179: Be Willing to Fail in Public (or You’ll Never Start)
Many people are willing to practice in private, but hesitate when it’s time to put themselves out there. This episode revisits an early conversation on why growth requires being willing to fail in public, with inspiration to take action.
Most people don’t fail because they lack ideas, talent, or motivation. They stall because they’re waiting to feel ready.
In this episode, I revisit a powerful conversation from the very beginning of the Side Hustle Hero podcast with my first-ever guest, Joel Young. It opens with a simple but uncomfortable truth: you don’t really grow until you’re willing to fail ... in front of other people.
Joel shares how he got started recording voiceovers in his closet with almost no experience, no studio, and no certainty about where it would lead. That willingness to start before he felt ready eventually helped him become one of Fiverr’s all-time top earners, with $2.7 million in earnings at the time of our interview.
In this conversation, we talk about:
- why waiting for confidence keeps most people stuck
- why practicing in private only gets you so far
- how starting before you feel ready builds real skill
- how reframing what you think of as “giving something up” can make working on a side hustle feel more empowering
If you’ve been holding back because you don’t want to look foolish, make mistakes, or put yourself out there before you feel ready, this conversation will help you rethink what it really takes to get started.
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Fail in Public and Start (or Grow) Before You Feel Ready
Most people don’t struggle to start or grow a side hustle because they lack ideas, talent, or motivation. More often, they struggle because they are waiting to feel ready. They practice in private, think things through, and try to perfect their approach before ever putting themselves out there. The problem is that real growth rarely happens in private.
That idea sits at the center of this episode, which revisits a conversation from the very beginning of the Side Hustle Hero podcast with my first guest, Joel Young. His message is simple but direct. If you want to grow at anything, you have to be willing to fail in public.
Joel explains that many people are perfectly comfortable failing behind closed doors. They will rehearse, practice, and prepare on their own, but hesitate when it is time to let others see them try. The trouble is that skills do not fully develop until they are used in real situations, with real feedback, and sometimes real mistakes.
Starting Where You Are Is Not a Weakness
One of the most practical examples Joel shares comes from his early days doing voiceover work. He did not have a studio, professional equipment, or technical expertise. He recorded his first jobs in a closet, standing between hanging clothes to dampen the sound, holding an iPhone with his script on it. By his own admission, he did not know what he was doing at the beginning.
Listening back later, he could hear how rough those early recordings were. But at the time, they were good enough for someone who needed a simple phone message and was willing to pay ten dollars for it. That is an important point. When you are not highly skilled yet, your prices are lower, but you are still exactly what someone needs at that moment.
This is where many people get stuck. They look at a skill they have and dismiss it because it feels easy to them or because they believe everyone else can do it just as well. Joel points out that this is often the opposite of reality. What feels ordinary to you can feel incredibly valuable to someone who does not have that skill.
Why Public Action Builds Confidence
Confidence does not usually come before action. It develops through repetition and experience. Joel talks about how musicians learn this lesson early. The first shows you play are often in front of almost no one. Sometimes the audience is made up of a handful of people who already know you. Those early performances are rarely polished, but they are necessary.
The same is true for business, creative work, and side hustles. If you are not willing to be not-perfect at something at first, you never give yourself the chance to become good at it. Failing in public is not about embarrassment. It is about gathering information. Each attempt tells you whether you are improving, whether something is working, or whether you need to adjust your direction.
Progress Happens One Step at a Time
Joel describes his business growth as largely unplanned. He did not start with a master strategy or a detailed long term vision. He simply took the next opportunity in front of him. One hour of voiceover work turned into two. Two turned into several. Eventually, the side work grew into enough income to pay off debt and replace his full time job.
What stands out is that none of this happened because he waited until conditions were perfect. It happened because he kept moving forward, learning as he went, and allowing the path to reveal itself over time.
Three Takeaways to Apply Right Now
First, not every side hustle attempt will work, and that does not make it a failure. Each experience provides clarity about what you enjoy, what fits your skills, and what does not. Those insights are valuable and move you closer to the right opportunity.
Second, when you choose to spend time on a side hustle, it can feel like you are giving something up. A more useful way to look at it is as a trade. You are choosing to invest time or money into something that has the potential to create more freedom later. That shift in perspective can make starting feel more intentional and less like a sacrifice.
Third, you have to start where you are. Preparation matters, but there is a point where execution has to happen. No one begins at a professional level. Every expert you admire had a first attempt that was awkward, uncomfortable, and imperfect.
If you are waiting until you feel confident, polished, or certain, this episode is a reminder that growth often begins earlier than that. Being willing to fail in public is not a flaw. It is often the very thing that allows progress to begin.
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