This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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I love hearing from our listeners who are working on all kinds of different projects all over the world. Today's episode, we've got a social worker. I believe she is from Michigan. You'll hear more details from her, but she hopes to sell swag bags as a personal care item for other social workers. But she is struggling in getting it off the ground.
We have so many people out there in a space of, I've got an idea, I'm trying to move forward with it, but it's struggling a little bit, I feel stuck. You know, what do I do? How do you know when to keep going or cut your losses? That is, of course, a crucial question. Now in this particular situation, our listener might've been able to have a better idea of this project's potential before starting up.
So I'll talk about that a bit. But sometimes you don't know, and that's why you try. And at a certain point, you need to evaluate, do I keep going or do I cut my losses? Okay, this social worker hopes to sell swag bags. You're gonna hear more from her after this quick shout out to our sponsor.
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Hi, this is Lori from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I've been listening to the show for the past three years. I appreciate the wide variety of stories and ideas on starting a side hustle. I started a side business for social workers selling swag bags as a personal care item. I also am trying to incorporate it into a larger personal platform. I find myself burning the candle at both ends, trying to find time for my family and both the full-time and part-time work I'm doing as a social worker.
I haven't made money off my side hustle and would love to grow it to make extra income to pay off my student loans. I'm really struggling on where to focus my attention. So my question is, how do you know what to focus on and/or what to say no to, even if it is something you're excited about and you don't have the time for everything you want to do? Thanks, and I look forward to your feedback on this question. [Music]
Lori, I totally hear you here.
There are a lot of people in this situation who are really busy, lots of responsibilities, trying to start the side hustle, trying to figure out how can I perhaps branch into a larger personal platform, just like Lori mentioned here in the question. Well, I think if you haven't made money off your side hustle, maybe it's more of a hobby. Let's just kind of start with that. And a hobby shouldn't be stressing you out. Like there's absolutely nothing wrong with having a hobby.
I like to just kind of emphasize this sometimes because it's not that everything you do in life has to make money or be a profitable endeavor or whatever. There's all kinds of things you can do. But if you're trying to start a side hustle that makes money, then it does need to be profitable. And if that's not working, then it is more of a hobby and a hobby shouldn't be stressing you out. So I'm gonna suggest, based on what we hear here, I'm gonna suggest that you let go of this idea, consider it and experiment and ask yourself what's next.
And also on this point of building your personal platform, in some cases that can work alongside the e-commerce business, but in this case to me, they seem a little disconnected. So I think to find better focus, cut something out and regroup. And the last thing I wanted to mention is, how can you know in advance if any idea is going to work or not? Well, as I say, there's nothing wrong with experimenting. I encourage people to do that all the time.
You don't necessarily always know, but there are some ways to validate your idea or at least see if there's some profit potential to it. And one way to do that is by thinking, who is going to buy these swag bags? Is it the social workers themselves? Is it someone buying it as a gift for a social worker? Those are different markets.
And what is it specifically about these swag bags that make them ideal for social workers? So I think there's some questions on the front end that might be good to consider the next time around. But overall, to find better focus, you've cut something and regroup. So good luck, Lori, don't give up. There's something out there for you, I'm sure.
And listeners, if you have a question, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. Let me know what you're working on, what your ideas are, what you're struggling with, and what's working. I'd love to bring all these different reports back to our global community of awesome, amazing people, such as yourself. All right, that's it for today. Thank you, come back tomorrow.
My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
