If you work full-time and run a side business, you only have so much time to dedicate to your venture. It's critical that you spend it wisely and prioritize activities that will keep your business running (you know, the ones that bring you money). If your business is service-based, you need to strategize in order to score new clients. If you sell products, you need to expand your customer base.
It's easy to be distracted by things that are important, but not urgent (i.e. designing a logo, adding new features to your website etc.). Time is of the essence when your schedule is packed, so it's important to know what to dedicate your free hours to.
I spoke with NYC-based business coach Melissa Pharr to nail down the three things you need to do every day to consistently bring in clients.
1. Believe In What You're Offering
Getting results is often a matter of having the right mindset. Know the top reasons businesses fail? Self-doubt, fear and risk aversion. When we believe that things will work out, we continue to take consistent action without giving up. If, on the other hand, we don’t have faith in a successful outcome, our efforts dwindle, we continuously fall off the wagon, and we even close ourselves to new ideas and opportunities that could be game-changers for our business.
If you speak with any successful business owner or entrepreneur, you’ll find that their success came from putting one foot in front of the other, even, and especially, when things were NOT going well. A strong mindset and belief in your business will keep you in the game.
There are several ways to train your mind and develop a sense of belief, faith, and hope. Here are a few of my favorites:
Meditation: There are many benefits to meditation, but they can often seem unimportant, especially during a busy day when you feel overwhelmed with your to-do list. But the reality is, it has the potential to increase your ability to access a deeper understanding of yourself, as well as boost your creativity, and so much more. My best revenue-generating ideas came to me during or after meditating.
Visualization: Another powerful brain-training activity is visualization. Visualizing for even 2 minutes or less is like training your mind to show you the work needed to achieve your end-goal. Try focusing on the outcome you’re looking to create in your business, and during your visualization, really live in that moment. This can bridge the gap between idea and reality.
Mantras/Belief Statements: Our thoughts, words and beliefs are powerful. They say that a belief is just a thought you have over and over again. When we start paying more attention to our words, we train our minds to embrace new possibilities. This might be as simple as writing a few statements about things you'd like to do in your business, then developing the confidence to accomplish them.
2. Build And Nurture Your Audience
When it comes to creating revenue with your side hustle, the best way to start is to grow an audience of potential clients who know, like and trust you. They should also be interested in what you have to offer.
The best thing you can do to build and nurture an audience is to showcase your work, get it seen by as many people as possible, and engage with them. Ask yourself, what’s one way I can let more people know more about what I do? Add the answers to the list of things to do every day.
If you’re a painter or sculptor, put aside a little time each day to reach out to galleries or art shows (maybe even host your own) that might feature your work. If you’re a designer or photographer, spend time each day creating your portfolio and reaching out to referral partners who you can build a relationship with or potential clients who may be interested in investing. If you’re a personal trainer, offer free training sessions to prospective clients, or partner up with a chiropractor that you can build a referral relationship with. If you’re an online marketer, you might create some free content that gives a sample of what you teach then invite people to buy your course.
3. Make Your Offer
The final stage of securing a client is to reach out and ask. I recommend making a list of the potential clients in your community who are interested in the work you do, and send them an email or schedule a one-on-one call/meeting with them.
The easiest way you can get them to say yes is to tell (and most importantly, show) them how you can solve their problems and make their life easier. Refer to Gary Vaynerchuk's "Jab, jab, jab, right hook" approach, where you give a little bit away, add value for free then ask. If you work in publicity and PR, reach out to someone in your community and offer to get them featured in a major magazine article, or on a podcast.
Once people experience or get a preview of what you can do, it’ll be much easier for them to give you money. Also keep in mind that giving before you ask is a great way to get people talking and spreading the word about you. One thing remains certain, those who thrive in their businesses know how to build relationships and deliver a great service or product people want.
Focus on taking one step forward, each day, with your mindset, building your audience, and making your offers, and you’ll be on your way!
