I have seen many people who want to start a side hustle and fail miserably, the main reason is that most people do not know where to start.
Starting is the hardest part for almost everyone. Today I will share four basic principles for preparing to launch a side hustle. You may have missed some important tactics even if you’ve already started.
Why do most side hustlers fail?
There are many reasons why most side hustlers fail, but here are the 4 most common reasons.
The job mindset
I call it the job mindset because most people who try to start a side hustle have their 9-5 jobs, you know, you show up, you do what you are told and you go home, and after a few days, you receive a paycheck.
The side hustle will not work this way, sometimes you will do a lot of work and make zero money, especially if you are just starting, most beginners will give it a few weeks and when they do not make money they will quit.
Not taking action
Most people who start a side hustle think that magically it will work itself and make them a lot of money, this way of thinking has been popularized by some gurus who promise people that they will be online millionaires with few clicks and they do not need to take any action.
If you want your side hustle to work, you need to work.
Information overload
There is a lot of information about how to start a side hustle, there are many side hustles, and this is where most people get stuck, they stay in the learning loop and never take action.
Best Side Hustle To Start Today
Taking the wrong action
Do you know what is worse than not taking action? Taking the wrong one, I have seen most people who want to start a side hustle spend a lot of time learning about tools, hiring lawyers, accountants, virtual assistants, etc, all those actions are cool but only if you make money, if you do not consider doing what I am going to outline in this post.
4 Things You Need To Do Before You Start A Side Hustle
Now we know what things you should avoid, let us go and analyze 4 things you need to do before you start a side hustle.
Identify a specific problem you can solve
A successful side hustle doesn’t solve a problem that’s too broad or vague.
While ‘I help people to make money online’ is a cool business, it is too broad and you will not target the right audience.
Instead, narrow it down to helping engineers make income by sharing their knowledge online.
To hone in on the right challenge, identify a specific, tangible problem that you can solve for your ideal client. Ask yourself:
• What pain points does my ideal client face?
• What challenges keep them up at night?
• What obstacles stand in the way of their success?
When you focus on a clear, well-defined problem, you can develop a solution that resonates with your ideal customers and sets your side hustle apart.
Understand your target audience inside and out
You need to create an avatar of your target audience, you do not need to solve problems of many people you need to solve it for one person.
These are some questions that will help you to figure out who to help to solve their problem.
what are their main interests?
What do they value?
What do they want to achieve, and why?
What attitudes and personality types are relevant to the specific problem you solve?
The answer to these questions will give you a clear idea of what solutions, services, products, and messages you need to create so that your right audience can resonate with you.
Clarify your unique value proposition
Now you identified who is your target customer, you need to find a unique value that you can offer them. The easiest way to do this is to share your journey.
Maybe you are an engineer from a third-world country who struggled to make money just to feed the family, you can share your journey on what you did and what you are doing to escape that situation and build wealth.
Maybe you are an engineer who managed to find time to spend with the family by automating some of the daily tasks, you can show people how to achieve the same.
My business model is to show people your journey and then sell them the implementation.
Strategically build awareness around your brand and message
Now it’s time to start generating attention for your side hustle. Here are some simple social media tactics you might employ.
Find where your target customers are
The first step to build awareness around your brand is to figure out where your customers are congregating, you see there are a lot of online communities and in those communities, you will be able to find your target customers.
For example, for building a business, and wealth I will start looking into X, for beauty, I would look into Instagram, for business to business I will look into Linked In, for Home decor and home improvement I would look into Pinterest.
Build a Profile and include a link
After you figure out where your audience is, go to that social network, create a profile, and optimize it by adding your photo and a call to action to your landing page.
A landing page is a page where you can ask your target audience for their name or send them to your offer booking page.
If you do not have a landing page, you can download a generic one I created for you, it is free, change it to fit what you do and add it to your profile, click on the image below to download it.

If you want to learn how to create your landing pages here are my tips.
11 Tips to Create a landing page
Key Takeaways: 4 Things You Need To Do Before You Start A Side Hustle
If you’ve always wanted to build a side business but struggle to take action, focus on these four priorities:
1. Identify a specific problem you can solve.
2. Understand your target audience inside and out.
3. Clarify your unique value proposition.
4. Strategically build awareness around your brand and message.
When you focus on these priorities, you’ll increase the chance your side hustle succeeds. And when a side hustle succeeds, it can eventually become your main hustle.
Take action today and stay focused. Attack these priorities one step at a time; before you know it, you can have a thriving business that makes a real impact.