Day 1: New Challenge – THE PLAN

These days it seems as if everything runs online. It’s incredibly easy to run your entire life from the comfort of your own couch, maybe even your bed. From ordering food, getting groceries and shopping for any and every item, life can be run from your fingertips. Due to this though there is always opportunity. Opportunities don’t need to be brand new ideas or businesses, some of the most successful businesses are just a realignment of a niche or just better marketing in order to find customers.

This leads me to what this challenge is all about. The target will be to create an additional £10,000 in 2026 from a new income source. This means that in less than a year an idea needs to thought about, branding sorted, selling method thought out and marketing completed in order to attract customers. In this challenge I will aim to show you everything good and bad and share the journey of trying a new business and looking to try and make £10,000 in the next 11 months as transparently as possible. Why £10k you might ask? £10k for a new side hustle seems like an achievable target which is far enough away to result in pushing myself but also enough to keep me wondering what would happen if I push harder. So for now the aim is £10k but ultimately to have a platform that can be scaled later.

Due to my comments earlier regarding how everything runs online, my initial thoughts lead me to thinking about an online store or a business with good online visibility whether that is through social media as a form of marketing or even just a well-placed store with popular products. I think focusing on products which also interest me will be important as it will maintain and encourage consistency.

With one month of the year already gone it will be important to start quick and fast. My immediate thoughts lead me to thinking about an Etsy store or just a generic online store off my own website which will need good SEO and marketing through social media. The reason for this is because Etsy is a great platform for creators and small businesses, and whilst it might feel saturated, I think the quality of the marketing could help drive traffic to the store or website. I am also thinking that if platforms like TikTok or Instagram were used for marketing it could be a good way to build small communities or find people with similar interests which could lead to better conversion rates.

Some thought also needs to be made into the type of products I want to try and sell too. I would need something that is attractive on the eye but also easy to ship if a physical product or be a high quality digital product. I am hoping that the development of AI will also assist in producing items or even just helping in other areas. This leads me to thinking about an art store of some sort where digital and physical prints can be sold. The reason I am thinking about this is because there is a form of personal interest there too which will keep me engaged and will also allow me to think creatively too.

The tasks I think are important now will be to focus on:

• Selling platform
• Types of products
• Fulfilment
• Payment processing
• Marketing

So whilst today is day 1 of the challenge to £10k, a lot of work will need to be done in order to make up for the lost month but also get products made and sourced and begin marketing to start to drive traffic.

This blog post may not be as structured as the others on this website and that is because nothing in this section is planned out. Everything will be based off live updates and following this journey to £10k in 2026.