It’s the era of side hustle. With technology, it’s become possible to run multiple businesses and earn from your work desk, without having to meet with clients.
A lot of people are cashing in, taking advantage of the opportunity technology presents, running side businesses alongside full-time jobs.
Do you have a side hustle?
If you do, you’re probably thinking of turning it into a thriving business. Well you can, and I have tips for you.
But before you begin to take steps in that direction, it’s important to know that turning your side hustle into your primary occupation is not simple. It takes courage and faith to take the leap into entrepreneurship.
Here are some tips for growing a side business into a full-time gig:
Be Willing to Sacrifice Happy Hours
If you’re serious about expanding your side hustles to a full-time business, the first step is to be willing to sacrifice happy hours, and keep tabs on your spending habits. You’re going to need that extra cash if you ever want to give up your day job. Nights and weekends now belong to your side hustle.
Keep Your Safety Net
Don’t give up your day job just yet. Not until you absolutely, positively can’t do both at the same time. A way to ensure that a new venture will fail is to give up your day job too fast. Being flat broke isn’t sustainable, and it’s the reason why many entrepreneurs give up.
Do Your Research
Obsessively research your idea until you’re confident not only of the idea, but also the industry where you’re operating. This will not only help you compete effectively, but also give intelligent answers. People are going to challenge you, and ask you all sorts of pointed questions. Knowledge is power and you’ll be happy to have to be armed with it.
Avoid Burnout
As you try to balance you day job with scaling a company, there are chances that you’ll get exhausted. Burnout is a real risk when scaling a business. To avoid this, try to devote a few of your most productive hours to your company. It’s hard when you’re working a full-time job, but it’ll be difficult to scale a company when you’re only working on it between midnight and 3 a.m. You should also give yourself at least one day off to recharge.
Learn From Your Mistakes
You’re going to make mistakes. Lots of it. But you shouldn’t let it discourage you, rather you should allow it be your guide when you encounter similar situations. Just learn and move in the better direction quickly. I bet you’ll never make that same mistake again.
Take the Leap
Finally, keep in mind that there’s never going to be a perfect time to quit. At some point you’re going to have to just go for it. If your business idea shows great promise and you’re checking off your financial milestones, the smaller details will almost certainly fall into place once you’re devoting more time to it.
