In 2009 I decided to start a side hustle for about 5 years. In those 5 years I designed and assembled custom wedding invitations. I loved meeting couples, picking out colours and coming up with a design, I just loved it and still love paper!
It was a job I worked when I got home from my full time office job. Appointments with potential clients, designing, printing, assembling, marketing etc was all done in the evening and on weekends. I actually didn’t mind most of the time, I find I always like to have something to work on. Having a office job also didn’t work the creative side of me, so this was a nice change and I was in control of everything…well mostly.
Starting your first small business always comes with stress and lack of confidence, and it wasn’t until I stopped my invitation side hustle that I realized I really did lack confidence and boundaries during the journey.
Here are some things I did that I highly recommend doing if you are are just starting or even well established in your side hustle.
Don’t answer emails at all hours of the night – Block off time and work on emails then. I should of blocked off time in the early morning & evening and stuck with that. Instead I was emailing into the late night and responding to questions from emails I was sending. Clients apparently liked to email late at night as well.
Get everything in a contract – Everything from price, date, pickup locations really anything you think you need that is important. I did have a contract, it was very standard though. Price, deposits, dates etc. However I would either bend my own rules and cave to client requests or end up in a carpool pickup zone, dropping off a last minute invitation order because the client “can’t make it but still needs it ASAP”. Yep that happened. So get it in writing and follow it! Doing so will be beneficial for not only you but your client as well.
Know your worth – When starting a business you feel like you just want to take every job that is thrown at you, and you will do it for whatever. I was guilty for this most of the life of the business. Anytime the talk of money and product cost came up I panicked. I had a pricing guide but I rarely stuck to it. Another fault at times. I hated hearing “well I can get it cheaper from so and so” I just wanted clients. The clients came, however, looking back now, I made less than minimum wage based on material and time alone. I was too naïve back then to see it. So if people say your side hustle is too expensive, know your worth, stick with it. Your services/product are not for everyone, but they are for the ones that know and respect your worth.
Stay Confident – Unfortunately some projects are just not going to go smooth. Things can come out of nowhere that can cause hurdles when getting product or services delivered and a lot of the time out of your control. When clients feel like things are slipping, even though more than likely they are not, they become irritable, stressed and sometimes not pleasant to work with. Know that it is not you, it is them and their inability to not deal well. Stay confident as you keep them updated, know you are always doing your best. I remember assembling invitations while really sick, and was 2 days late getting them to the client after giving them the heads up I was not feeling well and giving them a discount. They weren’t sending them out for another few weeks but it was just the date they had in their head. After working countless nights I woke up from a Nyquil induced sleep to a pretty upsetting email from them about their disappointment and my “incompetence”. It broke me, it broke my confidence. It took some time to gain that back. I should of focused on the clients that were pleasant to work with who boosted my confidence. It’s too bad we focus so much on the mean comments.
Know when to walk away – You may love your side hustle but you might get to a point where you are burning yourself out, not getting from it what you expected or something else has interested you. Don’t continue to do something you are not in love with or putting your full effort into it. You are going to mentally burn yourself out but also you will be missing out on time you can be doing something else you have a passion for. Try evaluating your business every year, do a check in on yourself and yourself in the business. It is ok to walk away.
I had highs in my 5 years, I met many wonderful couples, worked with beautiful papers, worked on a TV show and the feeling of accomplishment like I did it, I had started a business by myself.
I had lows as well however. Product availability, unrealistic expectations not only from clients at times but also myself, sitting in my car at lunch assembling a difficult client order to get it early to them, clients refusing to pay, printing and proof reading errors etc.
It is however the highs and the lows that made my journey my journey. I learned so much during that time, I grew and those skills have carried with me since. We should always be constantly learning and it was definitely a learning process.
Don’t hesitate to take on a side hustle, be confident you can do it. Make sure however you are setting the boundaries above. It will make life and your business more enjoyable.
be kind to yourself.
The Love Yourself Diary 