One important step people keep missing when starting a side hustle

Summary

The website content emphasizes the crucial yet often overlooked step of thoroughly researching the chosen sales platform before starting a side hustle.

Abstract

The article on the website underscores the common misconception that starting a side hustle is straightforward and guarantees passive income, highlighting the oversaturation of the market due to this belief. It points out that many entrepreneurs, following the advice of "side hustle gurus," dive into creating products, branding, and marketing without adequately understanding the platform they intend to use for sales. This oversight can lead to significant challenges and potential failure. The author stresses the importance of a methodical approach, which includes researching platform fees, startup costs, domain name requirements, and customer transaction processes, as well as understanding the legal aspects of running a side business. The article concludes by summarizing the essential steps for a successful side hustle, with an emphasis on the necessity of platform research to avoid common pitfalls.

Opinions

The article suggests that the ease of starting a side hustle is often exaggerated by so-called "start a side hustle gurus," leading to unrealistic expectations.
The author criticizes the trend of entrepreneurs jumping into side hustles without proper preparation, particularly without researching the sales platform they plan to use.
It is noted that the lack of support in online communities for those who skip essential steps, such as platform research, can be due to the perceived futility of assisting those who have not laid a proper foundation.
The article takes a stance that financial success from a side hustle is unlikely without thorough knowledge of the sales platform, including its fees, startup requirements, and legal considerations.
The author advocates for a structured approach to starting a side hustle, which includes learning about the platform, legal requirements, product creation, branding, and promotion in a logical sequence.

I guess the “side hustle gurus” are not sharing it

Starting a side hustle seems pretty easy, right? Set some hours aside, find an idea for a product you can sell on the internet, and set up a store. You’ll then spend the rest of your life lounging around, doing fun things as your bank account fills up. How hard can it be?

According to most “start a side hustle gurus” it has never been easier to start earning passive income in your sleep. There is probably some truth in there, but what they fail to tell you is thanks to that thinking it has never been harder to succeed with your side hustle.

Let’s go back to step one. You found an idea of what you can do online, you buy the premade product you can resell, create a logo in Canva, open up a shop, and expect dollars to come to you as soon as you hit publish.

After some zeros on your account, you decide to join a few Facebook support groups and connect with other side hustlers. You finally gather some courage and post in the group hoping to get help from people who understand what you’ve been going through.

Most of the people will be helpful, some will be harsh, some rude, and others won’t even bother to reply thinking that if you missed that one big important step there is no point in trying to help you now.

Mockup comment made in Canva by the author

What is that one important step most people skip when starting a side hustle?

They fail to research the platform they will use to sell products.

How can you have a successful side hustle without knowing how important stuff work, for example, the platform you are using to sell your products? You can’t, it’s as simple as that.

These should be the steps to take when you want to start a side hustle:

product idea;

find a platform to sell;

learn all you can about the platform: are there fees? do you have to pay to start? do you need a domain name? how does a customer get your product?…

learn about all the legal stuff of starting a side hustle;

create some products to start;

create logo and branding;

upload everything;

promote, promote, promote …

To sum up this “rant” — hurrying up to earn quick bucks most people skip the important step of researching the platform they will use to sell products.

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