This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
When is it worth spending money on your side hustle? Now listen, the whole goal of your side hustle is to make money, right? Not spend money. But of course, as your hustle grows, you do have this question of when do I invest in tools? When do I invest in services?
Maybe I'll get some help. I need to pay some people for that help. Or maybe I want to invest in some social media ads. These are all situations in which it can be a good idea to do those things, or it cannot be a good idea. So when do you do that?
Like at what point? We're gonna hear today from Clara. She launched her business with just $50 and a borrowed camera. I love that scrappiness. I wrote a book called $100 Startup, but she's got me beat by 50 bucks.
So good for her. And she wants to know how to balance staying scrappy with making smart investments to grow. Excellent goal. Let's dive into how to decide where to spend and where to save. That's today's focus.
Her question and my answer in just 30 seconds. [Music]
Hi, Chris. This is Clara calling from Toronto. My side hustle kicked off with just $50, a borrowed camera, and a lot of DIY spirit. Over time, I've seen some success.
And now I'm torn about when and where to start spending real money. I love the creativity that comes from working with almost nothing. But I also know I might be missing out on growth if I don't invest in the right tools or services. How do I figure out what's absolutely worth paying for and what I should keep hacking together on my own so I don't lose the scrappy approach that got me here? - Hey, Clara, well done on the scrappiness.
Now, I don't think you should lose that. I think that is a skill that will always serve you well. So now that you're thinking about investing, the key is to focus on spending in ways that amplify your creativity and save you time without losing that scrappy spirit. So you can set a couple of priorities that will help you do that. Number one, invest in tools that directly save time or increase efficiency.
When your time is limited, as a good side hustler, anything that frees up hours or simplifies repetitive tasks is usually worth the expense. If you're spending hours editing photos or videos, upgrading your software or hardware can be a game changer and you probably know that in the world of photography. But if you haven't done that, then that's good. If scheduling or admin is taking up too much energy, tools like Calendly or QuickBooks or others, anything again that just kind of saves you time and just does some of that dumb stuff so that you don't have to spend hours doing it. Next, spend on upgrades that enhance the quality of your work.
So going from the borrowed camera to maybe a more professional model can instantly improve your photos or videos, better lighting, backdrops, all that kind of stuff. I don't want to say exactly what it should be for you because that's your field, that's your profession, but basically anything that enhances the quality of your work. And before making a major purchase, ask yourself, will this help me to charge higher prices or attract more clients? And maybe the answer is not always yes. You can still get better gear to do a better job, that's okay.
But if the answer is yes, then that's all the more helpful. That means it probably is a smart investment. What else can you do? Well, of course, you can outsource tasks that don't align with your strengths. If there's part of your business that you dread or struggle with, social media management, accounting, website design, it's worth hiring someone else to handle it, especially once your business is up and running.
And of course, you can always start small by outsourcing on a project basis. I've used Fiverr a lot for stuff. You can spend 50 bucks or a hundred bucks and get some basic things done. And if you want to invest more, of course, you can do that. But just getting people to handle some things can be helpful.
And you can also test the waters before committing to big expenses. Last but not least, let's just keep that scrappy spirit alive, focus on creativity over spending. Just continue the DIY elements that you actually enjoy. Let's not lose the heart and soul of this business. I know I've talked about outsourcing briefly, but I think people talk about it too much sometimes and they have this ruthless attitude about it.
And ultimately you start a side hustle or a passion project, at least in part, because you enjoy it. So I don't think you have to just find a way to delegate everything and become this machine that's overseeing your side hustle empire. You know, if that's your goal, that's great. But assuming it isn't, keep that scrappy spirit alive. Creativity is important, so don't lose that.
You're in a good place, Clara. Best wishes as you go from starting the hustle to growing the hustle. A lot of our listeners are trying to navigate that as well. So I make this podcast for you every day in support. I hope that it gives you something to think about or a practical encouragement or just a point of inspiration for your day.
We all need that, right? And of course it's always free. New episode comes out every morning. Complete archives on the website, sidehustleschool.com. My name's Chris Guillebeau.
You are listening to Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
