Are you thinking about starting a new side hustle?

Congrats, starting a new project is always an exciting time because it is the start of something totally new.

Trust me, I have been there many times before from starting my own websites and businesses! So I know the rush of adrenaline and endless optimism you have right now since you are launching your new project to the world.

Seriously though, there is truly nothing better than starting a new side project because you are starting with a clean slate which means the sky is the limit!

But hold up, let’s be realistic for a second…

I know you have high expectations, you want to change the world with your new project and you want to make some money doing the things you love. All that jazz is inspiring and I truly wish you the best but before you start sharing your project with the world I want you to give you a couple pieces of advice from the things I have learnt over the years.

What You NEED To Know Before Starting A NEW Project

Whether you have already launched your project or if it is still in the ideation stage, I want to share some of my experiences with you. These tips will help you get a step ahead of the entrepreneurial grind because I honestly learnt these things the hard way.

Also, I totally understand that this advice may be annoying or unreasonable to hear at first but trust me, this is what I have experienced time and time again when it comes to starting new side projects.

So what do you say?

Let’s just get right into it.

1. Your family and friends are not your REAL customers

When it comes to starting a new project it is important to remember that your friends and family ARE NOT your real customers. Yes, it is possible that your projects target market satisfies the needs of some of your connections but don’t expect it to fulfill the needs of ALL of your connections.

At the start of most projects you will surely gain overwhelming support and encouragement from your friends and family. But once that initial “hype” amongst your connections subsides, you will be left alone with your project and no TRUE FANS. So what you need to do right off the bat is find out who your target market is and start growing your project with those individuals in mind. Your project is not going to be relevant to everyone, so find out who can benefit from it and focus on them because they will be your TRUE FANS in the long run.

It’s true, your friends and family love you and they will always support you. But when it comes to growing a project or business you need more than just your inner circles support, you need customers and a community.

So the only way to get those customers and community around your brand is to focus solely on your target market and not waste all of your energy and time trying to resell your friends and family on an idea that they aren’t interested in.

For example, I experienced this situation when I first started my dance company “ Urban-Expression Dance Company ” back in the day. I quickly realized within the first few weeks of running dance classes that many of the initial people that came out at the start, didn’t come out every week (for a variety of reasons). So that’s why it was crucial for me to grow my dance company’s community beyond my social circle and I did this by connecting with more dancers, building an ACTUAL community around the brand and creating more accessible events with AWESOME instructors!

Pro Tip: Target people you know that fit your target market and would actually be interested in learning more about your side hustle.

2. No one cares, make them

When you first start a new project, it is important to be real with yourself and remember that no one actually cares (I’m a Debbie Downer I know). But seriously, not everyone is going to be as passionate about your project initially, that’s why it is up to you to make them care. You need to find your target market and bring value to them because they will be your passionate fans but that whole process starts from ground zero.

So whether you are simply trying to just develop your personal brand or create an entirely new company, you need to put the work in. Everything takes times and when it comes to building great companies and ventures, it seriously doesn’t happen overnight. If you want to be the next Tesla or Pixar it is entirely possible, just put in the work and never stop grinding!

For example, when I first started this blog I had no readers, a minimal social media presence and no email subscribers. But the minute I started investing time into improving the blog, creating content on a regular basis and building a community around my brand, I actually started to see results.

Whenever I think back to how I actually got my initial audience to give a crap about my blog, I remember three things were crucial:

Understanding my niche, followers and readers. Creating consistently awesome content. Grinding day in and day out!

3. The start is the easiest part (it is a struggle)

When it comes to starting a new side hustle one thing successful people don’t usually mention is that the start is usually the easiest part.

Wait. Wait. Wait…..

Before you throw your computer, I’m talking about the “true beginning” of your side hustle; the ideation, proposals and sharing it with your inner circle. This part of the process is an exciting time because as I said before, at the start you will have high hopes and a clean slate. But trust me, within a couple months of launching (depending on the circumstances) that euphoric, enthusiastic and motivated feeling will most likely subside once reality hits you like a brick (the real grind starts).

I hate to be a “downer” but I am jsut trying to be real with you. Starting a new project is extremely difficult, it takes some serious hard work and often a long time to see results. But I promise you one thing, if you stick with it and put in the time you will definitely see results.

For example, when I first started my blog I had no readers and a pretty sad social media presence. So I experienced starting from scratch first hand and I have to tell you… incremental growth seriously sucks sometimes. It often takes a very long time to grow your side hustle and it is so easy to give up once you are fed up with the slow results. But trust me, it is worth it especially when you receive positive feedback from your true fans and how they love what your doing (that’s always a pick me up when I’m feeling down). So all I have to say about this tip (more like reality), is that it isn’t always going to be butterflies and rainbows. When it comes to business, side hustles and new ventures, the journey is up and down and you just have to catch a wave at a time.

Pro Tip: Understand that the road ahead is filled with obstacles, seriously though. You have to put in the work, deal with being a solopreneur and you have to love what you do.

Get Ready To Hustle

So now that you have a firm grasp on the truth behind starting a new side hustle, you are well on your way to success. Honestly, I faced these learning experiences first hand and I feel that they are extremely helpful to anyone starting a side hustle.

So when you decide to start your side hustle remember that your friends and family aren’t your ACTUAL target audience, people don’t care at the start and it is a constant grind day in and day out.

It’s up to you to make this side hustle AWESOME, so what are you waiting for? Get to it!

Godluck, you got this.