The smartest strategies are often defined by the things you decide not to do. For anyone looking to build a successful content platform or side hustle business, the first step isn’t about chasing every trend. It’s about finding your unique sweet spot.
Starting an online business, like affiliate marketing, often comes with an incredible feeling of optimism. When you’re honest in your approach and keep things organized, you feel great and are more inclined to work harder and more efficiently. Staying organized also has a surprising benefit: it lowers your stress. Constantly searching for things throughout the day because of disorganization is a hidden stressor. A clean system removes that friction, making a real difference in your day-to-day life.
Starting a side hustle while working full time can feel like a huge undertaking, but with the right tools and strategy, you can build a solid foundation for an online business. Whether you’re diving into affiliate marketing or launching a dropshipping side hustle, the core principles of setting up, marketing, and growing your venture remain the same. Let's walk through the essential components you'll need to get your side hustle business off the ground.
If the thought of doing 5,000 push-ups in a month makes you want to curl up and hide, you’re not alone. The key isn’t to set a goal that might literally kill you. It’s to just start with something. Take a simple fitness challenge. A woman named Anouk, on week three of her own challenge, put it perfectly: “I really really really didn’t feel like it but did it anyway BOOM BOOM BOOM.”
It’s a common belief that starting a business requires a mountain of cash. But what if that’s not true? The reality is, many successful ventures start with surprisingly little. Michael Trainer kicked off his media production company with just $2,500 for a camera—an investment he later recouped in full. He went on to work with Nobel Prize winners. Tara Gentile launched her publishing business with $80, and a year later, she was earning $75,000. For Chris Dunphy and Cherie Ve Ard, it was $125 that started a software consultancy that now pulls in over $75,000 a year while they travel the world.
Hollywood has a formula for making you desperately want to see a movie months before it ever hits theaters. They spend hundreds of millions on a blockbuster and know they have a tiny window to make it all back. So, they don't just release a film; they orchestrate a launch. It starts with a teaser trailer a year out, then a full trailer, then a media blitz that builds anticipation to a fever pitch. By the time opening weekend arrives, people are lining up, eager to see what all the buzz is about.
It was 2008, and Jen Adrion and Omar Noory were just one year out of design school. They were doing what they were supposed to be doing—Jen was teaching at their alma mater while freelancing, and Omar had landed a job at a local design studio. From their tiny apartment in Columbus, Ohio, they were making ends meet with a side business with job structure. But the reality of commercial design work was setting in, and it felt a lot like burnout. Jen found herself wondering if she’d made a huge mistake, questioning if she should have pursued a completely different career.
Most people who want to make more money ask the wrong question. They ask, “How can I make more money?” but a far more powerful question is, “How can I create recurring money?” How can you get paid over and over again for something you did once? That’s the kind of thinking that shifts your hour’s worth from $100 to $10,000.
It all started with a simple Christmas gift mix-up, but it taught me one of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned about human psychology—a lesson that’s essential for anyone looking to sell a product or .