Many people have started a side hustle or part-time business while working a full-time job. Even senior executives need a side hustle. In some cases, the part-time “gig” quickly develops into a full-time gig.
While in most cases part-time gigs allow people to gain an additional source of income to support their lifestyle or even monetize a hobby they love to do. The appeal of having an extra income source or eventually gaining financial freedom by running your own business can be very lucrative. However, most people shy away from starting their own business for various reasons.
For instance, they might not have a lot of capital to launch the business, or they might be worried about being left with a lot of debt if everything doesn’t go to plan and the business isn’t a success.
For most people, though the lack of money to start the business is the main barrier to entry, but thanks to the internet and the new “gig” economy, it’s now a whole lot easier to start a “side hustle” that can truly be a success in as little as a month. The internet also means that your potential customer market is no longer limited just to the people who are located near you. Finding customers who are in need of your products or services has never been easier.
Build your passion into a successful business
Some people have even built their passion into wildly successful million dollar empires. Take PewDiePie’s Youtube Channel, for example. In 2017, he made $12 million despite a huge controversy that threatened his whole career.
Mark Williams aka Mr. LinkedIn is another person who springs to mind, while working as a full time recruitment consultant he mastered everything LinkedIn related, started training people on how to use the professional social media platform and now has a full-time business teaching social selling to companies around the world.
Starting a part-time business could be a lot easier and more rewarding than you think. In this blog article, we are going to cover what you should know to get started.
We’ll cover different businesses that can be straightforward to set up (in terms of cost and in terms of the time required). Find out how to learn the skills you need to sell your products and/or services. We’ll discuss what businesses you can start and tools you can master. And, we’ll even show you marketplaces where people are actively looking to buy different services.
Some ideas on where you can start a side hustle while working full time
The first and most important question you need to ask yourself is:
What kind of business do you want to start as a side hustle?
You’d be surprised on how much opportunities there are available today. It obviously depends to some degree on the skills and talent you have, but the below list narrows the list down to industries where you can learn the basics in a short amount of time.
Here are 20 part-time jobs or side hustles that you can start quickly.
- Graphic designer
- Social media manager
- Stock photographer
- Presentation designer
- Blogger
- Web development
- Search engine optimization (SEO) specialist
- Create and sell online courses
- Online coaching
- Podcasting
- Affiliate marketing
- Sell on Amazon
- Virtual assistant
- Buy and sell domain names
- Content writer
- Proofreader and editor
- Remote telesales agent
- Transcriptionist
- Video editor
- Photo editor
Need even more ideas? Here are 101 side business ideas to start while working full time.
Research to see if there is a market for you
Now that you’ve figured out which type of part-time business you want to start as a side hustle, you should do research to make sure you find the gap in the market.
How do you determine if there’s a market for your business idea?
If there is no gap in the market, there won’t be any money for you to make.
It is important to do market research for your new business idea before you start a part time business. You will find out in no time if you will be able to get your side hustle off the ground.
Decide how much to charge
Now that you know which part time business you want to start and you’ve determined there is a market, it is crucial that you understand your expenses for your business to get it off the ground.
In the early days, you will need to ensure that you’ve budgeted enough for ongoing costs and ensure you are charging enough to keep your business going and staying competitive with your prices.
Creating an effective and balanced budget and working out what to charge your clients is critical to success.
Tools to help you build a part-time empire
A master tradesman always has a box of trusty tools. Your side hustle should have a better chance of succeeding if you have the right tools.
There are many digital marketing tools, social media management tools, Google tools and personal brand tools to save you time and help you better manage your side business.
For example, just because you haven’t mastered web development yet, doesn’t mean you can’t sell web design as a service because tools such as Squarespace and Wix allow you to create professional looking websites without coding experience.
And just because you don’t have a graphic designer, it doesn’t mean you can’t use tools such as Design Wizard or use Promo to create marketing videos.
Courses and resources to improve your skills
When starting your business you might realize that you need to obtain certifications or improve certain skills. After all, the better you are able to perform a service, the more likely it will be that your client will be happy.
You’ll also find that if you are highly skilled in an area such as marketing, you will be able to charge more because your digital marketing certifications.
As well as that, you could avoid outsourcing a task in your business by learning it yourself which could save you a lot of money in the early stages of your business. These tasks can range from simple design work to website coding to writing better.
Also, it could be directly linked to your business or regard a supporting process. In any of the cases, there are many online courses that can help you go from beginner to pro in no time at all.
How to land your first client
You can have the greatest product or service, but if you don’t know how to sell it you won’t get far. If you start a new business, you will need to know how to sell and market it.
However, that’s only half the battle, because once you get a new lead you need to know how to turn them into a raving customer. It might be scary to approach your first customer in the beginning but there are ways you can prepare yourself for it.
Give your part-time business a head start
Online marketplaces can be ideal in making the search for your first client a lot easier. Why should you try to acquire each customer with hard labor, if there are websites that have tons of customers who need help and are ready to order.
These sites vary from sites that offer low skill, one-off gigs all the way up to high skilled ongoing work. These 10 marketplaces below can be competitive because other part-time business owners need the work just as much as you do. However, if you do great work and get great reviews, you can quickly gain a good reputation and have potential clients contact you.
Setting and measuring milestones
One key factor for the success of your business is setting achievable milestones. Hi These milestones will measure your progress and hold you accountable for your goals.
They also mark important steps in the life of your company and can be a great motivator for you if you implement them correctly and help you truly measure the success of your side business.
Side hustle blogs to read
Don’t know where to start? Do you need some extra motivation to get going? Or do you simply need some inspiration to get you motivated?
These side hustle blogs below will keep you up to date with everything you need to know about creating and growing a part time business including how to talk to your boss about a side hustle.
They are some of the highest quality blogs for people looking to make money outside of their business and no matter which type of side business you have decided to create, you will find use in all of these:
- Side hustle nation
- Ryan Robinson
- 7 side hustle blogs to inspire you to make more money
- How to start a side hustle: your comprehensive, no BS guide
- 8 reasons why blogging is the best side hustle
- MY $1 milion side hustles
- Starting with a side hustle is the best way to build a business you love
Side hustle podcasts to listen to
Blogs can be great, but if you are looking to make use of dead time then podcasts are perfect. Why? Because you can listen to them while driving, running, cleaning or any other activity that require you to keep your eyes facing forward.
Or maybe you just don’t like reading at all and just prefer to listen to advice, stories and tips about people who have created successful side hustles, these seven podcasts below are your go-to place for everything side-hustle related.
- Side hustle school
- The side hustle podcast
- Side hustle pro
- The fizzle show podcast!
- Don’t keep your day job podcast episodes
- Being boss and making a business
- Girlboos radio podcast
Conclusion on how to start a side hustle while working full time
Now that you know everything you need to start your side hustle while working full time, it’s time to stop waiting and start doing. Go out there and get your feet wet. If you don’t succeed at first, don’t worry. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and you’ve still got your job as your main source of income. Fail fast and fail often. It’s all part of the learning experience on your way to success. What do you think of this blog article? Hopefully it show you how to start a side hustle while working full time.
This blog article is courtesy of guest blogger Mícheál Brennan, a content marketer at Design Wizard.