Many people have decided to start a business on the side. After hours they put in some graft and hope to create something that’ll afford them the opportunity to work for themselves. Many times the side hustle is born out of a passion, a hobby or for pure enjoyment. However, the goal for most is (and should be) to supplement their current income and eventually have the after hours gig become their full-time career.
In current times, with our fragile economy, it makes sense to do what you can to put some extra cash in the bank. In fact, you might say the concept of a side hustle is trending. One of the most influential motivational speakers overtaking the online community right now is Gary Vaynerchuk. His personal branding alone is something to aspire to but his message is all about how to exactly start your own business.
He speaks often on the topic of using your time wisely by spending it growing your own business. His most inspirational quotes underpin the idea that when you’re doing what you want to do, you become the best version of yourself. He speaks to the idea of who you are and what you do being symbiotic.
But starting your side hustle will bring you only fleeting enjoyment unless you keep on trying to grow it. And growth certainly doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll end up facing obstacles that can put a stop to your efforts.
Challenges include lacking resources, funding or losses that you have to spend time recouping. But with a little creativity, you will be able to mitigate risk and maintain steady, albeit slow, growth.
Your side hustle needs to be a bootstrapped enterprise
This is surefire way of ensuring you don’t land up in business debt and you don’t grow too quickly for you to manage. By taking a bootstrapping approach all your business activities are bankrolled by your profits. Therefore, if your profit margins are looking bleak you simply don’t spend until more profit is sourced and secured.
1Find a business advisor ASAP
This is an investment you need to make if you’re serious about your side business. You need to understand the actual real time costs involved in running a business. You need to understand the tax implications and you need to know how to work with your profits. A business advisor will assist you with unpacking the ways in which to make the business’s profits work for your operation in a positive way. This is also a learning curve for you and you won’t need to keep the business advisor on a long term retainer.
2Check out the available freebies
You’d be surprised at the amount of free business services you can find online. You should investigate what is available and how it can help your business. Many business owners have found that marketing automation services have assisted them with executing robust marketing campaigns.
There are bookkeeping services and administrative apps that can assist you with keeping your house in order. And, of course, you need to harness the power of social media and ensure your platforms are a positive reinforcement for your brand and value proposition.
3Spend some time networking like a pro
Whether your business is in its infancy or you’ve established yourself, you need to do some serious face to face marketing.
And the only way to successfully do that is to attend all networking events you can get an invite to. If you’re serious about growing your side hustle into your full-time gig then sign up for African business conferences that address various industries that link to what you do.
At business and tech conferences, in particular, there will be exhibition areas, cocktail evenings and speaker sessions. It’s at these events that you’ll meet with potential customers, business associates, investors or even mentors.
