Side Hustle Goals & Timeline

Side Hustle Boss

Your side hustle is exactly that, you work on it in your “free” time, depending on your schedule. It is not your full-time job. When starting out, be realistic with your goals. While you believe your hustle has real potential, be realistic about how much time you are truly able to devote to developing your business.

Goal Setting

Side Hustle Boss

One can aim for ambitious or lofty goals, or extremely easy ones. When aiming for ambitious goals, you might end up with stressed out by taking on more work than you can handle resulting in missed deadlines and/or poor-quality work. On the other hand, aiming for goals that are too easy, you may end up procrastinating.

The right goals are ones that push or challenge you to use your time wisely. You want to be highly productive, which will ultimately bring you closer to achieving your goals.

Your Goal Timelines

When it comes to your side hustles, there are 3 different timelines for goals: short-term, long-term, or life goals.

For short-term goals, consider what you want to happen with your side hustle over the next few weeks or months. Determine how much you want to earn in that time period and how you plan to achieve that goal. Creating a daily, weekly and/or monthly to-do checklist would be beneficial, as it will help keep you on track and make sure you stick to your plan.

For long-term goals, where do you want your side hustle to be in 1 to 5 years? Will you still be working solo? Or will your business have grown by then and you foresee a team will be assisting you? Will you still be employed at your day job?

Your life goal, obviously, is THE goal. What do you want to achieve with your side hustle? Where do you eventually see yourself several years from now? Maybe you are the CEO of your own company started from your side hustle. Or maybe your goal is to see your local enterprise become a global one. Whatever your life goal may be, be sure your short-term and long-term goals are aligned with it.

Constantly Re-Evaluate Your Goals

Side Hustle Boss

Keep in mind goals are not set in stone. You may realize over time that some of your goals may not be feasible, so you must adapt and adjust as necessary. There’s no need to fret if things do not go as planned. Simply re-evaluate your goals and replace with something more achievable. For example, if you find that one of your goals was too difficult or complicated to achieve within the timeframe you chose, perhaps you may want to adjust the timeframe or scrap that goal altogether.

Enjoying the process and the journey is important. You have a big goal you want to achieve. Learn from your mistakes and your failures, as this is the only way you will grow as a side hustler, an entrepreneur, and as a person.