How do I turn my side hustle into a full time business?
Ask Andi: Biz Finance Advice for Solopreneurs
English - June 09, 2020 09:00 - 21 minutes - 35.8 MB - ★★★★★ - 22 ratingsEntrepreneurship Business Management accounting entrepreneur finance quickbooks smallbusiness smallbusinessowners Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Business strategy is one of my favorite topics to consult and coach on, so today’s question of “How do I turn my side hustle into a full-time business?” is one that excites me. My bookkeeping business started as a side job. A side job in addition to 3 other jobs, but it started to take on a life of its own bringing in more clients and more money, until I was finally able to quit one of the three jobs, then another and finally going full-time working for myself. It seemed accidental at the time, but it wasn’t accidental at all. It simply started by accident. Today I’m sharing my thoughts on what I did not do well and what I think I did ok on when I turned my side hustle into a business, along with what I’d do differently. We all have our own journey, but there are definitely steps we can all take that will lead creating full-time businesses for ourselves.
Any business is possible. I believe that and so should you.
What we’re talking about
The Importance of Forecasting For Your Business Growth Build Within Your Capacity - Grow At Your Own Pace Understand Your Tipping Point - Know When To Quit Plan Ahead & Be IntentionalThe Importance Of Forecasting For Your Business Growth
The first step you should take to turn your side hustle into a full-time business is forecasting. Figure out what you need to do to take your side hustle full-time. I offer forecasting sessions and time and time again, clients come very nervous to this appointment thinking their business model isn’t right and won’t work. The reality is that has never been the case. I believe any business is possible, but you have to take the time to think about the numbers.
Take time to think about what the numbers would need to look like in the future, not about where they are now. Consider how many clients you would need, how many products you would have to have and what your revenue streams would be. Work towards diversifying your income streams and don’t think about right now. This is about forecasting the future.
Build Within Your Capacity - Grow At Your Own Pace
Once you have forecasted your business and understand those metrics, you need to build within your capacity and towards something. When I started my side hustle, I had 3 other jobs and could not build capacity. If you don’t build capacity, then you’ll end up working 80 hours a week.
A great way to grow and build capacity is to implement passive income streams. My business was very service based, therefore a lot of my time was taken up. I wish I would have created more passive income streams which would have been investing in my future. Think about what kind of assets you can create now and leverage later in your business, such as digital products, online courses, templates, and spreadsheets. In the long run, these streams will help you earn what you need faster. If I had known this, I would have prioritized passive revenue streams early on rather than building out a service based model.
A change I would have made when I started my side hustle was to have built an audience for myself. It took me 7 years to get on social media and build a blog or have a website. I should have made myself more visible and built my email list and social media, but at the time I thought of this as extra money and not something that would turn into a full-time business.
Understand Your Tipping Point - Know When To Quit
Understanding your tipping point is the point at which you will need to quit your regular job(s) because you are at capacity with your time. There will be an awkward overlap time where you can’t do everything you need to grow your side hustle and keep up with your regular job, but this is the point in time where you need to make a change. This change could be reducing your hours at your regular job or maybe quitting your full-time job and getting a part-time job to make up for the financial difference. Your goal is to plan your finances to the point that your business can take care of you.
Plan Ahead & Be Intentional
If you have a side hustle that you want to turn into a full-time business, then it’s important to remind you that it’s not about doing what I did. It’s about being planful. Know how much money you need to save, reduce your personal expenses if necessary, but whatever you do, be intentional in how you do it and plan for it.
It’s more about the intentionality and being planful about when I’m eventually ready to pass this tipping point and focus more if not completely on my side hustle. What will that be like and what do you need to do to plan for that?
Are you ready to take your side hustle and turn it into a full-time business?
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