freelancers

5 Lies Stopping You From Getting Rich With Your Side Hustle

Rich creator or barely making money: The choice is yours.

Anangsha Alammyan

22 May 2023 • 4 min read

Photo by ConvertKit on Unsplash

Rich creator or barely making money: The choice is yours.

The creator economy has no middle class.

There are successful, thriving creators who book international vacations on a whim.

Then, there’s the other batch of creators who sit behind a screen for 12+ hours, barely making enough to pay the rent. To them, even thinking about vacations is a luxury.

Li Jin for Harvard Business Review

In this world of unprecedented disparity, which side of the fence do you want to be on?

As a creator who’s had consistent $10k+ months, I’m confident that I’m on my way to the 6-figure club, hopefully in a couple of years.

But things weren’t always this way for me.

I’ve had months when I barely made INR 3000 ($40) in a month from writing. I’ve written 100k+ words and made no money out of them.

In this post, I’m sharing the five lies I believed when I wasn’t succeeding in my writing side hustle. Coming from someone who’s been a full-time writer for about two years, I’m sure you’d find value in these tips.

Lie #1: Hard work = More money

Millions of people work 14–15 hours every day but still earn peanuts.

The top 10% of creators work 1–3 hours a day but still make six figures every month.

Ever wondered what’s the reason behind this disparity?

Hardworking people spend too much time doing the wrong things.

To succeed, your hard work needs direction and alignment. Think of your five-year goal, then make sure every step you take is aligned in that direction.

If you focus on the right things, you’ll achieve success faster.

That’s where the 80/20 rule comes in. 80% of your work will only bring in 20% of the results. The rest 20% will bring in 80% of the results.

Focus on the latter.

Find a way to let the rest 80% happen on autopilot. More on that here.

Lie #2: Only one person can be at the top

The world’s an abundant place. There’s enough for everyone to achieve.

If someone’s ahead of you, don’t get jealous of their success. It just means they had a different starting point than yours.

Instead, use them as an inspiration. Because if they can do it, it’s a sign you can too. 🙂

Use your competition to grow faster:

learn from their mistakes,
reverse-engineer their strategy, and
apply whatever’s applicable to your journey.

This is the quickest lane to get rich with your side hustle.

Lie #3: Your income defines your worth

It doesn’t!

You are more than your work.

“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” — John Lennon.

You’re in this world for eighty-odd years. Make the most of your limited time.

Pursue your hobbies.
Explore different places.
Take out time for yourself.
Give yourself enough breaks.

Don’t spend the best years of your life hunched up over a keyboard, alone in a dismal room.

What good’s making money if you’re always working or feeling burnt out?

Lie #4: Market as soon as you create

Marketing is important. But what’s more important is the quality of your product.

If your product sucks, no one will buy it. Focus on creating quality first. Here’s how you can do it:

Create the first version of your product
Offer it for free for a limited time
Get initial feedback
Iterate till the quality is top-notch

Once you get there, give it a price tag and share it on socials to start earning money.

In the case of writing paid guest posts or pitching to freelance clients, focus on building a portfolio first. You should have published at least 25 high-quality articles under your name to even be considering putting a price tag on your words.

Your portfolio is like your proof of work. Its quality defines your rates. Put careful consideration into building thought leadership and a name for yourself first.

Lie #5: You must earn from your side hustle in the beginning

You’ll earn from your hustle one day, but not at the start.

The first few months are to enjoy and improve your skill. Write more articles, get feedback, know what your audience wants from you, and establish thought leadership.

As you get better, the money will follow.

Keep it as a long-term goal, but in the first few months, let your curiosity and the quest to become better guide you.

Final words

In the abundance of the creator economy, rewiring your mindset can be the first step to achieving your goal of financial freedom.

Summarizing, here are the five lies stopping you from getting rich from your side hustles. TL;DR:

Hard work = More money ❌ Smart work is! ✅
Only one person can stay at the top ❌ Many people can succeed together ✅
Your income defines your worth ❌ YOU define your worth ✅
Market as soon as you create ❌ Improvise first, market later ✅
You must earn from your side hustle in the beginning ❌ Focus on getting better first, money will follow ✅

I’ve just launched Freelance Superheroes: A 4-day live training for writers who want to earn from writing online without leaving their job, attract gigs outside Upwork/Fiverr, and become irreplaceable. The first 10 people will get a free 45-min call with me. Save your spot today!

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