6 things you MUST do before turning your side hustle into a business

The number of side hustlers in the UK has surged during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Recent research from online freelancer marketplace Fiverr suggests that one in five people is now a moonlighter.

Further stats from local services marketplace firm Airtasker indicate that side hustles are now worth more than £346 billion to the country’s economy.

Many people use side hustles to simply supplement their earnings – a typical successful side hustle is thought to bring in around £6,300 a year.

However, sometimes side hustlers start their ventures with the hope of turning them into their full-time careers.

One thing such side hustlers struggle with is knowing when to flip to switch and take the leap from full time employment into entrepreneurship.

While each side hustler’s personal circumstances will ultimately influence when they make their leap, there are a few things every prospective start-up owner should do before they make the change.

Here’s a tick list of six of them.

1. Get your personal finances ready

You can’t focus fully on running a business if you’re fretting about how you’re going to pay your next gas bill.

Financial experts suggest saving as least 12 months’ worth of personal expenses before turning a side hustle into a full-time venture.

2. Find your feedback 10

You may think your side hustle has the potential to turn into the next Apple or Virgin. Your granny might, too. What do others in your industry think though?

Before making the leap into entrepreneurship, it’s important to source the opinions of others who have experience in your sector.

Aim to get feedback from at least 10 people and try to find at least one skeptic. This will help bust any confirmation bias you are experiencing, and their insight could help you evolve your idea, too.

If you don’t already know a network of industry experts, set up a profile on LinkedIn or similar and see if there are any industry-specific groups on Facebook that you can join to source advice.

3. Get a website

Studies suggest that 81% of consumers research products and services online before they make a purchasing decision.

Google has also found that searches that contain the phrase ‘near me’ have increased by 150% in recent years, indicating that more and more people are searching for information about local products and services online.

So it’s essential for new businesses to have a web presence.

There are lots of things that prevent entrepreneurs from setting up a website. Many worry the cost of establishing an online presence will be too high.

The truth is, setting up a website doesn’t have to cost to world.

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4. Overcome imposter syndrome

According to Medical News Today, as many as 82% of people suffer from imposter syndrome.

People with imposter syndrome struggle to believe they deserve what they have already achieved and worry that they’ll be exposed as a fraud in the future.

There are few tried and tested tips for overcoming imposter syndrome.

These include:

• Writing a list of the things that make you qualified to succeed in your business and reading it back to yourself.

• Referring to yourself in the third person every now and again in your self-talk – this may sound strange, but psychologists have found that saying a sentence like ‘Amy is amazing’ rather than ‘I am amazing’ can have a powerful impact on how you see yourself.

5. Enhance your productivity with the 168 hour timesheet

Everyone has the same amount of time in a week – 168 hours to be precise.

However, different people use that time more effectively than others.

A good way of auditing how you spend your time is to start logging everything on a 168 hour time sheet.

Note down how you spend every half hour of your day and you’ll soon find areas where you are wasting time.

For example, if you discover you have a habit for checking out social media for five minutes every time you finish a task, you might realise you need to schedule official zone out time into your day to refresh your mind. Instead of mindlessly tapping into social media, you could use this time to take a breath of fresh air outside or do another restorative or refreshing task.

Check out our blog on quick and easy ways to unplug for suggestions.

6. Stop looking for the perfect time

The truth is there’s no perfect time to make the jump from self employment to being an entrepreneur.

If you look for them, you’ll always be able to find an excuse to avoid doing it.

Being your own boss is scary, but it can also be the most rewarding thing you’ll ever do.

Following the above tips should help you discover if you’re nearly ready or not.