Side hustling changed my life
…and I know I’m not alone!
My side hustle started when I was make an entry-level salary after college while living in one of the most expensive cities in the world, New York City.
I was happy to live there and have my job there, but I wasn’t exactly living the Carry Bradshaw life. Far from it! Now, I know some are shamed for thinking that lifestyle is anything but a TV show, but I was young and hopeful enough to believe it was possible for me. (And I’m glad I did!) Determined to find a way for that to come to life, I started a side hustle to make money outside of my day job.
After many 4:30 AM wake up calls, teleclasses conducted in the supply closet of my day job, lunch meetings, and even embarrassment, the hustle finally paid off when my side hustle become my full-time job, and then a six-figure business from there!
Through it all, I most attribute my moments of inspiration to what kept me going. It wasn’t having the best idea, it wasn’t being the smartest, it was staying inspired and taking action from an inspired place.
Below is a mix of motivation quotes, side hustle success stories, and inspiration that kept me going. They can do the same for you!
Bookmark this page for whenever you need a dose of side hustle inspiration.
5 Motivational Quotes that'll Skyrocket Your Side Hustle
1. “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.”
Richard Branson
When I started my side hustle, I never could’ve imaged how many failures would be part of my journey. It’s easy for us all to say that failure is part of the journey, but until you are living through far more failures a week than you are wins, it’s hard to really prepare. This quote, and so many of Richard Branson’s, served and still serve today as reminders that failure is part of the job.
If you’re not failing, you’re not trying!
Here are two of my favorite episodes of our podcast, the Your Biggest Vision Show, that totally cover failure and support you in experiencing MORE of it:
Ep. 69- Darrell Silver, Founder of Thinkful
Check out the interview here >>>
One of my favorite interviews on my podcast was with Darrell Silver, founder of Thinkful. We interviewed him right after a multi-million dollar acquisition of his company and he had amazing advice on failure.
Ep. 17- My Top Failures Thus Far
Check out the episode here >>>
Learning how to handle failure is one of the only reasons I’ve been able to build my business. I’ve never failed more than when I’ve, ironically, built my successful and thriving business. This vulnerable episodes shares my biggest failures- from when I was younger to my business mistakes.
2. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
Walt Disney
One of the biggest setbacks for want-to-be side hustlers is not having total clarify on what they want to start, what their mission, etc. I sympathize with this because I went through this too! I had many versions of my “mission statement” drafted and redrafted before I started.
Do you know what that carefully crafted mission statement did for me? Nothing. My mission has changed dramatically since I started and so will yours! But I never figured out my current mission from drafting it, I figured it out from taking action and learning.
Here’s my story on how making a decision, even without clarity, contributed to my success.
3. “If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” Reid Hoffman
Reid Hoffman
This exact quote is what I have to thank for selling my very first e-course! I nearly drove myself crazy with overthinking what I could or should do better and whether it was good enough.
Looking back, the biggest blessing of that launch wasn’t the sales that came with it. (And, to my delight, I did have sales with my first launch!) Instead, the biggest blessing was putting myself in the game and stepping up to the plate.
Related podcast episode:
Ep. 52- Behind-the-Scenes of a Failed Launch
Check out the Episode here >>>
This podcast episode shares more about one of my early launches- what I would consider a failed launch! It was a bit nerve-wracking to share this, but I honestly think that it’s because of my “failed” launches that so many of my launches are a success now!
4. “You can’t have a million-dollar dream with a minimum-wage work ethic.”
Stephen C. Hogan
One of my mentors once told me that there comes a point in any business where your idea, no matter how incredible, won’t be enough. We live in a day in age where there isn’t all that much original content out there. This is where your work ethic needs to shine and be what sets you apart. I love how this quote tells it like it is.
Related podcast episode:
Ep. 95- Will It Work For Me?
Check out this episode here >>>
In this episode, I share how my work ethic built me to my goals coming true. This totally shifted me out of any fear about whether a strategy, class, program, etc. would or wouldn’t work for me. It made me realize that I had the “super power” to make any of them work for me with the right work ethic.
5- “Never again, at any other point in your journey, will you have so much to gain as you will if you start today?”
Mike Dooley
This will forever be one of my favorite quotes. I share it with my clients often and I refer back to it often myself. This concept opened my eyes to how much and how often I was standing in my own way of my own success by fabricating the myth of having a better time to start than the present moment. There is never a perfect time to start. There will never feel like enough money, time, preparation, or anything else. You just have to leap!
This type of transformation is what I work with my clients on during our VIP days. Here’s a bit more behind-the-scenes of what that looks like!
5 Successful Companies Started as Side Hustles
6. Apple
In the 1970s, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs partnered up around their 9-5 jobs to work on a tech project that would change the world. They both worked at software and tech companies, but both of their companies declined to invest in their invention (which they’re probably still regretting). Within five years of starting their side hustle, they had a popular tech company.
As of 2020, the company is valued at 1.3 trillion. They were the world’s first company to be valued at a trillion dollars.
What will your side hustle success story be? You’ll never know until you scale it!
Check out our signature self-study program, Scale Your Side Hustle >>>
7. Microsoft
“No matter how much money you have, you can’t buy more time.” – Bill Gates
While it was a side hustle around his education at Harvard, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to start Microsoft. While it’s easy for us to look at one of the most successfully companies in history and confirm it was worth the risk of the leaving Harvard, it probably felt far riskier at the time.
This (and many) stories remind us of the importance of risk-taking in entrepreneurship. In fact, I believe the taking risks often is part of the job.
I share how I’ve reshaped my approach to risk-taking in this episode, based on one of my favorite books:
Ep. 9- Summary of the Science of Getting Rich
Check out the episode here >>>
This book transformed the way I view money, making money, taking risks, and approaching creation. It has been the most powerful book during my entrepreneurial journey.
8. Instagram
Instagram was started by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger after they tweaked it from an original app that was more about location check-ins. Systrom originally started that app in the late hours of the night learning to code around his marketing job. His hustle paid off as Instagram was an instant hit, with 100,000 users in the first week, and growing to 1 million in the first two months.
Facebook would go on to buy Instagram for a cool billion dollars in 2012. Guess those hours hustling paid off!
Here’s a list of 8 ways to be more productive to ramp up that hustle >>>
9. Slack
From 0 to 1 billion in two years, Slack also started as side hustle, and even sort of an accident! In fact, its co-founders, Cal Henderson and Stewart Butterfield, were originally trying to create video games. They used what we know now as Slack to communicate internally while building their games. Talk about literally starting something on the side!
5 Inspiring Entrepreneurs for Side Hustlers
11. Sara Blakely
Sara Blakely famously started Spanx while working as a door-to-door fax machine sales woman. Once she thought of the idea, she took the $5,000 she had saved up, studied patent law in Georgia (as she lives in Atlanta), and hustled to bring it to life.
She heard “no” more than most entrepreneurs ever have, but she stayed persistence. And, it paid off! Blakely is now a self-made billionaire. I suppose that $5,00 investment was worth it!
Investments can be scary in your business, especially when it’s your personal money, which is usually is in the beginning! I share more in this podcast episode about how to know whether an investment of a mentor is the right choice.
Ep. 19- When to Hire a Coach
Check out the episode here >>>
12. Alexa Von Tobel
Alexa Von Tobel drafted the business plan for LearnVest around her business school scheduled while pursuing her MBA at Harvard. She would eventually drop out of HBS at just 25 years old to found LearnVest, a software that set out to transform personal finance in the United States. In 2015, the company was acquired for $250 million. We’re guessing those late nights in her dorm were worth it!
I loved having Alexa on my podcast to share her story and approach to entrepreneurship.
Ep. 31- Alexa Von Tobel, Founder of LearnVest
Check out her interview here >>>
13. Farnoosh Torabi
So, to be honest, Farnoosh may be the only one on this last that didn’t exactly start via a side hustle. From what I understand, she’s been sharing her message of empowering women through money for her entire career. But I had to include her because her podcast, So Money, interviews more side hustle success stories than nearly any other podcast out there. I listened to this daily when I was still side hustling, and was honored to be on the show right as I was leaving my side hustle to go full-time!
Check out my episode on So Money here >>>
I also had Farnoosh on my own podcast!
Ep. 3- Farnoosh Torabi, Host of So Money
Check out her interview here >>>
14. Susie Moore
Susie had such amazing side hustle success that she wrote an entire book on it, called What If It Does Work Out? How a Side Hustle Can Change Your Life.
Susie started her life coaching business while making $500,000 as a Sales Director in NYC. While she had it good, she knew it could be great, and set off to start her business around her job. While hustling on nights and weekends, she was able to match her corporate salary from her side hustle and leave entirely. Now, she helps women leave Corporate America to pursue their own passions.
Check out my interview with Susie here!
Ep- Susie Moore, Life Coach
Check out her interview here >>>
15. Bola Sokunbi
Check out her interview here >>>
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