Steps To Starting A Side Hustle
By Chanin Storm
The side hustle. We all hear about side hustles and how you can make money with YOUR side hustle. But no one really talks about how to start your side hustle.
My side hustle started because I had to make a career change. I had been trying to find a full-time job and was getting more and more depressed with the lack of interviews. I would have been happy to receive a rejection letter because it would have been better than hearing nothing!
I was working with a career coach and decided I just couldn’t go on this way. I needed to reevaluate my next step. I had spent months applying for jobs and getting nowhere. I needed to change something, but I didn’t know what until I took 2 weeks to think about what I really wanted and needed to fit my life.
There are some basic steps I used to start my side hustles. Each type of side hustle has some additional steps, but these will be enough to get you started.
Step 1:
What do you love to do? Ask yourself this before you do anything else, and be honest in your answers. Make a list of your answers.
I took about 2 weeks of soul searching when I wasn’t working or with family—lots of late-night contemplation and made a list of my skills, talents, and hobbies.
Step 2:
Take your list of possible side hustle options and see if any fill a gap or are in high demand. Those skills and talents that are in high demand or fill a gap are the best options.
I checked freelance sites, shop websites, and job boards and found places where my niches filled gaps or were in high demand. I found most didn’t want employees but contractors, which fit the side hustle model perfectly.
Step 3:
Apply for business licenses and register your business name. You can call the Frederick County Circuit Court Clerk’s office, and they can give you information on the business licenses you may need. You can also find business licenses and register your business at the businessexpress.maryland.gov website.
I registered my business name with the State of Maryland and found out no other licenses were needed because my side hustle is service-based.
Step 4:
Do the administrative stuff for your business. Find free accounting software. Research insurance and find out if you need it. Take inventory of what you already have that you can use in your side hustle and determine if you need other items. This is a side hustle, but it is still a business and needs to be treated as such.
I talked to a CPA/Accountant and laid out a plan if my side hustle ever grew. For now, I just needed insurance.
Step 5:
Make pages on free or low-cost platforms for your new business - social media, LinkedIn, freelance website (if applicable), stores (like Etsy and eBay), and anyplace else you can find a following.
I made pages on all social media for my side hustle. I created a LinkedIn profile and made profiles on freelance websites using the free option.
Step 6:
Now it is time to hustle. Start making products, have an inventory, and get on those shop websites. If you offer a service, get on those freelance sites and start putting in bids on jobs. Post on your business social media 3 to 5 times a week. Learn about the platforms and how to use them for marketing, or if you have some budget, hire a freelance marketer to help you.
In this step, I hustled, bidding on jobs on freelance sites, inviting friends to like my business page, and posting frequently to social media platforms.
Step 7:
When it starts growing and making a decent profit, hire an accountant and write your business plan.
In less than 6 months, I am making a profit and continuing to grow. I’m working on my business plan and hoping that this will be enough to be my next “real” job.
I still haven’t found a full-time job, and I’m not sure I will. I have expanded a little and am currently growing 3 different side hustles that are expanding. They each are things I love and fill a gap in the economy in some way. Plus, I work from home, so I spend more time with family and friends and have less stress.
You don’t have to quit your primary source of income, and I don’t recommend it. But it is possible if it is necessary. All it takes to start a side hustle is looking inside yourself to find what you love and then turning it into a real business.