A Side Hustle Consultant Shares the Most Lucrative Gigs Right Now Plus, he answers the side hustle questions he gets most often from clients.

Nick Loper doesn't just teach the art of side hustling — he's a side-hustler himself. In 2006, while working a full-time gig at Ford Motor Company, he launched a website that recommended footwear through affiliate links. After six years and about $10 million in sales, he turned his attention to another side hustle: an education company called Side Hustle Nation, which teaches others how to build and run — you guessed it—side hustles. Here, he answers users' most common questions.

Related: These Are the Highest-Paying Side Hustles for a Single Day of Work

Side hustles take a lot of time and work. What's the key to staying motivated?

First, choose one you're excited to take action on. But also, when I ask this question to guests on my podcast, they often say, "I was afraid to stay where I was. It pained me to ask my boss for time off." You hear these deep-rooted motivations of, "I needed to get out, I needed to be in charge of my own thing." So connecting with your "why" is super important. You almost have to hit rock bottom.

Are there certain side hustles you're seeing that are really lucrative right now?

I see a lot of opportunity in blue-collar services — everything from window washing to mobile car cleaning to pooper-scooper businesses. Fewer people are going into the trades, so there's a shrinking supply and a growing demand from millennial homeowners, like me, who aren't very handy. Plus, a lot of the competition is still not digitally savvy with their marketing.

There's also demand for niche online agencies, where you're not even selling your own expertise — but going out and playing matchmaker between the people who do have the expertise. For example, a virtual assistant company called Belay has gotten really big by tapping into the talent pool of stay-at-home professionals, and putting a layer of unique branding and management on top of that.

There are similar opportunities in graphic design, web design, content writing, or video editing. Like, there are agencies that say, "We'll make TikTok videos for you, we'll turn your long-form content into short form and slice it up, we're the pros at that."

Related: This Former Teacher Started a Side Hustle That Made More Than $22,000 in One Month: 'I Have Never Been More Fulfilled'

How do you know when to go all in on your side hustle?

My typical rule of thumb is to have profits from that business — going back three, six, or 12 months, depending on your comfort level — that at least cover your monthly expenses. I don't want you to dip into savings or take on additional debt.

Any rookie mistakes to avoid?

Investing too much upfront before an idea is proven out. I've talked to some people who've put $30,000 into designing a website, and it's almost done. That's kind of scary. I wonder, Do you have any customers yet? For most projects, you can get it off the ground — or at least put out a proof of concept—for a far smaller investment.

Side hustles can be isolating. What's your advice for that?

We see a huge benefit in having some sort of peer or accountability group. In my company's Facebook group, people post things like, "I'm looking for an accountability partner," or, "I'm looking to form a mastermind group for the next 90 days or beyond." That stuff is valuable.

What's the most unexpected benefit of a side hustle?

For me, it was this almost "CEO mindset." When I started my original side hustle, and was running it on nights and weekends, I started to see the bigger picture stuff at my day job. It made me a better employee.

Related: She Started a Furniture-Flipping Side Hustle to Pay Off a $10,000 Dental Bill. It Surpassed Her Full-Time Job's Income Within a Year — Earning Up to $37,000 a Month.