How to Make Your Side Hustle a Success
Written by Mindaugas on August 13, 2018
Having an additional source of income is always welcomed. More and more people are pursuing a side hustle in conjunction with their job to help them generate some extra cash.
There is such a wide array of side hustle possibilities that can fulfill the needs of virtually any niche. This, coupled with a correct approach can lead to a profitable gig that you can be proud of. Some entrepreneurs even managed to drift away from the status quo of working for somebody else and embrace their side hustle full-time.
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The question remains – how can you make your side hustle a success? Let’s take a look at all the ways you can improve the chances of your side gig taking off. Who knows, perhaps one day this could turn into a full-time job.
Organizing Your Finances
First and foremost, your finances need to be organized and analyzed accordingly. As a side hustle, you’re opting in for low overhead with a relatively high profit margin. After all, this business practice is all about high rate of return with minimal investment.
To elevate the chances of your success, you’ll need to become a bit more proactive in your asset management and fiscal responsibility. I know that this may sound scary to some, but a lot of issues stem from ones inability to budget properly and track revenue streams.
Current Side Hustle Situation
Take a step back, and look at your activity from afar. Gauge the amount of time you allocate to your side business, what are your expenditures and evaluate the health of your income streams. Some people forego doing this entirely – if you want your side hustle to be a success, you must have a clear picture of your current financial standing.
Conducting a finical health assessment makes tracking progress and setting goals that much easier. After all, a side hustle is there to produce a positive cash influx and not incur any losses.
Tracking Expenses and Invoicing
I suggest you put your Excel spreadsheets or your Google Slides page off to the side. You will need to step up your game with a cloud based online invoicing platform. The conventional go-to solutions for side hustlers such as Excel are prone to generate mistakes and accounting errors. As business ramps up, it can become a hefty undertaking trying to manage finances with this rudimentary platform.
Simplicity and convenience is the name of the game here. Online invoicing tools are the Swiss army knife of in-house accounting. You get to spend less time on data entry and invoicing your clients and more time on the one thing that matters – developing your side hustle.
You may already have had the chance to invoice your clients. If you have used the conventional methods, you know just how painstaking the process can be, not to mention the ordeal associated with the invoice delivery and securing your compensation.
InvoiceBerry – and online invoicing tool will lighten your load. It possesses an intuitive design that makes tracking expenses and invoicing your clients a breeze. Not to mention you can track payments and swiftly muster up reports that summarize your financial progress.
Payment Flexibility
The world is becoming increasingly more entrenched with technology and cash is less readily available on hand. Checks have also become an archaic monetary exchange. I personally don’t even remember the last time I or someone I know had to write a check.
People are looking for quick, convenient and secure online payment methods. Having the ability to accommodate virtual transactions is a bonus that can really get your side hustle to prosper. This goes along with tracking your revenues; since any digital invoice that’s reimbursed by your client is quickly logged by the invoicing platform negating the need for additional data entry.
Invest In Yourself and Self-Growth
The driving force behind the success of a side hustle is you. You are the biggest asset that dictates the trajectory in which your business is heading. Dedicating time and effort for self-growth is a way to future-proof your hustle and overcome the stringent competition.
The business environment in which you operate is a fickle one and it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Competition is fierce and if you hope to turn your side hustle into a formidable business, you must sharpen and hone your skills.
Technologies, regulations, people’s tastes and desires are constantly evolving – a business that understands this and adapts is bound to make headway. Investing into self-growth and development is one solution that prepares you for any forthcoming developments.
If you’re a programmer consider learning a new programming language. If you’re a graphic designer, take up a new course on graphic design tools or perhaps venture outside your own comfort zone and try out new styles of creation.
Don’t confine your learning for your specific niche. Take initiative and invest some time into other areas pertaining to business development. As you continue to grow your side hustle, these skills will surely be called upon.
Marketing Yourself and Brand Building
The talent you posses and what you’re capable of producing must be showcased. Clients accumulated thus far may generate positive cash flow but you need to up your game and garner more attention.
Spotlight isn’t reserved for any one industry; you’re more than capable of generating valuable attention through various online outlets. Cultivating a strong online presence is the first step of brand building and recognition.
Get yourself a website, create blog posts, update your social media profiles. Have these platforms relay your side gig to the audience. You can even build quality leads through email outreach.
By being omnipresent on the web, you’re able to reach an immense audience and amass clients that are outside your immediate vicinity. With over 3 billion internet users worldwide, it’s no wonder why digital marketing is at the forefront of promotion.
However, you also need to take advantage of the copious offline opportunities to market yourself as well. Trade shows and networking groups are a sure-fire way to conjure up quality leads and form long-lasting professional partnerships.
Get to Know Your Audience
When your side hustle manifested itself, you probably didn’t think too much about your ideal customer base. This is often the case when the additional source of income isn’t prioritized among other undertakings.
Be sure that you’re wholly aware of your ideal consumer. This leads to a more honed in product development and marketing approach. Ask yourself these questions when pondering who or what your side hustle is attempting to entice –
- Who is your ideal client? A simple individual or a business? Big business? Small business?
- What is their age group?
- Level of education?
- What is their income?
- What social media platforms is your customer most likely to use?
Those are just a few criteria that can help narrow down your target audience. Specificity grants you the knowledge to develop ideal social media profiles that resonates with the audience, understand the right networking groups to infiltrate, and to adapt the product or service to your ideal consumer.
Maximizing Productivity and Time Management
A side hustle although may not be as prioritized, still needs time and nurture in order for it to become successful. If you’re looking to enhance the effectiveness of your side hustle without jeopardizing your lifestyle, you must get creative and optimize productiveness.
Many side hustles evolve from a hobby or a passion that one possesses – but don’t be tricked by this development. Just because it’s something you’re passionate about, don’t allow it to replace all your available time. Your body and mind need time to recuperate – by having too much on your plate you could be heading for a serious burn-out.
Look into time management tools and automation software to help alleviate some of the time and productivity constraints. Doing so can pave a way into a more balanced work-life schedule.
Side Hustle – It’s a Wrap
A full-time job that a lot of us settle on doesn’t always provide the satisfaction or income we had hopped for. Pursuing a side hustle is a great way to incur additional income while doing what you love.
To optimize your side hustle success, you need analyze finances, develop additional skills, promote yourself to the right audience, and become the master of time allocation. These principles create the perfect storm that is not only applicable to the development of your side hustle, but can breed success in your personal life as well.
Wish you happy trails.
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