How To Turn Your Side Hustle Into Your Career

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A side hustle is any activity outside of your day job that helps you make money. Many people pursue a side hustle to earn extra income, and many do it to enjoy their hobby or passion. Once a side hustle starts to generate enough income it begins to feel like the real thing and all of a sudden you are on your way to owning your own business. You’re ready to turn your side hustle into your career!

While transitioning from side hustle to a business owner isn’t for everyone, if you have enough drive and energy to work hard enough on your business in your spare time, then you have what it takes to find your way to success.

Here are some tips on how to turn your side hustle into your career.

Be Prepared

Giving up your 9-5 means giving up certain financial securities that come with a full-time job. It is important to know exactly what you need before you make your side hustle your reality. It’s a good idea to have about six months savings to live comfortably, while you are building up your clientele if you do not already have enough from your side clients.

Prepare a business plan that includes a marketing plan and a strategy, where you have mapped out a clear idea of who your potential clients might be and how to connect with them.

Assess Financially Viability

A side hustle is different from a hobby as not all hobbies are designed to be profitable. A side hustle is looking to make some return on the time invested. That means your side hustle needs to be financially viable and, over the long term, relatively stable.

Invest In The Right Tools

Depending on what your side hustle is, you might need some programs and equipment. Investing in the right gear can ensure that you are a competitor in the market, it may what gives you an edge. For example, if you’re a graphic designer, you need a high-tech computer with the best illustrator program. If you are a wedding photographer, adding a drone from dronesvilla.com to your kit, for those aerial shots will give added dimension.

Some common tools you’ll probably need include:

Invest In Yourself

While it is important to have the right equipment, you also need the skills to match. You need to invest in your learning and development so that you can provide more value to your side hustle.

Take this step seriously by finding some online courses on Udemy that fit with your side hustle. Udemy has thousands of classes you can take at home, so you will undoubtedly find what you’re looking for. Additionally, their classes are reasonably priced, so you’ll definitely find something in your budget. Start learning on Udemy today!

Collaborate

While you may be embarking on this journey solo, it is worth knowing people and organizations that can help you build your business. Take your time to meet like-minded people, listen to their stories, and learn from their successes and failures. Two heads are sometimes better than one, and collaborating with others can help you come up with your best ideas.

For example, here at Miss Millennia Magazine we give a lot of advice to fellow bloggers. We even have one article, Why Learning From Other Bloggers Is The Best Way To Grow Your Blog, that explains why it’s always best to plug into the blogging community.

Set Deadlines

Working around the clock at your day job and trying to fit your side hustle in around your off-hours can be exhausting. But the catch is, if you don’t do this for a while, you might not be able to get it off the ground. Studies show you are 91% more likely to accomplish something if you give yourself a deadline.

Giving yourself a deadline is a way of holding yourself accountable for your goals. By doing this you are giving yourself a timeline, something to work towards.

Help yourself set and meet deadlines by investing in a planner. The Productivity Planner is specially designed to help you be, well, productive! Learn more about it here.

Work Hard

When you are starting your side hustle, you need to be prepared to put in hours of work with minimal return. Your time does not start as money, you have to earn that. It is important to stay humble and positive as you work your way up.

One of the hardest parts about becoming an entrepreneur is that you have to wear so many hats: HR, finance, marketing, sales, and operations. You won’t have colleagues guiding you, so you’ll have to work extra hard to consider all angles simultaneously. It’s also worth documenting the challenges you face in each aspect of your business so that you’ll be able to guide any future hires you might have.

Starting a side hustle is a way to teach yourself valuable skills and help yourself grow as a professional and as an entrepreneur. For many entrepreneurs, a side hustle can provide creative independence, professional growth and, eventually, a profitable way to turn your passion into your career.

If you want to learn more about starting a side hustle, read these articles: