Starting a side hustle is the perfect way for people to pursue their passion while paying their bills. With hard work and dedication, entrepreneurs can start a business while using their regular income to support their efforts and keep the lights on.
For some, keeping a side hustle is a great way to supplement one’s income while working a full-time job. For others, the goal is to create a full-time endeavor. Here are five keys to turning your side hustle into a successful business.
Get the Right Tools in Place
When you’re building a side hustle, you have wiggle room to try new things, make mistakes, and determine what is going to work best in the long run. Get the right tools in place– particularly the costly ones– when you have another income to support the expense.
Assemble what you need to create professional-looking Self-Employed Invoices and social media graphics. Determine if you need to outsource and purchase a branding consultant and designer. Get those big bucket items handled before attempting to shift from a side hustle to a full-time gig, and you’ll take off some of the pressure to succeed in the early months of your transition.
Set Goals and Deadlines
If you want to successfully shift from the side hustle mentality to that of a full-time entrepreneur, it is critical that you set goals and deadlines for yourself. Remember the SMART goal-setting process: goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.
If you decide that you want to make this shift, set a deadline for yourself. You are highly more likely to achieve your goals if you have a perceived deadline, even if you’ve assigned it to yourself. To ensure you meet the goals and deadlines, you must also create an action plan. Remember, a goal without a plan is just a wish.
Develop Your Time Management Skills
If you are handling both a full-time job and a side hustle, you already have some strong time management skills in your favor. That being said, as you transition into full-time business mode, you’ll need to become even more efficient. Work to develop your time management skills and determine how you will prioritize your tasks.
Many entrepreneurs opt to use the Eisenhower Decision Matrix to determine which tasks should be conducted when. With this matrix, you divide tasks into four quadrants:
- High Urgency, High Importance – tasks you must do right away.
- Low Urgency, High Importance – tasks you should schedule for another time.
- High Urgency, Low Importance – tasks you should delegate.
- Low Urgency, Low Importance – tasks you shouldn’t bother with.
By breaking these tasks down as such, you ignore petty distractions and put your focus where it should be to reach your goals.
Network Like a Champ
If you haven’t already taken steps to cultivate connections both within your industry and in your community, now is the time to do so. Let people know about your business plans and create a network of people with whom you can consult and build referrals.
It’s worth noting that you may never work with the people you add to your network, but you never know when a potential client will come your way via one of your connections, and a part of building a successful business is having a strong client base.
Prioritize Self-Care
Entrepreneurs face a high potential for burnout and stress. Be sure to set aside time to take care of yourself and do the activities you love, apart from work. Set business hours for yourself, so that you are able to unplug and focus on the joys in life. Take care of your mind and your body so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Turning your side hustle into a successful business will be challenging, but well worth the effort if you go about it the right way. Use these five tips and success is sure to follow.
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