Imagine earning an extra £100, £500, or even £1000 each month from your side Hustle. What would you do with that kind of money?
What happens when your side hustle begins to get traction and you’re now earning £5,000 or even £10,000 a month? Would you still keep your 9-5?
All of these scenarios are possible, but don’t forget that setting up a side business is difficult. You’ve got a busy day job that you’ll need to keep running whilst you get your business off the ground. Juggling your day job and your side hustle is a skill that isn’t taught, if you’re passionate and committed to your side business idea, you will learn how to do both at the same time.
But don’t let that stop you, no matter how busy your 9-5 is, the tips that I am going to share with you will not only help you start a side business, but will also help your chances of succeeding with your business.
Choosing The Best Side Hustle For You
There are many different kinds of side businesses you can start. But not all of them will help you generate a respectable income each month.
Some hustles you can start right now, but will only earn a few quid for your time. Others, which require special skills, and could earn you a good amount of money for just a few hours of work.
Write down your hobbies, your skills, and your interests. Find something that will intersect all three and that will be the perfect side hustle for you.
Your side hustle should line up with your passion and values, but it also has to be useful to others. Write down your hobbies, skills and interests. From your list which items get you fired up? Does it solve a problem for other people? Are you really good at it? Can you see yourself doing this for a long time?
Why? Your side hustle needs to be something that you already enjoy doing and something that you’re really good at doing. You need to be constantly learning about your industry, learning new skills, learning business, and if your heart is not in it, it will be difficult.
What if you’ve got a couple of possible skills and interests on your list? In that case, you will need to do some research. Figure out which side hustle is going to bring you the most amount of income in the least number of hours worked.
For instance, you’ve got a side hustle idea, which will net you £100 for 10 hours of work (effective hourly rate is £10/hour). Sounds great, right? However, you know you can also work on another side hustle idea, which will net you £100 for only 4 hours of work (effective hourly rate is £25/hour).
Which side hustle are you going to go with?
For most of you, you’ll probably choose the second side hustle idea. With this idea you can earn £250 for 10 hours of work.
Now, for those who aren’t motivated by money, you need to do some more thinking. Even if the second side hustle idea makes more money than the first, if you know it is going to be stressful and you’re not going to enjoy it as much, then you may opt to go for the first idea (even if you earn less).
Go with what makes you happy and comfortable. If you value your day job, then choose a side hustle that’s not going to interfere or cause conflicts with your job.
Plan The Details On How You’re Going To Start Your Side Hustle
Now that you’ve got an idea of the side hustle you’re going to start, its time to start planning the details.
Here’s what you need to do:
1. List down the tools and resources you’ll need
Some hustles require the purchase of special tools. You know your side hustle best. You know if you need any tools to help you complete jobs in an efficient manner. For example, if you’re planning to start a blog and you want to host it yourself, then you will need to purchase a domain name and a web hosting package. If you’re a graphic designer, you may need to purchase software like Photoshop, etc.
2. Plan how you’re going to brand and market yourself
Branding plays a key role in your success. Branding goes far beyond logos and your profile pictures on various social media places, it is actually how people perceive you and your business.
For instance, if you want to be recognised as a fashion blogger, then that’s what you’re going to focus on. You’ll write all about fashion. You’ll attend fashion shows and critique fashion designs on your blog. Every time someone sees your name or your brand on the Internet, then they know it’s going to be something related to fashion.
Write out how you want your brand to be known. Make it your mission. Everything you do from this point forward is going to be in line with your mission so you can build the right brand for your business.
3. Figure out how to get clients
It’s nice to think of a future when your side hustle finally becomes so popular that you start turning away clients, not because you want to, but simply because you have no more time. It’s a nice problem to have, isn’t it? When you’ve got your plate full like that, then it’s a sign that you’ve made it and you’re succeeding at your side hustle!
But, first, before you can get to that point, you need to figure out how to get your first-ever paying client. I’m stressing the ‘paying’ part because in some cases, you may want to do a free job for your first few customers just to get the ball rolling. While that strategy can work in some side hustles, in others, not so much.
If you become known as someone who’s willing to do free work, then you’ll probably have people asking you to do the same thing over and over. And you’ll probably feel obliged especially if they’re family or friends.
When push comes to shove, don’t be afraid to put your foot down and say “no.” If you’re a pushover, then expect your side hustle to fail. So, if you want your side hustle to take off, then it’s best to get paid for whatever it is you’re offering to the world.
There are several ways you can get clients, but of course, it’s going to vary widely depending on your side hustle. In many cases, you can probably answer ads on job boards or community boards. Look for people who are searching for exactly the kind of service you provide and then talk to them. Tell them why you’re the best person for the job.
You can even ask for referrals from your family and friends. If they know you’ve got what it takes to succeed and you’re a person of integrity, then they’ll be more than happy to refer you to their friends.
It’s a different story though if you’ve got a reputation for being a good-for-nothing. People will be less inclined to refer you to their friends. This is why building strong relationships and being a person of your word is important. If this is something you need to work on, then make sure you fix this bad attitude first before you even start your side hustle.
4. How do you want to get paid?
Getting paid may sound simple enough. And it may be true for the more menial side hustles where you get paid in cash after doing the work. However, for more complex and technical side hustles, you’ll need to figure out how you’re going to get paid.
For instance, if you’re freelancing or doing affiliate marketing, you may need to set up a PayPal or Stripe account to receive payments. Some affiliate networks or freelance platforms don’t support PayPal, only direct deposit and check.
This means you need to have a bank account in your name so you can get paid. If that’s something you don’t have right now, then go to your nearest bank and open an account.
Go Out Into The Real World And Put Your Plan Into Action
The first two steps of your plan may take you a couple of weeks to sort out. You’ll need to iron out all the details before you go out into the real world and start your side hustle.
When you’re finally ready, then it’s time to put your plan into action. It may sound difficult at first, especially if you have no experience in marketing and sales. Let’s face it, no matter how good or talented you might be, no one’s going to come to you and take you up on your side hustle if you don’t reach out to them first.
You need to toughen up. It’s okay to be afraid of rejection. You’re going to be rejected many times. Sometimes, you’ll be rejected very rudely by people. And that’s okay. Just go back out there and improve as you go along.
Even if you’ve planned how you’re going to market your side hustle, not everything’s going to go according to your plan. So, you need to be prepared for whatever may happen.
Most of it’s going to be psychological, however. When you go out there, you need to believe in yourself. You need to believe that you can do it. If you go up to people and you look like you’re about to pass out from nervousness, people aren’t going to give you the time of day.
However, if you walk and talk confidently, then people will be more willing to listen to what you have to say. If you sound like you truly want to help them out, then they’ll likely take you up on your offer.
Of course, not every side hustle is going to require you to go up to people and actually talk to them. For digital side hustles, you can ‘hide’ behind your computer screen. You don’t need to meet your clients face to face. That’s the power of the Internet.
The downside to digital side hustles is that the barrier to entry is much higher. You’re competing with people from all over the world, people who’ll work for far less money than you. Of course, you don’t need to do the same thing.
You know yourself, your skills and your capabilities. You know exactly how you can add value to people’s businesses no matter where they may be in the world. So, name your price. It’s up to you to convince them to take a gamble on you.
Final Words
Starting a side hustle can be tough and difficult. You need to spend a lot of time ironing out the details of your side hustle and how you can juggle it along with your day job. But once you get the ball rolling and you see some money coming in regularly each month, you’ll know you did the right thing.
The question now is whether you’re ready to quit your day job so you can focus on growing your side hustle, or if you’re perfectly happy to leave things the way they are right now. Your call.
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