Over half of Americans (54%) have taken on a supplementary income source in the past 12 months, according to a new MarketWatch Guides study.
I get it. You’re working hard, maybe too hard, and it feels like you’re on a never-ending treadmill. Eight years ago, I was in your shoes. I launched my first side business, a retail fashion company, while juggling a full-time job and graduate school at night. The pressure was immense, and I was constantly teetering on the edge of burnout as I faced over $72,000 in student loan debt.
Like many new business owners, I sought more work-life balance. I naively thought that running my own business would provide flexibility, but my first year was the most stressful year of my life. I couldn’t balance my responsibilities, and I lost sleep over it.
Worst of all, I was working twice as hard without twice the income. My mistake? I followed the advice of following my purpose without a clear revenue goal for my business.
The Pitfalls of Finding Your “Why”
You’ve probably heard the advice to “find your why,” a concept popularized by thought leaders like Simon Sinek. The idea is to attach a meaningful reason to your business goals to make them more motivating. But when I tried this, my reasons were abstract and frankly, above what I was practically able to afford at the time.
- I want to be financially independent.
- I want to be more generous.
- I want more free time.
- I want to go on more vacations.
Finding your why takes time and patience, luxuries that feel far-fetched if you are paralyzed by the fear of not being able to afford basic living expenses, or if you are saddled by debt. If you want to find your “why” you need to pay your bills consistently, so that you can free up that mental space for deeper reflection.
Avoiding the Burnout Trap With A Simpler, More Practical Goal
If you’re trying to scale your side hustle and feeling stuck, it’s time to recalibrate your goals. Start with matching your revenue goals to the dollar amount of your basic needs. This practical goal gave me the security I needed and the motivation to keep pushing forward, even during tough times.
For those feeling burned out, setting a clear, tangible revenue goal might be the key to scaling your side hustle without overworking. Instead of lofty aspirations, I set a number-driven revenue goal. For me, it is currently to make enough money to pay for my most basic living expenses that I refer to as my “survive” category on my budget:
- housing;
- utilities;
- food;
- transportation; and
- health
Today, my total monthly expenses for the above is about $4,500 a month. Therefore my minimum revenue target is also $4,500 a month. If that feels too overwhelming, pick one of those categories to start off with. My current rent is about $2,600 per month so a simpler, but still tangible goal is to aim just to cover my monthly rent.
This Revenue Target Results In A Simple Pricing Model
With this clear goal, you can set a realistic pricing strategy based on math and not just motivation. I like using round numbers as price points to get clarity on what I should offer at each of those tiers. Using my example of $4,500 a month in living expenses that means I can choose to:
- Sell to 450 customers at $10 each.
- Sell to 45 customers at $100 each.
- Sell to 5 customers at $1,000 each.
- Sell to 2 customers at $2,250 each.
By laying this out, I created offers on the last two tiers where I could sell 5 customers on an annual membership to my program at $99 a month or $999 if paid in full. And I created another offer for higher-end customers to pay me $2,250 for a suite of business consulting services that includes financial reviews, marketing and operations.
Now, I earn a six-figure income working about 20 hours a week through the side hustle that eventually became my main source of income. Aiming to match my basic living expenses with my revenue goal monthly has created stability and consistency I needed to avoid burnout. It also can keep you focused on building a sustainable business, especially on the days when you motivation level is less than ideal.
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