Building a side hustle alongside a 9-5 is exhausting.

You have to wake up early even when your bed feels nice and warm. You have to work on your projects even when you’re tired after your day job. You have to plan the night before so you don’t wake up not knowing what to work on.

I spent plenty of time on small gigs before I realized I didn’t enjoy freelancing.

My side income came from providing ghostwriting and coaching services. But I feel anxious whenever I need to hit a deadline from a client. I get nervous when I need to prepare for a coaching call.

I don’t want to burn out just like how I felt as a healthcare worker.

But I can’t just give up because my traditional job will not give me the time and money freedom that I want. 

There was something wrong with my system and what I was doing. 

Here's the truth:

If you want to build something sustainable, you have to enjoy it.

If you want to produce great results, you have to work on something that feels like play. 

So I've been testing out some money opportunities that feel more exciting to me.

Let's dive in:

Affiliate marketing

The hardest part about making money on your own: 

You need to learn how to sell.

Most people don’t have the confidence to sell themselves and their products. They are afraid to invest their time and money into building something. They have no idea if something will sell or not. 

They read stuff about selling instead of actually doing the thing. They think they can use the information once they have something to sell.

Stop the mental procrastination.

You need to start selling ASAP — even if you think you have nothing to sell.

Here’s how to do it:

• Think of a product or service you have tried before.

• Ask for a small commission if you can sell the product or service.

• Create content around that product and service.

• Promote your affiliate link.

Will this make you rich?

No. 

But it’s a great start to learn about online entrepreneurship.

Most of the time, creators will gladly give you a commission for promoting their stuff.

For example, I was a student of Ship30for30 and it’s one of the best online courses I took. 

It only makes sense for me to talk about this course because it has changed my life -- and I want to help others do the same. 

In the next few months, I will double down on promoting products I believe in.

It's a great way to practice how to sell.

Selling digital products

Once you know how to promote an offer, the next step is to sell something of your own.

The great thing about social media is you can access the thoughts of others (without much effort). When you interact with them, you become more aware of their problems. 

Your goal is to find a specific solution to one problem for one person.

You don’t have to learn how to build a Cybertruck to create your own product.

You just need to learn how to package the solution (and this is the most exciting part)

As you continue to create content online and build an audience, you can start to funnel them into your email list.

Your email subscribers are the ones who pay attention to what you put out. Take good care of them.

Give your most valuable content to them, then sell them the implementation.

Double down on the Medium Partner Program

The foundation of a successful online business is great content.

Medium is a great way to grow as a beginner writer while getting paid.

Use Twitter to test out your ideas and expand on the best ones on Medium.

I recently took Eve Arnold’s Medium Blueprint course and I’m excited to implement my learnings. Just like anything, volume is the answer. Publishing more on Medium will help me become a better writer. I also have more chances of getting visibility. Hopefully, this will help me increase my earnings as well.

Wrapping it all up

Making money online takes time.

It's not for the faint of heart. But the best thing about it is it builds leverage. Whatever you put online will be there for a long time. You can spend 2 hours writing something and someone (who can give you an opportunity) can stumble upon it 5 years from now.

If you are willing to play the long game, the skills you acquire will be useful many years from now.

Trust me when I say you’re early.