I have to confess. This will be a short moment of complaints, but with a positive note at the end.

It’s been a few years that I’ve been looking for a side hustle, but I never managed to make any money. Often I quit before starting (which explains it without a doubt), or life gets in the way, my product isn’t as interesting as I thought it would be, and so on. It seems as if I’m never passionate enough or good enough to transform something into a working small company. Yes, I’m a bit good at many different things: cooking, baking, DIY, sewing, gardening,… I also always try to learn new things, for example, last year, when I finished the course to be a plumber and install boilers. And recently, I started programming with a friend. It’s a bit of everything and probably nothing!

Blogging, more than a childhood dream?

When I was a child, I always wanted to blog. I remember the first time I spend online, reading the pioneer’s blogs. It was so tempting! In secondary school, I had a blog for a while, on the school platform, but after nasty remarks from a teacher, I erased everything. During the first lockdown I restarted for maybe the fifth time, but again, it didn’t last. And it surely wouldn’t become a source of income. With this blog post, and others that I’ve got planned, I’m trying to bring it back to life. I don’t give up. Never. 

Maybe I see it all too much through pink glasses, or my expectations are unrealistic. Anyway, this time I’ll reset my goals a bit more clearer and I won’t raise the bar too high.

How much time will I spend?

It is of most importance and also clear to me how much time I want to spend on my side hustle. I want to spend as little time as possible. For me, there is no interest in it if I only gain “one unity of salary for one unity of spent time”. In that case, I could also do extra hours at my normal job or give private classes in the field I already teach in. In other words, a buzzword, I want to generate a passive income. This is a popular thought these days. For many it is “the” dream, for many others, it is the sick-making consequence of capitalism. Each one can have his opinion.

What is my goal?

My goal is clear and hopefully also attainable. I think I’m not raising the bar too high. In the first instance, my goal is to make enough profit to pay the monthly debt of paying the apartment. That is about €670,00 every month. The necessary turnover probably comes down to more or less €1200,00. Maybe that is still a lot as a goal, but I don’t imagine gaining that on the first day. It may take some years before I arrive at that point.

In my eyes, a better product for which you can ask a bit more is the best idea. This way, I’ll need to find fewer clients! In sold products or services, it could be 10 pieces of €120,00; 100 of €12,00, or 40 of €30,00. Roughly estimated. It isn’t a bad idea to take more in detail into account the expenses that I’ll need to make.

What’s my drive, even after many failures?

Many motivations drive me and sometimes they change. Depending on the period in my life, one of course has different priorities.

First of all, I want to be more independent from my main salary. Despite having quite a good salary as a teacher, I’m sometimes worried about my financial situation, justly or not. A buffer would ease me. With the arrival of our daughter, I’ve got that feeling even more. I want to give her at least all the chances I got myself.

Secondly, “life” doesn’t get any cheaper. For the same standard of living, one pays more each year. Almost everyone was confronted with the increase in gas and electricity prices this or last year. We, a family of two, who lives in an apartment, got the proposition to change our advance from €100,00 to €450,00. We had to take a deep breath when we discovered this. It doesn’t surprise anyone that this is one of my motivations to make some extra money.

There is also a little fantasy in my motivations, I’d like to go to a beauty therapist occasionally to pamper myself. But this isn’t that important. I can do without and I have enough remedies to “work on my beauty” myself for cheap.

The basis of my motivation lies also in the period of my first jobs and the time I was renovating my apartment. I had to make ends meet with a starter’s salary and pay way too many things. It was living from bill to bill, and I don’t ever want to relive that.

Never give up

So, I’ll try again! This time It can get through. Or maybe not, but I’m not giving up. Rome wasn’t built in one day either. Come back regularly to read more about my projects. It may inspire you too!