Alexandra Kaval
- Aug 15, 2018
- 8 min read

What I Learned the First Year of My Side Hustle (& How I Made It My Full Time Gig!)

Updated: Aug 4, 2020

What I Learned from the First Year of My Side Hustle

Want to know how to make your side hustle your day job?

Or, do you love learning and want to know my top takeaways from the past year? And maybe apply some of the lessons learned to your own life?

OR, are you just plain curious to hear what I’ve been up to?! (That's okay, too!)

I have something GOOD for you, my friends.

I’ve created a post with all the juicy details on what I learned from the first year of my side hustle.

Learn from my mistakes & what I did right to get me to the place I am now…

>> Grace Space Christian Coaching is my full time gig, you guys (all the praise hands!)! <<

YES. My side hustle has transformed into my full time gig!

Read on and then let’s talk! You can do it too, girlfriend!

Enjoy! <3

1. Create your definition of success.

For me, this was being obedient to God + having kingdom impact (one of the ultimate measures of success, my friends!). Numbers are good, but be careful. Early on, I was far too consumed with my followers and the number of clients I was (or wasn’t) coaching. Finances and followers will come when you are serving from your heart and letting God lead you. (Check out this blog post for more on how to define success!)

2. Create a celebrations list!

There are a LOT of challenges in that first year. Occasionally, I would find myself spending way too much time consumed with what wasn’t done. Praise God, I recognized that I needed to ‘flip the script,’ if you will. Instead of focusing on what was missing, I needed to focus on what was going well. Creating a celebrations list, whether it be daily or done at the end of the week, produced so much fruit. (You can read more here on how to live from a place of contentment. Need support on how to look at the positive? (I can definitely struggle with that too, y’all!) Click here and here for tips on just that!)

3. Be crazy confident.

So much of your success hinges on a healthy, positive mindset. You’ll need to find confidence unlike ever before to get started and keep going. (So much to say about this. It’s one of the core areas I coach on, by the way! Let me know if you struggling with mindset and want to talk!) Essentially, this is where God comes in. He gives you the freedom and strength to muster up that confidence. And remember, as Marianne Williamson says… “fear is believing in your own power.” Girl- you are stronger than you realize. Lean into Him. You are going to rock it.

4. Create more than you consume.

Related to confidence.. friends- stay in your own lane. Comparison really is the thief of joy. Confidence plummets when we spend too much time looking at what others are doing. I spent WAY too much time consuming content and not enough time creating it. Put down your phone, log off your computer, and grab a notebook. And start creating. Get specific with what you need to accomplish and by when, and make it happen.

5. Stay consistent.

This is definitely connected to what’s above (focus on output!)! For a good stretch, I was producing weekly blog and Instagram posts (which was huge for me, especially while working a day job while running GSCC on the side). When I look back and see the amount of content I put out there, it is a huge motivator. AND, it’s a gift to current & future clients. And guess what? The more content I created, the more strongly I found my voice and the better I understood who I could serve. That little by little progress (looking at you, Lara Casey! Love her encouragement on this!) really is powerful. (P.S. I share more on step by step progress here!)

6. Don’t underestimate the power of staying organized.

THIS, y’all. One of the blessings and curses of being a business owner are the ideas. SO MANY ideas! But then you’ll start to find notes on these ideas everywhere. In folders, on your phone, on your apps, on the computer, in your notebook, on post-its.. You name it. Do yourself a favor and take the extra two minutes to organize your content by topic and keep it all in one place after you create it. I consider myself an extremely organized person and still really struggled with this for a while (and am still finding my way out of the clutter.. but I am close!) . Do yourself a favor and keep your ideas organized. It will give you clarity and allow you to move forward faster.

7. Get clear on what you stand for and who you want to serve.

The more quickly you understand who your people are, the better you can serve them. (Something I am still working on, to be completely transparent. If you love GSCC, please click reply and share more about who you are and what you’re biggest challenge is right now!) We connect best with people who ‘get us’. Have conversations with your people. Create content for them. Serve them well. Go the extra mile. (No idea how to start? Consider how you might want to leave your legacy.)

8. Wait to invest.

In the beginning, it takes time to get clear on who you want to serve and what your business stands for. And that’s okay! Because of that, your message and branding may change. In the beginning, I created my website, business cards, #allthethings on my own and am so glad I did. Let your business grow and establish an identity, and then after some time, consider where you’d like to invest.

9. Find joy in the journey.

Okay so I know so many people get stuck on the concept of balance. I’m not trying to convince you that it’s feasible to have equal parts of work & play. However, do yourself a favor and schedule LIFE on your calendar! (Here are some super simple and super impactful tips on just that!) Whether it looks like exercise, time with friends, quiet time with the Lord, whitespace to do whatever you please.. make it a priority. I firmly believe that your relationship with the Lord plus your commitment to include more LIFE in your life will serve as the fuel that gives you the momentum you need to get through the tough stuff and keep moving forward in a healthy way.

10. Do one thing every day that brings you sales.

I learned this advice early on (thanks, Erin!) and wish I listened to it right away. I am one of those people who can easily hide behind the veil of busy. As long as I’m doing something, I thought that was a good thing. But if I’m being honest, at times, I like to do busy work to avoid the hard stuff or the stuff that can require more brain power. Although you can argue that doing busy work is better than hopping on Facebook, I’m still not ultimately producing sales the way I can when I engage in that behavior. So each day, commit to taking at least one action that’ll bring you sales (and will also consequently bring you focus and accountability). You’ll thank me later ; )

11. Serve who’s right in front of you.

I’m betting this makes perfect sense to you, but maybe you haven’t leaned into this idea like you could or should. There are likely more people right in front of you who can use your help than you’ve acknowledged. As much as we might want to fight it, God gives us those little assignments first to see if he can trust us with the big ones. (Shout out to She Works His Way who reminded me of this truth! And, check out this post if you’re serious about being obedient to His calling.)

12. Create goals when you launch your business and refresh them quarterly.

Believe it or not, my husband challenged me on this one! As soon as I launched Grace Space Christian Coaching last year, he asked what my goals were for the launch. And I remember having this look of horror on my face that I hadn’t done just that (keeping it real, guys! haha). Learn from my mistakes and be intentional from the get go. After creating goals for your launch (try doing it before it happens, not after haha. But better late than never : ) Then, I’d suggest you create goals for the year and break them down by quarter, then by month, week, and day. (Need help with this? Let’s talk!) Having a plan will give you so much clarity and help you successful faster. (And, you can read more about goal setting from a Godly perspective here!)

13. Find yourself a business bestie.

This was one of my goals after launching! And guys, let me tell you that God came through in a big way on this one! One of my now best friends is a coach as well and has been for years. She’s been an incredible source of encouragement and one of my very best friends. And, God sweetened this story even more, if you can believe it. Her husband and mine are friends as well AND we’ve started a Lifegroup together (Our first study? The book of Acts!) Having a business bestie is such an enormous blessing and I pray that he’ll continue to place them in your lives and mine : )

14. Get ready to be pleasantly surprised.

Want to know a benefit of my side hustle that surprised me in the best possible way? I performed better than ever before in my day job. My side hustle helped me to experience a new perspective (more on the topic of perspective here and here!) It allowed me to loosen the grip on perfectionism. I became more bold and more empowered to share my voice (see #3!) Your side hustle will enable you to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and do amazing things in both your side hustle and day job, greater than you can ever imagine.

15. Want to turn your side hustle into actual day job? Get a coach.

Do you want to see results? Make BIG progress fast? Shift your perspective from ‘one day’ to ‘day one’? Then, my friend, investing in a coach is right for you. I’ve had so many coaching sessions along the way that have helped to pull me out of a rut, allow me to see things differently, keep me accountable, and make incredible progress when things seemed hopeless. Yes a coach is an investment, but one which also produces lasting and worthwhile results. Think about it like this. A new outfit might seem fun in the moment, but its appeal fades over time. It loses its excitement and its value the more and more you wear it. But coaching, my friends, has a return on investment. You’ll take skills with you that’ll change the trajectory of your life. And worse case? Even if coaching changes you 2% each week, by the end of the year you’ll end up 100% better. I’m a certified life coach for Christian women who are ready to transform from overwhelmed to overjoyed. We’ll work together so that you can courageously pursue your best life while more fully loving God, yourself, and others. You experience a clarity and focus like never before and I’ll provide you with the best encouragement and accountability along the way. Are you in? Go ahead and reserve your complimentary clarity call (it’s like a mini coaching session where we’ll talk about where you are now, where you’d like to be, and what it’d be like to partner together). Can’t wait to meet you <3

Need help with one of these takeaways? Or all of these action steps? I am living proof that you can do it! You can turn your side hustle into your full time gig.