As soon as your day job ends, it's time for your passion project. Side hustles have moved from being fun projects to a major source of income for many during Covid-19 and stay-at-home orders. So while your freelance gig, Etsy craft store or personal blog may bring in some extra cash flow, it doesn't have to stop there. A recent survey revealed that 54% of respondents planned on starting a "side hustle" due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with some seeing success they never thought possible within their nine-to-five jobs.
One-off-job-related sites such as Upwork have seen a 50% increase in registration volume across many categories, including technology-related jobs, according to data from the end of March and April. If you're a graphic designer, blogger, social media manager, or even dog walker, multiple projects can easily turn into long-term gigs if you start to take your side hustle seriously. Here are three things you should be doing right now if you want to turn that side gig into a full fledged future:
1. Have a team in mind. Although it can be difficult to share your ideas with others, there's nothing better than finding a team to handle workflows, collaborate on ideas, suggest improvements and share your passion with. The sooner you can focus your attention on what you do best, and leave the mundane tasks to someone else, the more enjoyable your job will become.
2. No more half-measures. If money has been the main obstacle in your way, seriously consider taking out a small business loan to start your company on the right financial foot. Cover your basics, and even pay your employees (if you have them) at a level that incentivizes them to grind it out with you in the beginning.
3. Don't spend too quickly. If you've done your due diligence, created a marketing strategy, built a solid team and have adequate capital, the other major factor you need to consider is how much you spend. It is easy to get lost when your new business is doing well, but given that only 50% of businesses make it their five-year mark, it's extremely important to stay on top of your numbers. According to Entrepreneur.com, four of the 10 main reasons businesses don't make it have to do with money management, including:
One-off-job-related sites such as Upwork have seen a 50% increase in registration volume across many categories, including technology-related jobs, according to data from the end of March and April. If you're a graphic designer, blogger, social media manager, or even dog walker, multiple projects can easily turn into long-term gigs if you start to take your side hustle seriously. Here are three things you should be doing right now if you want to turn that side gig into a full fledged future:
1. Have a team in mind. Although it can be difficult to share your ideas with others, there's nothing better than finding a team to handle workflows, collaborate on ideas, suggest improvements and share your passion with. The sooner you can focus your attention on what you do best, and leave the mundane tasks to someone else, the more enjoyable your job will become.
2. No more half-measures. If money has been the main obstacle in your way, seriously consider taking out a small business loan to start your company on the right financial foot. Cover your basics, and even pay your employees (if you have them) at a level that incentivizes them to grind it out with you in the beginning.
3. Don't spend too quickly. If you've done your due diligence, created a marketing strategy, built a solid team and have adequate capital, the other major factor you need to consider is how much you spend. It is easy to get lost when your new business is doing well, but given that only 50% of businesses make it their five-year mark, it's extremely important to stay on top of your numbers. According to Entrepreneur.com, four of the 10 main reasons businesses don't make it have to do with money management, including:
- Failure to create effective sales funnels-this means you must make sure a customer experience funnel is working for your sales before you move onto creating another funnel.
- Inability to control expenses-really ask yourself if it's going to add value when you take on an expense.
- Inability to compete against market leaders-remember to stay unique in the market.
- Failure to optimize conversions-data is everything. A great business owner is a great data analyst, honestly.