This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Today's caller has a dilemma. They have three independent ideas and they're not sure whether they should eliminate any of them. How can they make the best decision? It is in fact a classic case of focus versus diversification. We've talked about this a few different ways.
Should you have a whole bunch of projects? Should you just have one? There are lots of angles to consider it from. Over the years, I've noticed that most side hustlers struggle with this in one way or another. Even if they don't struggle, they still face decisions about choosing between all the different ideas you could follow and just kind of where to put their attention.
So I tend to disagree with most hard and fast advice over this question. Like I would never say you should only choose one business idea at a time. But I also understand the real risks and costs associated with not focusing at all. So let's see how it applies to today's caller. Let's hear their specific scenario.
I'll do my best to offer something helpful. The detailed question and my answer coming right up. [Music]
Hello, Chris. This is Jasmine from Chicago. I've made this my year of the hustle and I'm working on three independent ideas.
These ideas don't compete with each other for the most part and they can each be done according to whatever schedule I set. That said, even though I am excited about each idea and they don't really conflict, I'm worried I won't be able to give my all to each of them. My question is, should I drop two of them to focus more intensely on one or maybe split the difference and drop one so that there's just two? It's tricky because I'm not relying on these projects for income right now, but I want to be able to do that in the near future. That's why I had three ideas and thought it would be good to spread the risk and potential profit around.
Thanks, I'm looking forward to whatever guidance you can give me. [Music]
Well, let's try to give a little bit of a general answer and then maybe a more specific one. The general answer is focusing on only one idea at a time. That is the right approach if your time is extremely limited or if you worry about getting overwhelmed. Like if you know yourself and you're like, actually, I'm not gonna do a good job if I'm focusing on three things.
Or if it appears clear that one of these ideas is much more profitable than the others, those are all great reasons to just focus on one idea. So if your time is extremely limited, if you worry about getting overwhelmed and distracted, or if it seems like one of these ideas is much more profitable than the others, maybe that's what you need to spend your time on. Now, only you know the answers to those questions or anybody else in that situation wouldn't know those answers. But if you're asking me to decide without having more information, I would say drop one of the ideas. Rather than dropping two, I would drop one, and that way you have a side hustle and a little bit of a side side hustle, if you will.
And this way you've got some key actions to work on for each one. If you need a break from something, you have something else to do, but you're also not so distracted that you're just cycling between projects. You've just got two. I think in this situation that might be the best approach. But of course, first of all, ask yourself, how much time do you have?
Do you feel overwhelmed? And what is the feasibility of the current ideas that you're working on? I think more than just choosing a number, which can be a little bit random or arbitrary, it's important to spend your limited side hustle time on the key actions that really make a difference. I think that is probably the most important thing. That's my advice in this situation.
Good luck. Listeners, thank you for being out there. As well, sidehustleschool.com. Access notes, resources, et cetera. And subscribe for new episodes, seven days a week, always free.
My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
