Latest / The 3Bz Podcast - Building Better Business / EP128 - The Side Hustle Lie: Why You Don’t Need 5 Incomes to Succeed

Transcript

EP128 - The Side Hustle Lie: Why You Don’t Need 5 Incomes to Succeed · The 3Bz Podcast - Building Better Business

• 0:01
  Hi there business owner, and welcome to the Three BS Podcast,
• 0:04
  the place where we go beyond the numbers and dive into the
• 0:07
  strategies to help you build a Better Business one step at a
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  time. I'm your host, Stephanie, a
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  multi awarding entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in
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  the bookkeeping and currency world.
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  If you're a business owner looking to streamline, grow and
• 0:19
  get back the time that you deserve, you're in the right
• 0:21
  place tackling real world problems, answering tough
• 0:24
  questions and digging deep into business building secrets in
• 0:27
  just 15 minutes each week. So Are you ready to build a
• 0:31
  Better Business with confidence and clarity?
• 0:33
  Then let's go. Hello and welcome back to
• 0:37
  another episode of The Three B's Podcast, your go to place for 15
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  minutes of CPD certified motivation, education and
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  inspiration. Each week.
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  As always, I'm your host, Stephanie Marshall.
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  And today I want to talk about something that's become almost
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  untouchable in online business culture and that is the side
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  hustle obsession. Now before anyone comes at me,
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  I'm not anti side hustle. I have multiple businesses that
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  I run myself. I love a good idea.
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  I love people earning on their own terms and I love financial
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  independence, but I'm seeing more and more business owners
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  feeling behind because they've got just one income stream, or
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  they're not building passive incomes, or they're not
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  launching a course or selling candles on Etsy alongside a full
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  time job, parenting and running their main business too.
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  That pressure is not always helpful.
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  In fact, it's often the thing making people falter or not even
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  start before they've even hit their stride.
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  So today I want to unpack that myth, that hustle culture, the
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  reality and what it actually means in business.
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  So let's get into it. We've all seen the quotes.
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  Don't rely on on one income stream.
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  Make money while you sleep. Every millionaire has seven
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  income streams. And look, having multiple
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  revenue streams are smart. Like I said, I do it myself
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  across my own businesses. But not when your main business
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  hasn't even firmed its rhythm, when your main business is still
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  growing, still building, is not financially stable yet is not
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  running sustainably and making the money it needs to make to
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  keep a roof over your head as a business owner.
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  Don't start adding things in until that first thing is is
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  solid. Because we've all done it.
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  We've all looked at the shiny object syndrome.
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  We've all been those little Magpies that have gone, oh,
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  that's a good idea. That's a good idea.
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  I've done so many courses, I've signed up for so many trainings
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  and certifications for things that are really not relevant
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  because the shiny object syndrome or the FOMO took hold.
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  And I, I can't miss this because I might need this in business
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  five years down the line. The truth is the business that I
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  want to build now won't be sustainable in five years time
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  because the landscape is always changing.
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  Businesses are always changing, the economy is constantly
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  changing, our rules and regulations from the HMRC are
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  constantly changing. So actually having an idea of a
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  business that I want to start in five years time, I don't need to
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  be doing training courses now or trying to start a business now
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  where my main business is and not comfortable and sustainable
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  and stable yet. I think the phrase that's really
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  apartment here is doing one thing really well instead of
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  seven things mediocrely. Like I am victim of that.
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  I've done that myself many, many times and have to keep reining
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  myself back in because as a business owner, as an
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  entrepreneur, you probably have a million ideas of things you
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  want to do, people's lives you want to change, things you want
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  to create. And having a step back and slow
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  down and focus on one thing at a time is sometimes really hard.
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  The online space often over glamorizes the idea of a side
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  hustle without showing the actual implications that come
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  with it. People are always like, Oh yeah,
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  make money while you sleep. Set up this one thing and it'll
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  Evergreen run forever. You still have to put marketing
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  efforts into that thing. You still have to put your time
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  and effort into that thing. And every bit of time and effort
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  you're putting into this new thing, the old thing is being
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  left behind unless you've got your procedures stable enough
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  and your business running securely enough.
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  What people forget to say when they talk about this, make money
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  while you're asleep and start in the recurring revenue and having
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  this extra side hustle is that your time is a limited resource.
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  It's the one thing we can't make more of.
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  It's the one thing we can't get back.
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  If your main business needs focus, split in that focus
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  across multiple directions. Won't help you make more money,
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  won't help you build any of the businesses.
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  It will just spread you too thin and burnout will then be just
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  behind. So here's what I see time and
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  time again. There's usually business owners
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  that feel like their current work isn't enough, so they start
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  a side hustle on top. And then they wonder why none of
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  it's moving forward and they're stuck in the same place or
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  they're drowning. Their energy is split all over
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  the place, their cash flow isn't consistent in any of the
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  businesses, and they're not resting either.
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  Sound familiar? Yeah, I've been there too.
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  But you're not lazy, you're not not enough.
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  You're just overloaded. Because having more things to
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  market doesn't mean you're building more profit.
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  It just means your brain is constantly switching lanes and
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  you're more tired than normal. Then throw in the fact if you're
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  a working parent and you've got childcare and back to school and
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  school photos and PE kits to remember and taking them to
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  football and gymnastics and keeping a house and all of these
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  things. I just overloading you and
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  there's some things that you can drop right now.
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  I love the analogy of balls. Like sometimes there's plastic
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  balls or roller balls that you can just drop and and then pick
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  them back up at a later date. And then there's those glass
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  ones that you have to keep secure because you drop them,
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  they will break And that usually is your main business as well.
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  So think about those balls, and although the trend is showing
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  you to have all these incomes, keep hold of those glass ones.
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  Make sure those glass ones are nice and safe before we add in
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  any extra balls to dribble. In fact, let's reframe it.
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  Focusing on one income stream doesn't make you unambitious, it
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  makes you quite smart. If you're building something
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  brilliant and sustainable, you don't need 12 side hustles.
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  What you need is a business that pays you properly, pricing that
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  reflects the value you deliver, clients you love working with
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  are products you love to create, customers you love to serve, and
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  time to breathe. Because when that's working, the
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  rest just kind of follows along. And I think out of all of those
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  things, most business owners forget to take time to breathe.
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  I am a huge example of that. This summer was the first summer
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  in a long time where I took a couple of weekends out.
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  I went away, I spent time with my children, I spent time with
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  my friends, I went to some car shows.
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  I had an incredible time and usually entrepreneur Stephanie
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  would feel really guilty about that.
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  Mum Stephanie would feel really guilty about that.
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  But actually that has made me more productive.
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  I've come back into the office with an absolute fire in my
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  belly. I am so excited to take these
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  businesses to the next level. I've got ideas coming out of my
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  ears of things I want to do, content I want to create,
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  services I want to to launch, because actually the main ABCSUK
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  brand is now solid. The procedures are in place, the
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  policies are there, the strategies are clear.
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  I know where I'm going. My plans are there.
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  I can now follow the SAT NAV because I have that strong
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  foundation. I can now start to build so I'm
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  not scrambling to prove someone right by having 12 different
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  site hostels and now I'm I'm a independent travel consultant as
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  well as everything else that I do Yes, I have 4 businesses.
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  I have 4 arms to my business, but all of those linked together
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  for one, they all have different ideal clients, but they all
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  linked together. They're one huge ecosystem and
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  actually two or three of them have sat on the sidelines for
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  quite a long time. One of them I only launched last
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  month. So I've launched a new community
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  for bookkeepers because actually that's who I want to help as
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  well, not just the business owner.
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  And I know a lot of you listen to this podcast and watch it, so
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  hello, if you are there. But my industry are full of
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  incredible bookkeepers, accountants, financial advisors
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  that they need help building their businesses too.
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  Because what we all do as business owners is leave our
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  business to last. Specifically service based
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  business owners if you are constantly serving.
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  So my dad was a mechanic, our car used to have holes in the
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  floor. I remember vividly him welding
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  back together the floor of our N red red Vauxhall Courser so it
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  could get through. It's MOT.
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  If you are a plumber, then your bathroom is probably the worst
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  one you've ever seen because you'll get to that later because
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  you're too busy serving the clients.
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  Once you've got that strong foundation, you can then grow
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  and build and and expand on that.
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  And I am living proof that actually taking your time.
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  So ABCSUK, my practice is stable, secure.
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  I am so happy with the people that I work with.
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  I work with most amazing clients and can now start to build that
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  or adding other income streams because this bit is solid.
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  Let's talk about the tax of it as well.
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  Because the more side hustles you start, the more complicated
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  your reporting is, the more complex your tax returns going
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  to be. And depending on your structure,
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  you might have MTD coming in next year, corporation tax,
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  income tax, VAT, multiple payrolls, dividends across
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  multiple companies, different income sources, different
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  platforms, even different VAT considerations in some aspects
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  are just going to make it more confusing for you.
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  And if you're doing it yourself, it's even more confusing as
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  opposed to bringing it to a bookkeeper or accountant like us
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  at ABCSUK, where we understand the complex nature of multiple
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  income sources and platforms. But it's very hard to keep a
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  track of what tax you need to save, what tax you're going to
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  pay and to be effective with your tax strategies to make sure
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  that you're paying only the tax you need to pay and no more.
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  So if you've got freelance work, a Shopify store, then some
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  affiliate income, maybe a rental property, that's great.
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  That's four different things that you need to track and be
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  ready for what that means come tax time.
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  I've seen people earn 2000 LB from a a side hustle and pay
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  more than that in fines because they didn't get it sorted
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  properly. I've seen people earn 2000 LB
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  from one side hustle and then £5000 from another side hustle
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  and businesses who are making twenty £30,000 in profit are
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  paying less tax because they've been strategic.
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  Just because something is a little extra doesn't mean HMRC
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  ignores it. Now as I say I'm not here to say
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  never have a side hustle. There is multiple arms to ABCSUK
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  and sometimes they're exactly what you need.
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  So here's some examples of where it would make sense for you to
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  have a side hustle on top of your main business.
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  You're testing a new idea before permitting fully.
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  You've got systems in place in your main business.
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  You're not relying on it to rescue your cash flow.
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  You've thought about the structure, the tax, and the time
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  it'll take. Maybe you've had a power out
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  with someone like us at ABCSUK so that you are really clear and
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  understand where you're going and have plans in place to keep
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  track of it. And that it energizes you, not
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  just drains you. It's not about the number of
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  things that you offer, it's about how aligned they are with
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  you, your values and your business ideas and goals.
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  As I say, in August, I launched the Maori Social Community,
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  which is a community for introverted bookkeepers to help
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  them build their businesses better and build their
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  businesses their way. As you can probably see if
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  you're watching this on YouTube, I am so passionate about it.
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  It is filling me with joy getting to work with incredible
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  other bookkeeping practice owners or bookkeepers in
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  industry that are looking to take that step into starting
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  their own practice. And yes, it's another string to
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  the bow. It's one more thing to market.
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  It's one more service to deliver.
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  It's one more piece of content to create every week.
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  But I am so excited. And it's something that I've sat
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  on for over a year waiting for the time to be right, waiting
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  for me to have the capacity and the confidence and the knowledge
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  and the market research and looking at the structures of it
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  all before I put it out to market.
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  If you're tempted by the idea of a side hustle because things
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  feel kind of stuck right now in your business, ask yourself
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  these five questions. One, have I fully optimised my
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  main business? Am I clear?
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  Do I have systems and procedures in place?
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  Is it a stable footing in my current business?
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  2 Are my prices in my current business where they need to be?
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  Pricing is the biggest issue I see in 99% of the businesses
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  that I work with. Whether that's bookkeeping
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  practice, owners, end users, clients, they all seem to just
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  struggle when it comes to pricing. 3:00 AM I tracking my
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  profit? And not just revenue, We talked
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  about it a few episodes ago, the difference between revenue and
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  profit. You could sell 20,000 LB, but if
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  you've got 18,000 LB of expenses, you've only made £2000
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  and you need to be aware of that when you are tracking what your
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  business is making. Four, do I have a system that
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  runs smoothly? Policies and procedures are
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  going to help you in your business.
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  They're going to save you when times get hard.
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  They're going to save you when you get busy.
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  They reduce some of that decision overwhelm we have to
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  make as busy business owners day in, day out.
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  And it really does change the game with your business.
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  And 5:00 AM I trying to distract myself from doing the boring but
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  necessary bits? Maybe there's something that in
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  your business right now that you know you need to do.
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  Maybe you need to put your prices up and you're, you're
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  distracted, you don't want to do it and you're trying to distract
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  yourself. So if I start this new thing, I
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  can make more money that way. When actually you're just
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  putting off the thing you know you need to do in your main
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  business. Often a side hustle is simply a
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  distraction with A to do list. What you need might not be a
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  second business. It might be a better process or
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  a change in the one you've already got.
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  So here is your permission slip if you need one.
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  You don't need a side hustle to be successful.
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  You don't need to launch 10 offers to be valid, and you
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  don't need to do more. You need to do actually works
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  for you and your business. If you're feeling overwhelmed or
• 14:07
  unsure of where to focus, that is what I help with.
• 14:10
  We have power hours so that we can help you structure your
• 14:13
  business so it works without the hustle.
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  If you go to ABCSU k.com, you can book a power hour or grab
• 14:20
  one of our resources. And if you've got a business
• 14:22
  owner friend who's got 6 tabs open trying to launch yet
• 14:24
  another site. Also when the last one's flound
• 14:26
  in, send them this episode with love.
• 14:29
  If that's you, if you've been sent this episode from somebody,
• 14:32
  they love you and they want you to take notice of what I've said
• 14:35
  in this episode. I'll be back next week with
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  episode 129 of the Three BS Podcast.
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  If you haven't listened to the old ones, do go back and listen
• 14:43
  to them. Hopefully, there's some value
• 14:45
  for you. And next week, we're talking AI,
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  what to ignore, how to use it. And it's such a buzzword right
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  now in most business spaces, especially online business
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  spaces. So we're going to clear things
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  up in 15 minutes or less and make you feel slightly more
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  confident about AI, using AI and understanding how it can benefit
• 15:04
  you and your business. Until then, thank you so much
• 15:07
  for joining me. I will see you next week for the
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  next episode. Bye.
• 15:11
  And that brings us to the end of another episode of The Three
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  Bees podcast. I hope you found it useful and
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  that you're walking away with some motivation, inspiration, or
• 15:19
  education to help you build a Better Business.
• 15:23
  Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and of course, connect
• 15:25
  with us on social media for more insights, tips, and behind the
• 15:28
  scenes content. Your next step in building a
• 15:30
  Better Business is just a click away.
• 15:32
  I can't wait to connect with you and I'll see you on the next
• 15:34
  episode. Bye.