[Permanent Archive] 4 Principles to Keep in Mind to Ensure Results in Your Side Hustle
Hello! This is Merukaku.
Are you keeping up with your side hustle?
No matter how good the information or profitable know-how I share with you,
you will never see results if you do not take action.
I often receive questions like this:
"What kind of person can make money in product sales?"
The answer is simple.
It is someone who honestly acts on what they are taught..
Even if I teach you valuable knowledge worth 100,000, 200,000, or 300,000 yen, it is impossible to get results without taking action. Some people continue to search for other profitable information without ever practicing what they have been taught.
People want to get results in the shortest time possible, so they tend to think they don't want to take the wrong path. I felt the same way when I started my side hustle.
However, there is no success without a challenge.
In product sales, there is definitely a world that only becomes visible when you work hard and get your hands dirty. The view from the summit of Mount Fuji is the same, but what you feel when you see it in a photo versus when you have actually struggled to climb it must be completely different.
This time, for those who are taking on that challenge, I will explain the four things I kept in mind to achieve results during my time as a company employee with a side hustle.
4 Principles I Kept in Mind to Achieve Results in My Side Hustle
1. Compete with the volume of your actions
As the saying goes, "Quality is born from quantity,"
I first focused on the volume of my actions.
Please recall things you can now do naturally:
Brushing your teeth
Eating with chopsticks
Riding a bicycle without training wheels
You weren't able to do these things well from the start.
They are skills you acquired by practicing like a demon.
You couldn't brush your teeth well and had your parents finish it for you
At first, you couldn't hold chopsticks well either, and you practiced over and over.
You also practiced riding a bicycle while your father supported you from behind.
Did you need talent for these? Probably not, right?
Product sales are the same. It's natural not to be used to it because you've never done it before. That's why you move your hands and learn through experience.
Because I had this mindset, I was able to continue product sales for 7 years without using 'I have no talent' as an excuse.
If you have time to think about talent, move your hands and learn through experience. Surely, the day will come when you can work while humming, just like brushing your teeth or riding a bicycle.
2. Do not skimp on self-investment
When I started product sales, the first thing I did was choose to join an expensive product sales school.
Honestly, it wasn't cheap. It was a very high-risk decision to join by paying in installments. However, thanks to diving into that:
I met highly motivated peers
I received energy to keep going
I gained access to the right information, people, and habits
With self-study, you tend to feel anxious, wondering, 'Is this right?' However, if you invest in an environment, you can expect certain results.
The important thing is not to say, 'I can't invest in myself because I have no money,' but to think about 'where to spend money to get results.'
3. Do not quit your side hustle until you can earn money
The fact that you are not earning money means there is some problem with your actions or choices. Until I understood that, I took action every day and repeated trial and error.
Honestly, there were many times when I felt like giving up along the way. However, not earning money means there is a challenge somewhere. If so, I had no choice but to keep going until I found the answer.
Every day, I reviewed 'what didn't go well today' and repeated improvements.
Even if you fail, it is not a failure if you don't quit. People who succeed are not those with talent, but those who 'don't quit until they get results.'
4. Do not quit your main job until your side hustle is on track
Some say, "Trying to balance a full-time job and a side hustle is half-hearted,"
"You should quit your full-time job and commit to it seriously."
However, this is a completely outdated way of thinking and is extremely dangerous.
Today, with the development of the internet, we live in an era where you can wear two hats—a full-time job and a side hustle—and take on challenges with zero risk.
To ensure you can continue your side hustle,
never quit your full-time job, which provides a stable income.
When I was a company employee, my boss told me, "Quit your job and commit to this seriously," but I continued my side hustle without quitting my full-time job.
Result:
Decided to resign only after my side hustle income exceeded my full-time salary
Achieved financial independence within 2 years of starting on Mercari
Became independent without causing trouble for my family
If I had quit my full-time job before my side hustle succeeded, I might have left my family destitute.
It was precisely because I had the stable income from my full-time job that I could focus on my side hustle and achieve results.
In this day and age, there is no need to quit your full-time job and take risks. To ensure you can continue your side hustle, secure your living expenses with your full-time job and keep at it until you succeed.
Options brought about by side hustle success
Once your side hustle income exceeds your full-time income, the following luxurious dilemmas await you:
Quit your company and become independent
Continue your side hustle while keeping your full-time job
Whichever you choose is up to you.
I believe that the richness of life lies in having many options.
Please keep these 4 things in mind and
continue your side hustle until it exceeds your full-time income.
Summary
The 4 principles I have valued to achieve results in my side hustle:
Compete with the volume of action
Do not skimp on self-investment
Do not quit your side hustle until you are able to earn money
Do not quit your main job until your side hustle is on track
These may all seem modest, but it is precisely because I stuck to them that I am now able to work freely.
A side hustle is worth pursuing because it is a means to increase your life's options. Even if it is tough right now, if you keep going, you will definitely see results.
I encourage you to start by taking action.
Consistency is the only path to success. By continuing to move forward, even one step at a time, you can achieve your ideal future.
Thank you for reading until the end.