Save Time and Run A Streamlined Side Hustle With These Tips
Has the idea of time ever stopped you from pursuing a side hustle? Maybe you’ve thought that you don’t have enough time to do it. Or it sounds like running a business on the side is too much time. Turns out, there are plenty of ways to build your side hustle unique around your personal schedule and availability. And even though the business creation part may take a bit more elbow grease, you can build a profitable business around your time when done strategically. Perhaps you already have a side hustle and you suddenly feel like 24 hours isn’t enough in a day. If that’s you, trust that you aren’t alone. Here are the top ways to save time while running your side hustle each week!
The importance of time while side hustling
Time is a hot commodity for side hustlers. We do not have the luxury of working our business full time. Instead, we find pockets of time before or after work, on the weekends or in between jobs. This tango can become draining quickly if not done correctly. Suddenly time can feel limited and side hustlers can feel depleted. However, this doesn’t need to be the case! You can work a full-time job AND have a profitable side hustle that doesn’t drain all of your energy by using these time-saving tips below. Side hustles can be lean-mean money-making machines when built strategically. Remember you side hustle isn’t small because it requires less than 40 hours a week, your side hustle is powerful because it drives profit in less than 40 hours a week.
plan your schedule ahead of time
The first thing you need to be when creating ways to save time while running your side hustle each week is to plan your schedule ahead of time. This is key! Planning your schedule and creating a detailed plan of your tasks for each day ahead of time doesn’t just save you time, it keeps you focused on what’s important. Dedicate a portion of your week, perhaps a Sunday afternoon, to outlining your schedule for the upcoming week. Write out everything that needs to get done and begin assigning days and times and priority level. Be sure to also take into account how long you think each task will take and outline your schedule accordingly.
When you know what needs to happen for your side hustle, ahead of time, then you save time by not needing to figure it out when you clock in for yourself. If you had to take a few minutes to figure out what needed to get done each time you sat down to work on your side, this would take up so much time! Plus, knowing your schedule beforehand can help you stay on track with what truly needs to get done. To make sure you stay on task, even more, set a timer! I use this $12 cube timer from Amazon for many of my side hustle working blocks. It helps me stay focused and not drift to the next thing before I complete what I’m currently working on.
If planning your side hustle schedule isn’t your current, strong suit, that’s okay! Download my FREE Side Hustle Routine & Planning Sheets to get you started. This free download will help you organize your side hustle working block, prioritize tasks and get more organized when it comes to planning your schedule ahead.
Use templates for everything
Another way to save time while running your side hustle is to use templates for everything! Templates are amazing because you can repurpose them to save you time and creative energy. Plus you can use templates for almost everything! Consider creating templates for emails, social media posts, Pinterest graphics, welcome and/or pricing guides, workflows, and more! The two most common and most time saving template types are email templates and any type of graphic templates.
Create email templates for any situation for your business. Here are some quick examples!
- Answering a new inquiry
- Following up with an inquiry
- Welcoming a new client
- Politely declining a client
- Sending a client pricing information
- Onboarding a new client
- Delivering the final product to a client
- Asking for a review
Create email templates for your side hustle when you have the most energy. These will be the templates you can pull, input minimal, custom information, and send out time and time again. They should be detailed, welcoming and a wonderful representation of your best customer service. Using templates for emails will save you so much time throughout the week running your business. Being able to pull a template, tweak it, and send it out in a fraction of the time will also help preserve your creative thinking.
Another common type of template to use are graphic templates. You can use graphic templates for social media posts, Pinterest Pins, Story graphics and more. I use Canva to create all of my graphic templates. Canva has an entire suite of templates to use for almost any situation. I’m able to save my favorites, add my on unique tweaks and repurpose them over and over again for my side hustle. This is a huge time saver each week. Plus, Canva organizes all of my graphics into folders, making it easy to return to any work with any updates or further tweaks.
Run your business through a CRM
Running your side hustle through a CRM, or a client relationship management software is another tool to help save time and streamline your business. With a CRM, you can set up your business to organize all of your client files, store and send your email templates, send contracts, forms and collect information from your client all in one location. A CRM is best used for service-based businesses.
Operating your side hustle through a CRM is like having a personal assistant for your business. It cuts down the time for all administrative tasks and provides a bit more insight into your business including financials. If a CRM sounds like your next step for your side hustle and for saving time, consider my two favorite platforms, Honeybook and Dubsado. I’ve used and love both for my businesses. Explore both platforms and see if either are a good fit for you and your side hustle at the current moment.
Get Organized
Save time through each week while running your side hustle by getting organized! You will be surprised at the amount of time you save just by knowing where everything is, understanding your schedule, to-dos and categorizing information. For this process, I suggest using Trello! Trello is an amazing free, online tool that can help organize a multitude of information all in one place. Create your own Trello board for your business and organize everything with columns and cards. And to help you with this, you can swipe my free Trello board download for side hustler right here and get started today. Free on top of free!
Incorporate passive income
The number one goal is business is to earn revenue. Of course, this is followed by things such as customer service and truly enhancing others’ lives. However, a business is not a business until money changes hands. And when you’re running a side hustle, you have limited time to earn revenue. Or do you?
Incorporating passive income streams into your side hustle is a great way to have your business earn you money while you’re not exactly working on your business. This is considered GOLD! Imagine getting off work from you 9-5, looking at your phone, and seeing that you’ve made $50 even before clocking in for yourself that day. Passive income like this supports side hustlers while working part-time and is a way to leverage income while continuing to build your business. And passive income can be earning almost with any business!
EXAMPLES OF PASSIVE INCOME STREAMS FOR YOUR SIDE HUSTLE:
- digital products
- digital courses
- affiliate income
- creating an affiliate program yourself
Automate Processes
Another key way to save time as a side hustler is to automate as many things inside your business as possible! When systems and operations within your business work and flow automatically without you being the one to do it, the time savings are obvious and amazing to reep! Plus, having things on auto-pilot can also be a great way to increase your customer support within your business and your consistency. This is perfect for when your 9-5 has busier weeks or just when your mind and body has slower weeks.
EXAMPLES OF THINGS YOU CAN AUTOMATE WITHIN YOUR BUSINESS TO SAVE TIME:
- email responders (great for long days at your 9-5)
- follow up emails if no response
- Trello workflows & reminders
- Reoccurring payment collection
- Email marketing to serve your audience
establish your side hustler routine
Establishing a side hustler routine is another great trick for saving time as a side hustler. Your side hustler routine can be your not so secrete weapon for approaching your side hustle in a healthy manner that also allows you to approach work effectively. With a bullet-proof routine, you can get more in touch with your mind and body and influence your side hustle work schedule around how your body works and thinks best. Your routine allows you to maximize both life and business, work more efficiently and avoid burnout. Read my blog posts here that are all about creating and establishing your side hustle routine!
Applying these to your business
Not every side hustle is built the same. So when it comes to saving time for your side hustle, consider what will work best for you and your business. See what methods from above you can start applying today and get ready to begin working a lot smarter, rather than harder! Running a side hustle around a 9-5 is not easy. Take it from a frequent 4am’er herself! However, it doesn’t need to feel (or be) impossible! There are so many strategies to run a profitable business part-time that doesn’t leave you drained. Because that’s fun for no one.
