Jeff’s Blog

I have five income streams and earn $142,000 monthly from Amazon alone. Here are the top three side hustle blunders I usually advise others to avoid.

In 2018, I was a full-time graduate student working part-time as a course designer at the university. Inspired by a class project and personal hardships, I started a side venture selling card games on Amazon to help others develop “human skills” such as emotional intelligence and critical thinking.

This side hustle supported me for the following five years as I finished my Ph.D. When I first started, I had little knowledge of running a business, but now I have five income streams.

I speak at schools and businesses, teach an online course on EQ, lecture at the University of California Irvine, offer freelance business advice, and sell Mind Brain Emotion card games on my website and Amazon. I earn $142,000 a month from the Amazon business alone.

When advising ambitious entrepreneurs on creating side hustles that match their schedules and lifestyles, I recommend avoiding three common mistakes:

1. Don’t complicate your product.

When I started my side hustle, I struggled with feelings of inadequacy. To compensate for that nagging worry, I spent much time researching and inventing flashy product features that I felt would impress customers, such as adding augmented reality components to the cards. However, this only confused my users, increased my workload, and complicated my existing services.

Now that I’ve launched a dozen businesses and heard numerous proposals from budding entrepreneurs, my best advice is to resist the temptation to complicate matters. This will not only slow you down but also raise your costs.

I’ve learned that the secret to success isn’t layering on features but knowing your brand’s essential value.

So, before you start any side hustle, ask yourself two crucial questions:

What is the underlying need that my product or service addresses?

What is the minimum number of steps I can take to get there?

Once you’ve launched, follow real-world feedback as your guidance. You may iterate and evolve based on genuine client needs rather than assumptions and second guesses. A simple answer might be a breath of fresh air in a world overflowing with possibilities.

2. Don’t accept lousy service—even on a budget.

Working with other side hustlers who share your sensibility is a terrific approach to saving money while growing your business. However, remember that you may have irregular service if your collaborator is continually growing and changing.

Last year, I parted ways with a social media manager and an SEO vendor, both solo entrepreneurs looking to expand their side activities into agencies. In their efforts to grow, they assigned my business to newer personnel with little experience in my field.

While I always believed in allowing people to learn and grow, I needed to receive the attention and importance I expected.

The key to success is understanding your brand’s essential value, not adding on frills.

On the SEO front, I stayed with that provider much too long despite being dissatisfied with the service. This cost me money, impacting my overall earnings for the year. November, usually my busiest month, was down 55% from 2023.

As much as collaboration might be advantageous, you must be cautious about who you hire. If you believe something is no longer benefiting you, don’t hesitate to make a change.

3. Do not rely just on networking to bring your idea forward.

As a solo entrepreneur, I sought guidance and was accepted into incubators at Harvard, UC Irvine, and USC.

I had access to senior executives and advisers, which I took advantage of, but these encounters frequently left me needing clarification and guidance. Despite their good intentions, several of these gurus reflected their goals and faults onto me.

My most significant suggestion is to pay close attention to skepticism and critique in sessions like this but avoid being seduced by the ideas presented. I’ve discovered that relying too heavily on external validation dilutes my vision and slows my progress.

Finally, a veteran’s perspective can be helpful, but you have the responsibility to act and the knowledge to filter through their recommendations. Trusting your judgment and realizing this is your path is critical.

Here are some related articles from your friends at Your Career Place.

https://yourcareerplace.com/career-management-tip/building-side-hustles-advice-from-a-49k-month-earner

https://yourcareerplace.com/jeffs-blog/wake-up-and-grow

https://yourcareerplace.com/leadership/8-lucrative-business-models

What do I do now is a question that many of us are asking ourselves as economic conditions have created changes that have adversely affected our careers.  Many of us that believed our careers are just fine, have been laid off from their technology related jobs.  Many of us are about to graduate with an engineering degree and finding very limited job opportunities.  Some of us need to make the decision, do I search for a new job or start my own enterprise.  Still others were passed over for the promotion they expected.  The question that stresses us is do I stay or update my resume and look for a new opportunity.  If you choose to stay, it’s important to understand why you were passed over and what you can do to win the next promotion.   There is nothing we can do to change the economic conditions that can bring about inflection points in both our careers and lives.  What we can do is seek to find the answer for What I want you to know, there are resources available to you that can assist you on making choices based on data and experience instead of emotion.  Yourcreerplace.com can provide many of the answers you seek through our articles, webinars, Courses and Blogs.

For entrepreneurs we have recently posted these articles:          

• Financial Planning in Strange Economic Times
• Unlocking Your Companies Growth Potential
• Power of Layout and Branding

In addition to the many articles on this topic, you may want to watch my Webinar, Is It Time to Become Your Own Boss?

For those that have decided it’s time to move on there is also wonderful online content to answer your questions.  These are just a few:

• Developing a Resume Strategy
• Critical Mistakes Job Seekers Make and How to Avoid Them
• 10 Interview Questions You Should Be Prepared to Answer
• Overcoming Potential Age Bias
• Salary Negotiations

Many of us must answer questions related to our personal finances as we make our career changing decisions.  Yourcareerplace.com also addresses these issues.

• Budgeting
• Credit Cards and Student Loans
• Investing
• Estate Planning

The bottom line is that we’d like to partner with you and help you manage these difficult decisions and come up with the best possible answers to the question, What Do I do Now.

• 10 Interview Questions You Should Be Prepared To Answer (And 5 To Ask)
• 10 Interview Questions You Should Be Prepared To Answer (And 5 To Ask) (Office Hours)
• All Events
• This is Exciting
• Best Job Interview Questions

Working for the government, whether Federal, State or local, is a privilege, that carries with it many advantages and a few caveats too. Government employees often struggle with certain reputations suggested by others. Having worked for the Federal government for over 32 years, I can tell you that many of those opinions are off base. With over 10,000 available jobs right now – if you have not yet considered working for the government – now’s your chance.

Why?

The Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 presents us all with many challenges. Stable employment is one of them. One of the most distinctive features of government employment is job security. Frankly, I chose government employment for that very reason. I was influenced by my father, who was a product of the “Great Depression” of the 1930’s. To him, job security was paramount, and this was one of the things I “inherited” from him! Even while tens of millions of Americans are currently unemployed, the Federal government has thousands of jobs open in a myriad of professional and other classifications.

In my webinar, I will explain the ins and outs of government employment. I’ll point you in the right direction to research open positions, to prepare your resume for the special formats often required, and explain the many pros and cons of considering a career in government service. I hope you will join me. Register now to secure your spot in this free webinar.

More than 10,000 jobs available right now – are you in the market?

Careers in Government

Getting the Government Job that is Right for You

FINANCIAL PLANNING IN STRANGE ECONOMIC TIMES

A couple of days ago I was taking my dog Laura for her first walk of the day at 6:30 AM.  We eat breakfast early because my wife leaves for work at 7:15. While passing a neighbor’s house I observed six women working out while social distancing in their driveway.  Since then, they have continued their workouts every day and are obviously not allowing this time of stress to keep them from meeting their physical fitness goals.  As I thought about what they were doing, I quickly realized that many of us that are sitting at home instead of working, could be better preparing ourselves to meet our career goals.  We could be enrolling in online classes to gain new certifications, improve our computer skills, touch base with our professional network or just simply improve your skills at finding that dream job.  Many of you go to work each morning, but do so because you need to pay your bills.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be excited every Monday morning when it’s time to go back to work.  Many of you could be using this time of forced isolation to gain the skills to apply for that dream job. 

At yourcarerplace.com we want to be your partner in this process by providing classes, articles and both archived and new webinars that are available 24/7 for you.  By becoming a member of our community,  you will not only learn how to find and win that next job,  we will teach you how to grow in that position and manage you finances so that you will be better prepared for any future bumps in the road. 

Our next webinar will be conducted on June 13th by Howard Lewis, a senior member of our staff and it will teach you “How To Get The Best Government Job.”   During these difficult times, we want to give our members a leg up on the competition.  Speaking of difficult times, we will make this webinar absolutely free to anyone who signs up in advance.

• Interview Strategy
• Job Search Etiquette
• Job Search Etiquette (Office Hour)
• Welcome to Your Career Place
• Job Search Etiquette (Office Hour)