Side hustles are becoming commonplace these days. Whether it’s driven by a desire to be more productive with our spare time, wanting more control and autonomy in our careers, or as a way to maximise budgeting goals - thanks to the internet, side hustles are becoming a more accessible and viable option to achieving personal and financial goals.
The internet has afforded many professionals the ability to work remotely, create products and monetise their skills all from the comfort of their home office. And while there are heaps of opportunities out there, there are also a few pitfalls to watch out for before you invest your hard-earned money and time into creating a profitable and fulfilling side gig. Here are three ideas to focus on so that you can start getting your million-dollar idea off the ground.
Do you have the time, money and commitment to start a side-hustle?
If someone hasn’t told you already - side hustles are hard.
Not only are you strapped for time because you’ve spent your time working nine to five, but in order to really get something going you probably need to invest some of your hard earned cash as well.
If you’re going to take your side-hustle seriously, you’ll need to answer important questions like:
- How much time do you have to spend on a side-hustle per week?
- How much money are you willing to invest in this?
- How long are you prepared to wait before expecting to cash in on your side hustle?
- How long are you willing to stick at it?
When you’re answering these questions, be honest with yourself. Starting a business is a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows. Ask yourself if you are really ready for what it takes? Make sure you include family, friends or other people you trust in the process as they’ll be the ones that will help keep you honest.
Do your research
When it comes to starting a successful side-gig, knowledge is power. The more you know, the better.
When it comes to doing your due diligence, understanding industry demand and finding the right product to sell. There are two main areas to focus your attention on:
- Understanding your customer
- Understanding your competition
Getting customer-focused
Your future customers are the most important part of your entire side-hustle. Your product has to enhance or add value to their lives in some way, and it’s your job to figure out exactly what or how it’s going to do that.
Get clear on who your product is for. Ask yourself questions like:
- Who is my target audience?
- How old are they?
- What’s their income status?
- What is their biggest pain point?
- How do they currently solve this problem?
- Where do they currently shop?
If you know someone that sits within your target demographic, why not pitch to them your idea, figure out what they like about it, what they hate about and whether it really adds to their life and/or addresses a gap in the market. Getting customer-focused is crucial to starting a side hustle.
Understanding your competition
The internet is a huge place with lots of competition. If you’re selling a product that is already commonplace, chances are that differentiating yourself will be an incredibly important part of your business. Visit stores like Etsy, Amazon, eBay and Udemy to get an understanding of the product other businesses are selling and what the customer experience is like.
If you can develop a better product yourself or get a product to the customer in a better way, chances are that will be what you can use to create a competitive advantage for your business. Reading customer reviews is a crucial part of this process. What do customers hate and what do they love about the products you're in competition with? Reviews are a great way to extract the information you need to create a product your target customers will absolutely love.
Set SMART goals
If after being honest with yourself and doing your research, you’re still serious about pursuing your business idea, establishing SMART goals for yourself will keep you on track. SMART goals are goals that are:
- Specific - simple, sensible, significant
- Measurable - meaningful and motivating
- Actionable - attainable
- Relevant - reasonable and realistic
- Time-bound
These goals are really important for measuring your progress as you build your side hustle to ensure that the investment remains worthwhile of your time, energy and funds. If you adopt an iterative approach to your side hustle, you’ll soon learn what works, what doesn’t and how you can refine your goals. Tracking your progress might be scary at first, but if you can keep yourself accountable, it ultimately helps you make better decisions along the way.
Don’t try and do it all on your own
It’s very easy to believe that starting a side-hustle means you have to do everything on your own. It doesn’t!
The most successful side-hustlers are the ones that understand what they are good at and what they aren’t. Once you’ve established where your skills lie you can work to find and collaborate with others to help fill the gaps in your capabilities to bring your idea to life! Websites like Fiverr and Upwork have thousands of professionals with all different specialities ready to help you start and grow your business.
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