How To Start A Side Hustle While Working A Full-Time Job

Side hustles are all the rage right now and for good reason! Creating a side hustle is a great way to diversify your income. As well as providing an extra means of cash, having a side hustle can also be a fun way to further explore and monetize your current passions, skills, hobbies, and interests. With all of the benefits, you may be wondering how you can start a side hustle for yourself while still working a full-time job. In this post, we’ll break down how you can find and start a side hustle you enjoy. We’ll also delve into how you can maintain a healthy work-life balance through careful planning and implementing time management techniques.

Brainstorm

Before you start a side hustle, it’s important to take time to brainstorm some ideas and get clear on what you want out of it. Here are some questions to answer in this initial phase. Keep your answers in mind as you decide on your ideal side hustle to pursue.

Firstly, it can be helpful to identify why you are starting a side hustle. Is it simply to bring in an additional source of income? Or, is it so you can pursue a specific passion or interest? 

Are you hoping to eventually turn your side hustle into a full-time endeavor? 

How much money do you want to make each month from your side hustle? 

How much time do you plan on committing to your side hustle each day/week?

What are you good at? List your skills and natural talents.

What do you enjoy doing? List your passions and interests.

What does the world need? Think about how your skills and passions can be used to improve the world. Maybe it’s creating beautiful art for people to enjoy or building functional websites for businesses. The sky’s the limit here!

Your ideal side hustle will be something that you are already skilled at, you enjoy doing, and something that is in demand and can be monetized. 

Here are some of the best, profitable side hustle ideas for you to check out!

Once you have a side hustle in mind, you can go ahead and move on to the next step!

Research

Now that you’ve come up with some ideas you’ll want to research them further. While you may be tempted to skip this step, it’s important to make sure there is demand for your product or service. Just because you are passionate about something doesn’t mean there is a market for it. You want to be confident that there is an audience willing to pay for your work! 

Take some time to research the market for your particular field of interest.

Ensure there is demand by talking to potential clients or testing a small-scale version of your product or service.

Research the top performers or people you admire in this field and study their approach. How do they market their services? What makes them stand out from their competition?

Think about what makes you unique – your personal style, personality, interests, skills, etc. How can you implement those things into your own marketing so that you stand out to potential clients?

Have A Plan

It’s important to have a plan in place before you start a side hustle, even if those plans change down the line. Having a plan upfront will allow you to be clear on your boundaries, expectations, and expended resources.

What are your goals for your side hustle? Make a plan for how you will reach these goals. It can be helpful to start with your long-term goals and work backwards. Break these goals down into what you want to achieve in five years, one year, then monthly, and finally weekly. 

Do you need any licenses or permits before you start selling your product or services? If so, make sure you get those taken care of right away so you don’t get into any legal trouble. 

Does your side hustle of choice require any upfront costs? If so, write them down and configure your expenses. How will you pay for these expenses? Does it still make sense for you to pursue this side hustle if you were to not make any returns on your investment for several months? 

Where will you be working on your side hustle? From home? Or, will you travel to a coffee shop or park? Ensure you have a dedicated space and the necessary requirements to work.

Set Up Your Online Presence

Think about where you’ll sell your services or products. Even if you sell in-person, it can be a good idea to utilize the internet for marketing purposes through a professional website and social media accounts.

Will you create a website for your side hustle? Sites like Shopify and Wix make it easy to create a visually appealing storefront for your products or services.

Do you plan to sell your products on a marketplace like Amazon or Etsy?

Are you offering services on sites like Fiverr or Upwork? 

Which social media platforms will you utilize? It’s best to stick with one or two in the beginning. This way, you can focus on posting consistently and building a community. 

Additionally, you’ll want to create a professional email address before you start a side hustle so that potential customers can reach you. 

Take some time to go ahead and set up your online presence. Be sure to upload any required documents, fill out your bios, and include photos of your resume (if applicable) and example work so people can see what you’re all about!

Stay Organized

When you start a side hustle, you’ll most likely be working as your own boss. Thus, it’s of the utmost importance that you stay organized within your business.

Make sure you have a way to get customer orders and messages in a timely manner. Turn notifications on for your phone or PC if needed.

Manage finances by using an accounting software such as Quickbooks. This will be a lifesaver come tax time – you can quickly and easily overview and export your financial info when its time to file!

Learn Time Management

When you start a side hustle while simultaneously maintaining a full-time job, you’ll need to learn to manage your time. This way, you can work efficiently in order to stay focused and maximize productivity. 

Here are some tips for effective time management:

Have a dedicated time each day/week for working on your side hustle.

Schedule any important tasks or deadlines into your calendar. Be sure to set reminders for yourself so you don’t forget!

Use a calendar or planner to manage your time, this can be a physical or digital version, whichever you prefer!

Try techniques such as time blocking or the pomodoro method to maximize productivity.

Block out any distractions. Let your family members and friends know ahead of time when you’ll plan to work on your side hustle. Silence notifications on your phone or computer if you know you’ll be tempted to engage with them.

Find Balance

Finding a healthy balance between life and work is crucial for maintaining health and happiness. 

Set clear boundaries for yourself. Stick to a schedule. Don’t do any work tasks outside of designated hours, and say “no” when you need to. 

Prioritize self-care. Make time to do things you enjoy outside of work. Manage stress and your workload to prevent burnout. Never put your physical or mental health on the back burner. Work will always be there, your health and happiness should always be your number one priority!

Simply Start

Perhaps the most important thing you can do to start a side hustle is…to just start! While this may seem obvious, many people put off starting a side hustle for many reasons: lack of knowledge or experience, perfectionism, fear, etc. The truth is: there will never be a ‘right time’ to start. You’ll always be able to conjure some excuse not to, but you’ll avoid a lifetime of regret if you just do. Live by the motto “do it scared”. It doesn’t have to be perfect right away. You don’t even have to completely know what you’re doing in the beginning. The main thing is to simply get started. Take that first baby step today to move forward. Make that 1% progress. Then, you can learn, adjust, and adapt as you go. 

Hopefully, you were able to come up with some amazing, profitable side hustle ideas! Remember, if you’re looking to start a side hustle, to do your research and draft a plan upfront. Learn to manage your time with productivity techniques. Be sure to stay organized and keep track of orders and invoices for tax purposes. And finally, don’t forget to find a healthy balance between work and your personal life!

Do you want to start a side hustle? If so, what is it and what is one step you can commit to taking today to getting started? Share in the comments!

 

Photo credit: Antoni Shkraba on Pexels