The Side Hustler’s Checklist to Conquer Uncertainty

Because creating content is an ever-changing gig.

Sometimes professional change is an option, but we often find ourselves facing situations beyond our control. The sudden and very uncomfortable processes we all go through in an ever-changing global economy demands we rethink our side hustles into flexible tools to achieve a not-so-flexible objective.

How’s that? It means that while your destination should remain the same, you should constantly revisit your roadmap. Yes, you may encounter obstacles in doing so, but you could also find shortcuts.

We live inside a black box:

When you’re in your 20’s, you think you have everything figured out. After graduating from high school, you find your passion, work hard, and quickly start getting promotion after promotion, sipping cocktails every Friday, and achieving all your professional goals.

That’s what is going to happen because you’re good at what you do, right?

I believed that until I left my career in Political Science to work for a magazine writing about sex. Then, I understood that professional growth is about knowing how to embrace two inevitable aspects of the professional world: chaos and change.

Does your business, side hustle, or 9 to 5 job currently have you feeling like you’re walking in the dark? It’s probably because we all are. We’re desperately trying to find some method to this madness, and the only thing we can actually do is to cope with the universe’s chaos.

Now, I will show you how you can work on yourself to develop the necessary skills to deal with uncertainty. That’s, ironically, the only predictable thing we can rely on these days.

Of course, change is uncomfortable:

As neuro researchers had been warning us for decades now, our brains are hardwired to be lazy. So instead of arguing about it, let’s face some facts:

• We prefer predictability because it reduces our stress levels.
• Stress is terrible for our health; it destroys our social skills and changes the way our brain works.
• The human brain copes with change by entering a state of alertness that “helps” us to escape alive from the problem that’s overwhelming us.
• Therefore, under stress, we don’t respond like our regular selves.

The unpredictable nature of side hustles:

The problem is, change is an indispensable condition to develop a side hustle. Let’s think about it for a minute. How does a side hustle sustain itself? From people’s ever-growing necessities.

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” — Winston Churchill

And why is that? Because there’s always one aspect, one teeny tiny part of the equation that slipped under the economy’s radar. That’s when you, an ambitious entrepreneur, find it’s possible to offer a new service and that you can do it better than anyone else in the market.

Your side hustle feeds on chaos. It grows on that startup that needs someone to write their content for them because they now have so many clients they can’t find the time to keep doing it themselves. Or, it nourishes from that journalist that was promoted to editor and had to find someone else to fill their previous position ASAP.

As you can see, publications being shut down are only an opportunity for other writers, publications, and newcomers to grow in a different, more profitable direction.

Let’s keep it real:

As George R.R. Martin beautifully portrayed through that incredible character named Petyr Baelish, “chaos is a ladder.” I know it might sound a little bit ruthless, but remember there’s a weird Political Scientist behind this keyboard.

Wisdom entails learning how to deal with the inevitable pain that comes with having a fulfilling career. The more you dare to accomplish new things and explore your limits, the more exposed you are to learning some painful but extraordinary lessons about business.

Make this your daily side hustle mantra: I’m learning today so that I can do better tomorrow. My point is, evaluate every part of each situation, keeping your business in mind.

“Change begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

— Roy T. Bennett

So, the magazine, publication, or blog you were working for is closing down. What are you going to do now? That exact thing happened to me during the pandemic.

For six years, I had been working for a content mill. Even though I was utterly exhausted from doing the same repetitive, boring writing every day of the week, I relied on that income to get through the pandemic.

At first, I thought the quarantine and the confinement would increase the number of customers hungry for fresh and innovative content. What else will people do during the quarantine but consume content? Now I can see I was merely trying to calm myself down without evaluating all the possible angles.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I’m wise, so I am changing myself.”

— Rumi

Do you know what happened during the pandemic? Everyone resorted to generating all sorts of content. Whether it was for fun or to generate an extra income, many people recurred to writing as a side hustle.

One of the top side hustles during 2020 was, of course, working for the same content mill I was working for. And that, my friends, was a devastating blow for the freelance writing industry that set me in motion to accomplish greater things.

What you can learn from that:

It was at that point in my career that I stumbled upon this platform, and amid the crisis, I was able to understand that:

Every content creator needs to work on their personal branding:

It doesn’t matter how many years of experience you have as a ghostwriter; writing for the same client, the same publication, or about the same topic; that experience won’t do you any good in terms of building a portfolio.

You have to do your best to put yourself out there because your reputation will open more doors than a long list of random sites where your name is nowhere to be found.

Focusing on a niche will unequivocally always lead to the same result: stagnation.

Yes, of course, it is okay to specialize, delve into the topics and show your expertise in certain areas.

I am building my portfolio focusing on relationships, psychology, and critical thinking. But, although these three topics have a lot in common, I have the flexibility to explore other things.

For example, I can write about politics whenever there’s a topic I feel like tackling. If you have something valuable to contribute in different fields, go for it. That can help you a lot when it comes to conquering the next step.

The side hustler’s checklist to cope with uncertainty:

So, how can you deal with uncertainty in your side hustle without freaking out or losing any chances? Follow these guidelines:

Don’t panic:

If you accept that what’s messing up your side hustle could be an opportunity to reinvent your business model, the solution will show up sooner. Failing to adapt is one of the leading causes of extinction for species, companies, and startups alike.

Hope for the better, prepare for the worst:

There’s a crucial difference between preparing your newborn side business to deal with an unpredictable crisis (like an economic crash, a pandemic, or a legal suit) and constantly dealing with everyday problems that you could prevent.

Marrying your side hustle to one stream of income, no matter how profitable it is, is always poor decision-making. Once you’ve “secured” that income, you immediately need to hustle again into finding new pastures in which your business can grow.

Are you making enough money to reinvest? Are you rapidly going through your savings to build your new brand? Are you in the position to absorb any debt caused by a canceled contract? These are the preventable crises I’m talking about here.

Sometimes the doom of a side hustle is an excess of optimism that makes us lose grasp of our objective: working towards goals that secure our financial future by fulfilling a purpose.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket:

This is the philosophical principle from which side hustles originate. If you’re still in the planning stage or haven’t seen your project take off, take a minute to reconsider. Is this the best moment to quit your job?

If the market doesn’t look favorable enough, take a couple of months to play the field before investing more money. You don’t want to burn all the bridges before crossing.

Know your market and potential customers:

Whenever we stop innovating, that infallible “success formula” begins to crumble. Economic results lie in knowing how to reinvent yourself and adapt to the changing needs of the market.

We already know new generations are changing the food industry with their eating patterns.

So, if you are starting a catering business as a side hustle on the weekends, offering an organic or vegan menu isn’t an option anymore; it’s mandatory.

Transferred to the world of content creation, we have to focus on one of the following goals:

• Entertain.
• Offer Information.
• Give valuable advice.
• Analyze facts from a unique perspective.

When your content creation objectives’ boundaries are blurry, your audience starts to feel like they are wasting their time. Unless you are writing in a journal or recording private videos, you have to focus on your audience’s expectations.

Writing is a side-hustle in which we reflect in solitude so we can build intellectual bridges with others.

Don’t ever forget that.

Stay modest, stay true to your values:

Gloating that you are the best at what you do reduces your chances to stay at the top of your game. Keep in mind that we all go through a crisis at one point or another during our careers.

Maybe the company you worked for closed, you were the victim of wrongful termination, or perhaps you went through a vocational crisis. Whatever the case may be, you can always climb out of that pit of self-pity by remembering your side hustle’s unnegotiable objective:

You are helping others to fulfill their needs by allowing yourself to work for your dreams.