When you’re working hard to develop a side hustle or business, or trying to make the leap from employment to entrepreneurship, you’re going to need a few shoulders to lean on from time to time. Managing a full-time job working for someone else while establishing your own side gigs is exhausting, and everyone needs a little help along the way.

It’s not just that starting up your own venture takes lots of time and energy – it’s a long, hard process full of emotional ups and downs too. There’s a whole lot that you have to put into it, and that doesn’t stop and start at just the actual work you’re doing.

Entrepreneurs and side hustlers often need to tackle new skills, deal with a wide variety of people (some who are more pleasant than others), manage tedious back-end tasks, keep themselves organized by implementing new systems and processes to help manage the crazy amount of stuff happening, and so on.

Especially when you’re doing something you’ve never done before, you need some kind of support system. While many people turn to a significant other, parents, or very close friends, not everyone has that built-in network available.

Maybe you’re not ready to tell all your friends about your efforts. Maybe you’re not married or in a serious relationship. Maybe your family thinks you’re nuts for working on your side hustle or business, and has told you it’s not realistic or feasible.

If, for whatever reason, you don’t have a traditional support system in place – or the support system you wanted to rely on is less than encouraging – here are three ways you can build your own group of supportive individuals who will be more than happy to help you along every step of the way as you increase your income or build a business. [Read more…]