Once you know your why and have established a focus block of time for your side hustle, it’s time to set a SMART goal.
Why Have a SMART Goal for Your Side Hustle?
You need to know what you’re aiming for, plan and simple. You also need to know when you can reasonably achieve your goal.
Since you’re side hustling to success, it’s important to have that focused block of time established to get your work done. And depending on how many focused blocks of time you can carve out each week will be a determining factor in how much time you have to invest and how much money you can make from your side hustle.
What is a SMART Goal?
Before you start a side hustle, I highly recommend you write down your goals for starting a side hustle. You are more likely to make progress on your goals when you’ve written them down!
Use the SMART goal format to construct a goal you can act on today…
S: Specific
M: Measurable
A: Actionable
R: Realistic
T: Time-bound
SMART Goal Example for Mortgage Debt
Using the SMART goal format, you can use a side hustle to tackle mortgage debt…
Specific: I want to pay off my mortgage.
Measurable: I want to pay off my $100,000 mortgage.
Actionable: I want to pay off my $100,000 mortgage by working an extra 10 hours each week.
Realistic: I want to pay off my $100,000 mortgage by working an extra 10 hours each week making $75 per hour.
Time-bound: I want to pay off my $100,000 mortgage in less than 3 years by working an extra 10 hours each week making $75 per hour.
Here are the details I entered in the mortgage calculator for this SMART goal.
In this example, this side hustler makes $75 per hour working an extra 10 hours per week to make an extra mortgage payment of $3,000 per month to pay off a mortgage in less than 3 years.
Do you have any debt you’d like to pay off in less than 3 years?
SMART Goal Example for Student Loan Debt
Using the SMART goal format, you can use a side hustle to tackle student loan debt…
Specific: I want to pay off my student loans.
Measurable: I want to pay off $40,000 in student loans.
Actionable: I want to pay off $40,000 in student loans by working an extra 5 hours each week.
Realistic: I want to pay off my $40,000 in student loans by working an extra 5 hours each week making $75 per hour.
Time-bound: I want to pay off my $40,000 in student loan debt in less than 3 years by working an extra 5 hours each week making $75 per hour.
Combine your side hustle income with your regular payment and you could be debt free in just over two years. Here’s the math…
SMART Goal Tracking
With a side hustle, you could be a couple of months or a couple of years from achieving your goals. Tracking the progress you make on your SMART goal will help you stay motivated, week after week.
- You could use a mortgage calculator or a student loan calculator to see how prepaying your debt will get you to debt freedom faster.
- You could use your monthly mortgage statement or your student loan statement to track your progress.
- You could create your own charts using Excel or Google Sheets.
- Print a goal-tracking thermometer and color in as you go!
Whatever visual you decide to use or create, put that visual in a location where you will look at daily…like your fridge! You want a constant reminder of what you’re working toward.
With your goal in mind, consider this TED Talk from Diana Nyad about never, ever giving up on your goals. You can only be successful in achieving your goals if you never give up.
