Welcome back to another episode of the MilSpouse Mastermind Show! Do you feel stuck in a life that you’re not loving and you’re looking for your own thing? Maybe you just feel tired of being along for the ride in someone else’s story. Maybe you’re just sick of the job hunt or, you know, you’re stuck in a job and you’re not loving the job and you’re trying to find something else.

[00:00:25] Or maybe you’ve been a stay at home mom for a while, and you’re just wanting your own thing. You’re looking for purpose, a contribution, a way to bring in income. Well, today on the show, we’re going to dive into the question of, should you start a side hustle?

[00:01:37] Friends, here at the MilSpouse Mastermind Show we are all about helping you get unstuck and craft a life with purpose. But what is purpose and what does that mean? What does that look like in our daily lives? Well, you know, we are all in different places. As military spouses, you might be stuck in a job that you’re not loving.

[00:01:57] You might be waiting. On Monday, dreading the week and longing for more time, freedom and flexibility in your life because, you know, we have active duty spouses and they may get a set amount of time us before they leave on a deployment. And you want to be able to take that time off with them, or be able to go on that vacation or that trip, you want that time, freedom and flexibility. And so you’re not loving being in a full-time job with very little flexible.

Or maybe you’re in a job and you don’t love the job, but it was just something that you could find that was willing to hire a military spouse. And that’s where you are, but you’re not loving where you, are and you’re not sure that this is the direction you want to go with your life. Or maybe you’re stuck in the chaos of life with littles, and life doesn’t look the way that you thought it would. And you’ve been searching for, is there a way for me to make money from home to kind of have your own thing that, that reminds you that you’re more than just a military spouse and the primary parents of your kids.

[00:03:02] You’re looking for that thing of your own. And so you’ve questioned, should I start a side hustle? Is there a way that I can make some extra money from home, have my own thing? Should I joined that MLM company? Should I start my own Etsy shop? What do I do? What is going to give me what I’m looking for and what this all comes down to is wanting to have a sense of meaning and purpose in our life.

[00:03:31] A purpose beyond self, because as we talk about all the time on the show, fulfillment comes from contributing to something outside of ourselves, having something that outside of ourselves, a way that we are living and serving and giving back. Right? So this is what we want. We’re searching for purpose and trying to figure out what that looks like in our current season of life.

[00:03:53] I don’t know what your current circumstances look like, where you find yourself, but I know that so many of us are in this place where we don’t love where we’re at. We’re looking for some kind of change and we’re asking the question, should I start a side hustle? And if so, what should I do?

[00:04:12] And what should that look like? And I just want to say I’ve been their friends. You know, I have had these seasons of life where I was in a job that I did not love, where I despised working eight to five, where I despised having that lack of time, freedom and flexibility, not enough hours with my kiddos. You name it.

[00:04:34] I’ve tried all the things working as an independent contractor, doing the MLM thing, trying all these things to figure out how do I pursue purpose in my current season of life. So I totally understand where you are and I want to give you a few suggestions today to help you get clarity on what your next step should actually be.

[00:04:56] Should you start that side hustle? And if so, what should that be? Now over the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at this concept of purpose as a military spouse, how it’s something that we pursue outside of our self, but it’s so vital to have this in our life. It’s one of our three fundamental needs. We need to have a sense of purpose in our life.

[00:05:21] A few weeks ago, we talked about not loving the location that you’re living in and understanding how purpose is a part of getting yourself unstuck, finding something that you can contribute to outside of yourself. Last week, we talked about four ways that we can begin to pursue purpose wherever we are today without having to change anything in our life.

[00:05:44] And we need to give ourselves this. To think we need to begin to play, to stay curious, to figure out what the things are that we’re drawn to and to make the most, every day what we have right now. But what’s the next step?

How To Know If You Should Start a Side Hustle as a MilSpouse

How do we actually begin to figure out what the right thing is? How do we avoid getting ourselves into starting a side hustle and then realizing it’s still not filling us up. It’s still just more draining than it is life giving.

Dream Big

[00:06:16] And so today I want to talk through four specific steps you can take to figure out what that side hustle should be. And if that is what you were supposed to do in your current season. So the first thing that I want to talk about is having that big vision, creating that vision for what you actually want that direction of where you want to go sit down with a blank piece of paper and a pen and write.

[00:06:51] Dream for a few minutes. Last week, we talked about creating that space to think, to play, to get curious about what it is that is bringing us joy that is lighting us up, that we are drawn to, that we love to do. And then I want you to just take a few minutes to dream really big and pretend there were no obstacles in the way.

[00:07:16] What would you want to do? Who would you want to Be? And once you’ve taken that time to actually give yourself a picture of what you would want to be doing, you have a direction that you can start building your life.

Determine Your Sweet Spot

The next step is to determine. Your sweet spot. Now this is a term that we talk about in the MilSpouse purpose playbook, but there are three concentric circles.

[00:07:43] And in the middle of those three concentric circles is really where your sweet spot is. And this is the best way that you can contribute that. Uses all of what you’ve been given to make an impact. Now, there are a lot of ways to operate out of your sweet spot. A lot of jobs, you could do a lot of side hustles, but if you’re not in your sweet spot, you’re probably not going to absolutely love it.

[00:08:10] And so the more that we can find things that align with our sweets. The more that we’re going to find fulfillment in what we do. So your sweet spot is made up of these three circles, and those are your essence, your intention and your impact. Now, what in the world are these terms?

Well, your essence is really who you are at your core, what your strengths are, what experiences you’ve had, what your passions are, what makes you, you, this is what you would say if somebody asked you to describe yourself outside of the relationships that you are in, the ways that you have served previously, the jobs you have been in. Who are you at your core? What makes you, you? What makes you tick? This is your essence.

Your intention is who you want to be and how you want to show up and what you want your legacy to be. When we get to the end of our life and we look back at what we’ve done, how we’ve shown up, who is it that you want to be? What are the things, what are the characteristics that you want to have other people say about you? So our essence is who we are at our core.

 Our intentions are who we want to be, and then impact is the third circle. And that’s who we want to serve, the problems we want to solve. The causes that we care about. The point where all of these three things intersect is our sweet spot.

So what I would suggest is get a paper and write down everything you know, about who you are at your core, your strengths, your experiences, your passions, and then get clear on who you want to be. The characteristics that you want to be true in your life, how you want to show up, and then what you care about the problems you want to solve and who you want to serve. Oh, that’s going to come together and you’ll see some specific themes emerge. And so we determine our sweet spot and then look for ways that we can operate out of that sweet spot.

[00:10:29] So when you are looking at potential side hustles things, you want to do ways that you want to pursue purpose, do those things align with your sweet spot? Do they align with the big picture that you have for what you want out of the. Is it something that you actually care about or are you just after having an additional source of income?

[00:10:52] Now, the truth may be that you need income. And the only way that you can leave, the job that you hate is if you have something to go to that aligns with who you are and makes you a great income. We’re going to get to that and step four.

Draft Your Personal Purpose Statement

But the third step of this process is then to create your personal purpose statement, a statement that’s going to guide you on your journey. That’s going to represent your sweet spot and how you want to live this. In your current season of life and in your future season of life. It helps to have this statement for your life because you use this statement to help you determine what you say yes to and what you say no to it. I use my statement to remind myself why I’m doing whatever.

[00:11:42] Who I’m waking up to help each day. Some weeks I’m super motivated to do what I do, and other weeks, you know, there’s a million other things that I could do instead. And having that statement and reading that statement on a regular basis reminds me of why I do what I do. It keeps me going when the going gets tough.

Develop Your Game Plan

[00:12:04] So we’re going to dream big. We’re going to determine our sweet spot. We’re going to craft our personal purpose statement and then. And then step four is to develop your game plan. And when I say game plan, I want you to come up with a short-term financial model and a long-term financial model. There’s short term model is basically answering the question: Do I need to make money today?

[00:12:28] And if you were in a job that you hate and you want to be able to leave that job, then you want to begin to look for an opportunity as side hustle or a way to work from home that gives you more freedom and flexibility, but aligns with your sweet spot. So the more that you can find something that aligns with your core values, what you care about, what you want to do. Who you want to serve, causes that you care about. The more fulfillment you are going to find in what you do.

Now, you may be a stay-at-home mom and you don’t have to make money today. If that is true for you, then I would encourage you to start building a side hustle that aligns with your sweet spot today and not worrying about the income.

[00:13:20] Because I know all of us have something valuable to offer. And one of the things that we can do is build a brand around our sweet spot and it can grow and develop into an income producing business. But if we want to be able to build it into a purpose driven business without the exhaustion and overwhelm and burnout, it’s a long-term process. It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight. It takes a while.

[00:13:44] If you were building something from scratch to lay that foundation, to build all the pieces and to turn it into an income producing entity. So if you have the flexibility to start building those foundational pieces together, Then I would definitely encourage you to get started on this. Working in the moments that you have available.

[00:14:12] Even having five hours a week towards building the long- term thing you want to build is a great starting point. Now I realize that not everybody listening to this is going to want to start their own business. Not everybody wants to be an entrepreneur.

There are lots of opportunities more and more each day to work from home and find that time seat and emphasis. You can find jobs that will allow you to create your own schedule to only work the number of hours you want in a week. But if you are wanting to build something for yourself, if you are wanting to start a side hustle, that’s going to bring you long-term success and align with your sweet spot, you can start that today.

[00:14:57] If you are working full time. Then, you still find a few hours a week to start working towards that long-term thing. So I recommend that everybody have your short-term plan. If you need money, find a way that you can make money today and then start building the thing that you care about in the long run, chasing that big dream that will eventually lead you to where you want to be.

[00:15:23] It might not happen for 10, 15 years, even, depending on how big your dream is. But it’s little by little, you can start building the thing that aligns with your sweet spot based on your long-term vision for the future. Then you are ultimately going to craft a meaningful life of purpose. You’re going to step into your story and discover who it is you were created to be, in the things that you were meant to do.

[00:15:51] There are so many lives that are going to be impacted from your willingness to step outside your comfort zone and into a life with purpose. It begins today. It begins with the choices that we choose to make right now.  Now, if you want some assistance in how to get started, how to get clear on what your sweet spot is, how to develop your own personal purpose statement, how to create that game plan, then milspouse purpose playbook will help you walk through this process of dreaming big, of getting super clear on your sweet spot, how to build a personal purpose statement, how it’s possible to start building a brand and the foundation of a future business out of that sweet spot. So that it can grow into an income producing activity that lights you up, and that impacts the world for good and gives you that time freedom and flexibility that you’re looking for.

So figure out what your sweet spot is, craft your personal purpose statement, and then develop your short term game plan and your long-term game plan. I hope this gave you some ideas to get your wheels turning. And if you have questions about starting a side hustle, trying to figure out what aligns with your sweet spot, and how you can start making that long-term dream a reality, then I would love to chat with you.

Jump inside our Facebook group, send me an email. All of that will be linked below in our show notes. I hope you have an amazing week and until next time may you live filled, fueled, and full of joy.