Reel Urban Entrepreneur:
If you’re like most busy people, you have a new business you want to open, a skill you need to improve upon for work, or a project you’ve been putting off. Whatever the obstacles, I’m here to challenge you to overcome them with a simple tactic.
Begin what I’m coining your “Daily Hustle Hour.” The concept is straightforward: wake up 1 hour earlier everyday and commit it to your hustle. Read trade journals in your industry, compile a list of potential clients for your dream business, set-up breakfasts with key partners, or just grind away at your project. Three months ago, I set out to turn a pet project Wing into a profitable business by May 2016, and the driving force has been hustle – relentlessly pushing strategies and projects in the background so they may bare fruits in the foreground.
Here are five explicit reasons your #HustleHour matters:
- Hustle is Free Progress
Hustle is just sweat equity and time commitment, which requires some planning, effort to rise from bed, and the manual repetition of steps toward your goal. Most of the work usually costs nothing beyond what you’ve already spent, so there’s nothing holding you back!
- Windows will Open you Didn’t Notice
Like a scene out of Wall Street, it’s finals week on campus and I didn’t have a job lined up. A friend randomly invites me to play racquetball with his new boss at the corporate headquarters, replete with mahogany wooded furniture and glass-paneled décor. All I knew was “get there, hustle, and let the chips fall.” I beat the man in straight sets and immediately walked up to him saying “you see how hard I worked to beat you just now? I’ll work even harder to beat our competitors.” He hired me on the spot and I had my first job out of college. Not bad for one #HustleHour.
Intentionality in networking is crucial. “Success requires you to ask yourself if what/who you are spending your time on connects with the goals you set out to achieve,” says USC M.Ed. Candidate Natalie Aguilar-Ruiz.
3. You will Always Have a Job
We know the maddening statistics showing greater employment biases toward Black college grads than White criminals. Well when you’ve used your Hustle Hour to become an expert in your field, set up your business infrastructure, and get your first client, you’ll no longer be susceptible to a hiring manager’s potential biases.
- Hard Work Beats Talent Every Time
Are you newer in your career? Lack some training? No strong network yet? Don’t worry because you’ve got a Hustle Hour! We can all think of that one friend or family member who has more talent in his ear lobe than we do in our whole body, but doesn’t put it to use. Successful entrepreneur Daniel Charlier of WFGC says “hard work beats talent if talent’s not working.” Use your daily hour to get ahead with grit.
- You are Stronger for it
Bringing your improved hustle character into a workplace immediately sets you apart from the crowd. Management will view you as scrappy and willing to do what it takes to succeed, and will more consistently entrust you with more strategically critical work.
After just one month committing to your Daily Hustle Hour, there’s no doubt you’ll see significant progress in achieving your goals.
Jamiah E. Hargins is Co-founder and CEO of Wing LLC (www.Wing.LA), an app-based service that connects singles with professional wingwomen to help open conversations in public places. He earned a Master of Public Administration at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a Bachelor’s from the University of Chicago. Previously, he served as Associate Director at the Broad Residency in the Management of School Systems, and Director of the social enterprise Casa do Caminho Language Centre, an NGO located in Rio de Janeiro. He speaks Portuguese and Spanish and is a committed trekker.
Cover Photo: Andre Spicer, Founder TheHubRadio.net @TheHubRadio
Michael Reel @graceyreel
