One idea to Build your Business, one idea to Scale your life. Every Wednesday.

Welcome to Winformation Weekly. My 13 years’ experience of growing a business from £0-£100m, and the life that goes with it. All wrapped up, in one winning weekly email.

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Business

My 5 Steps to Turn Your Side Hustle Into Your Full Time Business

Two in five Brits have a side hustle, whereby people do additional work to supplement their main employment. Often, side hustles are steeped in individuals’ passions and interests and therefore more appealing as a career. The challenge many have is being too reliant on the income from their main job to be able to take the plunge and make their side hustle a full-time career. Here are my 5 steps to turn your side hustle into your full-time business. 

1. Get crystal clear on costs. You must get a firm grip on your expenditure. If you don’t know already, find out what your monthly outgoings are – not a rough estimate, know them right down to the last penny. Then with a list of those costs, cross off and cancel any luxuries. You only need to cover your basic human needs. And don’t lose heart. I did it for four years in my £200 car without holidays.

2. Cut your costs, but not your kids’. If you have children, the process mentioned in the step above isn’t for them, it’s just for you. So, if they have their own regular activities, like swimming lessons, martial arts, or dancing, keep budgeting for it. This is your sacrifice, not theirs.

3. Get saving. You know how much you earn, as well as your outgoings, but how much is left each month? Whatever the figure, work hard to save three months’ worth. Once you have it, stash it away safely in a separate bank account and you have three months of running costs to fall back on.

4. Be disciplined with your time. In order to get yourself into a position to go full-time with your side hustle you need to be organised. So set priorities and create a clear schedule of activity and objectives to help maintain positive momentum.

5. Time to make the leap. You’ve done your due diligence, but when is it time to leave your employment and go full time with your own business? I would suggest doing so when your side hustle is able to generate 80% of your monthly needs. The quicker you can safely leave your job the better. Reason being? Well, you’ve built a business to almost cover your costs with 20% of your time. Imagine what you can achieve with 100% of your focus. Bringing that move forward as quickly (but safely) as possible is key.  

Life

How to Beat 95% of the Population – Clue: It’s Got Nothing to Do With Talent

Those looking online for advice to succeed in life are often blind-sided by a number of courses and classes promising all the answers. In reality, anyone can get themselves ahead of 95% of the population, you just need to make the decision to do so. Here are 5 things only 5% of people will regularly do, and the other 95% simply won’t.  

1. Plan your day the night before. I like to group people in two camps – rubber ring people, who don’t know where their day is going to take them and all too often find themselves swept out to sea; and Satnav people, who have set a destination for where they want to go each day. You only need to spend minutes planning the five key tasks you need to complete the following day, but doing so gives that day a clear focus and objective.

2. Turn up 10 minutes before any appointment. In the age of the instant message, it’s so easy to be late and reactionary to almost everything we have in our diary. Being consistently early for everything we do builds trust and ensures people see us as reliable.

3. Follow up and chase. Don’t leave loose ends. If you haven’t had a reply on a request or task, then follow it up with them. Not only does this show some initiative and passion for the job at hand, it also helps build relationships, while also demonstrating you are proactive and responsive, as well as setting an example for others to follow.

4. Look after yourself. It’s an often-heard phrase that too many take no notice of, but don’t forget to drink water – two litres a day, which is around eight cups. You wouldn’t neglect to put oil in your car. Or if you did it would eventually grind to a permanent halt. So, stay hydrated. Working hard is imperative for anyone wanting to succeed, but despite popular belief, that doesn’t mean cutting back on sleep. So don’t just set an alarm to wake up, set one to remind yourself when to go to bed and if you can, try to get eight hours.

5. Develop new relationships. Studies have shown doing so can improve mental health and provide a sense of belonging. Develop the skill of remembering people’s names AND one thing about them. It could be where they’ve been on holiday, the part of the country they grew up in, or their kid’s favourite football team. Greeting them by name and asking about the one thing you remember about that, is very powerful.

…Plus More!

My £100m Morning Routine...

You ready for this? Get a pen, paper and scribble this down. I wake up, I take the kids to nursery, I go to work.

You see, in this social media morning routine obsessed era of cold plunges, red light therapy, hot yoga and everything else... the harsh reality is simply trying to keep going when all you want to do is rest. I try and optimise my life in a way that means I can be a good Dad, but get to work as early as possible, and just start working. Ground breaking.

Until next week! 

Let’s win, together!