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I recently decided to get my children their first pet. Being our first, we thought it should be simple to manage- they are after all only 1 and 3 years old. For longevity it needed to suit our lifestyle, available space and desire for cleanliness- yet still give the kids the satisfaction of ownership and responsibility.

So what should we get? We asked friends and scoured the web. We considered a dog, a guinea pig and a rabbit. After analysing the time, effort and likelihood of survival for each of these options we concluded that two goldfish would be a good starting point. A simple tank, daily feed and weekly water change is all that’s required. A quick trip to the pet shop and we were done.

Everyday the kids love dropping in the little fish pellets and watch intently to guess which one will catch more pellets in its little mouth.

In many ways, pets are like side hustles. We commit our available time and resources with the hope of realising some level of satisfaction- hopefully a positive financial return. They don’t need to win any prizes but do require us to feed and nurture them on a regular basis, or like a pet, they won’t survive.

For many of us we have ideas popping into our heads all the time- while we’re in the shower, walking the dog, or perusing the local market. Ideas are everywhere. Opportunity is everywhere. But just like choosing a pet, how do we decide which idea is worth pursuing?

Does your side hustle have SPEED?

I’ve come up with 5 essential elements to consider when you get your next side hustle idea. It’s a simple framework that allows you to assess your idea and compare it to others if you have more than one itching away.

As you go through each element, give the idea a ranking of Low, So-So or Go. The more “Go’s” you get the better.

• Simple

• Profitable

• Enjoyable

• Efficient

• Demand

 

Simple

A great side hustle is focussed on providing a solution to a single problem. While you might offer a number of features or benefits to your customers, you should be able to break it all down to one simple sentence.

Maybe you create practice websites for doctors, write articles for medical journals or teach anatomy to medical students.

When your idea is simple you can communicate it with clarity. When potential customers hear your clarity, they understand what you do and are more likely to take action. When referrers understand what you do, they can promote you to their network.

Often, less is more and complexity can become our greatest hurdle. We think that by offering more we increase our likelihood of success or opportunity to earn. But it’s like trying to juggle five balls before we have learnt how to juggle one.

How simple is your idea? Can you explain it to a 5 year old in 1 or 2 sentences?

Low, So-So or Go?

 

Profitable

A side hustle makes you money, a hobby doesn’t. Ideally we want to be able to draw a line between effort and income.

If you’re freelancing then you’re trading time for money in a linear fashion. If you have a product or service then you hope to generate sales that leverages your time and raises your income exponentially.

Some hustles have the potential for recurring income, passive income and ability to increase customer lifetime value. Others rely on a single transaction per customer.

Income and profit are two very different things. Our hustle can have all the income generating sales in the world but unless they are greater than the running costs we wont turn a profit.

Income – Expenses = Profit

What is the income potential of your idea?

Low, So-So or Go?

 

Enjoyable

What thing do you enjoy doing already? If you have daydreams of white powder and been skiing longer than you’ve been able to walk then a website selling ski gear of reviewing the world’s best ski lodges is a great idea. You have knowledge, experience and passion.

But if you are a teetotaller then a whiskey review site might be a little more challenging.

You don’t have to be totally in LOVE with your idea but hustling is much easier if you at least LIKE your idea. There’s plenty of alternatives out there so you might as well choose one that you find enjoyable.

Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby, has this simple mental framework to assess an idea. When he comes across a new opportunity he has only two responses- “hell yeah!” or “no thanks”. If it’s not a definite yes, then it’s a firm no. The most energy consuming ideas are the soft no’s.

How excited are you about your idea? How likely is it that you will you be excited about it in 12 month’s time?

Low, So-So or Go?

 

Efficient

How quickly can you make your first dollar? Do you already have all the skills and knowledge to take action?

Given that time is the only commodity that you can’t create, an ideal hustle is one that you can launch quickly.

Launching fast is important for 2 main reasons:

1. Income – there is no greater motivator than watching the dollars come rolling into your bank account

2. Validation – there are 3 ways your side hustle may go. You could get:

• Crowds – there’s a stampede at your gates. Your website is crashing because it can’t handle all the traffic. You’ve gone viral on social media and in the blogosphere. Production can’t keep up with demand. You’re a baus and laughing all the way to the bank.

• Confirmation – you put your offer out there and you get some customers to hand over their cash. They tell you your stuff is good.

• Crickets – you setup your shop but realise no one is interested. You sit alone in the dark getting eaten by bugs and wonder how you ever thought this was a good idea.

The worst thing is to have sacrificed years of blood, sweat, tears and cash only to realise that no now wants what you are selling.

Validating your idea quickly allows you to decide whether you should ramp things up, make some tweaks or drop your idea and move on.

If you can launch in a month, great. If you can launch in a week, even better. If it’s going to be a year you’re probably planning a business not a side hustle.

Can you launch your idea in under a month?

Low, So-So or Go?

 

Demand

How many people will pay for your product or service?

Some ideas serve the local community like a food truck. Others can be distributed globally like an ebook. Maybe your ultra niche specific like winter wedding iPhone photography.

It’s said that if you can find 1000 true fans, you can make a million dollars.

Questions to consider:

• Can you scale it nationally or internationally?

• Can you deliver it electronically?

• Is it part of a growing trend? How long will it last?

• What is your competition?

Many people get scared when they see competition but competition is actually a good thing for a side hustle.

Competition exists where there is market demand. Better still, you get to rip, pivot and jam the best features of your competitors. You can also see what they are charging.

Depending on your hustle you can research demand by checking out the number of sales on Amazon, the cost paid for relevant keywords on Google Ads or what the searches are trending on Google Trends.

How many people want what you are selling?

Low, So-so or Go?

 

Action Time

Take a few minutes to rate your side hustle ideas against each of these SPEED elements using Low, So-So or Go and make some notes on each. The more “Go’s” you get the better.

Here’s my quick assessment of this website/ blog:

• Simple: Go. I share practical tactics to help doctors launch and grow their side income.

• Profitable: So-So. The line to direct income is not linear but there are multiple revenue streams available. Many can go on to be passive and recurring.

• Enjoyable: Go. I’ve always been interested in learning about business ideas, marketing and human psychology. I’m just sharing my learning journey.

• Efficiency: Go. The website was setup in a day and I have outsourced the maintenance to my virtual assistant located in the Philippines. I can personally create 1-5 pieces of content each week without too much fuss.

• Demand: Go. There are tens of thousands of doctors in private Facebook groups that want to learn how to diversify their income or exit clinical medicine. They’re jaded by the demands of modern medicine or need to feed their inner creative spirit.

How does your side hustle fare for SPEED? Share it below- you might get insights you’d never come with alone.