109: Starting A Side Hustle Whether You Are Starting A Business Or Side Hustle, A Solopreneur
109: Starting A Side Hustle Whether You Are Starting A Business Or Side Hustle, A Solopreneur, Entrepreneur, Mompreneur, Freelancer, Bookkeeper, Virtual Assistant, Business Owner, Or Self-Employed
Starting a side hustle can be overwhelming unless you take the right steps, make sure you are covering all the necessary requirements, and understand what the demand is going to be on not only yourself but your lifestyle as well. There are many points to consider, and the more that you can review these before jumping into you’re your side hustle, the better off you will be. In today’s podcast episode, we’ll touch on the main points you should be thinking about before you start your side hustle, as well as items you need to be aware of when you are ready to get your side hustle started. Most entrepreneurs, overall, start a side hustle to provide income over and above what their main job is providing. Your side hustle may give you the financial freedom you are looking for in your life, and when you are up to the challenge, you decide you want it bad enough and are ready to put in the effort, you’ll start reaping the benefits from it as well. Whether you are starting a business or side hustle, you’re a self-employed individual, a solopreneur, entrepreneur, mompreneur, freelancer, small business owner, a remote, virtual, online, or in-house bookkeeper, or a virtual assistant or VA, listen in and make sure you take the right steps so that you are ready to start your side hustle out on the right path. These tips are essential whether you are using a computerized software system like QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, or FreshBooks for your business finances; or doing your bookkeeping manually with an Excel spreadsheet or even a Google Document…
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Show Notes:
Starting a side hustle can be overwhelming unless you take the right steps, make sure you are covering all the necessary requirements, and understand what the demand is going to be on not only yourself but your lifestyle as well. There are many points to consider, and the more that you can review these before jumping into you’re your side hustle, the better off you will be. In today’s podcast episode, we’ll touch on the main points you should be thinking about before you start your side hustle, as well as items you need to be aware of when you are ready to get your side hustle started. Most entrepreneurs, overall, start a side hustle to provide income over and above what their main job is providing. Your side hustle may give you the financial freedom you are looking for in your life, and when you are up to the challenge, you decide you want it bad enough and are ready to put in the effort, you’ll start reaping the benefits from it as well. Whether you are starting a business or side hustle, you’re a self-employed individual, a solopreneur, entrepreneur, mompreneur, freelancer, small business owner, a remote, virtual, online, or in-house bookkeeper, or a virtual assistant or VA, listen in and make sure you take the right steps so that you are ready to start your side hustle out on the right path. These tips are essential whether you are using a computerized software system like QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, or FreshBooks for your business finances; or doing your bookkeeping manually with an Excel spreadsheet or even a Google Document…
Welcome Back…In the last two episodes, I’ve covered how you can make money with a side hustle and some of the top side hustle ideas. In today’s episode, we’re going to walk through the steps you should take to get ready to start your side hustle. First, I want to talk to you about what you should be thinking about before you decide to start a side hustle, and then we’ll finish by talking about the specific steps you should take to get your side hustle up and running.
When you think about starting a side hustle, there are more than likely many questions that pop up for you. I want you to make sure you are taking the time to get these questions answered before you take the leap and start your side hustle. First, you need to make sure that you have the time to devote to your side hustle. I’ll assume that if you are looking at starting a side hustle, you have a full-time job that is taking up the majority of your time, and that’s fine; that’s why they call it a side hustle, right? Aside from this time, I want you to really take a look at the rest of the time you have available. Are you a parent or in a relationship that requires a lot of your time? How much time do you actually have to devote to your side hustle right now? How much time do you think you will have in the near future for your side hustle? Are you able to work on your side hustle in the evening, or are you willing to give up some of your weekends to do the work needed for your side hustle? All of these questions will help you to decide if you genuinely have time to devote to your side hustle. Create a schedule to see exactly how much time you’ll have available for your side hustle and where the rest of your time will be spent. Even if you do find that you have the extra time in your life, you also want to make sure you are able to set your side hustle as a top priority. This doesn’t mean that your side hustle always comes first because you can set boundaries so that you can still enjoy your life in the way you want, but you will want to set your side hustle as a higher priority in your life.
Next, what will the purpose of your side hustle be? Take some time to think about why you want to start a side hustle in the first place. Is it financial? Do you want to reach a life goal you set for yourself, or are you trying to get out of debt? When you have the reason or reasons why you want to start a side hustle, it will help you to push through when you have a day, and you just feel like giving up on your side hustle. Your why will give you the motivation you need to keep going so that you can reach your goals. Then, take a look at your personality type. Are you a self-starter? Will you be motivated and willing to put in the extra effort to be successful? After all, one of your reasons may be to turn your side hustle into a full-time business. To do this, you must have the determination and willingness to stick with it for the long haul.
Before you look too far down the road, make sure that your employer is ok with you starting a side hustle. It may be beneficial for you to speak directly with them prior to you starting your side hustle so that it doesn’t cause any issues down the road. Make sure there are no conflicts with your current employer and that you don’t have some sort of non-compete clause you need to consider. The last thing you want to do when you are looking at starting a side hustle is to lose your full-time job. Be respectful of your employer and the time you are working for them. Don’t mix the time when you are working in your full-time job with the time you are spending on your side hustle. You’ll likely want to keep your full-time job until you are able to build sustainable sales before you quit your full-time job or even have a savings built up that you can fall back on if needed.
Do your research on what you want to do with your side hustle. This is some of the work we do inside the Mastering Your Small Business Finances PROFIT LAB. We dig deep to get answers to questions like, are you doing something you love and are interested in? Do you already have the skills needed? Make sure you are creating a solution to a problem that your customers will want and be willing to pay for. Is there a need for your side hustle in the market? Who are your perfect customers and ideal clients? What will your revenue stream look like? What will you be selling? When you have an idea of what you want to sell or the services you will provide, you can start developing a business plan. Wait a minute, did you just cringe a little? Don’t worry, when I say develop a business plan, I don’t mean that you need to create a one-hundred-page document. What you will want to do, though, is to create a business plan that you can work with. It doesn’t need to be written in stone. It should be fluid and able to change with the pivots you make in your side hustle as you grow. The main thing I want you to do is to think through your side hustle and understand what it is going to take to be successful. Your business plan should simply be a roadmap on how you are going to reach your goals. Decide what your business entity type will be. You will need this not only for legal reasons but you’ll also want to make sure you have the right entity for your tax preparation, and you’ll want to know how the entity type you select impacts your tax return. You’ll need to get a Federal Employer Identification Number and register your side hustle with your state. In your business plan, you’ll want to list out what you’ll be offering, what you are projecting for your sales, how you’ve researched your competition, and what you have to offer that your competition doesn’t offer. From here, you’ll start to see the potential of your side hustle. You can set up a budget or forecast which will list your income and expenses you expect to incur, and you’ll take into consideration any start-up costs, registration fees, branding, marketing, and website as well so that you have a good picture of your original investment in your side hustle. Make sure that you have a separate business checking account and credit card if you think you will need one, and keep your personal and business finances separate. This will help you make sure that your bookkeeping goes as smoothly as possible.
I know this sounds like a lot to do for a simple side hustle, but when you put in the time upfront, you will definitely see the impact throughout your side hustle business. I want you to be successful, and one way to ensure you keep moving forward in your side hustle is to set milestones that will walk you through and keep you moving forward so that you will be ready to launch your side hustle in the timeframe you set. Each milestone or deadline will bring you closer to actually running your side hustle. One thing that holds people back is perfectionism. I can really relate to this myself, but I want you to know that with every step you take in your side hustle, you will move forward. You need to drop your perfection if it is holding you back, I know this is hard to do, but it is important. You may have heard the saying, done is better than perfect. This is true in your side hustle as well. Don’t get hung up on a specific milestone. When you think that the task is ready, continue to move forward. You can always come back to it and refine and improve down the road. I want to ensure that you are not only reaching each milestone but surpassing each one and moving forward toward your goal. Even once you have your side hustle up and running, it will be important to ensure you are setting small incremental goals to continue to achieve. It may be your first customer, your next five customers, or your first sale, then your first $1000 in sales. You have to start small and build on these goals to grow your business. There are very few overnight successes in business, and your small incremental goals will keep your sights set and continue to help you achieve your goals. And don’t forget to celebrate even the smallest achievements you see in your side hustle. You are working hard, and you deserve to celebrate. These celebrations will help you to decide what your next incremental goal should be to work towards. When I work with my clients, they are always excited to share their accomplishments with me so that we can celebrate together, but it is equally fun when we work through the possibilities that are available to them. I enjoy helping them see the potential they have and how profitable their business can be. Whether you are looking to start a side hustle or you are already making money with your side hustle, I’d love for you to experience these same benefits when you work with me. I’ll help you with any questions you have regarding your solopreneurship or side hustle. You can either sign up for a consultation session with me by going to www.FinancialAdventure.com and clicking on the work with me button to schedule a call or if you are ready to make sure that your side hustle is profitable for you, join us in the Mastering Your Small Business Finances PROFIT LAB. If you have a side hustle or are a solopreneur and you are struggling with getting your business started, growing your business, and generating revenues, you need to join us in the PROFIT LAB. In the PROFIT LAB, I help you ensure your side hustle is more profitable so that you can keep that additional money in your pocket. We help you make decisions, generate revenues, and create a life you can enjoy. I walk you through not only understanding the profitability of your side hustle but also how you can create offers and increase your sales. By taking control of your business finances, you can create the profitable side hustle you are striving for and meet the side hustle goals you’ve set to achieve. We prioritize and work on the essential tasks in your business, help you make decisions, and generate revenue while creating a work-life balance you can enjoy! Where you are right now in your side hustle journey is the perfect place for you to join us, and if you are ready to start, don’t let thoughts about the perfect offer, confusion about your pricing, or the fact that you are still working for an employer stop you. So, are you ready to join us? Of course you are. By taking action in your business, you’ll be sure to achieve your goals. Join us today by going to www.FinancialAdventure.com/profit and take advantage of our limited-time founding member pricing. Generating revenue and increasing profits requires you to have the right mindset and accountability so that you get results. This is what we do inside the Mastering Your Small Business Finances PROFIT LAB, and it’s perfect for you if you are a solopreneur or have a side hustle and you’re ready to be more profitable in your business. As a CPA, Business Strategist, and Coach, I help business owners just like you who know it’s time to do something different because what you’ve been doing in the past isn’t getting you the results you want. We’ll make sure you understand your business finances, your next steps and follow through with the vision you have for your business so that you can truly enjoy your business.
And, you know I’m going to ask…what’s at least one thing you will take away from this episode that will help your business succeed and grow your bottom line? If you need some accountability, join our PRIVATE Facebook community and post your action item, we’d love to support you.
