Jessica Williams's Blog, page 6

How To Change Your Life in a Year

Tim always writes such powerful posts and this one is no different. In writing about 13 ways he changed his life in a year, these 3 stuck out to me:

Say yes when you’re not ready. The times I have done this, mostly with my knees shaking, have been amazing paths for me.Turn your hurt into motivation. Take that pain you feel and find a way to turn it into a good thing. What can you learn or take from that experience?Give it all away for free. We are side hustlers, so we need to make money, but oftentimes, we can give away so much value through our content which is free. And that can pay off monetarily in other ways.

The post How To Change Your Life in a Year appeared first on Tech Biz Gurl.

How to Identify and Attract Your Dream Customers: 30-Day Traffic Secrets Challenge

This is a sponsored post that contains affiliate links which I'm happy to promote. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Much love & thank you for your support.

For the past 30 days, I’ve been reading part of Russell Brunson’s latest book: Traffic Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Filling Your Websites and Funnels with Your Dream Customers.

Prior to that, I had only heard Russell’s name in passing. I knew he was the CEO of Clickfunnels. But had no idea that he had built a following of over a million entrepreneurs and sold thousands of copies of his books focused on traffic strategies and sales funnels.

After seeing this influencer campaign, I was totally game to apply because I love learning for one. But always love figuring out better ways to do things. And I liked the idea of doing all of this following the structure of a 30-Day challenge. With a bonus of getting more traffic to my blog.

In the beginning of the challenge, we focused on defining our target market, what some challenges are, and what types of things they could be searching for when they were looking for us.

“Being obsessed with your customer means understanding them just as well, if not better than they understand themselves.”

After doing some research into this group of people, I realized that as a side hustler too, I am a part of my target market. Just a few steps ahead of them. So a lot of the things that I search for and am inspired by, my audience might be as well. That includes newsletters, social media content, other websites, and some of the things I am researching to solve my problems.

I recently taught a workshop to folks who wanted to start a side hustle. Some of their struggles are:

Fear of letting people down or that no one will buy what they offer
Coming up with an idea
Not being consistent with working on side hustle because of scheduling
Overwhelm. Prioritizing. Dealing with the tech of it all

“When you truly understand the core pains they are trying to move away from and the core desires and passions they are trying to move toward, it becomes very easy to identify exactly where they exist online.”

While I have some ideas of where they exist online, going through this part of the Traffic Secrets challenge really helped me take a bigger look at how I can help my dream customers.

If my audience is looking for tips, tricks, and resources to help them start a side hustle and manage it alongside their day job, my website could be a collection of tips, articles and resources to help them do just that.  So I created this elevator pitch.

I help folks who love their 9-5 but want to create something of their own and are overwhelmed by the HOW. When they work with me, I give them the resources and support so they get clarity on exactly what first steps they need to take so that they can create a side hustle they love that fits within their life.

Traffic Secrets helped me uncover that my dream customers are moving towards fulfillment, purpose, being able to invent something, and feeling more alive.  And a way to capture folks looking toward that is to get them on my #jesspicks email list. And that should be my main call to action for anything I do going forward. Whether teaching a workshop, or guest appearing on a podcast, or even meeting people at networking events.

“Your list is your key to your current and future success online. This is the best type of traffic: traffic that you own.”

Overall this challenge has been a great experience to help me get clarity on who I’m helping, how I help them best, and how that fits into my world. I feel good about continuing to build my list going forward, finding ways to make my site a resource for aspiring and new side hustlers, and spotlighting others that are on this journey.

If you are looking for strategies to get to know your customers better and start getting more traffic to your site, definitely grab a copy of Traffic Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Filling Your Websites and Funnels with Your Dream Customers. You can grab a copy for free and just pay shipping and handling! Please send me a note if you do as I’d love to hear what you learn!

This is a sponsored post that contains affiliate links which I'm happy to promote. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Much love & thank you for your support. [image error]

How to Build Your Side Hustle in 2020

Photo Credit: CreateHER Stock

A new year is on the horizon and I’m sure that building a side hustle is #1 on your list of things to do.  Now is a great time to step back and answer the question: how do you even start a side hustle? What should you be doing?

What should you be thinking about? Let’s break down the 6 steps to getting started so you can build an income stream doing something you love next year.

1. Think about your why.

What is driving this need to build something of your own? Get super clear on your motivations for doing this because it’ll help inform what you do as a side hustle. And it will also serve as a reminder for why you are doing this on those difficult days when it gets to be too much. And trust me, those days will happen.

Are you unhappy with your day job and want to add something that fulfills you?
Do you love your 9-5, but you are feeling called to do more?
Do you want to get rid of debt or start a travel fund?

I find that most of us start a side hustle for one of three reasons. Either we want to earn extra income, pursue a passion or start a business in a low-risk way.  Which one sounds more like you? What is YOUR why?

2. What can you do as a side hustle?

I love this exercise from my coach, Michelle Ward: set a timer for 15 minutes and brainstorm 10 things you can do as a side hustle. If it helps, think about something that others will pay you $50 an hour to do.  Or something your friends ask you for help with all the time. Think about a bunch of options you can pursue as a side hustle. Then put the list away for a day or so.  Review the list again and pick 1-2 things that you are most excited to pursue. And then figure out what that offering looks like.

Here are some ideas:

Starting a blog and monetizing it through ads or affiliate marketing.
Taking the skills from your day job and offering it as a service to a different market.
Selling digital or physical products online.

3. Make time to work on your side hustle.

This is often the biggest struggle when it comes to starting a side hustle: finding the time. I encourage you to reframe it as making time.  To start, get clear on all of the commitments in your life. If it helps, grab a calendar and write down a list of everything on your plate. Then see what’s leftover.  And what is realistic in terms of how much time you can spend every week. Is it an hour every morning or evening? Is it a couple of hours on the weekend? Here are some other ideas to keep in mind.

4. Start putting your offer out there into the world.

Take on a guinea pig client or two. See how that process goes.  Where can you make changes? Where does something need to change? Is this an offer that makes sense? Tweak it if needed, and then put it back out into the world. Tell your friends about it, share it on social media, and start working on the plan.  As you continue working on your offer and in your business, you’ll start getting clearer on what you should do next.

5. Celebrate the baby steps.

Starting a side hustle is no small feat.  You are choosing to add something to your life that will take time away from other things and this may feel super scary. It’ll bring up all types of fear and impostor syndrome.  But it will also teach you so much about yourself. And this is why you should celebrate. Every time you take action even if it’s attending a workshop, or sharing an image of what you are doing on social media, pat yourself on the back. These small wins done consistently can lead to big wins.

6. Make time for self-care.

Managing a side hustle and a day job is not easy.  It can be extremely rewarding and make you feel like you are living a more fulfilled life.  But you will find days where your motivation is waning for your day job, side hustle or both.  And to combat that, and not fall into burnout, it’s important to build self-care into your routine.  To do this, determine what types of things you need to fill up your cup and do them with some regularity. It could be as simple as reading before bed (this is me!) or having time with your friends, or working out.  Whatever it is, build it into your schedule so that you can fill up your cup as you go.

What if you had a roadmap…

Those are the 6 things you need to keep in mind as you start to build your side hustle in 2020. I know that list can feel big and overwhelming, which is why I love The Complete Roadmap to Setting Up a Profitable Online Side Hustle by Stray Curls.  This ebook walks you through the process of setting up an online side hustle step by step with fun comics and relatable stories.

The ebook talks about different types of side hustles, how to set up your tech resources (like your website and email list), how to get your first clients and includes some fun bonuses like case studies of other women who’ve built online businesses.

Want in?  If you are ready to start your side hustle and no longer want to feel like you don’t know what to do first or next, grab the guide here.  And as a bonus, if you buy the book using my affiliate link, I’ll give you a Day of Voxer coaching for FREE. Voxer is a free app that turns your phone into a walkie talkie. This way as you are going through the guide, note any questions and schedule your day with me so that you can ask me as many questions as you like.  Just send me a receipt with your purchase and I’ll get you set up.

The post How to Build Your Side Hustle in 2020 appeared first on Tech Biz Gurl.

Take Your Side Hustle Back to School

The back to school buzz is quite contagious isn't it?  You are starting to see pictures of kids going back to school.  Stores have school supplies front and center.  It's all about the freshness of it all: New planners.  New notebooks. New backpacks.  New clothes.

New beginnings.

How can you take advantage of that buzz and use it for your side hustle? A lot of people think of September as the start of the new year instead of January. You can get a jump start by taking advantage of this next four months to get stuff done.

Here's how:

1. Plan your quarter.

I used to love starting a new semester at school with a student planner and plotting out all of my assignments, tests and papers.  This way I could schedule in study time and writing time.

What do you want to accomplish in your business this quarter?  Where do you want to be this time next year? What are your goals?  When can you work on your side hustle?  Are there any classes you need to take? Books on your wishlist?

Grab your favorite planner and start plotting out your year.  I love this one.

2. Get school supplies.

In thinking about school supplies for your business, think about things that will save you time. If you are doing the side hustle/day job dance, your time is even more precious and limited. The goal is to automate as much as you can and use technology to help.

What kind of things can go in your tech toolbox?  Do you need a tool to build your email list?  Will an online scheduler help you schedule those clients calls? Do you need a course to help you figure out what kind of business you are trying to build?

Stuck?  Check out my tech toolbox for inspiration!

3. Get a study buddy.

When I was in school, I always found someone that I could share notes with and brainstorm with; basically, just someone that was going through the same thing that I was going through.

You can use a study buddy in business too. Building a business is one of the hardest things that you'll ever do. And you can get stuck in your own head all the time thinking of things and going around in circles.  In my case, overthinking about overthinking. 

38 Self-Care Tips for Busy Side Hustlers

We've often been told that you have to put on your oxygen mask first and that “you can't pour from an empty cup”.  As side hustlers trying to achieve work/life/biz balance is especially hard.  This can take a toll on your body, your friendships and your overall quality of life.  In a word, it can lead to burnout.

And the World Health Organization(WHO) has declared “burnout” an official “occupational phenomenon.”

You may be burned out if you are feeling any of the following:

You are so exhausted at the end of the day that you can barely stay awake when you get home.
You get a lot of sleep but still wake up exhausted.
You are reaching for the coffee cup a lot more often.
You are feeling the need to grab your comfort foods all the time. Mine are french fries and ice cream.
You find that you are getting angry or impatient quicker than normal.
You get sick a lot. Sinus infections and bronchitis are my red flags.

Bouncing back from burnout can involve rest, taking a vacation and most of all, sleep.  But also self-care.

But what is self-care?

I feel like self-care has become such a buzzword term lately. And you are probably thinking it means taking a hot bubble bath while drinking some wine. Or getting a mani / pedi or having a spa day. But not necessarily.

Everyone's self-care routines will be different.  So find what works for you. Figure out what self-care means to you. How do you feel up your cup?  What are you doing for yourself?  What are you doing to recharge?

Self-care could be simply spending some time alone.  Or going for a walk.  And how you recharge may be different based on whether you are an introvert or an extrovert.

Here are some ideas to build self-care into your day.

Exercise. Find something you enjoy and make sure to do it a couple of times a week.
Rest. The whole #teamnosleep culture is no bueno.  If you need help, here are some strategies.
Ask your boss for a mental health day.
Meditate.
Take a yoga class.
Dance it out. If you want to learn some moves to popular songs, check out the Fitness Marshall.
Work on a jigsaw puzzle.
Spend some time cleaning or decluttering your space.
Go to the park and read outside.
Say “no” to more things.
Start a “You're Awesome” file in your Evernote and fill it with great things people say about you.
Subscribe to the Girls' Night In newsletter.
Write. Journal.
Set aside 5-10 minutes a day and write down what you are grateful for.
Take a day off from your side hustle and your day job.
Take time for lunch and actually go outside and get away from your desk to eat lunch.
Schedule “white space” into your calendar where you're not required to do anything.
Surround yourself with other side hustlers who can cheer you on and help you with challenges.
Celebrate. Even the baby steps.
Get a massage or a pedicure (the foot massage is my favorite part).
Have brunch or dinner with your girlfriends.
Take a multivitamin.  These are my fave.
Take yourself out on a date.
Hang out with your girlfriends.
Look at your list of to-dos and see if there is anything draining your energy.  Can you delegate it? Delete it?
Make sure you are eating right.
And drinking enough water.
Get crafty.  Use your hands to do some painting, coloring or knitting.
Take time to sit down and sip a cup of tea.
Snuggle with your pet or little one.
Volunteer.  Giving back can be good for the soul.
Listen to a Shine meditation.
Binge your favorite show on Netflix.
Have a technology free hour or day.
Read or listen to an audiobook. Here are some of my faves.
Ask a friend for help.
Treat yourself.  Get some ice cream or buy yourself a present.
Take a few minutes and breathe. With your belly.

Doing a little bit of self-care and adding it to your day can help you avoid burnout. Try one of these tips for one week and see how you feel.

What are some of your self-care tips? How are you avoiding burnout?

The post 38 Self-Care Tips for Busy Side Hustlers appeared first on Tech Biz Gurl.

How To Get Back On Track with Your Side Hustle Goals

I’ve been thinking about the New Year. If you are anything like me, you made some BIG goals for the new year and you may be looking back on those and realizing that they aren’t quite done yet. You might have even forgotten what you wanted to do.

I’m your side hustle heroine and it is my goal to help you focus on something I know that matters to you… your business.

You want to start this side hustle so you can pursue something you are passionate about without having to worry about how you can make it happen with your life and your day job.

You want to avoid that panic of “Where will I find the time/energy/motivation?” every time you think about making this business happen.

I understand. I’d like to offer you some advice for getting back on track and not letting 2019 go by without you getting your side hustle off the ground.

1. Find four 30 minutes blocks of time in your schedule in the next week.

Create calendar appointments for them. Call them “Side Hustle Time”.

2. Use the first 30-minute slot to write down a list of all of your commitments

This includes work, gym time, sleep time, family time, any other commitments. Also, think about how many hours realistically you can spend on your side hustle every week. 10 hours a week may work for some folks, but 2 hours a week may work for others. There is no right or wrong answer here. Just think about what you can commit to every week and write that down.

3. Use your second slot to build your side hustle schedule for the next six months.

Open up Google Calendar and take your list of commitments from step 2 and start blocking them off. Color code them too if that’s more your style. You can use “red” to block off your work time and “yellow” for anything else that you already have going on. What’s left over? Where are those pockets of time you can work on your business to meet your weekly hours? Can you do an hour after dinner a couple of times a week? Or can you use your weekend time somehow? Whatever that schedule is, block off that time too. You can make that color “green” for money.

4. Use your next slot to brainstorm a list of at least 10 side hustle ideas.

What can you make money by offering? Try not to censor yourself here – even if it seems like a crazy idea right now, just write it down. If you find yourself stuck, you can even ask yourself, “What could I charge $50 for tomorrow?”, a great question I learned from the When I Grow Up Coach. Or what do your friends and family always come to you for advice on? Make your list and then put it away.

5. Use your final slot to review your side hustle ideas list and pick one that you can make into an offer.

Write up a description for it: what is it (is it a coaching call, a workshop), who is it for? (is it for busy career women, is it for organizations who could use help with employee engagement), what could you charge for it (you could charge $50 especially if you have some experience with it, or offer it for free if it’s a totally new idea).

Once you are done with the description, put your idea out there. Share it on your social media channels. Tell your friends about it – they may know someone who needs your service. And if you share it with me in the comments, I will happily share it with my networks.

Those are 5 actions you can take RIGHT NOW to get your side hustle started.

If you could use more personalized help and support, I’m here for you.

In case you missed it, I launched the Side Hustle Mentorship program. It kicks off with a 60-minute call where we’ll set a plan for the next month. Then you’ll have audio and text message access to me during the next 30 days for accountability, support, pep talks and cheerleading.  It's like having a Side Hustle BFF in your pocket!  If you have any questions, leave a comment below or send me a note.

So if you want to wake up January 1st with one less “resolution” on your list, let’s do this.

The post How To Get Back On Track with Your Side Hustle Goals appeared first on Tech Biz Gurl.

Get Comfy with Affiliate Marketing: A Beginner’s Guide

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which I'm happy to promote. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Much love & thank you for your support.

What is Your Side Hustle Why?

A side hustle is a way to earn extra income outside of your day job. I started my side hustle because I wanted to help women feel confident and empowered with technology so that they were able to use it to start online businesses. From there it has evolved to helping women start side hustles so that they can pursue their passions without having to quit their day jobs.

In working with side hustlers, I have found that most of us start them for one of three reasons: money, passion or entrepreneurship.

Earn extra money

Some of us just want to make some extra cash. You can build up your travel or emergency fund by driving Uber or doing Instacart. You can also make what some people call “beer money” by doing surveys, focus groups or earning cash back from shopping through apps like Ibotta and Rakuten (formerly known as EBates).

Pursue a passion

Some people would love to be writers or coaches or artists but either feel like it won’t pay them enough or they have no idea how to get started. Side hustles allow you the flexibility to try that passion while keeping your day job and your main source of income intact. If you want to become a writer, you can start a blog.  To become a coach, you can offer to coach 5 folks for free. Experiment with a couple of ideas and get clearer on what you ultimately want to do.

Start a business in a low-risk way

Some folks are not a big fan of risk (myself included).  They want to be entrepreneurs but are afraid of quitting their job and going all in on a business which unfortunately is sometimes the characteristic of startup culture. Starting your business as a side hustle allows you to experiment with products and services and then grow your business to a point where you have either saved up enough money or you are making a consistent enough income that you feel more comfortable taking the leap.

What's your why for your side hustle?

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8 Lessons I’ve Learned in 8 Years

As I was creating slides and talking points for my recent speaking engagement at Side Hustle LIVE, I started thinking about lessons I’ve learned over the years running my side hustle.

And it’s also right on time for my blogiversary on April 14th!!

Eight years ago hot on the heels of the Spark and Hustle conference I started this blog. Back then I felt called to create a safe, fun space for women. I wanted them to feel empowered to create that online business without feeling held back by technology.

This decision has changed my life in so many ways. Over the years, it has resulted in:

New friends and online relationships
Job opportunities
Recognition like this and this
Tons of speaking opportunities

It's also been an incredible personal development adventure. In honor of my eighth year blogging, I wanted to share lessons I’ve learned:

You don’t have to be an expert to start a blog or side hustle. You just need to know a little bit more than the next person.
It is vital to have an action-oriented mindset. If you don’t know what to do, take action. Take one little step, even if it’s sharing your thoughts with a friend, to move forward.
You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. Find what works for you.
Your day job is not the enemy. Working a day job serves and funds your side hustle. Along with taking care of your basic expenses.
Social media makes it really easy to compare yourself to everyone else in the same industry or market as you. This will lead you down a road of unhappiness (been there, done that). Instead, compare yourself to yourself a year ago.
Your blog or side hustle will evolve and that’s OK. As you learn more about yourself and how you like to work, your art will reflect that.
Self-care needs to be a priority. This is not necessarily manicures and bubble baths. It’s about making time for you and things or activities that recharge you.
Good things happen when you put yourself out there and take a leap of faith. Even if it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, you’ll learn something you can take with you in the future.

I’m super excited to go all in on helping side hustlers like myself find tips and tricks for managing their time and technology to make the hustle less overwhelming.

What are some lessons you’ve learned from running your blog or side hustle?

The post 8 Lessons I’ve Learned in 8 Years appeared first on Tech Biz Gurl.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

It’s Valentine’s Day! What kind of feelings do you have about the holiday? I’m decidedly mixed but I’ll never waste an opportunity to show you all my appreciation and love. I am truly lucky to do the work I do. It’s my privilege to be able to help aspiring hustlers learn how to turn their gifts into side hustles that fund their lives and feeds their passions.

My ideal scenario: You come to me with a dream and a bunch of jumbled ideas and you leave with a plan, some tools and lots of inspiration to start your side hustle.

That’s the work I LOVE to do. Thanks for making it possible. In order to show you some love, I’ve created a new resource for you: 4 Tools You Need for 2019.  You can get it for free here.

Thanks for helping me live a life I love.

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