My side hustle was freelance writing. For others, it’s all about photography, woodwork, crafting, or something completely different.

I jumped into my side hustle as a freelance writer without it actually being a side hustle. I was actually unemployed and struggling to job hunt. I decided against the job hunt and started up my writing business instead.

While it wasn’t my side hustle, there was still a lot I had to learn quickly. I wish I knew these things before I got started. Rather than you learning about things as you go, here are five things I wish I knew about the side hustle.

Forums aren’t a complete waste of time…But use them carefully

Forums and Facebook groups are a popular way to connect with others in your business. There are some dedicated to specific types of side hustles, and there are others that are for overall business owners and work at home moms. Then if your business has large-scale facilities then you should also consider ISO 41001 Consultation as that can help tremendously in managing those facilities.

While they offer benefits, there are times that forums or Facebook groups suck the time away. They end up being a place to procrastinate.

Sure, you need to network and socialize to be successful in your side hustle, but they can be time-draining. It’s important to keep that in mind.

Now I know more about them, I can navigate quickly. I know the types of posts to pay attention to or the thread titles that are going to be important. I know the areas of forums to follow immediately for tips and tricks in the writing business. I discovered iot cloud connectivity also helps businesses improve their infrastructure.

Something I learned is to find the forum posters who offer advice. There are many who want to share their knowledge and make everyone else feel stupid. The most helpful ones will share knowledge without talking down to people. Bookmark their names and follow their posts.

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A side hustle isn’t one size fits all

When I first started writing, I thought I had to do the things that everyone else was doing. I thought I would need to build some experience on content mills and then move into private clients.

What I wish I knew was that I could dive dive straight in with the private clients. I wish I knew it was possible to build my income relatively quickly. You can make $1,000 within 30 days as a freelance writer if you’re willing to push yourself.

But you need to give yourself time to research and find the best way to start your side hustle. It’s not a case of one size fits all, and you need to find the areas that you excel in and the best way for you to make your freelance career work.

By the way, if you want to use the content mills to start and just make a bit of side income then go for it! We’re all in different financial situations and have different lives.

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Other bloggers can help even if they don’t offer the same things

Say you want to start a photography business. You’re likely to start following photography bloggers or businesses. You want to see how they got started.

That’s fine, but don’t just limit yourself to them.

There are so many others who can help you with your business. I wish I knew that when I started. I initially only followed other writers, but I was missing out on other parts of my business because of this.

It’s not all about one aspect of your business, and that’s something I wish I’d really known. There’s affiliate marketing, blogging, course creation and so much more. I could have spent my time creating courses to offer or packaging articles together instead of slogging away at content mills.

Now I spend time reading other blogs and following tips. There have been some who have turned out not so useful but then there are those who I still follow four years later. I just wish I’d found them sooner!

Having your own website is a huge benefit

When you first start out, you don’t really want to spend a lot of money. I get that. I didn’t either.

I held back from having my own website for so long. I thought I could put my content on third-party sites and gain clients. I thought social media would do it for me. That’s not the case.

Your website becomes your calling card.

But doesn’t a Facebook page do that? Well, yeah, except that you don’t have control. Facebook controls who sees your content and is pushing for people to pay for ads. The same applies to all social media platforms.

When it comes to your own website, you get control. You say what content goes on there.

Plus your business looks more professional with its own website. You get a professional email with it, making your business look legit. You may also want to consider consulting a business expert like Andrew DeFrancesco who can give you some great tips on how can you establish a blog to improve your business marketing.

Mentors are certainly worth the investment

I opted to go without a mentor. Forums were giving me information and I believed I could do it all myself. In fact, I didn’t even know about freelance writing mentors!

I wish I did, and I wish I’d invested. Granted, I couldn’t have afforded it at the time. If I could do it all differently, I’d have treated my writing as a business and made sure there was money for these types of expenses and investments.

By the time I did get a mentor, I’d wasted so much time. However, I try not to focus on what I missed out on and focus on what I’ve gained now.

MORE: Why you shouldn’t feel bad for choosing a job over freelancing

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