Once you have established a firm conviction that entrepreneurship is your path to success - whatever that may be for you - you have to get your feet wet. In this article we'll dive deeper into some ways you can jump in and still feel in control.
Step 2.1 - Finding the right gig... or not
We left off our last article talking about the gig economy and how it can be a great gateway into entrepreneurship. There are people who don't consider this starting your own business but I say they're wrong. Once you become a contractor for hire, you are a business. So ask yourself is the gig economy the right move for you to start your next venture in life?
This is how it worked out for me. As I was earning a comfortable salary in my programming job 5 days a week from 9 - 5, I realized that I wanted to earn a little extra cash for some personal matters. As I was looking for opportunities to earn this extra cash I received a referral to start driving with Uber. I took that opportunity and added Lyft onto my ridesharing services.
Here are the pros and cons with going in this direction. On one end, you have plenty of flexibility to earn extra cash in terms of managing your own time. The pay isn't great but its a positive cashflow. The tax breaks you qualify for also allow you to keep extra cash in your pocket when uncle Sam comes calling. Your vehicle can turned from a liability into an asset if you do things correctly.
On the other side of the coin, this is not a model that will allow you to become financially independent since your income is dependent on the amount of hours you work. It can also divert you from your main objective of putting together a solid business plan and allow you to become complacent with a decent side hustle.
That being said, if you are saving a large portion of your gig earnings to finance your next business, then you are on the right path. If you feel that this money is better served on living your best life, then I salute you on becoming a worthy side hustler. But this is where the side hustler journey ends as the remainder of this series is intended for those looking to build a business asset.
Why have we covered all of this? Because in order to get to where you can build a proper business operation you will more often then not need money, also referred to in the financial world as financing. The gig economy is a great way to start your journey and build your piggie bank to finance the next venture. Although we outlined 2 ridesharing companies as examples of the gig economy, there are many other companies that provide similar flexibility to start your self financing journey. Find the one that works for you and save at least 10% of your earnings towards the next venture. For those that have other sources of income, then you can save 80% of that so that you can start the next venture even sooner!
Not everyone will need to go this route to obtain the financial resources to begin on their business ventures. The reality is that I was earning enough in my full time job to finance a decent business venture but I became enamored with the side hustle lifestyle. So I speak from experience. Reading books like "Money Master the Game - 7 Steps to Financial Freedom" by Tony Robbins and "The Richest Man in Babylon" by George Samuel Clason allowed me to think a little deeper about how I could use my income to make more income.
Next article
Our next article we will get into step 3. Finding our niche!