Looking to Turn Your Side Business into the Real Deal Here’s What to Know

Approximately one among four millennials in the US has a side business apart from their regular 9-5 job to pull in an extra source of revenue.

It begs the question – Just why are youngsters and adults drawn towards starting a side hustle?

Put simply, a side hustle helps in earning that extra pay for either a vacation or to save money for a rainy day.

But imagine the amount of money you’d generate if your side hustle were to turn into a full-time business?

Substantial steady income without having to work for anyone but yourself.

Now make that dream a reality.

WHAT IS A SIDE HUSTLE?

Any part-time job away from your main work hours is considered a side hustle.

For example, you work as a Sales representative that sells home hygiene products – this is your main job. In your free time, you decide to develop apps and sell them for a profit – App development is your side hustle.

So, let’s say you make $5,000 as income with your sales job every month and you manage to string together $1,000 by selling apps. Therefore, you make $1,000 additional revenue every month.

That adds up to $12,000 every year.

Think of the number of ways you can put that additional money to use. You could invest in insurance, plan a vacation, splurge on an expensive item you’ve always dreamt of owning. All this extra financial wealth without cutting in on your main income.

Not a bad way to earn some extra dough now, is it?

Want to learn more about building a side business that can earn you $10k per month within 3 months? Check out FounderJar.com

ADVANTAGES OF A SIDE HUSTLE OVER A TRADITIONAL JOB

If it wasn’t obvious already, a side hustle’s main benefit is bringing in an additional source of income without having to replace your main source of income – your day job.

Apart from this, a side-hustle offers an opportunity to grow your secondary income without trading time for money.

This type of side hustle is known as a ‘Passive Income’.

Some of the key advantages of a side-hustle are listed as follows.

1. Complex Development Process

The first day of your job, you’ve got people to help you out when things go wrong. Often companies offer a training process which assists employees, and this gives them ample time to learn the various operations of a company.

A side hustle is something you start on your own and you’ve got no one to hold your hand and lead you in the right direction.

However, if you manage to invest the time and effort in navigating the difficult world of entrepreneurship, you’re ultimately rewarded with getting out of your comfort zone and experiencing the hardships that will make you stronger in your professional journey.

This type of experience challenges you and provides you with new skills that develop your professional career.

2. Accountability

A full-time job doesn’t necessarily make you responsible for your actions. With so many individuals to blame –  coworkers, managers, boss, and even your clients. It’s easy to lose your way and become negligible.

A side hustle is complete ownership of your business. Any fault that occurs is due to your own actions, there’s no one to take the fall for you.

In this scenario, you’re left with cleaning your own mess up. You learn the importance of taking ownership of your actions.

Also, you’ll be resilient to bad decisions and will quickly recover from a loss and begin rebuilding.

Think of it like jumpstarting the car, the first time you push the car, it’s incredibly hard but as the wheels begin to roll, the car starts to move on its own and that’s when you get inside and enjoy the ride.

3. Self-Confidence

Working a full-time job and a side hustle is like leading a dual lifestyle like Clark Kent and Superman respectively.

As Mr. Kent, you are confined to a 9-5 job and will work as instructed by your superiors with limited potential. As Superman, you’re free to fly and leap over tall mountains and unleash your complete potential.

Imagine if you were Superman for 24 hours a day and 365 days a year?

That’s what converting a side hustle into a full-time business is about. You gain the self-awareness of your own actions and you gain a sense of accomplishment in waking up every day that you’d never gain from the confines of a cubicle.

4. Work-Life Balance

Ultimately, life is about fulfilling one’s desires and living a life full of contentment.

That’s why work-life balance is important to every professional. Working with your side hustle as a full-time business gives you ample amounts of time for yourself to prepare and execute.

You aren’t restrained by the hours set by a company and won’t be tired to execute something you are passionate about.

The coffee tastes sweeter at the break of the dawn when you know you’re contributing to something you love.

5. Job Security

Every year millions of young people graduate and are seeking jobs in companies.

In turn, the companies are seeking fresh and young talent who are smarter than their older counterparts. In such a scenario, your job comes under threat the older you get.

No longer are companies looking at experience and education as a threshold for hiring employees.

That’s why having your own side hustle can provide you with a sense of job security.

When the day does come where you’re laid off work, you’ll be thanking your lucky stars for having something to fall onto.

6. Networking

When you work in a company, you gain clients for the company. When you work for your business, every new contact is a new opportunity for your business to grow.

Networking in your own business is an experience to meet new people that will develop your business.

You could share ideas and resources with your team that you simply can’t experience when working in a job.

Here are some startling statistics to owning your own side hustle.

• Over 37% of people in the United States have a side business
• 76% of people with side hustles absolutely love what they do
• 15% of employees convert to a full-time business from a side hustle
• An average side hustler earns over $8k every year

And with the following reports, it’s clear that there is absolutely no reason for someone working a 9-5 job to not start a side hustle.

If the going gets well, one can even switch full-time and scale their business exponentially to create wealth and happiness.

Now all that’s left to do is to find your inner urge for starting a side hustle today.

TOP 5 SIDE HUSTLES FOR BEGINNERS TO START WITH

Marvelous! You’ve finally made the right decision of starting a side hustle, the only problem is – you just don’t know which one is the right one for you.

Don’t sweat it. We’ve compiled the top 5 business options for new side hustles.

1. Freelance Writing

If you’ve got exceptional command over English with impeccable grammar skills and a knack for writing – then the world of the freelance writing awaits.

Freelance writers earn anywhere from $20 to $200 per hour depending on their expertise. If you’re able to capture your readers’ concentration and take them on a trip by swaying them with your words, there’s plenty of demand in the writing world.

Online freelancing websites to sign up for include —  Upwork, Peopleperhour, & Freelancer.

2. Online Tutor Courses

Are you an expert at juggling 10 balls at a time?

Maybe you’ve got a Ph.D. in English and would love to teach literature?

The field of online tutoring is rapidly gaining attention across the world. With people accepting online courses to conveniently gain knowledge, the industry is extremely profitable if you’re an expert in a much-needed field.

Each course costs anywhere from $10 to $1,000 depending on the type of resources and extensive material that you provide.

If you think you’ve got the knowledge to share to the world, the two following sites are a great place to begin tutoring — SkillShare and Udemy.

3. Photography

Let’s say you decide to show your friend the snaps taken from your recent adventure trip in Africa.

Your friend is blown away by your photographic dedication and convinces you that your photographs belong on the cover page of National Geographic.

We’ve got you covered!

Photography is much sought after, from website owners to blog writers, everyone needs quality snaps to impress their visitors.

To become a freelance photographer, you first need to invest in camera accessories.

This is a one-time investment as your snaps will pay you back in no time. Then make yourself proficient in photo-editing software such as Adobe Lightroom to edit and add the artistic touch to increase your photo quality. And that’s it, your photos are ready to be sold.

Freelance photographers earn anywhere from $50 to $250 per hour if they’re being hired or you could also sell your snaps individually on sites such as iStock, Shutterstock & Etsy.

4. Driving

Why not let your driving skills earn you additional revenue during your free time?

All you need is a car and a smartphone to get started. If you’ve got one already, sign up at Uber or Lyft.

Once your registration checks out with the company –

• Download the mobile app
• Find anyone that requires a lift in your vicinity.
• Pick up the passenger and drop them to their preferred location.

Simple, Isn’t it?

If you prefer to drive on your own terms and still make money, try carpooling. Carpooling apps like iCarpool and Waze help you find people that are going towards your destination.

5. Online Store

A lucrative and simple way to begin a side hustle is to start your own online business. An online business has plenty of benefits –

• Limitless expansion
• Sell what you love
• Work at the comfort of your home
• Takes very little revenue to get started

An online store requires your passion and a website to begin.

Starting a website is quite simple, sign up for a free domain name with your online business name – E.g. if you’re into setting up a bouquet, a name like www.FlowerParadise.com would be a great start.

Once you’ve got your domain registered, you need a web host to set up your business like Blue Host or InMotionHosting.

Then you’ve got to set up a content management software, WordPress is one of the most popular and convenient, to begin with.

Voila! Your website is up and running. For a detailed tutorial on how to set up an online store, check out WpCrafter’s video guide below.

4 SIGNS TO TELL YOU THAT YOU’RE READY TO CONVERT YOUR SIDE BUSINESS INTO A FULL-TIME TRADE

Eureka! You’ve got an idea on what good side hustles are and why everyone must have one.

But what if you wake up one day and realize that your side hustle is your true calling?

Do you quit your job and pay full attention to your business? If not, when is the right time to take a call and go full-time?

There are many questions flooding your head about whether to take the leap.

Let’s help exorcise these little pesky demons by giving you 4 signs to ensure you’re ready to take over your business on a full-time basis.

1. You’re Financially Stable

What good is converting a side hustle into a full-time business, if you haven’t got the financial resources to pool into it?

Quitting your job is cutting off from a sustained income.

You’re completely at the mercy of your side business to provide you with profits to pay the bills.

Even if your business goes great, there is no investment in it, the growth rate will be appalling.

Loans aren’t a great way to start off a business. Taking one puts you at risk of paying high-interest rates.

If you fail to pay your installments on time, they begin to pile up and weigh heavy on your conscience and wallet. In time, you’ll be forced to liquify your business and pay back the outstanding bills.

Not a very good idea.

The best time to convert your side hustle into a full-fledged business is when you’re financially healthy and have a surplus of funds.

Here are some of the points to check off before you take the big decision.

• Ensure you’ve got 4-6 months of income stored away for emergency funds
• Every debt should be cleared beforehand
• Check your credit score to see if it’s in the green
• Ensure all your taxes have been filed
• A business framework must be created to understand the expenses of your business
• Spend a good amount of time running your business around 3-to-5 years before you quit your job
• Save, save & save. Every penny counts when you quit.

Avoid purchasing everything and anything when starting out a business, only focus on the key elements that add value to your business.

For example – If you decide to spend money on marketing your products. Stick to organic marketing methods that bring in leads without spending money on Facebook Ads.

When your business grows, slowly venture into a paying plan.

It’s never a good idea to blow all your financial budget on any one area.

2. You’ve Got the Necessary Experience & Basics Down

Apart from being financially healthy, converting from employment to business requires experience and knowledge. If you’re still learning, it’s highly advised to keep your job.

One of the biggest disasters, individuals make when switching from employment to business is not understanding the transitional process enough.

Business is a different ballgame compared to being an employee. Every successful businessman and woman had to deal with plenty of failures along the way. Knowledge and experience help you when you’re new in understanding the type of hurdles you fall into.

For example –  John works at a hospital as a receptionist with a 9-5 job and makes $2,000 a month. He maintains a side hustle in wildlife photography during the weekends. He manages to fund an extra vacation every year thanks to his passion for photography. On average John makes $500 with his side hustle on a good month and $100 on a bad month.

John’s friend — Mark advices him that he should become a full-time photographer as there is a huge career in it. John decides it’s the right time to progress in his career without a thought.

Now, John has no knowledge or experience in running a full-time business.

After quitting his job, he realizes that the money is inconsistent and there are no savings to pay for his rent and monthly bills.

John then decides to apply back to his old job but gets rejected as he has been replaced. He is now left with a side hustle that won’t take off and with no income to meet his monthly bills.

Here’s the lesson we take from this – Don’t be John!

Before John fully realized his side hustle’s potential, he took the fateful step of quitting his main job.

Surely if John spent 2 years saving up his income from his job, he’d have saved up enough money for launching his business and gained the experience by understanding the pitfalls of his job.

Unfortunately, there are many Johns who take the leap of faith with their side hustle and destroy their entire life with a single risky stroke.

Here’s another question that fortifies why experience is a critical aspect.

Would you board a flight if you knew the pilot flying your aircraft had clocked in only 50 hours of total flying hours?

It’s complete madness! A pilot is required to have a minimum of 1500 hours of flying time in the U.S. before he is even qualified as an airline pilot.

Experience is vital to success.

That’s why it’s necessary to give yourself ample preparation time to get yourself acquainted with your business.

Only when you’re sure you’re armed with knowledge; must you take the career leap into a full-fledged business.

3.  You’ve Got Exceptional Communication and People Skills

When transitioning from employment to business, the most important skill you’ll need is communication.

If you’re someone that finds conversing with another human being to be difficult, it’s not recommended to switch to a full-time business until you’ve honed your personal development skills.

Communication is extremely critical for the following aspects.

• Speaking to clients and generating leads
• To set up projects with your team members
• Brainstorming ideas with them
• Advertising your brand
• Negotiating prices with suppliers
• Public announcements

Without proper communication, your business will fail.

There isn’t one entrepreneur on the planet that has managed to kickstart his business without using communication as a key method to succeed.

Therefore, unless you’re confident in your communicative abilities, it’s best to stick to your desk job.

Another critical aspect of communication is selecting the right people to work for you in your business.

4. You’re Gaining New Prospects with Your Side Hustle

Ultimately the best way to figure out the answer is by paying attention to the type of clients and financial records of your side hustle.

Numbers never lie. If you’ve been gaining a successful growth of clients from your side hustle, it’s a good idea to consider switching full-time to your side project. It’s almost impossible to juggle between taking numerous side projects and the main job.

That’s why you’ll need to take a daring call and if your financial sheets are looking good, it’s probably a good time to tender that resignation letter that you’ve long been fretting for.

If you ever feel that you wish you could take on more side projects if you had the time – go for it. Chances are you’ll end up successful and create a real business to propel you to living your dream.

And if it doesn’t work out, you’ll still have your emergency funds to look after you until you find a job.

The risk is worth it when the financial reward is up there for the taking.

It can be daunting to leave behind your desk job and switch full-time into a side hustle, but if the above signs seem to be appearing in your life.

Take the leap forward and start chasing that beautiful independent and financially stable dream.

6-STEP ACTION PLAN TO CONVERT A SIDE GIG INTO A FULL-TIME BUSINESS PLAN

Self-validation is the key to transforming your side hustle into a full-time business plan.

There isn’t a right time, but there are indications to strengthen your commitment to your side gig.

Firstly, this action plan will only prepare you on a step-by-step approach, you’ll still need to take the big step to take a leap of faith.

Without further delay. Here’s the right way to upgrade your side-gig.

Step 1: Create Your Priority List

Before you throw in the towel and resign, make sure you’ve got your priorities in order and are fully committed to your business idea.

Give yourself a full week to see if the idea isn’t just fluff and whether you’re interested in it.

Step 2: Verify Your Business Plan

Ok. You’re set on your business idea. But just because you have a good side-gig going, doesn’t mean it would work as a full-time business.

Business concepts are plenty, but a successful business is rare, check every loophole in your business plan and spend time in seminars and workshops related to your field to get the best tips from the industry’s leading experts.

Step 3: Find the Competition and Demand

Once you’ve got all the advice that you need, it’s time to understand the demand for your service or product. With no demand for your product, you’re bound to fail.

Also, research about your competitors to understand how well they perform financially.

The performance of your competitor will give you an edge whether your side-gig would work as a business or not.

Step 4: Set Accurate Goals

Daily goals are better than yearly ones.

Daily goals are measurable, and you’ll be accountable if you don’t complete them. Simple to-do lists are preferable in the early stages of conversion.

As you begin, to achieve your daily goals, you can move on to weekly, and monthly goals.

Step 5: Outsource Vulnerability

A business unlike a side-gig can’t run entirely on one person. You’ll require the help of professionals.  Employees are too expensive to hire when starting out.

That’s why it’s a good idea to hire freelancers that do a major part of your work without the need for recruitment.

Only focus on your strengths and outsource all your weaknesses.

Don’t waste time learning skills you’ll never use again. Time is valuable and better invested in your strengths.

Step 6: Launch Date & Persistence

Finally, we reach the end of the action plan.

Set yourself a launch date and stick to it. Now create a fully functional road map to abide by.

While nervousness is usual, don’t fear failure and unseen obstacles.

These catastrophes are there to make you stronger and even if your business doesn’t do well initially, in time your side-gig will surely grow into a full-time business with persistence.

CONCLUSION

The conversion to a full-time business is never smooth and you’re always going to have regrets and doubts clouding up your judgment.

But the perks that come with owning your side business outnumber the cons.

So, take a step forward and when your financials are steady, it’s time to take the big step into the open world and give your side-gig the respect it truly deserves.