When your main gig isn’t filling your cup, you might be looking elsewhere for what’s missing. Whether it’s milestones, revenue or just excitement, perhaps a side hustle is the way to go. If your full time venture has hit a ceiling that means it’s no longer worth your time, or you’re looking to change focus and transition away, make sure you’re prepared for venture number two by preparing well in advance.
Use ChatGPT for advice and guidance on your side hustle journey and see if you learn anything new. Even if you have a plan, its responses could uncover ways forward you hadn’t considered.
Start a side hustle with these insightful ChatGPT prompts
Assess your resources
Start where you are and use what you have, as the saying goes. Anything else doesn’t make sense, so get a grasp on your existing resources and build from there. Take an inventory of what they are and prompt ChatGPT for its assessment. You might be underplaying the assets you already have in front of you, when you should be leading with them.
“Here are the resources I already have available: [include details of any savings or income, time available, network members, specialist skills or knowledge], as well as strong personality traits of [describe the strengths of your personality, for example hard working, tenacious, confident]. Can you list my top five resources in order of how useful they will be in starting a side hustle? For each one, explain why it’s useful and what I should do to make the most of it.”
Get business ideas
Ideas are common, but extraordinary ones are not. The best idea is one that you feel excited to get going with. It’s aligned with your values and fits with the vision you hold for who you are in the world. The side hustle idea that’s right for you solves a specific problem for a specific audience, who will be primed to buy.
“My main interests and passions are [describe your main interests and passions] and my network includes people who [describe the demographics of people in your network]. Given what you know about my resources, can you suggest 10 side hustle ideas I could start? My goal is to spend [number] hours per week on this project and for it to bring in [amount of money] per [frequency] within [goal for achieving this revenue.]”
Plan the first few steps
You know how you’re best-placed to serve and you suspect you’re onto something with how you’re going to do it. Next is making the roadmap to build your venture into reality. Select your favourite idea (which might be one you already had) and get ChatGPT to break this down in a step-by-step process, so you know exactly how to begin. Add to the prompt with things you’ve thought of yourself, and ask for clarification if any part isn’t clear. Keep pushing back until you have your perfect plan.
“I’d like to explore this idea in more detail: [include the idea you like the best]. Outline a 10-point plan that details the exact steps I should take, with an explainer for each, to make this business a success. Base this on me working [number of hours per day or week] on this venture.”
Create financial goals
If you’re starting a side hustle because you want to earn more money, get a grasp on how that looks in practice. Whether you want to top up your income, earn enough to quit your job, or your side project is a passion project that just needs to break even, figure out exactly what you need to hit to stay in the game. The plan isn’t that this side hustle is propped up by your main venture, the plan is that it outperforms it by magnitudes.
“Given my financial goals of [amount of money] per [frequency] within [goal for achieving this revenue], suggest metrics that I should track to ensure I am on target for this goal. Include how often I should report on this metric. Finally, include a revenue and profit forecast by month, in line with my main financial goal.”
Get the confidence to go for it
With the safety net of your main role or business firmly in place, the risks to you of starting a side project are low. Rock bottom is an unlikely scenario. But it’s easy to forget that if you’re surrounded by the negative stories of the media and naysayers. Ask ChatGPT to be your cheerleader, your biggest fan and the voice of reason that helps you tame that voice in your head that tells you it won’t work.
“Play the role of a motivational coach. I am someone who is planning to start a side hustle but I’m having doubts. I’m questioning my abilities and I’m feeling afraid of taking risks, failing, and embarrassing myself. Give me the confidence that I can succeed in my side hustle. Include what you know about my strengths to reinforce what you say.”
Get help starting a side hustle with ChatGPT
Prepare to make a success of your second business with these five prompts. Assess your resources, get ideas, and receive the plan for turning them into revenue. Figure out your revenue goals by month and get the courage to take action. There’s no excuse to not move forward when your side project sidekick is standing by.
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