Student Question
Master, how does one find the work they truly want to pursue for the long term? I always feel drawn to many industries — like I could get into them, but also like I can’t quite make it work. Even my side hustles have become a scramble for everything at once, wanting to try a little of this, a little of that.
Master Chi’s Response
1. In a large market with real potential, stop chasing trends.
Thinking “what’s hottest right now, let me do that”? When everyone agrees that a project or opportunity has value, the cost of entry gets pushed way up. Competition becomes brutal, and you’ll most likely end up as the one left holding the bag.
Here’s how to judge whether a field has real potential: look at whether people with less ability, time, and effort than you are still managing to make money in it. That’s your signal.
For growth potential, simply look at your competitors. If a field demands high barriers to entry — extensive resources, connections, capital — it’s not the place for someone just getting started.
So don’t evaluate a project only by how much it pays. Ask yourself: does this thing still have room to grow?
2. Stop trying to make every kind of money.
Many people dream of going big — launching a company, becoming a boss. It looks impressive from the outside. That doesn’t mean it actually pays.
What you really need is a niche small enough that you can build a genuine advantage in it. That advantage can come from any one of three areas — pick one:
- How you acquire traffic
- A product with real edge
- A strong sales and conversion process
Here’s the math: say you run three side hustles, each earning around 2,000 per month — 6,000 total. You’d be better off cutting two of them and going all-in on one, pushing it to its ceiling. That’s where real growth comes from.
Most people can’t let go. They love addition. But at this stage, subtraction is the move. You can’t do everything — your time and energy are finite.
Also, take stock of your own strengths. If you’ve spent years in sales, or built up experience in a particular industry — that’s your starting point.
Search online. Find people with similar backgrounds and see how they’re monetizing. Follow five competitors every day; after a month, you’ll have connected with roughly a hundred peers. Study how they get traffic, how they structure their products, what their sales process looks like. Absorb it. Then test what actually fits you.
3. Can this model be scaled?
Say your side hustle has stabilized at around 2,000 per month for three consecutive months. Now ask: can you scale it? Could you recruit agents, for instance?
First — choose a market with real potential. The benchmark: people with less capability, fewer resources, and less time than you are still out-earning you. They’re still making money. That’s your signal.
Second — inside that large market, carve out a very small niche. Build your advantage within it. It can be in customer acquisition, in product channels, or in closing clients.
Third — does what you’re building have the potential to grow beyond you? If you stepped back and stopped pouring your own time and energy into it, could others carry it forward while you still profit? Recruiting agents is one example.
That’s the test of a real model.