focus – Launch Digital Freedom

What is the Easiest Side Hustle For A Beginner?

It would be a bit of a lie to say that any side hustle will be easy. But, if you can find something you like doing or it takes you away from pain, then it could be seen as easier. We all want time and money freedom, but it only comes with putting in extra hours somewhere early on. So, what is the easiest side hustle then?

What is an easy side hustle?

5 Secrets to Side Hustle Success

No two hustles are the same. And not all are equally easy. What is the measure of an easy side hustle?

It can be done in your spare time

When deciding on a project to earn extra cash, you need to know you have the time out of your busy day to do it. Especially if you are working full time with a family.

Something you are good at

It pays to work with skills you already have. By doing so, the learning curve will be quicker, and you’ll be able to make more money quicker. If you are good at building websites, perhaps this would be your starting point.

Something you are willing to learn

If you don’t think you have any real skills (very unlikely), or you want to learn something new, pick an area you are interested in. When I was building computer applications, it often took me to clients’ sites. From there I realized that I actually like communicating with clients. So I started a side hustle consulting on the side. I outsourced the actual work to better programmers than me.

Can fit in with your schedule

That same consulting business eventually could not fit into my schedule. It was just too time-consuming and not making enough for it to be worthwhile. So I focused on my job again. My current hustle in affiliate marketing is much better suited for me. I can do my 2-3 hours each day when I can fit it in. (Mostly in the morning when my brain is fresh!)

The question “What is the Easiest Side Hustle” has been answered for me.

Affiliate Marketing

If you are willing to put in consistent effort, over time you will learn all the skills necessary to be successful. And you just need to know a little about them all. When you start making money, you can outsource the ones you don’t like.

The main skills you will develop over time

Website Design (WordPress hosted on Bluehost)
Search Engine Optimisation
Blogging
Email Marketing (Aweber)
Social Media Marketing
Finding Affiliate Programs

Although you can do this on your own, it’s always better to get the help and support you need to get it running like a pro. Six-Figure Mentors have guided me all the way. Their All-In-One Package costs $97 per month and gives you the following:

Hosting for your Website
Web Design Tools for WordPress
Training on how to build a Website
Training on where to find affiliate programs
Training on Email Marketing
Training on Social Media Marketing
Online Ads Training (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more)
Mindset Program (Your Best Life Blueprint)
LinkedIn Learning (Any training you like!)
Weekly Training Webinars
A community of like-minded people building their online dreams

I hope you find joy in affiliate marketing. Don’t forget to have fun while you work.

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5 Mistakes “Stucking” People in Affiliate Marketing Online Business

Do you make these mistakes in Affiliate Marketing Online Business?

I heard that people make them, I made them, and I stopped making them. But I am sure you can learn from me. They are common. But if I can change, so can you!

1. Waiting Too Long to Launch Your Affiliate Marketing Online Business

Trying to be perfect stops you from earning money early in online business. If you are like me, you always need things to be perfect.

5 Secrets to Overcome Perfection Paralysis and Anxiety

In one of my previous “business ventures”, onthemark, I made this mistake and it cost me. Designer custom logo, business cards, and a pretty website. This all cost me time and money. The time I should have been getting customers. The time I should have been promoting. Soon I was out of money and frustrated.

Even if you have no money for advertising, share your links on Social Media. Send out a weekly email to all your friends and family. Connect with new people on Social Media sites. I still chat with all my new and old connections on LinkedIn and see if there is a fit for them in online business.

Get whatever you have in front of someone and get feedback.

2. Forgetting Your Story in Affiliate Marketing Online Business

You got into online business for a reason. Do you need extra cash? Do you like the idea of being the star of the show? Or you got “gatvol” of your job. (Gatvol is an Afrikaans word meaning, without being rude, fed up)

And of course, there was a build-up to that too. Your childhood, your failed marriage, and even a drug story or two. But don’t forget the good. The promotion, your new partner in this world. Your furry friends are always around to cheer you up. We are all made up of so many intriguing life moments that we remember as stories.

These all make you who you are.

Great marketing is great storytelling.

Tell a story that your customers can connect with and share with others.

That’s how you expand your message beyond your own borders.

3. Focusing On The Little Stuff

Like I eluded to earlier, don’t waste time on things that don’t make money! Just because it’s fun doesn’t mean it makes money! Focusing on things like branding and website design and layout won’t help you early on. Make sure you focus on the money tasks. Blogging, advertising, customer support, and getting it in front of your audience.

And a new one I learned recently; I’m busy creating a strategy around it, guest post blogging to drive traffic back to my site. Backlinks build authority.

SEO Guide – Seach Authority

4. Inconsistent Emails in Affiliate Marketing Online Business

Smart marketers build an email list. Even smarter marketers build a relationship with that list.

Are you only sending emails when you have a new product to offer? Or are you only sending emails once a month? Stay in regular contact with your people. 2-3 times at least these days. Give them regular values. Link them to your latest Blog, Podcast, or video.

5. Doing Everything Yourself

businessman holding modern city building skyscraper on shoulders real estate agent concept. Humans are building cities on their shoulders. Concept of creating the world of humanity.

You’ve got to treat your online business, like a business. Sounds easy right. But that means stepping out the way when you can benefit in time from someone else doing a better job at something than you!

Are you the content creator, webmaster, customer support, and still working a job?

You don’t have time to do it all. Learn the basics of a skill, then outsource it. Bring in extra money doing things you like and use that money to pay for outsourcing.

Even if it means trading your time for money in a skill you are good at. Use the money to pay a professional for something you are not good at. i.e. If you are good at web design, build sites for other up-and-coming businesses. Use the money to pay for something you hate, blogging or SEO.

How to get Started With Search Engine Optimisation

And don’t forget to enjoy the journey

Six-Figure Mentors recently brought these mistakes back to my attention. Most people don’t make it online because they try to do it all, and forget the reason they were doing it in the first place.

And yes, I am guilty too.

It’s amazing all the mistakes you can make in this online world and still make money.

SFM has a FREE video series that explains how anyone can start an Affiliate Marketing Online Business!

Free bonuses include: Special invitation to their next streaming Masterclass, walking you through the EXACT steps and skills you need to learn to make your first 10 sales online.

Seeing you launch your Affiliate Marketing Online Business.

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How to Prepare to Launch Your Online Business in 2022

As the year swiftly comes to a close we begin reflecting on the past year. The highs and lows. The wins and losses. Maybe you’ve reached a tipping point in your career, or maybe you feel you need a change. Here are some things to consider if you plan to launch your online business in the new year.

Why didn’t you start this year?

Looking back over the year gives us perspective. All those “what if” questions. Like… what if you started working on that business idea this year. How far could you be now if you had started earlier on your idea.

When we realize that its simply time and effort that gets results, you can get focused on doing what needs to be done. Opportunities are everywhere. Its just a matter of looking for them, and acting on them.

Break Through the Fear

Are you stuck procrastinating about your business. Waiting for the right time? There is no good excuse to keep putting off your goals and dreams. There is never a perfect time to do anything. During the worst of the pandemic, many people started businesses. And many have made progress despite the most difficult circumstances. Now is as good a time as any, to get your idea off the ground. Why not start today!

How to Start an Online Business Doing What Your Love?

Start Small… Really Small

One of the biggest challenges when starting to build any business is feeling overwhelmed by the task. A great strategy is to break things down and make them more achievable. The smaller the better.

Instead of just stating “I want to start an online business”, identify the steps:

Setup a social media page for my project.
Connect with people doing what I want to do.
Read blogs about the business I’m interested in.
Watch youtube videos about the business I want to start.
Start sharing my learning on social media.
Register my own domain.
Setup a WordPress blog.
Write my first blog post.
Etc, etc, etc…

Its much easier to pursue small steps than take one giant leap from zero to a full fledged business. No one can do that. It takes many small steps to get a business off the ground. Take your idea or business and break it down. The smaller the better. Identify the tasks and do them one at a time.

Focus on Milestones not Goals

Often goals are more complicated to achieve than we think. And when we fail to achieve them we are left feeling depressed. Why not set milestones for each of your goals.

Your Goal: Start an online blog marketing affiliate products.

Here examples of milestones:

10 January – Start posting on my social media about my idea.
15 February – Setup up a WordPress blog for my venture.
15 March – Post first blog post
30 March – Post second blog post

And acknowledge your success for every milestone, its one step closer to your goal. Milestones will also help you manage the timeline of your progress.

Embrace the Journey.

An online business takes time to build. Its a journey that never ends. Its not a destination. Embrace the journey, embrace the learning and enjoy the ride. The more you see it as an adventure, the more excited you will be to pursue it. The more passion and energy you will have to persevere through every challenge you face. You going to struggle at times, but with the right perspective you can keep yourself motivated!

The Best Ways to Learn Digital Marketing Online?

Enjoy the Process

If you not having fun, why are you doing it in the first place? Enjoy the challenge of building something new and it won’t feel like work. Have fun while you learning new skills. Building a business doesn’t have to be all serious and dreary. Embrace the creative process of learning, building and creating.

It will do wonders to your energy levels. And that energy will reflect in your efforts.

Start Today!

Why wait for next year? Start taking time everyday for your business. Remember your success will not come from one days effort. Not even a few days. But rather the compounded effort you take every day, every week, and every month! Take small steps daily, and build your dream business brick by brick, day by day, and one day soon you will be looking back and thinking “WOW, my business idea has become my business reality…”

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6 Easy Steps for Maintaining Good Habits

I have recently started running again. Usually, I set myself a goal and I go all out until I hit my target. (My new goal is to run 21.1 km in under 2 hours) But once the running goal is achieved, I tend to fall into lazy habits again. So how do I keep on maintaining good habits?

What is a good habit?

Before we get into how to maintain good habits, we need to understand what a good habit is. The free dictionary defines it as A behaviour that is beneficial to one’s physical or mental health, often linked to a high level of discipline and self-control.

Whereas many of these good habits can be general and common, it’s better you define your own good habits. At least define them in your own way. One person’s good habits will not fit another person’s good habits. It often helps you to define your values first. Knowing your values will allow you to form habits that you will be more likely to keep.

For example, my values include family, time outdoors, and exercise. One habit I have no trouble keeping is taking regular walks in the park with my family (That includes my best friend, Bruno!)

How habits work

The world counts have a great article on Habits. The importance of Good Habits. They explain habits in an interesting way.

There is a habit loop.

A trigger: This can be a place, time, person or even feeling
Routine: Something you do because of the trigger (i.e., watch TV)
Reward: This is a chemical response from your brain.

Because of the reward, the habit loop is reinforced. The loop is a self-reinforcing mechanism that over time becomes automatic. Knowing this means we can create good new habits.

Find out : How To Launch an Online Business

What is the importance of maintaining good habits?

So why is it even important to maintain these good habits?

They can keep you healthy

Eating good foods, exercise and mental health can all be set by creating habits. You need to identify them in your unique frame of reference and set the habit in motion.

They help you to reach your goals

Habits are the building blocks of doing things consistently to produce results. You will need to tweak, change, and reset your habits from time to time when you need to make the step to your next level.

If developed correctly, they keep you focused

By forming the correct habits, it can keep you focused on your goals. For example, I have a daily method of operation which includes a list. My habit is to get this stuff done first. If you want to learn more about DMO, check out this post. Daily Method Of Operation Simple and Fun.

Habits get you through the mundane

And let’s face it, a lot of the things we know we need to do to get where we want to be are not “fun”. Some of them can be rather mundane and easily skipped if not placed into a good habit. One thing I would not do if it were not a habit is to follow up with prospects.

6 ways for maintaining good habits

So now we know what a habit is, how habits work and why habits are important to keep. So here are 5 ways that will help you in maintaining them.

1 Access your goals (Regularly)

It will be very hard to keep a habit that is not in line with your goals. Make sure you have a defined goal, and a plan to get there. If these are in place, it will help you form the habit necessary to get there.

2 Start today

Start immediately. Don’t wait till next Tuesday. Habits are all about momentum. The momentum you have from the thought of what you need to do only lasts for this moment. Next Tuesday there will be an unforeseen problem preventing you from starting.

3 Start small

If you are unfit and decide to run 10 km tomorrow, you might do it once or twice. But when you feel sore and in pain tomorrow and the next day, your body will relate it to a painful experience. What we need for the habit is related to a good feeling. Rather run 1 km a day every second day for a couple of weeks. Build on that once the habit is formed.

4 Schedule it

Related to starting today, and starting small, just make sure it’s in your calendar. To begin with, it may be hard, so get it done first. Get it out the way. You’ll feel better when you get into bed at night. That is the feeling you need. In time the habit will form, and one day you even notice you are doing it. That is the ZEN in forming habits.

5 Get Accountability

If you find it hard to get started on your own, get a friend to hold you accountable. Just let them know what you are doing and why you are doing it. Share your schedule with them. Hopefully, they check in with you regularly. Eventually, hopefully, you will be telling them of your daily success before they ask the question!

6 Create new goals

I started this article with my problem. How will I keep a good habit going once my goal is achieved? Well, I think I may have answered it here above in a way. I need to make sure it aligns with my values (checked) and I will need to create a new goal before I reach this one.

The new goal after this one is: Run a marathon. 42.2 KM

Just a note here: Make sure you enjoy your success in between goals. Otherwise, you might lose the point of why you are doing what you are doing

In Closing

As important as it is to form habits, a habit can go into overdrive. Picking up this overdrive can be tricky, as habits are invisible when in motion. So just remember to regularly access your values, improve your goals, and listen to those around you. You should be able to spot one in overdrive.

So, happy habit forming!

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What is focus time? (5 ways on how to achieve more!)

Every one of us has 24 hours in a day. Why do some people achieve more results than others? As a manager in a software business, there are so many different aspects that I must keep my eye on. Project management, team management, client relationships and some more technical aspects. To deliver a project on time and with quality, I must divide my teams time and my time. So what is focus time?

Focus Time is a simple time-management technique that can change your life. The technique, when set up and implemented, requires you and your team members to work several defined short intervals. Outside of that time, you can attend to the clutter (emails, social media and other distractions).

Why do you need focus time?

Being able to focus on one thing for a well-defined period produces better work. It also helps get the work done quicker. With less noise, you also tend to have less stress and worry. If your mind is in a stress-free environment your creativity booms.

To be focused means you need to have goals and objectives defined. Once you know where you are going you can organise your time around achieving the goal is short, focused bursts.

How to get more Focus Time

In a complex work environment like today’s, each person must wear many hats each day. To find the time to focus can be a challenge. Here are some techniques I use myself and for my team. Later, I will show you a tool, RescueTime, that shows you where you spend your time, how much and for what periods of time.

1) Improve Self Belief

You need to believe in your own ability to follow through on a schedule. Focus becomes a lot easier when you can manage up and down and know the urgency at the moment. Most urgent tasks are not important and can wait for later. You need to believe in your ability to make the right call.

2) Get Rest

Not getting the right amount of sleep for you can lead to impaired cognitive ability. To set yourself up for success, make sure you get 7-8 hours of sleep each night.

3) Set Daily and Weekly Goals (Get accountability)

As a manager, setting the tone of what is important for the day or week will help your team to get their focus dedicated to the right tasks. By communicating and providing the schedule, it’s clear what needs to happen. There will be urgent issues that arise during the day and can derail a schedule. Working together and continually defining the focus will keep you on track.

4) Schedule in advance and with set focus periods

Once the goals and objectives are defined, it’s up to you to focus your own time. Getclockwise defines it like this.

Swerve, Stack and Schedule.

Swerve: Learn how to ignore people: Delay your response to incoming messages. Rather have a focus time for that. It will allow you to be more thoughtful in your response and reduce the back and forth of emails.
Stack – Schedule your meetings back-to-back in your calendar: First thing before you start your workweek, re-arrange events to maximize your (and your team’s) productivity. Try to create more meeting zones so that you have larger chunks of time to dedicate real work focus time.
Schedule – Block off Focus Time on your calendar: Once you have the blocks in place, you and your team can look at the week’s goals. Place the focus blocks in your calendars’ and stick to them. Protect your focus time.

To add to this, make sure your focus time is at your peak performance times. If you are sharper in the morning, make sure your plan pushes more focus time here.

5) Declutter your space

I don’t know about you, but I work better when my workspace is clean. Sometimes I find myself cleaning up my space before getting to the focus time. Everyone’s circumstances and preferences are different, so you need to figure this out. For example, if you work at home and it’s too busy to focus, think about going out for periods of time. Have a look at this blog post on how to declutter your brain.

Rescue Time

Rescue Time is an Automatic time-tracking and distraction blocking tool you can run on your PC all day long. RescueTime shows you exactly how long you spend on apps and sites down to the minute.

Find out more and use the free version. Upgrade to premium for 14 days free.

RescueTime

Features

See exactly where your time goes.
“Turn off” distractions like social media and news.
Stay focused on goals all day long.
Keep track of time spent in meetings and calls with one-click.

Summing it up

Focus time can help you and your team achieve your goals. With more time dedicated to the right tasks, you should see more quality work. Your team will also feel less stress and learn skills to manage time more effectively.

So now that you know what focus time is, it’s up to you to find the time.

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Six Tips to Declutter your Brain?

In this modern world, it’s easy for your mind to become overwhelmed. There are a ton of things we must do each day. Trying to keep all these thoughts at the forefront of the brain can be tricky. Add to this, thoughts about past events, and where you want to be in the future, and you have a melting pot inside you. On the internet, there are tons of strategies on how to deal with this, but I am going to focus on the ones that I apply daily to maintain calm. How do you declutter your brain? Let’s first see what the signs are that you might have this problem. And we all suffer from this at times in our life!

Signs of a cluttered brain

1 – Loss of focus

Focus is the ability to look at a task and be present at the moment to get it done. Sometimes for long periods. But if you are easily distracted by other things that need doing, and you can’t seem to prioritise things, you end up doing a few half jobs. This is because your concentration levels are low.

2- Decision Making is difficult

When you can’t decide whether to make potatoes or rice for dinner could be a sign of a cluttered brain. When you have a thousand thoughts passing through your mind in a second, can cause an inability to make simple choices.

3 – Unable to let go

Often a cluttered mind shows up as a cluttered workspace or home. In extreme cases, this could become hoarding. From the above inability to make simple decisions, you end up holding onto everything. Because you can’t prioritise, your workspace will have every paper open on it. Your PC will have hundreds of windows open and thousands of emails you’ll never look at again waiting to be opened.

4 – Creativity/Abstract thinking wanes

A lot of work these days is conceptual and requires you to think and compile solutions in the brain. If you know you are good at this but not able to do it anymore, it can mean your brain is fatigued. Perhaps you no longer have the passion to do your creative hobbies? Perhaps they become too hard and less enjoyable?

5 – “I’m Tired”

“I’m tired” are words of a tired brain. Especially if they are spoken early in the morning.

Tips on: How to Declutter your brain and think better

These are the techniques and tools that I have picked up over the years. When I become aware of the above symptoms, I remember to apply this.

1 – Write it down

Having so many thoughts in my mind can really make me anxious. By writing them down seems to move them on. Once they are on the paper, I can see them for what they are. Probably just a set of tasks that I want to happen. To try and stay on top of this, I manage upfront in the morning by writing and prioritising. By doing this, I know where to start. At the end of the day, I reflect on the list and see if I made it happen. Did something else come up? By tracking what I want to do and what happened, also helps me to understand the real priorities of my life.

2 – Stop Multi-tasking

My job managing a software development team, and managing multiple clients means a lot of tasks coming my way. Sometimes I catch myself doing one thing, see another email, and starting on the next task before I have finished the first one. If I allow this to continue, I know that nothing will get done and I will be anxious about the work not done. In these moments I stop, breathe, and relax for about 1 minute.

What is the most important task? Who can I delegate a task to? Who can help me? Sit back and prioritise.

3 – Breath or meditate

At least once a day, for 5 – 10 minutes, I enjoy the feeling of having to do absolutely nothing. I do this each morning to find peace and gratitude for what I have. It helps to clear the mind of all my clutter. I prefer guided meditation. My favourite expert being Andy Puddicombe from “Headspace”. There is even a “Headspace” series on Netflix that will introduce you to the calm.

4 – Build a Routine

Having a routine can keep you on track. Knowing that this is work time and this is playtime will direct your mind from one activity to the next. You may not follow it perfectly but having it there can bring you back in line. Make sure you include exercise and rest in your routine. Make sure you include family time in there too. Although you must be careful of this as “routine’ing” your family could make them feel like a task. And if you live with a free spirit partner as I do, sometimes you should concede the routine to maintain the love! Check out this post on my Daily Mode of Operation (DMO)

5 – Share Your Thoughts

During a busy day, we can forget to talk to people. There is often a great support structure just waiting for you to connect to. When I feel overwhelmed, I do two things. The first is to talk to my team. We need to be on the same page anyway. Just by talking new ideas are formed, and you might be able to solve issues faster. By doing this you automatically declutter your brain. From an emotional standpoint, I talk to my girlfriend. She is always there to listen and advise. Even if there is no conclusion to an issue, somehow the day feels less cluttered. Sometimes it’s just about letting it go.

6 – Learn to say “No”

As humans, we like to help others. I believe this anyway. But you cannot do everything, and you need to have boundaries. Sometimes there is something fun to do. I too find it difficult to say “No”. But to grow and get the clutter out of my brain, I need to say “No”

Conclusion

It’s normal to have clutter in the brain from time to time but knowing how to move past it is important. Once you start to put in place your ways (there are many more ways than the ones I have mentioned above), you can live a freer life. Things will get done and you will move forward.

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