It’s the New Year, and as many of us take time to reflect on the year we’ve had and plan for the year ahead, starting a side hustle is one goal that I’ve noticed is on the list for many. It’s a fantastic goal – after all, who doesn’t want to earn more money so they can live better or retire faster? Like any entrepreneurial pursuit though, it comes with its fair share of challenges. In today’s post, we’ll explore some of the common pitfalls faced by side hustlers, along with tips on how you can avoid them.

Being Paralyzed by Self-Doubt

“What if I can’t do this?” “What will people think of me if I fail?” These types of questions come up in many who are looking to start a side hustle, and left unchecked, they can really hold you back (see pitfall #2).

There are a few ways to avoid this pitfall. First, find others who are on a similar path to you. Your shared successes and struggles will help you realize that, no, you’re not a failure just because you suffered a setback, or doubted yourself. Those things are nearly universal to anyone who starts a side hustle… the kicker is that it doesn’t always feel that way when you’re on your own working on things.

Second, be sure to celebrate small victories along the way. Every little moment that goes your way along your journey takes a little bit of power away from the things that might otherwise make you doubt yourself.

Finally, recognize that failures are part of the journey, and as such, should be thought of as learning opportunities – moments that can help you shape your side hustle for the better.

Focusing on “Perfect” versus “Done”

It can be tempting as you get closer to launching your side hustle to want to fine-tune and adjust to get everything just right. It’s one of the most common pitfalls, and I’ve made this mistake myself a few times: you want to launch your blog with a bunch of content already on it so that it “looks successful,” or you wait to launch your podcast until you have the website and merchandise store fully stood up and ready to rock.

But guess what? In doing so, you’ve just spent a ton of time, energy, and probably money on something you’re not sure is going to pan out. Instead, why not just do the damn thing, and enhance it as you go? Launch the blog with one or two posts! Start publishing your podcast without a website! Don’t worry if your painting technique isn’t perfect; just paint!

Often, we delay and “fine-tune” out of a subconscious fear that things won’t work out; we don’t want to prove ourselves right. Yet there’s no better way to seal your failure than to never get something out the door in the first place.

Lack of Focus and Direction

There are literally hundreds of millions of people in the world with side hustles. In fact, according to this article from Side Hustle Nation, 39% of Americans have one – that’s over 130 million people in the US alone.

With so much competition, it’s critical that you have a clear focus and direction for your own side hustle. If you’re trying to start a custom t-shirt business while also teaching guitar lessons alongside a smattering of photography portraits (while of course trying to sell the paintings you’ve been dabbling in), you’re not going to be able to give any of those the focus they need in order to do them well enough to be truly successful.

It’s just basic math: there aren’t enough hours in the day to work your day job (you’ve got one of those, right? Otherwise these wouldn’t be side hustles) and also dedicate the time and energy required to get so many businesses running successfully. Instead, focus on the one side hustle you believe most strongly in, and put all your time into making that successful.

Burnout and Exhaustion

The enthusiasm that fuels the kick-off of a side hustle can sometimes fade over time. When it does, you run the risk of tipping the scales into burnout. Avoiding burnout is key to your physical and mental wellbeing, and requires setting firm boundaries and understanding your limits.

Schedule regular breaks, make sure you get enough quality sleep, and recognize when it’s necessary to scale back temporarily to preserve your well-being. Hustle culture would have you believe that, in order to run a successful side hustle, you need to be working on it from 6pm to midnight and from 4-8am, with a solid 3-4 hours of sleep in between.

Mark my words: if you try to live that way, it will catch up with you eventually. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow; but when it does, you are going to feel it in the worst way. It’s not sustainable. You know what is? A controlled burn: spending a set amount of time each week working on your hustle, and preserving time with loved ones and for rest and relaxation.

Believing too much in “If you build it, they will come”

This is one of those pitfalls that goes hand-in-hand with the “getting it perfect” one I mentioned earlier. Many people believe that, if they get everything to a state of perfection in their mind, then success is inevitable.

It’s not.

Once you have your business model built and have hung your shingle out to the world, you need to tell people about it. Unless you have developed a new-to-the-world product or service that solves a major need (and sorry, but you likely haven’t – neither have I), you need to tell people that you exist, along with a clear reason they should choose your offering over the next person’s.

To win here, make sure you have a clear vision of who your target audience is… then hit them on social media, target them with ads, spread word of mouth in your social circles, and so on, until you start to build momentum.

Oh, and it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: your earliest customers are among the most important and influential to the success of your business – either you do everything in your power to make sure they walk away thrilled, or you’re dead in the water.

Wrapping it Up

Building a successful side hustle isn’t easy. The path of a side hustler is filled with pitfalls, but each challenge is nothing more than an opportunity for growth and improvement. By approaching them with resilience, strategic thinking, and a willingness to adapt, side hustlers can navigate these hurdles and emerge stronger on the other side. Remember, success is not just about overcoming obstacles; it’s about learning, evolving, and thriving in the face of adversity.