If you’re a busy professional and still undecided on whether starting a side hustle is a good idea, or whether it’ll work, this guide is for you.
According to a recent survey by Bankrate, up to 39% of adults in the USA have a side hustle.
This shows a significant shift in professional space, where more and more individuals are seeking to expand their income streams in addition to their primary income.
This article will share our curated selection of real-life side hustle success stories from busy professionals.
These will inspire you and offer you helpful insights you need to work on that side hustle you’ve been postponing.
PS: For this particular post, we'll focus on success stories revolving around online businesses such as e-commerce, software as a service (SaaS), etc.
The Rise of the Side Hustle
Recent years have witnessed a significant increase in the number of professionals with a 9-to-5 job starting a business on the side.
This trend is simply fueled by the desire of many folks to create additional streams of income, diversify their skills, or for personal fulfillment reasons.
With advancements in technology and the rise of the gig economy, starting and managing a side hustle has become even easier for individuals.
Here are some of the key reasons why busy professionals are starting side hustles:
Financial security: One of the reasons why most folks start a business on the side is to achieve financial stability and independence. An additional income stream can better position you to build savings, pay off debt, or even offer you a financial cushion during uncertain times.
Career transition: A side hustle also acts as a stepping-stone to a full career transition for some individuals. It enables them to test the waters in the new ventures without leaving their full-time job.
Diversification of skills: Working on a side hustle also allows you to develop new skills and even gain experience in new fields. This can help enhance your primary career and make you more marketable and versatile.
Personal fulfillment: Starting a side hustle is also an opportunity to explore and monetize your passions. For instance, if you’re passionate about photography, starting a freelance photography business is a good way to pursue your passion.
Flexibility: The beauty of side hustles is that they offer you flexibility not found in traditional jobs. Here, you can choose your hours of work, decide what projects to work on, and ultimately be your own boss!
Success Stories in Online Businesses
Now let’s take a closer look at the success stories of some busy professionals who dared to start a business on the side while still working their full-time jobs.
Story 1: Ben Chestnut and Dan Kurzius - Mailchimp
One of the most inspirational stories of busy professionals starting a thriving side business is that of Mailchimp founders, Ben Chestnut and Dan Kurzius.
The two were building this business on the side while still working their full-time jobs.
Little did they know that over time, Mailchimp would grow to become a leading SaaS platform for email marketing that serves millions of users across the globe.
In 2021, they sold this business to Intuit for a whopping $12 billion!
Story 2: Jessica Alba - The Honest Company
Jessica Alba is another inspiring success story!
Though she’s mostly known for her acting career, she was able to work on a business on the side, and this is what is known today as The Honest Company.
Her aim was to provide consumers with safe and non-toxic household products.
Despite being a mother and busy actor, she successfully grew her company into a billion-dollar e-commerce business that offers a wide range of products ranging from diapers to skin care. And more!
Story 3: Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - Making Sense of Cents
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner is another successful entrepreneur we featured in our post!
She started her blog, Making Sense of Cents, while still working a full-time job in the financial services industry.
Armed with years of experience in her field, she started her blog to share personal finance advice and tips for making money online.
Over time, her startup has grown to become a successful business earning up to 6 figures monthly.
Her main sources of revenue include affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and courses.
Story 4: Pat Flynn - Smart Passive Income
Pat Flynn, the founder of Smart Passive Income, started his online business after he was laid off from his architectural position.
His business is simply a blog and podcast focused on teaching others online entrepreneurship and passive income strategies.
Through this business, Pat does affiliate marketing, online marketing courses, and selling digital courses.
All this has enabled him to build a thriving online business while transparently sharing his journey with his audience.
Key Insights and Tips From These Success Stories
Here are some key insights and tips we have gathered after taking an in-depth look at and analyzing the interviews of some the busy professionals who have started successful side businesses:
Efficient time management is key
Balancing your main job and side hustle requires you to have effective time management skills.
Following these tips can help you manage your time much more effectively:
Prioritize the most important tasks from both your side business and main job and focus on completing them first
Delegate tasks that can be handled by others, e.g. routine or administrative tasks, and use automation tools for repetitive tasks such as email campaigns and social media posting.
Batch similar tasks to help minimize context switching. For instance, you can dedicate an evening every week to creating content and meeting clients.
Learn to say NO to non-essential activities to help you fully focus on activities that help you achieve your business goals.
Use scheduling tools or calendars to help you allocate specific time slots for your side hustle. Be sure to stick to these slots as you would to non-negotiable appointments.
Resources! Resources! Resources!
You should also take advantage of various resources at your disposal to help amplify the success of your side hustle.
Here are tips to do this:
Invest in automation tools to help you automate repetitive tasks for your side business, including social media scheduling tools, project management software, and email marketing platforms.
Outsource the tasks beyond your expertise or time constraints to freelancers.
Platforms like Upwork and Fiverr will easily connect you to skilled professionals from across the world.
Network with peers and professionals in your industry; share resources and collaborate on projects to mutually benefit each other.
Keep track of your side hustle financial expenses. Tools like FreshBooks and QuickBooks can help you manage your expenses, invoices, and taxes more efficiently.
Stay motivated
Maintaining motivation is also crucial when managing both your side hustle and a full-time job.
Here are some tips to keep you inspired:
Celebrate your small wins (no matter how small) to help reinforce your progress and boost your morale
Set clear and measurable goals for your side business. Break these goals into smaller milestones to help track your progress and stay informed
Surround yourself with a supportive network of mentors, friends, and family who understand your entrepreneurial journey.
Be sure to take care of yourself. Take regular breaks. Exercise. Prioritize sleep. These are some ways of self-care to ensure your overall well-being.
Stay up to date with the latest industry trends and invest in learning new skills that can help your side hustle.
How We Can Help:
At Trend Hijacking, we offer an innovative automation program designed to help busy professionals like you manage your side hustle effortlessly.
Our automation program is designed for individuals like you who have the capital to start an e-commerce business but lack the time and expertise to manage it on their own.
It provides you with a comprehensive, end-to-end solution that covers all the aspects of building, launching, and scaling your online store.
From product research to market research, store creation, and marketing campaigns—we handle everything for you so you can focus on other priorities in your life.
Benefits of our automation program:
Full management: Our dedicated team handles all the aspects of your business on your behalf, including product research, store building, audience targeting, market analysis, and more.
Comprehensive services: Our all-inclusive services encompass competitor analysis, copywriting, paid marketing campaigns, and even scaling across multiple social media platforms and Google.
Continuous testing: We continually test our strategies to help discover the winning products and optimize your business performance.
Investment opportunities: You can qualify for an investment of up to $100k to help you start and grow your online business.
Access to The Trend Hijacking course: This is a comprehensive training that takes you through the step-by-step process of scaling your e-commerce store, recorded lessons on various topics, live case studies, and more.
Weekly live calls: You’ll get regular sessions with the coach for store reviews and to address any questions or concerns you may have.
24/7 support: You’ll also get continuous assistance from our operations team for all your e-commerce-related needs.
Conclusion
That’s it for our success stories of busy professionals who dared to pursue their business dreams and earned big.
Most of these professionals started side businesses to increase income streams, pursue their passion, diversify their skills, transition from full-time careers, and enjoy the flexibility that comes with a side hustle.
Hopefully, these stories have provided you with the inspiration you need to get started working on your side hustle while still working your full-time job.
Remember to implement the key insights and tips from these real-life stories in your side hustle to increase your chances of success.
At Trend Hijacking, we offer you a powerful automation program that revolutionizes how you manage your side hustle.
This spots emerging trends and helps generate relevant content ideas, enabling you to stay ahead in your niche effortlessly.
Call us today to learn how our automation program can help you manage your side hustle as a busy professional without you getting involved.
