Side Hustle to Solopreneur in 12 Months

How to build a side hustle that turns into a $100k one-person business.

Relying on just a salary is dangerous.

Ask any of the thousands of people who’ve been unexpectedly fired over Zoom from “safe” companies over the past year.

Going from a comfy bi-weekly paycheck to $0 without warning can wreak havoc on your health, finances, and life.

This guide helps you diversify so you never get to that point.

How to Build a Side Hustle that Turns into a $100k One-Person Business

Anthony Carlton, CFP @ant_carlton

Build a 5-figure side hustle that turns into a $100k one-person business so you never get laid off over zoom.

Step 1: Start Before You Are Ready

You will never feel ready to start your first business.

For years you’ve had to ask permission to make money. You’ve been capped at a monthly pay rate decided by your 9-5 job. To build something on your own and take control of your income growth…

It’s scary to get started.

“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
”I don’t know where to start.”
”What if people laugh at me?”
”What if I fall on my face?”

Every single person starts their side hustle journey feeling this way.

If you wait until you feel ready, you will wait forever.

Step 2: Start Building Trust Online

Most people try to monetize before they’ve put in the work of building trust.

You cannot skip this step.

And it takes months of consistently showing up with:

• Valuable content

• Genuine comments

• DMs that are not pitch slaps

• Zoom calls with your ideal customer

Sound like a lot of work?

It is.

This is why people struggle to monetize their side hustle. They are impatient and try to take shortcuts. They are too focused on money to start.

People buy from people they know, like, and trust.

This is the point of a Personal Brand.

It’s your reputation. And it starts by giving 1,000x before you ask.

Anthony Carlton, CFP @ant_carlton

If you’re willing to give 1,000x before you ask, people will line up in your DMs to buy from you. Trying to monetize without trust is foolish.

Step 3: Start a Lean Service Business

I’m a big fan of starting a service business with your first side hustle.

• 1-on-1 coaching

• Freelance writing

• Consulting for companies

Each one of these side hustles will teach you how to run a business.

And you can set one up this weekend!

• LinkedIn posts are your MVP marketing

• LinkedIn profile is your MVP website

• Google doc is your MVP sales pitch

• Stripe is your MVP invoicing system

Things you don’t need that prevent 90% of people from ever starting:

❌ Perfect niche
❌ Perfect website
❌ Perfect logo design
❌ Perfect experience

The only downside is that a service is still trading time for money.

After you’ve worked with enough clients and gotten feedback, testimonials, and social proof of results…

You can turn your service business into a digital product that creates passive income.

Step 4: Start with an Existing Problems

Do not try to reinvent the wheel.

Create a side hustle that solves an existing problem.

Here are 10 business ideas with guaranteed demand:

1. Help people transform their bodies

2. Help people write social media content

3. Help people run their first 5k or half marathon

4. Help people create a budget and financial plan

5. Help people land their dream job in your industry

6. Help people overcome burnout with healthy habits

7. Help people perform and become more productive

8. Help people get more calls with their ideal customer

9. Help Solopreneurs manage their business operations

10. Help companies manage their social media accounts

There are only a few reasons people buy.

Pick one and create an offer that takes them from where they are now to where they want to be.

Be the bridge to their goals.

Simple is always better than complex.

Step 5: Start with Your First Client

When you’re ready to launch your business, here’s the scariest part…

You have to tell people about it.

Who do you tell first?

The people most likely to be your first client:

• Co-workers

• Friends

• Family

Don’t charge a lot.

The point of your first client is not to make money. The point is to get results that you’ll use to sign up your second, third, fourth, and fifth client.

It’s proof of concept.

Once you’ve gotten results for your first few clients, you can slowly raise your prices with each new client until you feel resistance.

This will also teach you the art of win-win negotiation.

Why does this take 12 months?

You need time to build trust, get clients, figure things out, AND…

Replace your paycheck.

Ideally, you want to build your side hustle income to match or exceed your monthly W2 income for at least 3 straight months before leaving your 9-5.

What if you don’t want to leave your job?

Great! Then you’ve just built a second stream of income so you are not boom-or-bust with a single salary.

---

Thanks for reading The Solo CEO. If you’d like to get these sent to your inbox, join the 1,500+ other people getting smarter weekly.

👉 If you enjoyed reading this post, share it with friends. Click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack.

---

3 Ways I Can Help You Level Up

1. Work with me to build your personal brand and attract more customers on LinkedIn and Twitter. Apply at FinGhost.io

2. Build your brand and create content faster with my favorite social media tools Taplio (LinkedIn) and TweetHunter (Twitter)

3. Reach thousands of founders, creators, and digital entrepreneurs by sponsoring this newsletter. Apply for future consideration here