The Hustle Years

The only constant changes. The market today is not what it was just before the pandemic hit. Before the pandemic, the market was booming and it seemed that you could do no wrong During the pandemic, initially it was great for online sales as people were looking for entertainment, however, as time went on and money became tight, sales started to drop. Now that the pandemic is almost over and many places have re-opened, while the market is selling, the high unemployment as a result of covid relief packages is holding production down making getting ahold of some items difficult. It's during times like this that determines if you're only a peacetime entrepreneur or if you have what it takes to survive long-term. In this episode of the Podcast, I take one of my side hustles as an example of how we have adapted to changes in the market to find new opportunities. In doing so, my wife and I had one of our best financial years ever. Our inventory is selling almost faster than we can replenish them.

The Covid-19 pandemic taught us many lessons. In this episode, I talk about the lessons I learned in my business and personal life.

In watching the show Cobra kai (if you liked The Karate Kid you know you'll like this) provide good lessons for life and for business. Some advice for business is horrible advice for your personal life outside of work. If you want to be productive with an online business (content creation, physical products, services) you need to be organized, have a workflow, & quality control. Is now the time to refinances your mortgage?

Most talks about passive income involve activities that are not really passive. You put in the work upfront then continue to get residual income. Your side hustle opportunities change with the season. When taking a look at your options you want to look at long term opportunities that will continue and not the short term opportunities where you have to constantly be looking for another side hustle because your current one's keep ending. Just as important as managing your calendar and your schedule, the entire family needs to manage a schedule for the smooth operation of the household. With everyone knowing what they are doing this cuts down on conflicts and the constant interruption while you work.

I have my swings where I bounce around between the various money-making activities. I am working on trying to be more consistent. I am re-learning ways to deal with ADHD as my inability to focus is costing me money. I will focus exclusively on one thing for a few weeks then switch to another losing the momentum that was being built up. Despite this, I have managed to do well financially, However, I still have problems making the mental switch from survival mode that I started at years ago to relaxing and enjoying the money. So many of us struggle with making the mental switch and even though our bank accounts build-up we still live and make decisions as if we're still broke. 

I was able to spend the last 9 months working on my passion and it didn't work out. There can be many reason such as too much competition in the political podcasting space, the amount of time needed and it being only me, or even online censorship. For what ever reason it didn't work out but the other podcast that I am doing that I don't really care too much about as I just do them for fun are taking off. Interesting that what I put the most effort into failed while what I put little effort into took off.  This is the frustration that some of us feel, when the marketplace doesn't care or respond to what we like but does respond to what we don't have too much interest in. but the market is the market.

Now that you have far more time than normal, are you using that time effectively. This is the time to take that side hustle full time or if you're already doing a business full time this is the time for you to analyze your business and get a handle on the analytics.

To get achieve high rates of success you should always set your goals high, higher than you believe you could possibly accomplish. Plan out how you are going to achieve your goals and most importantly don't forget to measure the results of every activity designed to grow your business.

Is content still king? Before you set out to start building a personal brand you should first be asking yourself why you want to. Making a personal brand is easy, getting noticed and having it take off is the hard part. There are ways that you can cheat at creating a personal brand to get noticed faster and shortcut building an audience. Fake it till you make it does still work, but the tactics that people use to employ with stacks of cash, pics in front of expensive cars, boats, houses don’t work; instead faking it in 2019 evolves buying attention. This would be employing people to artificially inflate your podcast rankings in podcast directories to be towards the top where people are more likely to see and subscribe. The same tactics can be used in YouTube to boost your channel and get your videos in the recommended sections where more people are likely to click and subscribe. While we can call this fake it till you make it, you may also call this marketing with the purchase of organic reach. You’re essentially paying to manipulate the algorithms to give yourself a boost in organic reach. People did this years ago with Twitter before others caught on, those that did so early on saw a boost to their careers and faster growth of real audience with the purchased sense of social proof. You can do this for your Podcast and YouTube Channel. There are proven advantages to faking social proof, but only if your content is entertaining enough to keep that attention you’re buying YouTube Video Follow Me | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | YouNow | Medium | Support the show | Shop | PayPal.Me |Patreon | Anchor |

It's hard enough to get a business or side hustle off the ground. But the way you vote can determine if doing so will be harder or easier because the way you vote determines what laws or regulations get passed or not. Some politicians are vary pro business and set the environment that allows business to flourish while others want to make starting businesses as hard as possible to protect large corporations from competitions. Which politician is which is not as easy as looking at party affiliation. You have to do the research, you can't just take their work for it and the can't count on the media to tell you the truth either. You have to actually do the research into the politician and their policies and think about how that's going to effect your business. Support the show https://TheHustleYears.com/Shop PayPal: www.paypal.me/JohnstonShow  Social Media  Twitter/@HustleYears  Facebook/HustleYears

Cold and flu has hit my household the hard and me especially getting it multiple times in the past month. I do plan on coming back as soon as my voice has come back

You need to get your money right if you are to ever go anywhere with your dreams or build the life you really want. While you are getting your money right, don't forget to help your kids learn how to get their money right while they are young and help them avoid the mistakes you made. Support the show https://TheHustleYears.com/Shop PayPal: www.paypal.me/JohnstonShow  Social Media  Twitter/@HustleYears  Facebook/HustleYears

Memory is flawed, how many times have you walked into a room and forgot why? How many ideas have you had that you were excited about only to forget by the time you got home or could find anytime to work on that idea. Could that of been the idea that made you overnight rich? Was it just another bad idea that would go nowhere? We all know the basics that we need to write down or otherwise capture our idea to work on later, we know that there are tools to do so. The question is why are you not doing so and how much time have you wasted trying to remember the idea you forgot? Support the show PayPal: www.paypal.me/JohnstonShow  Social Media  Twitter/@HustleYears  Facebook/HustleYears

 Don't just complain that your man isn't doing much, take a look at way that you can motivate and support your man into aiming higher and achieving more. Support the show PayPal: www.paypal.me/JohnstonShow  Social Media  Twitter/@HustleYears  Facebook/HustleYears

As time goes on the ability to make money online is only getting easier, what's even better is that more and more ways to make money online that cost you NOTHING to get started is growing. Print and made to order sites are increasing allowing you create your merchandise or self publish your book at NO cost to you while you collect royalties for the items that sell is creating tremendous opportunities for those trying to turn their side hustle into a full-time replacement for their 9 to 5. Book: Women's Instruction Manual ow.ly/LuBn30ld9Te  Support the show PayPal: www.paypal.me/JohnstonShow  Social Media  Twitter/@HustleYears  Facebook/HustleYears

It's not enough to set your goals for 2019, writing them down and putting time on the calendar to work on your goals. You have to actually have to do the work. While that sounds easy, there are many obstacles that get in your way. One of those obstacles is you. There are so many distractions that you can easily suck you in and waste hours of your time and kill your productivity. You have to be honest with yourself about your dedication and what time sucking weaknesses you have like Facebook, YouTube, Netflix/Hulu, or gaming. When your faced with tasks needed to advance your goals that you don't like to do, it's far too easy to allow these distractions to take over. Here is some advice for how to limit these distractions and stay focused on crushing 2019. Book: Women's Instruction Manual ow.ly/LuBn30ld9Te  Support the show PayPal: www.paypal.me/JohnstonShow  Social Media  Twitter/@HustleYears  Facebook/HustleYears

In 2019, set yourself apart from everyone else by setting goals that actually matter to you and accomplish them.  Book: Women's Instruction Manual ow.ly/LuBn30ld9Te  Support the show PayPal: www.paypal.me/JohnstonShow  Social Media  Twitter/@HustleYears  Facebook/HustleYears

It's not easy to go after your dreams. Even if you get passed the fear of what others might say, there is guilt that you may not be spending enough time with your spouse and kids.  Support the show PayPal: www.paypal.me/JohnstonShow  Social Media  Twitter/@HustleYears  Facebook/HustleYears

Staying motivated in your 9 to 5 job while building up your side hustle or business. Hear is some issues and advise to stay motivated while building your dreams.

Unless your business is centered around politics, do NOT get political with your business. If you take a look at companies who in the past got involved in politics, you notices that they suffered financially while those that despite the pressure from one political side stayed out of politics did not suffer financially at all, some that stayed neutral gained the business from those that got involved politically. There is NO political advantage to pissing off half the country. You maybe concerned that not getting involved may still piss out half the country but that has not been the case. If you need an outlet to express your political agenda, create a platform separate from your business to express those views. You can use the money you make by staying neutral to financially support the causes you agree with but you won't be able to if you kill your profits by getting your business politically involved.

There will be no episode this week or next week. My Father-In-Law is in hospice with only a few days projected to live. Next week there will be no episode as my wife and I will be dealing with the funeral. Thank you for your understanding

How you handle your finances and prioritize saving for retirement will determine if you are able to retire with dignity or not. The sooner you start the less money you need to save each month to achieve you goals. With a 401K or IRA, you have the opportunity to not only ensure that you enjoy your golden year but have a legacy to pass down. Teaching your kids about money, saving, and investing early can be the key to ending generational poverty. It only takes $26 a month form when your child is born till they are 20 to set them up to retire with over $4 million and build generational wealth that will continue to grow with each generation. Change your family tree!

I can't tell you the amount of times I have overheard someone talking about how much they hate their job, I always wonder what they are really doing about it? Don't expect that just because you're posting stuff online that you're going to be a success. The build it and they will come advice sucks. Just as much as you're focused on posting stuff online, you need to put in just as much if not more effort into business development diving into the comment sections and attending offline RELEVANT events. There are tools out there that can make your side hustles or future business easy. Google Alerts is one of them, the site IFTTT.com is another great tool that can keep you on top of latest developments in your industry and maximize your social media activities if you don't have a team that works for you.

Having too many priorities and attempting to multitask them will hold you back from your ultimate goal. Multitasking is a myth and those that attempt to do so lose 20% of productivity according to studies. You have to pick what your biggest priority is and focus until completion before moving on to the next priority.

The schools are killing your kids creativity as they only have kids memorize and regurgitate information at a time when that has lost value as anybody can pull out their phone and look up what they need. You have to be intentional about teaching your kids and plan ways to help them become creative and how to start a financially solid business.

One thing that separates those who are successful and those who are not is that successful people are mindful of what's going on around them and taking note of the pain point and annoyances that need solutions. If you're not paying attention, your missing out on what could be your next big idea.

With the holiday weekend there won't be a regular episode this week, however, I will be back next Friday.

Everyone has an excuse for why they can't start the business they always wanted to do. When it comes to the skill of selling, if you don't know how there are many ways around this skill that it should not hold you back.

How you start off will play a big factor in how far you get at the end of your career.

You have to stop worrying about if people think you're bragging. If you are not telling the story of your accomplishments, don't expect others to do it for you. If your manager or the market doesn't know what you've done, don't expect to get anywhere

You have to recognize what is the root cause of your stress and then how to deal with it effectively. If you don't learn how, stress will eat you up, drain you of all motivation, cause depression and kill any chance of success you are looking for. While anything worth doing will cause some stress, it's how you manage it that will be key.

It doesn't matter if your building a career or a business, you need to make time for your spouse. If you ignore them for too long, whatever you're doing is going to fail.

Everyone talks about what they are going to do, the questions is, what are you actually doing. We have all had that person that is always saying what they are going to do to become rich, but they never take any action and when asked, always has some sort of an excuse. With so many free services and cheap services online to create and market content and products, the ability to weed out those who are just talking crap and those that are actually working on their stated goals is easier than ever. What's stopping you? My Self-Published book available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Womens-Instruction-Manual-Collective-Knowledge/dp/1984095994/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1521672017&sr=8-2&keywords=women%27s+instruction+manual&dpID=413eH1M39EL&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

Part of getting a handle on your money is budgeting, but that's not all. to stretch every dollar you make to its limits you have to be looking for deals. Don't just accept the first offer you get or the first response to how much. Make counteroffers, ask for a better price, ask for more services at no additional cost. Online, people have no problems asking for lower prices on Facebook marketplace, take that mentality offline as well. Negotiate everything from Rent, utilities like internet and phone, even with retail stores. The better the deal, the more you can make every dollar count. The cheaper you can find a way to live, the more money you have to invest in your goals (Retirement, travel, wealth building, building up your side hustle or full-time business. Don't be lazy, do everything you can think of to make your money go as far as possible

There is no hard and fast rule to how loyal you should be to your company. The question you might need to ask is if your company is as loyal to you as you are to them? You should not be more loyal to the company you work for then you are to your own family. If your company is forcing you to essentially abandoned your family, the company is not being loyal to you at all. If the company is not willing to pay what the work your doing is worth, they are not being loyal. As long as you are working for the company, you should NOT do anything to betray the company (don't take information to take with you to a competitor). It is your responsibility to your family to make sure that you are working for a company that allows you time with your family and that pays you enough to take care of your family and allows you to prosper financially.

There is no reason why you should be stuck in the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle with so many ways to make money. The problem is that sometimes you are just so busy that you don't have time to think or strategize what you can do or how to accomplish making more money. There are so many ways to monetize your life in 2017, you just need to keep your eyes open to all the opportunities that are available even if between work and kids you are feeling run down. Some of the things you can do is turn cooking for the family into a YouTube cooking show, a show on doing arts/crafts with the kids, or any parenting advice/hacks you know. Blog about what you are doing (Your debt free journey, family, marriage, or anything else that is helping you to accomplish your goals and improve your life). It doesn't all have to be about YouTube, Blogging, or Podcasting. You can look are retail arbitrage, creating physical products or even digital products you sell. If you research enough, you will find ways

The worst thing you can do when you make a financial mistake or are in financial distress from past bad decisions to the make the situation worse by doubling down on your mistakes. Ignoring the mistakes and continuing on without making any changes is just as bad.

I don't care what you think, you need an emergency plan in place. It's not a matter of if an emergency happens, only a matter of when. This is even more important when you have a family to take care of. Your Emergency plans need to be able to cover financial emergencies, medical emergencies, and natural disasters. Your emergency plan is not just about having an emergency fund. Yes, you do need to have money saved up for an emergency that if financial in nature (Job loss, the car breaks down, or suddenly needing surgery). Beyond that you also need an emergency supply of food if the disaster is natural disaster or attack on the country. There are places that sell emergency food supplies such as http://www.mypatriotsupply.com. Lastly, in the worst case scenario, you need a way to protect your family and your emergency supplies from looters or those who were unprepared and desperate. Help the desperate if you can, but your number one priority is your own family.

If only one of you is taking on all the responsibilities, that person will become resentful of the other. This can destroy your relationships and your productivity in reaching your goals.

On this show, I interview author and career search expert Rick Gillis on how to find and interview for a job Follow Me: Facebook.com/HustleYears Twitter.com/HustleYears YouTube.com/Hustle Years

You either plan what to do with your money or wonder where it went. Follow Me: Facebook.com/HustleYears Twitter.com/HustleYears YouTube.com/Hustle Years

You have to work together. If you are not on the same page with your spouse, you will not succeed. Follow Me: Facebook.com/HustleYears Twitter.com/HustleYears YouTube.com/Hustle Years

Setbacks happen, it's how you handle it that matters Follow Me: Facebook.com/HustleYears Twitter.com/HustleYears YouTube.com/Hustle Years

On this episode, I interview author of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0 for tips on how to get the advantage in your next job search Follow Me: Facebook.com/HustleYears Twitter.com/HustleYears YouTube.com/Hustle Years

The only way to build wealth is to save some of the money you make. If you spend it all, you will always be broke. Follow Me: Facebook.com/HustleYears Twitter.com/HustleYears YouTube.com/Hustle Years

Waiting for perfection or the perfect time is to say that you're never going to do it. Follow Me: Facebook.com/HustleYears Twitter.com/HustleYears YouTube.com/Hustle Years

On this episode, I interview a friend and business owner, Tim Schrum. We talk about taking control of your schedule and building a business. Follow Me: Facebook.com/HustleYears Twitter.com/HustleYears YouTube.com/Hustle Years

This episode I examine why do you Hustle? What is your motivation? Follow Me Facebook.com/HustleYears Twitter.com/HustleYears YouTube.com/HustleYears

This is just a brief introduction to what the Hustle Years is.