Whether you’re a Baby Boomer, someone nearing or in retirement, or someone who simply wants to own his or her own business, chances are you have heard of the “side hustle.” You may even have researched how to take a side hustle to full-fledged business but still aren’t quite certain how to make the leap.
We know. We’ve been there and we have worked with people in the same situation you find yourself in right now. They want to supplement their income or they want to leave their full time job and be their own boss and the own master of their career path. A side hustle might just get you there.
A “side hustle” is a way to make extra money and might be an ideal way to test the waters on whether you want to push this side hustle to a full time gig.
How To Take A Side Hustle To Full-Fledged Business
What are your goals?
Do you want:
- To just make a little extra money?
- Eventually go full time?
- Do something that you simply have a passion for without worrying about it becoming a full time gig?
Determine and understand your goals. Write them down. Once you’ve committed your thoughts to paper you will have a clear path toward the goal you’ve set. Setting goals keeps you organized and also lets you see whether you’re actually making money. Consider this: if you want to take your skill at knitting to a full time gig, factor in the cost of materials but more importantly, how long does it take you to knit a sweater? What if you paid yourself a set wage of, let’s say, $25 an hour. If it takes you eight hours to knit the sweater, add in the cost of yarn, and you will need to sell the sweater for at least $200 in order to have made any money. Is your idea viable? Do you just want to knit sweaters “for fun”? Neither is wrong, you just need to know.
Organization matters. You can’t move forward with this plan if you’re not organized in your thinking and in your approach toward taking the side hustle to full time business. You may think you work well in a messy desk, but you truly don’t.
- Clean your desk
- Write your daily tasks to meet your side hustle goal
- Use free organizational tools like Trello to keep track of your projects
Use a tool to organize your goals, your tasks, the people with whom you must meet to achieve your business success goals and your “big idea” projects (break them down into manageable tasks)
What is your brand? While you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a brand logo or buy brand colors or fonts for your business card you should have a Facebook page and a website so people can find you. You can create your own business cards at a low cost site like VistaPrint.
Your “brand” also includes the feeling that people get when they meet with you — relaxed, uber professional, somewhere in betwee. Do you always wear a scarf or a bow tie? Those are part of your brand. When you have the money and a focused idea for your side hustle, then it might be time to spend money on a logo and other brand unique items.
Sell yourself. This is usually the hardest part for a new entrepreneur — to market and sell themselves and their product. In order to make a go of this you do need to be a salesman/woman. If you don’t promote what you do, how will people know about you? Sure, once you have brought a few clients on board you can ask for referrals and recommendations, but in the beginning you have to market yourself by yourself.
Starting a new business is a nerve-wracking time because you’re going from a steady paycheck to what could be sporadic income in the beginning. Make sure you have money in the bank to pay your bills for a few months if you decide to jump in full time to your business right now. Or you can ease your way into it by keeping your full time job and working your side hustle in your off time. Neither way is right or wrong, you need to do what feels right for you.
Are you starting a side hustle? Where are you stumped in the process? Ask us, we can help!