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One of the biggest mistakes that side hustlers make when trying to go full-time is being stuck in the “side hustler mentality.” You may have heard me talk about this before or not. But, in my opinion, the side hustler mentality is what keeps people stuck where they are right now. It stops them from going full-time sooner, if at all. I see some side hustlers who are absolutely stuck as a side hustler. And I believe it’s because they are stuck in the side hustler mentality. 

What I Mean By “Side Hustle Mentality”

If you’re a side hustler or a former side hustler, you would know what it feels like to have someone ask you “What do you do for work?” And you say, “Oh, I’m an office manager.” Or you might say, “I have this thing on the side,” You might say, “I’m a full-time sales consultant for a telecommunications company. And I have this blog but I just do that for fun.” Like it’s just a hobby on the side, right? 

When you do that, guess what you’re doing, you’re actually discounting the fact that you’re a business owner. You discount and downplay the fact that you want to go out on your own and become a full-time business owner. 

You downplay your skills, you downplay your talents, you downplay your growth, your hard work, your energy, your sacrifices, your late nights. You discount all of that, just to prevent people from judging you for having this “little thing on the side.” 

That’s a side hustle mentality. 

A side hustle mentality is also thinking, “I’ll go full time soon. I’ll do it in a year’s time. I’ll do it in two years. I’ll do it once I have this baby and the kids are at school. I’ll do it when my husband finishes his job and we move upstate.” 

That’s a side hustle mentality. 

Always thinking in the future, always thinking so far in the future. That the idea of going full-time now is just so distant and does not feel true for you at all. 

That, to me, is a side hustler mentality. And that is the mentality that like I said earlier, keeps people stuck as side hustlers. This mentality stops women like you from pursuing their dreams of going full time in business. 

And that is the absolute last thing I want for you, right? 

How Do You Get Out of the Side Hustler Mentality?

In this episode, I want to dive into how you can get out of the side hustle mentality. 

How do you actually do it, now that we know what it is? How can you, from this very moment as you listen to this episode, start to take action, both mentally and physically, to become the version of you who actually feels like a boss ass CEO? Who doesn’t care that it’s currently your side hustle and that one day it’s going to be your full-time business? But that right now, you know for certain that it will happen and that you can see it happening so soon. That’s the place you want to show up from.

Here’s what you can do to get out of the side hustler mentality: 

#1 – Identify What the Full-Time Version of You Looks Like

The first step is to identify what the full-time entrepreneur version of you looks like. And when I say the full-time version of you, yes, there is that version of you. Whether or not you believe in parallel universes or not, that’s totally fine. You don’t have to. 

I want you to think into the future and think when you’re full time in your business. Then answer these questions:

• What clothes do I wear? 
• How do I present myself? 
• What do I say about myself? 
• What do I say about business? 
• What do I say about money? 
• What do I believe about money? 
• Do I believe that money is evil? Or do I love money? 
• Do I believe that it’s hard to make money? 
• Or do I believe that making money comes easily to me? 
• What does the full-time version of you look like? 
• How does she present herself? 
• Does she invest in herself?
• How confident Is she in herself? 
• How confident is she in her skills, her knowledge, and her expertise?

You can use a journal and write all of this out. I could give you 500 questions. But ultimately, at the end of the day, it’s about working out exactly what that vision of the next-level version of you looks like. What she sounds like, smells like. Not necessarily smells like. But you guys know what I mean, right? 

So, get out a pen and a notebook, and write out everything you know about that version of you who is already full-time in business. Whether that’s in the future, or whether that’s in a parallel universe, whatever you wish to believe. 

Write out and ask yourself, what am I wearing? What am I saying about myself? What do I believe about money? How hard is it for me to get clients? How easy is it for me to get clients? What am I working on each day? Do I invest in myself? How confident am I? How much time and energy am I putting into my personal growth? 

Asking yourself what that full-time version of you looks like, that’s the first step, right? Because you can’t work towards something without identifying what you’re working towards.

You don’t get into the car and just say to Google Maps, “Take me there,” without actually putting in where you’re going. The GPS doesn’t work like that, it doesn’t guess where you’re going. You need to give an end destination for Google Maps to give you the route to get there. 

So, for you to become full-time, you’ve got to know what steps it takes for you to get there. And one part of that is identifying what the full-time version of you looks like. Once you have identified what that full-time version of you actually looks like, what she wears, what she says about herself, money, etc. then you can move to the next step.

#2 – Step Into That Version of You Now

Step into that version of you now. Right now. Not tomorrow, not next week, not when you’re full-time. Now, okay?

You don’t need to wait until you are full-time to start showing up with more confidence. You don’t need to wait until you are full-time in business to start being proud of yourself and all of your achievements. You don’t need to wait until you’re full-time to start being proud of yourself, or reflecting on how far you’ve come. Or to start showing up from a place of love and abundance, right? 

You get to show up as that version of you now. 

There’s no rule that says that you have to wait until you’re full-time before you can tell people that you’re a business owner. You get to decide that for yourself. And now is your opportunity to change that. Now is your opportunity to say, “You know what, I don’t care that I work full-time at a construction factory in the office. I don’t care. I’m a business owner. I’m a Pinterest Manager. I’m a Social Media Manager. I’m an E-commerce Graphic Designer.” Right? It doesn’t matter what you are, you can embrace who you are now, even if you’re not full-time yet. 

The point that I’m trying to get across here is that you don’t have to wait until your full-time before you actually decide to tell people that you’re a business owner. Don’t discount it. 

So, think about that full-time version of you, right? You’ve already identified what she looks like. If choosing to show up as her now, (which you are), then ask yourself, “How does she talk about herself in business?”  

Does she say,” Oh, I’ve got this thing I do.” Or does she say, “I’m a business owner and I help women to create massive success in their life.” Or maybe she says, “I’m a business coach or I’m a Social Media Manager and I help e-commerce beauty brands to uplevel their social media so that they can have more impact and more income online.” Right? 

So, start saying “I’m a business owner. I have a business. I’m working towards going full-time. I’m gonna go full-time soon. I know it.” 

Of course, with the more practical side of things, you can dress like that version of you, now, and start to wear really nice clothes. Who says that you have to keep the nice clothes in the cupboard for just going out for dinner? Start wearing them every day. If you don’t have a uniform at your work, and you’re currently just wearing whatever you can find in the cabinet, start dressing up. Get out your best tops, your best pants, and put in some nice earrings. Dress yourself up. 

There is no rule that says that you can’t. And if there’s no rule that says that you can’t, then there’s no reason why you can’t do that. So, go for it right? Start dressing like that full-time version of you. 

Start talking like her too. What does she believe about money? Okay, start having those beliefs now. 

Something else that I really wanted to talk about to you are the tasks you’re working on as a side hustler. These tasks are going to directly impact what success and what results you’re going to see, in order for you to go full-time. Here’s what I mean, the full-time version of you that you’ve already identified, that you’ve already worked out what she looks like, what she does, how she thinks, and what she believes. That full-time version of you doesn’t waste time scrolling on Instagram. She doesn’t waste time replying to spam emails. She doesn’t waste time proving her point to people who have been nasty to her on social media. That’s not what a full-time business owner does. That’s not what a CEO does. A full-time business owner deletes the comment and blocks the account. She doesn’t go on Instagram all day, every day. Instead, she works on the things that are making her business money and moving her business forward. 

So, that’s another part of identifying what the full-time version of you looks like. By looking at what she’s working on every day in her business. And it doesn’t matter if you’re working nine to five at the moment. It doesn’t matter that you only get 30 minutes a day to work on your business. What tasks are you putting to good use during those 30 minutes? Because if you’re scrolling on Instagram for 30 minutes, I can promise you here and now, you’re never gonna go full-time in business, not unless something changes. So, step into that version of you, who works on the tasks that are moving your business forward and making your business money. 

If you aren’t working on something that’s making your business money or moving your business forward, then you’re not thinking like a business owner. You’re not thinking like a CEO or like a successful, empowered, abundant CEO/business owner. I promise you, if you start to step into that version of you, who is a full-time business owner, now, you are going to go full-time so much sooner. 

So, I hope you absolutely love this podcast episode. And I really hope that after hearing this, you realize how easy it is to step into that version of you, who already is full-time in business. Start showing up as that version of you right now. So, go out there and show up as the full-time version of you, and have an incredible day.

If you need help to go from side hustler to a full-time CEO of your business, check out my mentorship here.

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