Is God Calling You to Start a Side Hustle?

Ralph
00:00:00

Have you ever felt like your finances are holding you back from truly living out your faith? Maybe you're struggling to make ends meet, or perhaps you feel like you're not using your talents to the fullest potential. What if I told you that God might be calling you to start a side hustle? Yes, you heard it right.

Your financial struggles could be the very thing pushing you towards a divine purpose. Imagine this for a moment. You're drowning in bills, arguing with your spouse about money, and feeling like you're not giving back to your community as much as you'd like. It's a tough place to be, isn't it? But what if the struggle is actually a nudge from God, a gentle push towards using your talents and skills to not only improve your financial situation but also to serve others and glorify Him?

Today, we're going to explore the profound idea that a side hustle can be a powerful tool for fulfilling God's plan for your finances. We'll look at what the Bible says about work and finances, and I'll share some personal experiences that will help you see how small changes can make a huge difference.

So if you're ready to take control of your finances and grow in your faith, stick around. That's what we're covering on today's show.

Podcast Announcer
00:01:11

In a world where crushing debt keeps you trapped, where living paycheck to paycheck has become your new normal, and where the dream of retirement seems impossibly out of reach, there's hope. Join financial evangelist Ralph Estep Jr. A man who's walked through the fire of financial failure and emerged stronger on the other side.

Welcome to Ask Ralph, the show where real world experience meets biblical truth to break the bondage of financial despair.

Get ready to take control of your money, break free from the financial stress and align your resources with God's purpose for your life. This is Ask Ralph with Ralph Estep Jr.

Ralph
00:01:47

Well welcome to the show. I am your financial evangelist, here to help you master your finances from a Christian perspective. Today, we're getting into a deeply emotional and pressing topic.

And that is, is God calling you to start a side hustle? Now, if you missed yesterday's show, we talked about 10 easy tax deductions and credits to cut your tax bill. So if you missed it, I'm going to encourage you to go back and check it out. It was a true game changer. Well now let's get to today's question.

I received a letter from a listener named Emily and her words were truly heart wrenching. Here's what she had to say.

" Hi Ralph, I've been struggling with my finances for a while now. I feel like I'm drowning in bills, and every month it's a fight to keep our heads above water.My husband and I are constantly arguing about money, and it's putting a strain on our marriage. I want to give back to the church and support our community, but I can barely make ends meet. I've been thinking about starting a side hustle, but I'm terrified. What if I fail? What if I can't handle the extra work? Is God calling me to do this? How do I know if it's part of His plan for my life? I feel so lost and I feel overwhelmed. Please, Ralph, I need your help."

Well Emily, my heart goes out to you. Your struggle is real, and it's affecting not just your finances but like you said, it's affecting your marriage. It's affecting your faith.
And so many Christians face these same challenges, but I've got some great news for you. There is hope. So today, I'm going to explore how that side hustle can actually fulfill God's plan for your finances. As I said, we're going to look at what the Bible says about work and finances, and I'm going to share some personal experiences to show you just how small changes can make a big difference.

Now, before we get to the question that you've asked Emily, let's ground ourselves in scripture. And I found this verse in the book of Colossians, and this is chapter 3, verses 23 and 24. And in that we read this. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Now that's powerful. And that verse reminds us that whatever we do, whether it's our main job, whether it's a side hustle, whether it's volunteering, whatever we do, we should do it with all of our hearts as if we're working for the Lord himself. Now that's a counter cultural thing to say, but that's what the show is all about.

There's a character piece to that, and that's one of the things I'm going to unravel today.
But let me just tell you this. Today, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve God through my work. I'm grateful for the chance to use my talents to help others and bring glory to His name.

And I'm grateful for listeners like you, Emily, for listeners who trust me to guide you on this journey. Hey, we're on this path together. Now, let me tell you a story about a young woman named Destiny. Now, Destiny was in a similar situation to yours, Emily. She was struggling to make ends meet.

She felt like she wasn't using her talents fully. So one day, she decided to start a side hustle. Now she had this passion. Destiny had this passion for photography. She really liked to take pictures and she had a Facebook page and there's one of these websites that you get for your, I can't think of the name of it, for your camera, your photography work.
And boy, she would share some of this stuff with me. So she started offering her services to capture special moments for people like weddings or you know, birthday parties, anniversaries. She was offering that to, you know, for couples and families. At first it was tough because Destiny had to balance her full time job because she still had a full time job.

She had her family and now she had this new venture. Very similar to what you're talking about. And so, you know, she felt this calling, but she felt overwhelmed and she felt apprehensive. Just like you, she wondered, is she making the right decision? She wondered if she had what it took to succeed. And the reason I picked this Bible verse is she said this to me one time. She said then I remembered that verse from Colossians and Ralph, she says, I put all my heart into it. And she started small.

She offered her services to friends and family and slowly but surely, her side hustle started to take off. And it didn't happen overnight. It was a building process. But when I look back at it, Destiny's story is one of perseverance. She didn't give up. She just kept on moving forward. But bigger than all that, her story is a story about faith.

See, because she faced many challenges, just like all of us do. Just like you're facing those challenges, Emily. You're wondering, is God telling me to go in this direction? But Destiny never gave up. And she said to me, she said, Ralph, I've got these God given talents to serve others. And that's what I'm doing through this photography.

And she said, and what I found in doing this, she said, Ralph, it's amazing the sense of purpose and fulfillment I found. And over time, her side hustle became a full time business. She quit her main job and she was able to focus on her passion. You know, I've heard people say this, and I truly believe this.

When you find that passion, when you find that God given purpose, you don't work anymore because you're working for that passion. And for Destiny, it led her to be more charitable. She was able to increase her giving. She felt a sense of purpose. She felt a sense of fulfillment that she had never experienced before in her life.

And listen, I've been there. See, the thing is a lot of people think, and this is so counter cultural. They think it's all about, well, I got to have this great job and I got to make this money. I got to, I had a person in earlier today. I was working on their taxes. We had this very discussion. Oh, I've got to build up this bank account.

I got to build up this retirement account. I've got to buy this. I've got to buy that. But what you find, they won't fulfill you. Yeah. You might have a great bank balance. You might have a great 401k balance. You might have all the fun stuff that you've ever wanted. All those wants are being met.

But is your purpose being fulfilled? Do you feel fulfillment? Cause I've been there. I've stood at that point. I've stood there saying, Ralph, you know what? Lord has blessed me. He's given me so much that other people can't even fathom what He's given me. But there was a day I woke up and I still felt empty.

It's a story I tell now. My oldest son and my wife and I, we went to Germany a year and a half ago for a, you call it a vacation, but we went to tour Germany. And one of the things we did, I think it was the second day we were there, we visited one of these concentration camps. Now you can see these on television, you can read about them.

You can watch Schindler's list. There's a bunch of great movies about these. Not that this is a positive topic, but you'll understand where I'm going in a second. So we walk up to this, we had set up a tour, a walking tour. We enter into the concentration camp and the first thing that takes your eyes is the size of this thing.

And I'm standing there in this, what they call it, I guess you could call it the parade ground. It's like a rock, a rock bed and everybody's standing there and just looking around. And I'm thinking the people who stood on this ground before me, they had no hope. They just didn't. They, you know, they were in a place where everything had been stripped from them.

I remember walking through the barracks. Most of these were rebuilt because they had been torn down or burned down, but they had rebuilt these. And they show just the complete emptiness of humanity. They stripped everything from them. And that would be a terrible story, except for then you hear these stories about people who, when they had nothing left to live for.

They had that connection with God and it made them, it made their life fulfilled. Listen, they didn't have anything. They had nothing, but yet they still had that desire to get up. They had that desire to work. I mean, these folks would work in these concentration camps for the people who were trying to destroy them.

And they did it for a purpose. And I'm standing there and I'm saying, you know what, Lord, you've given me so much. I've been so richly blessed. What can I do to find that fulfillment? And I'll tell you what, that was a moving experience. That was a day that kind of changed me. I gotta be honest with you.

And when I came back, I said, you know what? I had been doing this podcast show before and I said, it's time now to get ready with this thing. I'm going to do it. And so in a lot of ways, what I'm talking about today is that same idea, that side hustle. So I don't do this for the purpose of making a profit.

It's not my goal here. This is really a mission field. That's why I call myself a financial evangelist because my goal is to help people. But I felt that calling and Emily, I think you're feeling that same thing, just like Destiny. the photographer, you can overcome your situation. See, this side hustle you're talking about, this can be a powerful tool for fulfilling God's plan for your finances. Now you might do one to make money and that's fine. That may be what He's calling you to do. And maybe you end up like Destiny where that becomes your full time deal. But let me tell you about the action steps that you can take starting today Emily, to get to this point.

The first thing I'm going to tell you to do. And if you listen to the show, you know I go here first. You got to drop to your knees and start with prayer. Pray for guidance, ask God to guide you to the right side hustle for you.

Because listen, there's a lot of secular things out there that you can make a lot of money doing Ponzi schemes and scams and ripoffs, whatever those things are. But if you start with that prayer and you simply say, God, show me your way for me. It's one of the things I pray every day. I say, Lord, just show me where you'd want me to be.

Let me get out of my own way. You know, so that's where I would start. Seek his direction, seek that discernment and choosing a business that aligns with His will for your life. Not what you want to do, but His will, because I will guarantee you this. When you live in God's will, doors will open, things will happen, this is what happened with Destiny, she never expected to quit her full time job. This was photography, something she really enjoyed doing. But God made it so much bigger than that because He wanted her to find her purpose in that.

So that's the first thing. Start with that prayer. The second thing I'm going to encourage you to do, and this is not easy for some people. Identify your talents. You make a list, think about those things you're passionate about. Think about the skills that you have. All of us have different things, I'm not a builder.

You're never gonna find me, for example, you'll notice this in a couple of weeks, I'm actually building a studio for the show. Gonna take it away here from my desk and make it a little bit more, you know, higher end, right? Well, I just ordered some blinds. I got to put blinds up to blackout so we don't have so much sunlight spill over and all that sort of thing.

And I mean, this is not my area of expertise. I only have four to hang, so I'm going to do it. But look at the talents you have, because if you think about it, your side hustle might be something that allows you to use your God given talents to serve others. You know, maybe you are mechanically inclined and maybe you do like a little handyman job or you do writing or you do something along those lines that you really, you know, I've worked with clients that bake cakes, I've worked with clients that they drive people to the medical appointments.

All of us have these gifts and these things that God has given us to use for His purpose. Now, unfortunately, so many of us just don't do anything about it. We have our job and it takes all of our energy away and we want to spend time with our family. And I'm not disputing that at all. But when you find that passion and you can make that work for you and provide money for you, you're going to be living out God's purpose.

So that's the second thing. Like I said, first thing, pray for God. And second thing, identify your talents. And now, you know what I'm going next because Ralph always talks about what get's measured gets done. You got to set some financial goals. You got to be intentional with your finances. Don't do this willy nilly or just let's see how it goes.
Create a budget, create a budget for your side hustle. This is the equipment I'm going to need. These are the services I'm going to need. This is the income I can expect and set those financial goals. Because if you don't set those goals, like I talked about in the show yesterday, my son says, if you failed to plan, you will fail.

I mean, it's probably a more eloquent way he said it. But by setting that intentional plan, it's going to help you stay focused and it's going to help you stay motivated. And that's the key to this whole thing. So set those financial goals. And listen to me. Hear what I'm getting ready to say next, because a lot of people don't listen to this part, and this is probably the most crucial part.

Start small. You know, Destiny didn't quit her full time job. She didn't come into me and say, Ralph, you know what? I found God's purpose for my life. I'm quitting my job and I'm going all into this. Begin with small steps. See, don't quit your day job right away. That's really a bad plan. You know, maybe you start by offering your services on a part time basis and see how it goes.

And I'll tell you why that is. Cause you're new to this. You don't understand all the nuances of it. I'm going to rock your world with what I'm going to say next, but my advice to most people starting these side hustles is do the first few for free. You know, let's say you've got a talent to do planning and you want to be a wedding planner.

I'm going to encourage you to do the first two or three weddings and don't charge at all. Now, tell them up front, listen, I'm new to this. I have this skill. Here's what I'm going to do for you, but you're not going to pay me because then the pressure comes off a little bit and you can actually learn what works, what doesn't work, and then you can try to figure out, okay, well, this is going to take more time than I expected. So you're going to adjust your fees. You're going to charge more. You're going to learn what's built into this before you jump in this. And you might say after doing two jobs, this is not my passion.

This is not what I expected. So start small, start with small steps. Don't quit your main job and see how it goes and make adjustments. You know, we talked about those financial pieces. Look at those financial goals and say, is this going to work? Is there a reality in this? And last but not least, and this is the thing that's counterintuitive as well.
Be generous. You might be saying, Ralph, wait a second. Let me explain. Let me understand. So you're saying to me, I'm saying to you, excuse me, that I'm having a hard time paying my bills and I'm looking to bring in extra money. And the next thing you said was be more generous. Correct. To whom much is given much is expected.

So if you listen to me, you know what I say, you know what I'm getting ready to say next. It's not yours anyway. I had a guy in earlier today. We were talking about this as well. Think about this. It's a great way to look at money. Let's say you have a neighbor and your neighbor has a chainsaw and you had a branch go down in your backyard.

And you're thinking, well, you know, I could go to Home Depot or Lowe's. I go buy a chainsaw or cause I just got one little branch. It's down. You know, my neighbor, Kurt, he's got a chainsaw. Let me send my husband over there or maybe you're the husband listening right now and I'm going to go over there and ask Kurt if I can borrow his chainsaw.

And most of the time, Kurt, hell yeah, no problem. You know, come over here, borrow the chainsaw. Well, if you're like me, you're going to make sure that chainsaw is taken care of. You're going to make sure there's oil in that chainsaw. You're going to make sure you take care of it. You're going to clean it up.

You're going to return it better than what you got it. We've got to think your finances the same way. The Lord has given you these financial things to steward. And what He is asking you to do, what he is commanding you to do, and I'm not a big Calvinist, but I believe there's a commandment here. He's commanding you to make it better.

Like the story of the talents. And I've talked about that on the show, you know, the one was given five and he doubled that for the master. And then was given a couple and he doubled that. But then the one who does buried in the sand. That was harsh, man. Get away from me. I don't want to work with you.

You know, you didn't do anything with it. So be generous, use that extra income to give back to God's work and support those in need. Maybe you can support somebody who's on that journey. I'm going to talk about that in a little bit, in a little bit about maybe do a mentorship. But give back your time, give back your talents, give back what you've learned along the path because that could be the thing that somebody needs.

Maybe they're, they have that apprehension. Which is exactly what I'm going to talk about next, because what might be holding you back is the fear of failure. And listen, it holds a lot of people back because you're stepping outside of that comfort zone. This is not something you've ever done before. Use Destiny as an example.

She never owned a photography business. Yeah. Her friends would ask her to do little jobs here and there. She loved taking pictures, but she had some real anxiety about it. She was starting something new. She had no concept about what the financial side of that would be. You know, she had a lot of the equipment, but if she was going to do this right, she had to go buy lighting.

She had to go buy all that stuff. She was going to do video. She had to worry about microphones. She wanted to do backdrops. Listen, I'm going through this now with the studio. I had no concept of all the things that go into that, the lighting, the acoustics, the audio, the video, it's a big deal. And that can lead to such anxiety.But remember this. Go back to the Bible again. Remember we're gonna anchor this in Scripture. Let's look at 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7.

It says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind." Let that sink in. If you're feeling that doubt, you're feeling that anxiety, you're feeling that fear, for God has not given us a spirit of fear.

If you're fearful, that's not coming from God. That's coming from you. That's coming from other people telling you, you can't do it. Because the scripture says, but God has given us power and love and a sound mind. See, because the truth is fear can paralyze us. But God gives us the power to overcome it, to break free, to break through shackles of fear.
So you might be saying, great Ralph. That sounds good. I've read the scripture. I'm on the same page as you, we're on the same team, but how do you conquer that fear Ralph, how do I do that? Emily, you might be thinking that yourself. Ralph, okay. How do I do it? Well, I'm going to give you some tips.

First thing you need to do. So I started with the prayer thing, trust in God's plan. Trust in His plan. You know, you're not going to do this on your own. God has a plan for you. Remember that God has a plan for your life. So often we get in the way of that because we think we've got a better plan, but the creator of the universe has a plan for every single person that's listening or watching this right now.

He's got a plan for me. He's got a plan for you. He had a plan for destiny. He's got a plan for you Emily, and he's going to guide us every step of the way. But the only way he's going to do that is if you trust Him. And when you do, He'll provide the strength that you have no concept of what He'll be able to do.

And He's going to give you the wisdom in those times when you feel like you're not going to be able to do it, when you have those setbacks, when you have those struggles, He's going to give you the wisdom that you need. He's going to give you the strength to get through it. So that's the first thing.

Trust in God's plan. He does have a plan for your life. And see, that's the hopeful message of this show. Be really easy for me to say, Oh, yo, sorry about your luck. You know, you failed at that, but you can't fail when God is the center, when you're trusting in God's plan. So that's the first thing. Second thing, focus on the journey.

See, so many people worry about that destination. They worry about that outcome. What's this going to look like? Ralph, how do I measure success? And if you start out with that in mind, you are going to struggle. But if you focus on the journey, and I liken this to something I think about every day. There are tough days, you know, right now I'm in tax season.

It's a busy time for me. And there are days by the time I get to bed at night, man, I am exhausted. Then I'm back up at 5 AM. So I'm on that treadmill or elliptical in the morning. But a lot of days I'll just say, Lord, you know, I don't know what you're trying to have me do here, but man, just give me the strength for the journey.

And I want you to realize that you can enjoy that process. You enjoy that process of learning, that process of growing and using your talents. And then every step of the way, every step of that journey, it's, you're taking this opportunity to glorify God and He will reward you for that. Listen to me. Listen to what I'm saying to you. I've seen it in my own life. I've seen it in other clients lives. So that's a second thing. Focus on the journey. We talked about failure a little bit ago. Talked about that fear of failure. Well, let me just lay a truth bomb on you.

You may fail. You may fail. It may not work, but here's the key. Learn from that failure and understand that failure is a part of the process. It's a part of the journey. But when you fail, if you handle it correctly and there is a right way to handle failure. Two things happen when you fail.

If you do it the right way. And this is a bold thing to say, but I'm going to say it. It's an opportunity to learn and it's an opportunity to grow. What did you do wrong? What did you do right?

It's not for the faint of heart, you got to dig in and figure out just what happened. What was it that led to that failure? What were the mistakes that you made? What were the things you weren't expecting? And then you can grow from that. And let me just tell you, you will grow even stronger because of that failure. The Bible says iron sharpens iron. It's the same thing here. So instead of, you know, instead of fearing that failure, just embrace it. Embrace it as a stepping stone to success.

Realizing that the people who have gone before you, who have tried things have failed. There are things that you're going to try and they're going to fail. Now we can have a whole theological discussion about where you acting outside God's will. I'm not even going there. I don't have that level of knowledge of that to know.

But one thing I can tell you for sure, you can learn from failures. Next thing. Reach out and seek support. Don't go through this alone. A lot of people think, Oh, you know, I can't ask this person. I don't want to burden them. Don't go through this alone. Surround yourself with supportive friends, supportive family members, mentors. Mentioned this a little while ago.

If you're one of those people that have made this work, be a mentor for somebody. I'm not telling you to help everybody, but find somebody to mentor. Find somebody that you can encourage and you can offer guidance and remember when you were in their place. I do this with other people in the podcasting and video realm.

We do a mastermind group on Mondays and listen, I'm not far into this, but there's people with even less, you know, time in the trade than I have. And I consider it an honor to be able to help them, to be able to mentor them because here's the deal. I can tell them what didn't work for me. Now that might not be the same for them, but I can tell them what didn't work for me, what did work for me.

And the fulfillment I get from that is huge. So seek support. Don't go through this alone. And as I say on every show now, you'll notice a tone difference here. Practice gratitude. Because you have to be grateful. You see, so many people get hung up on what they don't have. Oh, I don't, I don't have this Ralph.

I don't have the beach house. I don't have the brand new car. I don't have the sports car. I don't have the hundreds of thousands of dollars in my 401k plan. Okay. That's good. Sorry about your luck, but guess what? Be thankful for the opportunities that you do have, and the talents that God has given you.

Don't squander them. If you're not using the talents that God give you or gave you, guess what? You're squandering them. You're not being a good steward of what He's given you. And I know that sounds harsh and you're like, Ralph, that's very judgmental. Yes, it is. God didn't give you these talents for you not to use.

He didn't give them to put them on the side and never do anything about them. So listen to me. Be grateful. Have a grateful heart. Because a grateful heart can help you overcome fear. It can help you stay focused on your goals. And that's the key to this whole thing. So you might be saying, Ralph, I am sold.

I've got some, I've taken some time, I've prayed about it. I've got some things that I'm talented with. I understand where you're going. So let's talk about some, what I'll call side hustles that align with Christian values. And these are just a few examples. I just wanted to throw some of these out there in my research that I found that it's like, you know, people would profit from these.

One of the ones that I have seen many people do is freelance writing and editing. Because think about it. You've got a knack for writing. You can offer services to businesses, bloggers, or other clients. You could write website content.

You can do blog posts, articles, or even write books. Think about this for a second. Imagine using your writing skills to create faith based content that inspires and encourages others. You know, maybe that's your talent. Maybe your talent is you can edit stuff. You can look at something. Listen, because here's a truth bomb.

I'm writing my third book. It's going to be coming out in about, I don't know, a month or two. The other two books I'm putting on audio books and you can find all those at askralph.com. There's a button there that says our merchandise or our sales stuff. Encourage you to check them out. But the person writing the book, I could read that book 10 times and I won't see what the editor sees.

I won't see those things that could make it a little bit better. So if you've got a knack for that, if you've got a God given talent that use that. Second thing, and this one's great if you're one of these people that has to be home with the kids and you've got some times that you can work or sometimes you can't work, think about becoming a virtual assistant.

You know, maybe you can provide administrative or technical creative assistance to clients from remote locations. Listen, you don't have to go into an office. You can do it from where you are. Maybe every night when you put the kids to bed. From that, maybe you can take an hour or two hours, make sure you get enough sleep for yourself, but maybe you do that.
You could do something as simple as helping them manage their email, scheduling appointments, creating presentations. Maybe you can provide customer service from people  in different parts of the world, maybe different parts of the country, if you are East Coast. You know, a lot of times people don't think about that, but you might have an East Coast business and they need people to work at night to manage customer service requests from California or from out West.

Maybe you can use your organization skills to help others achieve their goals and do all that with a flexible schedule. So think about that. Think about that virtual assistant service. Now, maybe you're really handy and you can do crafts and products. This is not my area expertise either, but I've seen some cool stuff.

My wife has drag me to some of these craft shows and Christmas bazaars and all this kind of stuff. And if you enjoy that, I've seen people make a lot of them. I got several clients now who they make these knickknacks and I apologize if I'm not using the right word, but they sell their creations at these shows, or they sell them online or local craft fairs. My wife and I took a trip this past summer up to Maine.

And there was like a little craft show fair and there was people making jewelry. There was people doing pictures and home decor. They had personalized clothing, all kinds of personalized gifts. And think about the Christian theme to that. Maybe create items with Christian themes or incorporate scripture verses into your design.

So think about that God could use you. Maybe a person that doesn't know, it doesn't have that relationship with Christ comes upon your necklace or your jewelry or your personalized gift that maybe it just has a cross on her. It has a Bible verse. And think about the fulfillment you're going to have that will allow you to share your faith through your work.
Another thing you consider is tutoring and educational services. Maybe you've got an expertise in a particular subject. Maybe you could offer tutoring services to students or it doesn't matter how old they are. And then you can use that knowledge that you've accomplished. You know, that time that you've put in, maybe you're in a season in your life where you're at home raising children, or maybe you're in that season where you're retired, but you still want to do something.

This would be a great way to use your knowledge to help others succeed academically while also earning some extra income. You help subsidize that. Got a lot of clients that will, they'll leave, they'll retire from their main job. And then they go back because they've got this skill set. And the people that are there now don't have those same skills.
And again, we want to focus on the Christian. You know, look at for subjects that align with your values and maybe teach from a biblical perspective. One of the things I mentioned earlier was event planning. Maybe you, one of these people that enjoys organizing, coordinating events. You can offer those services to churches or businesses or individuals.
Maybe it's a wedding, some kind of party, conference, retreats, whatever those things are. People are in need of people to handle that because they've got enough on their plate trying to run the day to day. And like, then they need somebody to help them. And then you can use your skills. You can use those God given talents to create meaningful and memorable events that reflect your Christian values.

Maybe you offer online coaching and consulting. Maybe you become that mentor because you've been through that. You've got the expertise in a particular area. You can do that online. It doesn't have to be in person. You can do that with anybody in the world now with Zoom technology and other online things, and I'm not just picking Zoom but this could be something that could be just enough to be that side hustle that God intends for you. Maybe provide guidance on businesses, finance. Maybe you're a financial whiz. Maybe you can help people in their relationships or in their personal development. You can focus on helping others grow in their faith and live out their God given purposes, because maybe you've been where they are.

Maybe you've experienced things and they could really use that uplifting message that you have. And last but not least, there's a whole e-commerce. Think about how simple e-commerce is now. I'll give you a great example on that we raise black Angus beef here on the farm. And usually we sell it by the big, like a whole cow or a half cow or a quarter cow.
Well, this past time I had sent a couple of cows to the butchering place. I had one half a cow that, you know, nobody wanted to buy. So I said, well, what am I going to do? I can bring this meat. It's just my wife and I at home now. The kids have left the nest and the wife and I said, you know, we're never going to eat all this meat.

So I said, well, I've got a lot of people that are clients. I got people on my email list. So what do we do? It took me about 20 minutes on a Saturday to launch an online store and I inventoried all the meat we had. And now we've got people that can go online and order the beef and they can come pick it up here to farm.

I don't do shipping and all that kind of stuff. I started small, like I encourage you to do. But this can be a great way to turn your passion into a business and reach that wider audience with your product. See, I'm worrying about beef. You know, we've got a freezer or something like that, but you could be making jewelry.

You could be making things you hang on the wall, maybe Christmas decorations, whatever that looks like. And again, you can go back to doing those things that line up with your faith with those values. And that can be so inspirational. Now, one of the things I talked about a few minutes ago is finding that mentor, because I really think this is crucial.

Having a mentor can provide invaluable guidance because a lot of times they've been down where you, where you're trying to go. They'll give you the roadmap. They'll give you that, you know, we're going to embrace the journey, but Hey, if you've got somebody can, can point out, Hey, don't take that turn.

Take this one. They provide invaluable guidance, support because you're going to need support during this. If you're like anybody else, you're going to struggle during sometimes, you're going to need that person to say, Hey, Harold, how did you get through this? What did you do? And they can give you such wisdom to navigate that side hustle journey.

So you might be saying, okay, Ralph, where do I find those people? Well, I've got some ideas for you. So guess what I'm going back to again? Pray about it. Start praying for God to lead you to the right mentors because guess what? I'm not sure this is biblical or not, but it's, I've heard this story said, you know, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

Could be somebody that you're in their circle all the time, you don't even realize it. But say to God, say, listen, Lord, open some doors for me, provide opportunities for me to connect with the right people. Could be people right in your church, which leads me to the second thing, network with like minded individuals. You're not going to find these mentors off in the secular area. Focus on your church, focus on your area of whatever you're doing in that faith side, attend Christian business conferences, go to workshops and networking events. There's a ton of those out there. Ask your pastor at your church or see what's going on at your church, because these gatherings are a great place to meet experienced professionals who share your values and can offer guidance.

It happens to me at my church all the time. Somebody will say, Oh Ralph, I didn't realize you were a finance guy. Can I ask you a question? Sure. And that's see, then you've got that networking. You've build that up. You can help them. Now at some point, if you become a consultant or a coach, maybe you start charging for that, but they can start to build, they can, they help you start that thing small.

Another thing you can do is join a Christian business group. There are a ton of these out there. There's a bunch of them on Facebook. There's a bunch of them online. Just look in your area, do a Google search or do whatever tool you use to do internet searches. A lot of times these services, they have a mentorship program and you can connect with people who've been in that, you connect with those seasoned business owners.

Because what you'll find is people like me that have been, it's not my first rodeo, my friends. I'm 30 years into this. I start, I've told this story before, man, I started doing accounting work when I was eight. Like Ralph, how in the world you start doing eight? Well, my dad was an accountant first of all.

So like, you know, dinner time at our house was talking about tax returns and this client did this and this client did this. And I'll never forget one Sunday, my dad was working, it was maybe a Saturday or Sunday. And he says, Hey, do you know how to run a copier? I'm like, no, but it kind of looks like a video game.

You want to show me how to do it. And I learned how to push the button that says copy. So the next thing you know, I'm copying tax returns. I'm putting tax returns together. Well, that turned into a side hustle. My main hustle was going to school. So I've been around this stuff for a long time. And guess what?

So much I've learned. I can share that with other people now. And I'm happy to do it. Another thing you can do is leverage social media. Now there's a lot of people that want to argue about stay away from social media. It's bad. It's whatever. I don't buy into that. There are good things about social media and there are bad things about social media.
But you can use platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram to connect with other Christian leaders. These are people who have, you know, social media accounts. I have one for the Ask Ralph show, askralph.com. We've got a Facebook insider group. We've got a YouTube channel. We've got a Rumble channel. We do shorts. We do all those things. Because the truth of the matter is that's a way to engage with their content. And you can learn by not even talking to them. You can just go and see what are they doing. Go watch their videos, go listen to their audio. I encourage you to listen to mine. I'll give you some great tips about faith and finance, and then leave comments.

And if you feel bold enough, reach out to them directly and express your interest in learning from them. And what you'll find most of the time, they'll get back to you. They'll be willing to schedule a call or meet you for coffee or something because they wanna share. Listen, when somebody's doing something they're passionate about, they'd love to share it.
Another thing you can do is seek recommendations. Ask your pastor, ask the church leaders, or ask your trusted friends if they know anybody in the Christian business community who might be willing to mentor you. They say, Oh yeah, well, you need to learn how to do taxes. Go see Ralph, or you need to learn how to do this.

You need to learn how to be a better carpenter. Go see, you know, Jose, or go see whatever. Ask questions, be inquisitive because here's the truth. These personal recommendations can be very effective. Another thing you can do is read and follow Christian business authors. There's a ton of us out there that are writing Christian content.

A lot of Christian business leaders have written books and they have blogs. They have podcasts just like this one. Engage with that content and reach out to them and find, because you're going to find their insights to be helpful. And then what I want you to do is once you've done all those things, Offer to help.

See, because sometimes the best way to get a mentor is to offer your assistance. Maybe they've got a program and they need that virtual assistant to help them put together an event. You know, volunteer to help them for projects or special events or show your willingness to learn something and contribute.

And you'll see doors open. You'll see relationships start, and you'll see these mentorship opportunities take focus because then they're going to see you're serious. You're making an investment. You're making a connection. You're going to get to know these people. And next thing you know, you're going to learn so much from them.

So Emily, I'm going to get back to your question right now. I want you to know that you are able to overcome your financial struggles. Hear me. You won't hear that in the mainstream. You won't hear that on what we call the mainstream media or in secular society. People are so defeatist. Oh, you know, I've never been able to manage my money.

Ralph, I'm never going to be able to do it. That's your choice. Cause Emily, listen to me right now. You are able to overcome your financial struggles and you're able to overcome that fear of failure. Now the secret, the secret sauce, if you will, is asking God to show you the way, ask Him for His wisdom.

And I'm truly believing this. By starting that side hustle, you can increase your income, which is going to take that pressure off. You can use your talents to glorify God and become more generous. But hear me on this. The best intentions are not going to get you anywhere. You've got to take action. If you listen to my show, you know I talk about this all the time.

What is your action step? Do something today. Don't wait till tomorrow. Don't wait till next week. Don't wait till next month. Don't wait till you have a little bit more in your emergency savings fund. Take action now. You might say, Ralph, how do I do that? It's real simple. Start by praying for guidance.

Identify your talents as we talked about, set financial goals and then start small.
Well now let's get to our reflection questions because we've covered a lot today and I just want to have a few minutes to talk about some of the things that have come out today.
So first reflection question. Number one. I've asked you about this a couple of times. So Emily, listen to me and everybody else who's listening, what are some talents and skills that you have that you could turn into a side hustle? Are you that editor? Are you that creative person? Are you that photographer?

Are you that crafty person? Are you that builder? Are you that educator? I'm going to tell you right now, every single person that's listening to me or watching me has talents. If people have told you, you have no talent, you are surrounding yourself with the wrong people. Everybody has a talent. Your talents are not the same as my talents.

Figure out what they are, write them down, figure them out, sketch them out. Second thing. This is the important part. How can you use your side hustle to glorify God and serve others? Cause that's going to be the key to this whole thing, that you can go do a side hustle and make a lot of money, build up that bank account, build up that retirement account, buy that Corvette, buy that fancy watch.

I've done all of those things, but guess what you're going to find? You're going to be empty again. You're not going to be fulfilled, but if you can find that side hustle that glorifies God and serves others, you will find fulfillment. Trust me on this. And number three. You know I say it all the time. What gets measured gets done.

What financial goals do you have for your side hustle? Put them in writing, put them down on paper. What is your intentional financial plan? And follow that up with the question you got to ask yourself, how do you stay focused and how do you stay motivated? Cause there are going to be times when you're going to struggle.

There are going to be times when you're like, Ralph, I just can't do this anymore. And it's like that, that you've seen the footprints, you know, it talks about the, there's only one set of footprints in the sand. One of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. And somebody said, well, why is there only one set of footprints?

Well, that's when the Lord's carrying you. Listen, folks, maybe sometimes the Lord needs to carry you. So be prepared for that. Stay focused, stay motivated. If you want to dive deeper into today's topic, make sure to check out my daily blog post. I write one of those for every show that gets released and you find out by going to askralphpodcast.com/blog. In that I go deeper. I get more into today's topic and I share some great resources. I talked to you about the references I used here. So, and if you're feeling inspired and you want to take that next step, feel free to reach out to me for some individual guides. You can book a call with me by going to askralph.com. I'd love to help you with that specific plan that you've got. I'll help you put that plan into action. Talk about those pain points, what your fears are. Build that budget or build that plan. And I'll help you with all the things we talked about on the show.

Now, something that I haven't done for a while is I get a lot of people who send in like kudos, you know, Hey Ralph, nice work. And I just wanted to share some of those with you today because this show is impacting people. I'm hoping it's impacting you if you're listening right now, if you're watching right now, I got this email from John. And John said this, he says, "Ralph, your show has been a lifesaver for me. I was in a dark place financially and spiritually, but your advice and encouragement have given me the confidence to start my own side business. And listen to this. I'm now earning extra income and I'm giving back to my church. Thank you for being a beacon of hope." John, I appreciate your comment. It's not about me.

The Lord is using me to reach people. And John, I am so happy to hear that you're past that dark place and you're starting to build that financial security, growing in your spirituality and thank you. I do appreciate it. And that is my goal. I want to be that beacon of hope, but let's get another email.

This one came from Sarah. Sarah said this, "I can't thank you enough, Ralph. Your passionate and faithful approach to finances has completely changed my life. I started a freelance writing side hustle, and it's been incredibly rewarding. I'm using my God given talents and making a difference. Keep up the amazing work." Sarah, thank you. I appreciate that because that's why I do what I do. That's why I turn on this camera. I turn on this microphone. I plan out these episodes because that is my goal. I want you to find that reward. I want you to find that passion that measures that finance and that faith component. And the final one I'll share with you today is from Mark.

And Mark said this, "Ralph, your show has been a game changer for me. I was stuck in a rut, but your practical advice and biblical insights had given me the push that I needed to start my own consulting business. I'm now able to support my family better and contribute to my church. Thank you for being a true financial evangelist."

Mark, all I can say is I'm humbled by that. I appreciate that comment because that's what keeps me going. You know, we talked about how do you get through those days when you have that self doubt? Because listen, there are days when I'm like, who wants to listen to me? I'm just some old fat guy. Yeah, I've got some experience, but why do people want to listen to me?

So Mark, I really do appreciate that. And that is my goal, to be that financial evangelist and spread that message of hope. And these testimonies are just a glimpse of the impact the Ask Ralph show is having on people's lives. And again, it's not about me. Before I record this show, the first thing and the last thing I say before I press record is Lord, show me where you'll take me today.

You know, let me be a light to reflect your light Lord. It's not about Ralph. It's about the message of the Lord and the message of the gospel. So if you found value in today's episode, I want you to consider supporting the show. You do that by buying us what's called a virtual cup of coffee. I've said this time and time again, nobody shows up with a tray of coffee.

I don't even like coffee. It's a virtual thing. And see your support helps us continue to reach people with this message of hope and Christian faith. You might say, and Ralph, okay, you just said, you don't do this for money. I don't. All the money that comes into the show I use it to do more. I do more content.

I do more advertising. I do more pushing this message out to other people. So if you feel called to do that, just go to askralphpodcast.com/support. I would truly be grateful. You can make a one time support. You can make a recurring support. This is not a charitable organization. Be very clear about that, but your support will help me reach more people.
Because you think about it, that support allows us to reach more people who are feeling discouraged. People are feeling broken. People are feeling empty. And that support will help us change the lives and bring hope to those who need it most.

So let's close with a word of prayer because as I said a couple of times, let's come before the Lord with all of our fears, with all of our doubts and struggles, knowing and knowing this with certainty that He's our strength and our source of wisdom. "Dear Heavenly Father, we come before You with humble hearts, acknowledging that everything we have is a gift from You.

Lord, we ask for Your guidance as we consider starting side hustles and using our talents to glorify You. Give us the courage to overcome our fears, the strength to persevere through challenges and the wisdom to make the right decisions. Lord, help us to be generous with our finances and to use our resources to further Your kingdom.

It's not about us. Help us to remember that we are stewards of the blessings You've given us and that laziness, fear, and procrastination are not even options for us. Help us to rely on Your word and Your promises, knowing that You have a plan and purpose for our lives. Lord, I pray for Emily and all those who are struggling both financially and spiritually, let them feel Your presence and Your love.

Give them the strength to take action and the faith to trust in Your plan. And I pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen." Remember, my passion is to help you achieve financial success. I want to see you live out your dreams and I want to see you grow in your faith. And I know together, we can master your finances from a Christian perspective.

And don't forget to tune in tomorrow for our next episode. We're going to be talking about 1099s. Big purpose is what do I do with this 1099. I'm going to break it down for you. I'm gonna tell you what to do when you get one of these, it is going to be an impactful show. So thank you for listening to the show today and make sure to like and share the show with everyone by sending them to askralph.com. Tell them about the impact of this. If you know somebody that's hurting, you know, somebody that's feeling this financial strain, just share this show with them. Share askralph.com. So as I always end the show, stay financially savvy, stay blessed, and make sure to tune in tomorrow while I'll see you tomorrow.
God bless you.

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