The first five months of this year have given us all a chance to step back and take a good look at our lives.

What works? What doesn’t? And how can we change?

I honestly believe that we’re all here for a reason. It benefits us to live our lives to our greatest potential. And if we do so, it helps the world become a better place.

I’m not talking HUGE Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey changes. (Although if you’re light is meant to shine that bright, all the better.) Sometimes influencing just one life can make all the difference.

But to do that, you have to look at every aspect of your own life, and make choices about how you fill your days. What should you say yes to? When should you say no?

That’s becoming more apparent every single day.

Because right now, I think we’re on the cusp of something big. I see it all around me. People everywhere are writing about it too. You can feel it moving throughout the world, shifting us to a better place.

What is it? And where do side hustles come in to play? I’ll get there in a moment.

The world is changing

If you listen to anything political, if you’ve taken an interest in one side or the other, if you believe one side is telling the truth, if you’ve bought into a “conspiracy theory”, here’s my advice for you:

Stop.

None of it matters. Not really. Yes, we can argue that overall, direction is everything. None of that matters in our day to day lives. We have very little influence over any of it – except at the end when we can vote.

But there is something far more life-changing that you should be paying attention to. Because it’s getting bigger every day.

Businesses around the globe have shuttered their doors. It’s easy to pay attention to the ones that aren’t going to come back – JCPenney, Pier One. What you should focus in on are the ones that are changing.

Gap signed a deal to bring robots into their warehouses before the pandemic closed their stores. During the time away, management penned a new deal to bring them in at a faster speed and in greater quantity. Why? Because a robot can work faster, for longer hours, and do it all without benefits or complaining. Not only are they taking over positions in the warehouses, but they’re being introduced to retail locations too.

Don’t think this is just retail. It’s happening in every industry. Chances are you know first hand. How’s the industry you’re currently in?

Does all of this mean you should learn more about technology? Should artificial intelligence be a concept to focus on?

Nope.

Instead, I invite you to look closely at your life. What interests you? What are you passionate about? What can you share with others? What do you do differently in your own life?

I’ve always wanted to … THAT’S your side hustle!

If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that everything can disappear in a heartbeat.

If you’ve ever said “I can’t follow my dreams because I make too much money at my job”, you know how true this can be.

I lost 20 percent of my income – poof – in just a couple of weeks after the stay in place order came through. Yes, that’s tough. But because I’ve built a wide variety of income streams into my business, I’ve moved my attention to other ideas and opportunities. I’ll recover without a problem.

Not everyone can say that.

And that’s why side hustles matter.

But I have so many ideas … What do I choose?

One of the problems with being in our 40s and 50s is we have so many interests. I agree.

• I’m a mom. I’ve navigated the school system. I know what it takes to get my daughter into a good college.
• I’m a wife. I’ve navigated ups and downs throughout our relationship. We’ve experienced empty nest, and the ebb and flow of changing our goals.
• I’m an entrepreneur. I’ve grown businesses. I’ve sold a business. I write all the time.
• I’ve been a plant-based eater for over a decade.

I could go on, but you get the picture. If you listed out your roles and experiences, you’d also see different areas you’ve excelled in too.

When I look at that list, things jump out at me immediately. Things I’m passionate about, and will gladly speak about with anyone.

I love building businesses. I love marketing. I’m passionate about proper nutrition, and staying healthy with plant-based eating. I adore finding out all I can about reinventing our lives. I love helping women navigate the world and create better lives.

And every last thing I listed above is what I’ve focused on for the past few years of my life.

It started out as my side hustle – and now it’s my full time career.

Because when I started with a little dream – a dream to reinvent my life to live my perfect life every day – I discovered other people wanted to share in that dream too.

Are you there too?

And the only way to build a side hustle here in midlife is …

It’s time to focus in on you.

Step one. Complete this sentence.

I absolutely love ______ and I’d like to find out as much as I can about it. I’d love to be an expert if I could.

When I fill in the blank, I would put “help women succeed.” I want women to be better educated. I want them to be financially savvy. I want them to take control over their worlds and build businesses that give them freedom to live life on their terms. I want them to walk away from relationships that don’t fulfill them. I want them to create lifestyles that do. I want them to learn more about nutrition so they can be as healthy as they can be.

My side hustle started out talking about my own dreams and goals. And slowly, I’ve built up my business to cater to helping women in all different phases of their lives.

Start small. Pay attention. Grow as you see fit. Yes, it really is that simple.

Step two. Invest in the tools.

Side hustle = blog + writing

That’s it. That’s the secret sauce. That’s the magical advice.

Of course, there’s a lot of hard work involved too. You can’t expect a business to grow big without you. But it really is as easy as getting just a few tools, putting all your focus on one idea or concept, and creating content about it and sharing it with the world.

Here are some of my favorite resources we’ve made for helping you grow:

I have a blueprint I created that can help you get started with writing. I show you how easy it is to create a blog – a platform that allows you to start sharing your ideas with the world.

I realize a lot of what we are facing right now is fear-based. If you’ve found yourself tucked away in your home, afraid of the future, it might be time to change your vocabulary. I realize this is a very difficult process, but I give you my take on transforming the way you think. I approach everything with hope, and it does make a difference.

A few months ago, I took a class on retirement. Now, I’m a long way off from retiring. But there was a class near me designed for 50 and above, to answer all kinds of questions on preparing for the future. I jumped at it, and learned a lot. The instructor stated Social Security and Medicare would still be there by the time we need it. I’m wondering today if he still delivers that same message. Things are changing. If you ever hope to retire someday, it’s time to start thinking differently.

Are you getting tired of the promises current online courses are promising you? “Go from zero to a million in days!” or “Learn everything about writing in one hour, and you’ll be uber-successful too!” Ugh. Yes, I’m making those titles up. But they really are ad nauseam, aren’t they? Maybe you’ll relate to this article I wrote where I talked about what’s most important, right now.

Step three. Sell one thing.

This is the one part of creating a side hustle that freaks people out the most. Sell? I have to sell?

You can do it. And thanks to being online, you can do it from the comfort of your chair in your home. (That’s the best part. I’m an introvert, and I love doing everything from inside my four walls.)

But you have to do it.

And it doesn’t even have to be for money in the beginning. Just test the waters.

What does that mean? It means creating something for people to get excited about. Sit down and write an article about what interests you. Take your phone and record a short video.

That’s it. Then go over to Facebook and share it with the world. You can build a page in moments. Spend a little money on an ad, and see if you can get people talking.

Step four. You have to have an offer.

The article is your starting point. But you have to take action too.

Let’s say you’re plant-based like me. You want to start a business consulting people who wish to become plant-based too. You’ve written an article. You have it on Facebook. The next thing you need is an offer, some way for people to take action.

Maybe it’s a free 20 minute phone call to chat about goals and direction.

Maybe it’s a class you’ll be teaching via Zoom.

You decide what you want to give to people to gain interest. It can be something as simple as a free report (how many have you signed up for in your lifetime?)

Step five. Do one thing.

Everything seems so complicated these days. But it really isn’t. Every day, have one goal on your to-do list. One thing you have to do.

Make sure it’s forward-generating. That it will move you forward towards your business goals. It should have a sales or marketing undercurrent.

And if you do it, it will lead you to your next thing. One thing every day leads to great momentum. It adds value over time.

See the big picture

Side hustles are meant to start out small. But that doesn’t mean that’s where they stay.

Years ago, I started a photography business on the side with my husband. We had fun with it. In a few short years, we became one of the premier photographers online. We flew where our clients wanted us to go. We worked with clients from around the world.

But none of that would have been possible if we hadn’t taken one step at a time, one day after another.

What’s your dream?

What does it look like?

How much will it have to make to change your life?

All of these questions fall into place.

But right now, you have to do one thing.

One step.

And I am super excited to be here rooting for you, and helping you take your next step.