Scale your impact — not your exhaustion.
Hey there fellow side hustler!
If you ever feel like you’re “doing everything right” but still not moving forward, you’re not alone.
Most side hustlers hit this point — that frustrating stage where effort doesn’t equal results.
It’s not that you’re not working hard enough.
It’s that you’re probably spending $1,000 worth of time on $10 tasks.
Let’s fix that.
🧩 The Rule: $10, $100, $1,000 Work
Think of every task in your business as belonging to one of three levels of impact:
💵 $10 Work:
These are the small, necessary tasks — checking messages, formatting graphics, tweaking fonts, updating your links.
They’re comfortable and easy to do, but they rarely move the needle.
💰 $100 Work:
These tasks create visible progress. Writing an email sequence, improving your sales page, or creating a repeatable workflow.
They help you earn more or save more time — and start freeing you from busywork.
💎 $1,000 Work:
This is strategic, high-leverage work.
It includes things like building partnerships, launching new offers, creating assets that sell on autopilot, or designing a scalable system.
This is where growth happens — where your work today continues paying you next month, next quarter, next year.
🔄 The Trap: Getting Stuck in $10 Work
$10 work feels productive. It’s where most of us start because it gives instant satisfaction.
But the more you stay there, the harder it is to step back and focus on what really matters.
It’s like cleaning your desk while your business is on fire. It looks better, but it doesn’t solve the real problem.
💬 A Quick Example
Let’s say you have two free hours tonight.
You could spend it:
Designing a better Canva banner for your social media ($10 work)
Writing an email that promotes your best-selling offer ($100 work)
Creating a system that automates that email sequence for every new subscriber ($1,000 work)
All three are work, but only one will multiply your time in the future.
👉 Your Turn
Here’s a 5-minute exercise that changes everything:
List 10 things you did for your hustle this week.
Label each as $10, $100, or $1,000 work.
Circle one $1,000 task — and make it your top priority for the next 48 hours.
You’ll start seeing an immediate shift in clarity and results.
Your energy and focus belong where they’ll compound, not where they’ll evaporate.
The side hustlers who grow fastest aren’t the ones who work the hardest.
They’re the ones who keep asking: “Is this $10, $100, or $1,000 work?”
That’s how you scale your impact — not your exhaustion.
Side Hustle Quest
Your guide to low-cost, high-impact side hustle strategies