Over the next seven episodes, I’m going to share with you seven mistakes I’ve made on the way to side hustle success so that you can avoid them on your journey!
One of the most EXCITING AND FULFILLING things I’ve done IN MY LIFE is START MY OWN BUSINESS.
Helping other people to overcome something that comes easy to me is very rewarding.
I watch how they take what they’ve learned from me to help others in so many areas of their lives – building confidence, accepting their bodies, coming to terms with who they are, decluttering, exploring their creative side, building businesses, improving their finances, homeschooling their kids, bringing them closer to their faith, improving their health and wellness… The list goes on and on.
While it’s extremely fulfilling, it’s also quite humbling. Sometimes I think, “Wow, I just teach people how to build websites. They are teaching people how to change their lives!”
As I look back on the past few years, I’m filled with gratitude. And I also think of things I could have done differently.
Not that I regret any of the decisions I’ve made along the road to side hustle success – they are all opportunities to learn and grow – but if a mistake I made can help you grow that much faster, I’d love for you to learn from my mistakes!
MISTAKE #1 – NOT SETTING BOUNDARIES
I created a free video tutorial series called the Free 5-Day Website Challenge, and I created a Facebook group to help students work through it – which is THE BEST thing I’ve ever done for my business because there’s no better way to interact with your community than a tight knit Facebook group with a strong purpose.
But (there’s always a but) I was so eager help and to position myself as an expert that I was in that Facebook group 24-7 – so much so that I had major anxiety when I couldn’t be online.
“What if someone has a question and I’m not there to answer it? What if they go somewhere else for help? What if they tell people that I’m not responsive?”
I set the expectation from the start that you’d get an answer to your question within an hour.
And I had a day job that pays me to work for them between the hours of 8AM and 5PM. If I could go back in time, I’d set the expectation that I’d be in there answering questions twice a day, and now that’s exactly what’s happening, and now I’m in there just twice a week. But it took some time to reset those expectations.
The other place I didn’t set boundaries is with my clients. I would respond to emails at all hours. Do extra work without asking to be paid. Commit to timelines I’d have to kill myself to keep. Why? Because I want them to like me! Because I have a deep need to be needed. Because I love to swoop in and be the hero.
But creating a codependent relationship with my clients just led to me feeling resentful and not wanting to do any client work. And is it my clients’ fault? Were they too needy or greedy? Absolutely not! I never drew a line in the first place, clearly stated it in a way that would benefit both of us, and then kindly reminded my clients of where the line was when they asked to cross it. Because when you work with the right kinds of clients, they wouldn’t dream of crossing the lines! They have just as much respect for you as you have for them.
I also failed to create boundaries around when I would work, and that led to me putting work before my husband and family a LOT. And that’s not why I created a business – to spend every waking moment working. I did it so I’d have more time and flexibility for my family.
So if there’s anything you can do now that’s going to have a huge impact on your business going forward, I think that setting boundaries is a huge one.
Tomorrow, we’ll talk about the second mistake I made on the way to side hustle success – waiting too long to join a mastermind group.
Today’s pep talk is brought to you by Bluehost. Go to www.shannonmattern.com/bluehost and get 36 months of web hosting for just $2.95 a month. That’s less than one trip to Starbucks a month – and if you’re anything like me, you’re at Starbucks more than that!
Then you can sign up for my Free 5 Day Website Challenge at www.shannonmattern.com/5day and I’ll show you step by step how to get started building your new website for your side hustle.
