It is likely you’ve heard of a side hustle; an additional job that a person takes in addition to their primary job in order to supplement their income. If you’re looking to make more money, a side hustle is a great option. However, not any side hustle. Your own side hustle.
Why your own? By starting your own side hustle, not only will you be able to supplement your income with the money it makes but you’ll also have started building something that could eventually turn into something much bigger and much more valuable. Your own business. In addition, if you aspire to one day work for yourself in your own business this is the BEST way to do it without firing your boss first; start a side hustle, scale it into a small business that can financially support itself & you and then go full time!
In this blog I will guide you through the process of starting your own side hustle and provide some tips for success.
Let’s go!
The first step in starting a side hustle is to identify your interests and passions. It is important that you start a side hustle that you’re passionate about and have a general interest in. The reason for this is because as outlined in the definition of a side hustle, it is something you do on the side in addition to your primary job. Some days you’re going to get home from your primary job and be drained. IF you’re not passionate about your side hustle, it’ll be even harder for you to find the motivation to get to work on these days.
To identify your passions and interests, think about what you enjoy doing in your free time. What do you spend your weekends doing? It is the things you enjoy doing just for the sake of doing them that you’re truly passionate about. Once you have a list of your interests and passions, think about how you can turn each of them into a business with either a product or service offering.
For each business idea you come up with, carry out some market research. Get a better understanding of how big your target market is and then approach your target audience/customer, asking them if they would buy a product/service similar to the one you’re planning on offering. If they wouldn’t, ask them why and try to get a better understanding of what their existing pain points are with regards to the industry you’re looking to enter. Use this feedback to either improve your product/service offering or to disregard it and move onto the next idea.
You can also look at other businesses or individuals offering similar services and try to get a better understanding of their business model; what do they sell, how do they sell it and what do they charge? What makes them stand out and how successful are they? This research will help you understand how you can position yourself in the market. Carrying out market research is important. The last thing you want is to go to all the effort of starting a side hustle only to find there is not actually any demand for what you plan to offer.
From your market research you can decide on the side hustle idea that has the most potential. If you’re struggling to choose between one or more with equal potential, choose the idea which you’re most passionate about or the idea in the sector/industry you’re most passionate about.
With your idea decided, next spend a little bit of time using your market research feedback to define what your product/service is going to be; what specifications will it have, how will you make it, how will you offer it and distribute it. Initially this should be something called a minimum viable product (MVP) which is a version of a product with just enough features to be usable by early customers who can then provide you with feedback for future product development.
This shouldn’t be a highly detailed process, more like back of an envelope notes. The point of this is to make sure there isn’t a fundamental flaw with creating and distributing your side hustle idea’s product, preventing you wasting your time and money setting up a business which doesn’t actually have a product to sell.
Happy that you can create and distribute your product or service, you’re good to set up your side hustle. This process is the same as setting up a business (at the end of the day, your side hustle will be a small business). Here are the steps you need to take to ensure you set up a compliant side hustle:
Write a side hustle/business plan
Name your side hustle
Decide on the structure for your side hustle & register it
Register a domain for your side hustle
Set up contact details for your side hustle such as a professional email address
Set up a separate bank account (optional)
Comply with data protection regulations (e.g. registering with the Information Commissioner’s Office, ICO)
Write a privacy policy and any other policies you require
Write terms and conditions
Get any industry specific licences and or registrations
Get any applicable insurances
Organise your finances for your side hustle (it is important to be on top of your bookkeeping).
This list might seem like a lot to do just to set up a side hustle but don’t let it put you off. Each of these steps are actually fairly straightforward and easily achievable. If you are keen to save yourself time & money setting up your side hustle, you can use my business start up guide. This guide is a business set up instruction manual. It will orderly take you through all the steps you need to take to set up and start your side hustle.
Having completed the above list you’ll be the owner of a complaint business and ready to start trading. You can now formally organise the creation of your product/service, your process of selling it (perhaps through a website, market place or in person) and distribution of the product or service you’re going to offer. Once organised, start small and test the waters to minimise risk. It is best to prove your concept before investing heavily to improve your margins! For example, if ordering stock try and avoid ordering large quantities before you know you can sell small quantities. It is better to have some sales and a small profit margin initially then have no sales and a full spare room full of stock you can’t sell!
To get your first few customers, offer your product or service to your immediate network; friends and family. You can even offer this at a discount in return for sharing the word about your new business. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to grow a business. In addition to approaching your friends and family, you can start testing different marketing channels. Ones to consider include: social media marketing platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter), search engine optimisation (SEO), email marketing campaigns, content marketing (e.g., blogs, podcasts, videos) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising (e.g.Google Ads) and print advertising (e.g., newspapers, magazines). With every sale won or lost, try and collect feedback. This will be valuable to help you make any adjustments and improvements to your side hustle and its product/service offering.
That is how you can start your OWN side hustle. Starting a side hustle can be an exciting and rewarding journey. It allows you to pursue your passions, gain financial independence and potentially turn your side hustle into a full-time career. By following these steps and putting in the necessary effort, you can successfully start and grow your side hustle while maintaining the security of your day job.
As a final point, it is important to manage your time effectively. Balancing a side hustle with a full-time job can be challenging but it is possible. For tips on how to find the time to run your side hustle around a full-time job, you can download my free guide on how to start a business while working full time here.
If you have any questions about the contents in this blog or questions about the process of starting your own side hustle/business, just email me at lawrence@thesmallbusinesstoolbox.co.uk.
Good luck!
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