TechInAfrica – People believe, when your passion turns to your main source of income, career isn’t a chore or an arduous thing to do anymore—it becomes a thing that you choose and enjoy doing. While still keeping your day job, working your side hustle in which you’re passionate about can always bring benefits both for your personal growth and your financial standing. Who knows, maybe your side hustle will be your next runway towards achieving your lifelong dream.

And so, here are five things you need to consider building that runway:

Experiment

Test the waters. In order to forge a path towards making your passion your dream job, you need to experiment yourself in areas where you could dedicate time and attention. More often than not, we’re only holed up in one passion rather than exploring zones which we may find enjoyment in.

So, the first step is to find that enjoyment and try to make something out of it. For example, I find writing to be enjoyable, and recently have started a short story series published anonymously in a flipbook platform.

Most people would be hindered by the thoughts of arduous, long process of disappointments and dullness—thus restricting them from experiencing the full extent of experimenting themselves. So, push aside those limiting mindsets, go out there, and experiment!

Educate

Okay, so now you’ve found your passion. You’ve found a way to channel all those pent-up creativity and energy onto embodiments of pure hobby. The next step is to delve further into the topic in question by constantly learning the topic you’re interested in. Most of the time, education is free and accessible through platforms like internet and public libraries—just waiting for you to reach them and open their first pages.

I like writing for various topics—scientific, fiction, literature, journalism—so sometimes I research writing tips via grammar forums like Stack Exchange. YouTube channels, audiobooks, podcasts, or even social media groups can also serve as a learning medium for aspiring side hustlers.

Of course, there’s also a learning curb in every educational process and it’s not always a good thing. But as unsexy as it is, it’s always necessary to nurture your personal growth if you’re aiming for a better self. Implement the lessons you’ve learned. Pave the way using the knowledge you’ve gained and sooner or later, learning will become more enjoyable than when you first started.

Evaluate

After you feel like you’re ready to dive into the market with all the learnings you’ve experienced, it’s time to evaluate. Evaluating means testing the product or service you’re offering and see whether it’s received well by the public.

However, testing products is not always as complicated as you think. You can start by asking opinions of people in your circle, handing out surveys, or simply letting strangers know if you’ve got a new line of product coming up. This way, you can tell where your product stands by judging at their responses. Are they enthusiastic? Are they uninterested? Then you may be able to receive their feedback regarding your upcoming product; what is lacking? what aspects can be improved further?

Envision

Which means dream. Dream and envision yourself to be the person (or the product) you aspire to be. Believe that your product will be the next big thing, and believe in yourself that you’ll tackle anything that needs to be tackled in order to build this reality. When you start applying this mindset of a visionary, you’ll start embodying this new, ideal persona you’ve been dreaming about.

They’ll call you a baker before the bakeshop opens, and an athlete before you step on the court.

Don’t be afraid to be vocal and to promote your new ideas—you’re definitely going to make it.

Execute

This is the last and final step. The preparations are done, and now it’s finally time to let go of all doubts and execute your well-constructed plan. Whilst executing may need a hefty amount of dedication and time, doing something you really are passionate about—and charging people for it—isn’t always as laborious as people may think it is.

Make that first dollar. Make that first sale. Sooner or later, you’re already making money before you even know it.

Source: entrepreneur.com