I frequently hear my friends ask questions like "what's the best side hustle?", or "what's a good business to start up?" without leaving their main bread and butter. The obvious reason for this is to have additional sources of income to augment growing needs. I belong to these questioning and seeking people. I am nosy when it comes to new earning opportunities - but please, no more multi-level marketing hehe. 

While working on some chores, I listened to Fitz Villafuerte's The 80 Percent on Spotify. I usually listen to The 80 Percent when I wash the dishes, clean the house, or arrange my things. The latest episode I tuned in to is his discussion on essential skills one must have prior to having an extra source of income. Here are some of his takes:

Time Management

Having a side hustle or maintaining a business while maintaining an 8-5 job needs quality time management. You need to make sure that every deliverable is attended to and that no work is compromised. Failure to manage time will lead to burnout, missed schedules, delayed outputs, and tarnished work image. In managing time, calendaring appointments, including rest and recreation is crucial. 

Energy Management 

To manage your energy means maximizing your most productive hours to accomplish your most difficult and demanding tasks. Some tasks require intense focus - analysis, programming, crafting, doing reports, etc. while some stuff doesn't require much energy like stapling papers, photocopying reports, or sorting books. Manage your schedule around your energy burst. Are you a morning person? Finish your heavy stuff in the morning when your energy is at its peak. Do the opposite if you are a night person.

Organizational Skill

Being organized is a must when you have multiple hustles to work on. You don't want to scramble the files and concepts of your clients. Learn how to organize your workflow, your workspace, and your thoughts. You want to be at your best whenever you deal with your clients, and being organized puts you at the advantage. 

Money Management

Building additional sources of income means more financial resources to manage. You don't want to tire yourself out doing multiple jobs for nothing. You want your fruits to be used for good, and for them to grow. So money management is a necessity so you will not waste your additional earnings and you can easily reach your financial goals. 

Sales and Marketing

Most of the time you will encounter side hustles that will require you to sell items or ideas. Sometimes, you will even 'sell' yourself - your skillset, your creativity, etc. So knowledge of sales and marketing is a plus. 

Engaging in sales and marketing boosts your confidence and presenting your ideas in a concise and clear manner. It will develop your personality in the long run. 

Growth Mindset

Pursuit of multiple streams of income means you are aiming for more - to increase your capacity not just in your resources but also your capacity to learn and grow. It will be difficult. It will stretch you and give you additional loads and challenges you may have not yet encountered before. Developing a growth mindset is necessary to prepare you for what lies ahead. Winning at heart is already half the battle. Winning in life follows after. 

You may visit Fitz Villafuerte's The 80 Percent podcast on Spotify. He is a financial consultant who discusses business, investments, and personal finance on his blog Ready To Be Rich. 

I've been following him for quite some time, and I have been a subscriber of his podcast as early as its initial episodes. He has already produced 117 episodes as of date. I even shared some of my learnings from his podcast on this site and martsvalenzuela.com.