Join Clever Girl Finance!
Check out our 30+ free courses, 40+ free worksheets, and our 1-on-1 coaching offerings!
Did you get this email forwarded to you?
Join thousands of women in the CGF community, follow us on Instagram, and watch on YouTube!
Read this newsletter & past newsletters online!
Online newsletters
We'd also love for you to check out our sister site, Clever Girl Author.
Hello Reader,
You've been going back and forth for months on how to start a side hustle. Maybe you've tried the popular methods like starting a blog, or selling on Etsy by nothing seems to stick.
If you want to finally get your side hustle off the ground and actually make money, here's what you need to know.
10 Actionable steps for starting a side hustle
The biggest struggle you might have when it comes to starting your side hustle is finding a business that works well with your lifestyle. Instead of focusing just on the cash, consider what will be sustainable.
Here are some key details for how to begin your side gig!
1. Determine how much time you have. Running a successful side hustle takes time. Think about your time and when you're most available. Identify how many free hours you have during your week. This will help you identify a side hustle based on how much time it takes to implement.
2. Pick something that interests you. Because you'll most likely be building your side hustle after your regular job, it's important you have a gig that you enjoy.
Think about what interests you. For instance, if you enjoy social media, you can look into being a social media manager. Likewise, consider aspects of your job that you enjoy. Could some of those tasks be a side hustle?
If you feel stuck, you can write down as many hobbies or interests as you can think of. Then highlight the hobbies that make money or that have income potential, and go from there.
3. Decide the amount of money you want to earn. Having an income goal will help keep you focused and guide your pricing. When figuring out how much you need to make, consider your financial goals of paying off debt or making a new purchase.
The cost of what you want can be your target income for your side hustle.
4. Create a solid business plan for your side hustle. This might sound daunting, but a business plan is your roadmap for your side hustle.
Have you ever felt like pulling out your hair because you couldn't figure out where to start? Got lost down the rabbit hole of advice videos and tutorials, trying to figure out the next step? A business plan can resolve those problems.
Remember, your plan can be simple and cover these points.
- An executive summary that outlines a problem and how your business or service will solve it.
- A description of your target audience or avatar, which includes identifying key demographics such as location, age, and income of your ideal clientele. You’ll also want to consider why your target audience would be interested in your business.
- An outline of what your product or service will offer.
- A clear operating model helps you understand and lay out how you intend to deliver value with your products and services.
- Research on your competition, identifying their strengths and weaknesses.
- Calculate start-up costs and financing, such as registration fees, branding costs, website development costs, etc.
- Creating a solid business budget and using budgeting best practices is essential to the success of your business.
- Revenue forecasting shows how much you plan to make in your business.
5. Determine what type of business entity to set up. Before you start providing services or earning money, you must ensure the structure of your business is set up correctly, legally, and tax-wise.
There are different types of business structures to choose from that are recognized by the IRS. They include Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC), or Corporation. Be sure to talk to your accountant about the tax implications of each of these entities.
6. Leverage resources when starting your side hustle. Did you know that the government has free resources to help you start your business? Check out these resources below.
You can also join Facebook groups, check out books like The Side Hustle Guide for Women, and watch helpful videos on YouTube.
7. Decide what you will call your side hustle. Your business name is a big deal, believe it or not. It will reflect your brand identity and be the world’s first introduction to your new venture. Here are a few things to consider:
- Will your business name appeal to your demographic?
- How unique is it?
- Is the web domain available?
- Is your business name under someone else’s trademark?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you can register your business with your respective state.
8. Consider setting up business credit. Having a credit profile for your side hustle allows you to maintain a credit history for your business. Just remember how to use credit cards wisely! And this business credit profile is separate from your personal credit profile.
9. Create a plan to obtain funding for your side hustle if you need to. When starting a side hustle, one of the biggest challenges is finding the funds to support it. Even if your business idea is excellent, you still need money. The different types of funding you should consider
10. Make a schedule that works. Once your side hustle is all set up, create a schedule and block off times for you to work on your business.
You may be tempted to work on it whenever you have free time, but creating set hours will help you get more work done.
If you're short on time, consider hiring a virtual assistant for help.
We know that starting a side hustle can be exciting, especially once you get the ideas starting to flow. Yet remember to start with the logistical side first to help you follow through.
If you need more help getting started, you can check out our 4 course bundle on building a business, you can also check out our course on creating multiple streams of income!
📺 On YouTube
Check out the YouTube video version of this same topic! 7 KEY tips to brainstorm side hustle ideas! (Start a side hustle)
Tune into the Clever Girl Finance YouTube channel for more great videos!
📖 On the blog
🎧 On the podcast
🔊 Our 30+ courses and 40+ worksheets are completely FREE. Plus schedule a free mentor call!
If you know anyone that would benefit from our completely free courses and worksheets, please share! You can simply forward this email.
PLUS when you sign up for a free course, you can schedule a completely free call with one of our amazing Clever Girl Finance mentors. WE ARE IN YOUR CORNER!
📲 Follow us on social media
Talk soon ❤️
Team CGF
(Bola & Kiersten)
Some images and links in this newsletter are affiliate or sponsored links from companies we trust, which means if you make a purchase or sign up, Clever Girl Finance may get something in return. This helps us grow!
