Do you ever wonder why side hustles fail? And do you want to know how you can overcome failure and create a successful side hustle?
Let’s see why.
Table of Contents
Why Most Side Hustles Fail
Let’s be honest: A lot of side hustles don’t make it. Some don’t even make it past the 1-week mark.
It’s not because people are lazy or even burned out. It’s usually because they run into mindset traps like these:
No Clear Reason
Some people just start their side hustle to make money, and they have no deeper goal(s), mission, or interest.
Without an end goal in mind, motivation can fade so fast.
Picking The Wrong Idea
Some people start with ideas that don’t align with themselves, such as chasing trends or picking niches they don’t particularly enjoy or understand.
Sure, trends and fancy niches can be profitable, but profit only comes from execution and consistent work, which means you need to pick an idea you can stick with.
No Time Management
Tasks that get allocated get completed.
And what gets measured gets managed.
You can’t try to fit a side hustle into the cracks of your schedule. Doing that is a surefire way to burn out, feel a sense of dread, and ultimately fail.
No Validation
Some people build before they test. Then, when they launch, no one buys.
This is a waste of time, money, and resources.
They Quit Too Soon
Too many people expect overnight results. But they need to remember that most side hustles and small business ideas take several months of consistent work and experimentation before traction truly starts.
How You Can Win
So, how can you avoid failure and ultimately win, beat the odds, and feel accomplished?
Start with your “why”
You need to tie your side hustle to something personal. This could be something like long-term financial freedom, creative passions, or a personal mission.
In fact, the best types of side hustles will scratch multiple itches at once that pique your curiosity.
A common example is educating people. Here’s a quote from iconic physicist Richard Feynman:
“If you want to master something, teach it”
When things get hard in business, you can revisit your “why”, and it will remind you why you’re doing this in the first place.
Pick Something You Enjoy Or Know Well
You don’t always need to be passionate about the idea you pick, but you definitely can’t pick something you dislike.
There are lots of unique exercises and ways to find your big idea, and it usually comes back to identifying 2 things:
- Your interests
- Your existing skills, or skills you’re willing to improve
You can understand this even more by looking at what’s called your Zone of Genius. This is explained well in the book “The Big Leap”. It outlines 4 different zones of work:
- Zone of incompetence
- Zone of competence
- Zone of excellence
- Zone of genius
Your goal is to stay as close to the zone of genius as possible. It’s your highest level of skills, knowledge, and expertise.
Stay in that zone, and you’ll be far more likely to succeed.
Schedule It
This is simple, but easy to ignore.
Don’t wait around for extra time. Schedule time, and keep it reasonable.
Starting with 30 minutes a day, or just a few hours of work during the weekend, will add up.
If you schedule something consistently, it will eventually become a habit. This makes it easier to remember and stick with it.
Test And Validate Fast
Validation is vital for success. Can you sell your idea before you build the initial viable product?
Pre-sell your idea to family and friends who are trustworthy, courteous, and open-minded.
Post your idea in Facebook groups and other social media platforms where people can express interest in your offer before you even spend a penny.
Validation is much more productive than shipping a perfect offer or product with no audience awareness.
Try For At Least 90 days
You can think of your side hustle idea as a 90-day experiment. Not every experiment will be successful or perfect, but it’ll lead to motivation and clarity.
Track everything you do for the 90 days, and see what your results are.
Identify what isn’t working, and either ditch or fix your idea.
But remember, you may only be a few steps away from a winner.
So please, keep trying.
Conclusion: Why Side Hustles Fail
In the end, the reason why side hustles fail is people:
- Start without a good reason
- Quit too soon
- Don’t manage their time
- Skip the hard parts rather than searching for better solutions.
But you’re not like most people, because you stuck with me until the end.
You can put together a 1-page action plan, identify your zone of genius, and show up consistently.
Do this and your side hustle will skyrocket to the moon.