Having a side hustle seems to be a very popular thing these days. You've heard chatter from some of your friends who are working on something on the side, and you're interest is peaked. 

Perhaps your main job that consumes most of your waking hours just isn’t enough. You may need that side hustle for extra income or to eventually grow into a main hustle.  I’ve been doing my side hustle starting a premium undershirt brand, Sloane, while I’ve been rising in the corporate world in marketing at P&G over the past 7 years. 

I’ve had some highs like hitting our Kickstarter goal, pitching on CNBC’s West Texas Investors Club and seeing the company continue to grow. I’ve had some lows like getting on the Today show while we were 100% out of inventory, borrowing money from a friend that took 2X the time I said I would pay it back and tireless nights where I come home from a long day and then need to log serious hours to get Sloane off the ground. 

I’ve learned a few things along this journey that I’d love to pass along. We still have a long way to go to get to our goals, but we’ve been side hustling for 7 years, and we keep growing. It’s been a success in my eyes and we see massive white space to keep going.

Today, I hope part of my journey can help you with your side hustle. Here are 5 side hustle tips to help your side hustle be a success.

1. Do NOT Go Into it Thinking You’re Going to Get Rich

The number of startups that fail is sobering. Forbes reports that 90% of startups fail. 90%!!! So not only are the odds not with you that you’ll get rich, but the odds are that you would lose everything!

Going in eyes wide open is critical because you have to be ready to do what it takes to succeed. Be that 10%. Your product or service, work ethic, marketing, fulfillment, team, etc need to be on point!

But if your first idea fails, don't worry and don't stop! Chalk it up as a learning experience and move on to the next one.

2. Be Clear on Where the Hours Will Come From

A side hustle happens on top of your current job. If you are a person that works 8 to 6, then you need to find the hours in addition to those times to work on your business. Are those your TV hours? Are those your softball team hours? Are those your workout hours?

Sacrifices will have to be made to find those hours. I moved to Cincinnati when Sloane started and didn’t get a TV. Those old TV hours turned into Sloane side hustle hours.

3. Make Sure Your Idea is Strong

Before you jump in, make sure you do the leg work on the idea. What consumer problem are you solving? How do you plan to create your idea? How do you plan to sell your idea? Do people like your prototypes? Get input from people who you trust. The last thing you want to do is jump in by sinking your life savings into something that’s a bad idea.

If you get some initial wins with a concept or early prototype, then you will have a higher likelihood to succeed. We gave our prototypes out to friends. Once we received positive feedback, we put it on Kickstarter. Once that succeeded, we knew we had something.

4. Be Clear on Where the Money is Coming From

The rule of thumb in startups is that things take twice as long and cost twice as much as you think. Having cash is everything. If you don’t have it, then it becomes very hard to even take the first step.

If you are going to take money from savings, then you have to be ok with the possibility losing it all. Can you still go on? This is where the massive risk taking comes in that separates true entrepreneurs from wannabe entrepreneurs. Are you willing to put your own hard earned money into your idea? Where will the money come from if you need more?

5. Be Patient

It takes awhile to build a company when you’re working full time. It takes much longer when you can only give a few hours a day max. I had high hopes Sloane would take off quickly, but the reality was that giving 10 hours a week won’t move things quickly.

You have to be ok with making steady progress versus major leaps. If you have a team, then you can scale your time and move faster. It likely never feels like you’re moving fast enough when it’s just a side thing.

The fatal flaw is underperforming at the job that pays the bills trying to put in extra time on your startup to make it go faster. If you’re patient and have the right expectations you can make it happen!  

About the Author: Mike Droessler is a Brand Manager at P&G working in Digital Innovation and also the Founder of Sloane Men, the maker of The Invisible Undershirt.  He attended Wharton for his undergraduate and USC for his MBA.  Sloane’s mission is to make guys better.  His breakthrough undershirt helps them look their best, but he also shares style and professional tips to help men in more aspects of their lives.

The Problem Of The White Cotton Undershirt

The white cotton undershirt has been an annoyance to me since I was a kid. I would sweat badly (yes, I was THAT kid) and always wore an undershirt to absorb the sweat.  The issue was the thick cotton made me sweat MORE.  If I didn’t wear the undershirt my sweat would just go right through to my outer shirt making me look like a psycho. Women don’t dig guys who visibly sweat (unless it’s in the gym)!

When I was living in LA in my 20’s, and dressing nicer, the white undershirt still haunted me. It absolutely killed my style.  I’d be at work or at a club or bar trying to look like I had my stuff together, but there was my $3 white Hanes undershirt popping out from my neck and visible at my arms.  I knew I wasn't looking my best, but didn't have an alternative. 

When I was in business school at USC I finally got tired of this ridiculous mess with my undershirts. I remember I tried to solve the undershirt issue by trying out a wife beater tank top.  I was out at a club in LA with my classmates trying to look cool.  I went into the bathroom and could just clear as day see my wife beater under this really nice button down I had on.  WTF?!?!  I’m in business school trying to look legitimate and my $3 wife beater is standing out for EVERYONE to see!

A Better Men's Undershirt

My friend, Jason, and I decided to figure out a solution for this. We saw nothing in stores that solved for all of our issues, so we decided to make it ourselves. We wanted our new undershirt to fix EVERY issue we had with our white cotton undershirts. 

• We made them long, so they don’t pull out from our belt line.
• We made them 50% more breathable than cotton to limit sweat.
• We made them with a deep V, so they’re not visible at the neck.
• We made them with spandex to keep them fitted, which eliminates the baggy look.
• Finally, we made them skin toned (3 colors), which makes them invisible at the arms because the undershirt blends into your skin color.

On Mission To Help Men Feel Confident In Their Style

The mission that drives us is to help guys NOT look like how I did for years. We want their style to stand out and not their undershirt. We want guys to be confident in how they look in the office, out socially or just grabbing breakfast with friends. We don't want the undershirt to ever be a burden again! 

Try the product risk free at Sloanemen.com.  You can return it for ANY reason. We want you to look the best you ever have and have that confidence knowing that!

Does A White Undershirt Hurt My Style?

The look you want to have at work exudes competence, confidence and professionalism. You have a good education, work your butt off and want to keep growing.  Why would you jeopardize this by wearing a standard cotton white undershirt that hurts your style in so many ways?

We have conducted research on the impression that the white undershirt gives in both office and social settings. The most common word used to describe the undershirt is “sloppy”.  Of the hundreds of guys I’ve talked to about undershirts over the years almost none of them realize they come across that way.  I definitely didn’t when I rocked the look for 10+ years!

Here are the reasons why people we research felt like the standard white cotton undershirts are sloppy:

1. White Undershirts Give You Bacon Collar

Many guys wear crew necks, which are clearly visible at the neck line. A guy might dress well overall, but then is showing his cheap white cotton undershirt.

Many of our participants said these undershirts remind them of what high school guys wear, which is a sloppy look. Not something a professional should wear.

Solution

Wear a deep V neck undershirt.  Many of the standard depth V necks aren’t deep enough.  They can sometimes be seen with one button unbuttoned and definitely with two buttons unbuttoned.  You want a deeper V to give yourself the ability to wear the undershirt with any look

2. White Undershirts Are Visible Underneath the Button Down

The white undershirt creates a contrast against your skin, which makes it visible underneath a lighter colored button down. The undershirt can often just kill the total look because people are staring at your eye catching undershirt sleeves versus the rest of your outfit.

Again, this is a look that high school guys have at their dances and graduation. It must be avoided.

Solution

You want an undershirt that blends into your skin tone to avoid the contrast between the undershirt and skin.  When the undershirt color matches your skin tone, then there is no contrast.  No one can tell you have it on. 

3. White Undershirts Are Too Short

The standard white undershirts are often too short. With the goal of having the undershirt be more fitted on the sides, guys get smaller (and shorter) sizes. This can cause any extension of the arms to pull the undershirt above the belt line.

Now, the undershirt has a baggy look at your midsection adding pounds to your overall appearance. I used to have to go into the bathroom multiple times a day to tuck my undershirt back into my pants. Sloppy.

Solution

You want a longer undershirt that pulls down low, which will prevent it from pulling out of your pants.  Long is better than short for undershirt.  This stay tucked feature will keep you looking slim and avoid those embarrassing trips to the bathroom stall.

4. White Undershirts Are Too Sweaty

The thickness of a cotton white undershirt can make guys hotter in the work setting.  I sweat a lot and ALWAYS had issues with this.  I’d start getting warm and my undershirt felt like an unnecessary layer that was actually making me hotter.  That was making me sweat even more in the office.  I was going against the saying, “Never let them see you sweat”!  I would sweat pretty badly, which adds to the sloppiness of the undershirt issue. 

Solution

You want to wear an undershirt to pick up any light sweating from hitting your outer shirt.  This is a major benefit of the undershirt. However, you need an undershirt with a more breathable fabric than the thick standard thick cotton.  The more breathable fabric will keep you cooler and help you avoid overheating. 

Most undershirt wearing guys I speak with haven’t researched the new world of undershirts. They stay with what they’re used to.  If it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it.  The problem with this mindset is that style has changed. 

You don’t need to be at the cutting edge of style, but you don’t want one of your choices to make you look sloppy and potentially hold you back.  In 2017, the visible white cotton undershirt is one of those wardrobe choices that can actually hurt your image. 

Take a look at Sloane Men’s Invisible Undershirt. Thousands of men have tried it and been incredibly satisfied.  Give it a shot at no risk.  Sloane has a 100% satisfaction guarantee. 

Sloane Men

About the Author:  Mike Droessler is a Brand Manager at P&G working in Digital Innovation and also the Founder of Sloane Men, the maker of the Invisible Undershirt.  He attended Wharton for his undergraduate and USC for his MBA.  Sloane’s mission is to make guys better.  His breakthrough undershirt helps them look their best, but he also wants to share style and professional tips to help in more aspects of their lives.