5 tips for launching your own side hustle
Side hustle culture is pretty popular, but more and more it’s about weaving the side hustle sustainably into your life without burning out - Millennials want quality of life as well as cash flow! On top of that a lot of Millennials want to be business owners, and starting with a side hustle can be a way to get there! So, what are some tips to help you build a side hustle successfully?
Before we dig in, it’s important to identify why you are choosing to set up a side hustle. There’s nothing worse than starting it up without a goal and ending up overloaded and burnt out with all the work you need to accomplish on top of your day job!
Here are 5 reasons why you might start a side hustle:
to earn extra money to get rid of debt
to earn extra cash for a short-term goal
to organically start to build a business on the side
to allocate the income to investments only
because you get enjoyment from the side hustle!
It is not, repeat: not, designed to help manage your basic life expenses - it’s side income designed for a side goal. If you need the side hustle in order to pay your basics (rent, mortgage, groceries, transport or bills) really what you have is a second job, and you may want to review your basic living costs to ensure you’re spending less than what you earn.
Do you need an Australian Business Number (ABN) for tax?
The answer depends - on how series you’re getting with it. If you’re just doing this for funsies, you’re probably not going to need an ABN. If you’re looking to scale it up into a decent business then yeah we’d recommend getting an ABN and potentially prepare to pay tax on what you earn (Glen James generally recommends putting 25% or so aside in a separate account for when tax time comes around).
If you’ve set up a separate bank account and structure wise it’s looking pretty official, then yeah you probably have a side hustle that will need to be prepared for tax. Basically, if it’s looking like a real business, or it’s on its way towards that, then it probably is a real business! Listen to this portion of a my millenial money episode below where Glen explains how and when tax becomes a thing with side hustles:
Here are 5 steps for launching your own side hustle today!
be clear on the service or product you provide
Free lil marketing sesh for you - you should be able to explain your side hustle in one sentence. At my millennial money we provide personal financial, property and career education that’s fun, valuable and practical. So, your turn - what do you do? Maximum one sentence. This is especially important if you’re thinking of turning this side hustle into a business because you’ll be ramping up this message as your business expands to a full blown operation. Figure out your tone as a brand, design up a little branding style guide or logo, set up the systems you need to run it, and talk about it with confidence!
This is also great to identify to keep you on track each day you work. Don’t get sidetracked doing projects or providing services that don’t fit your core focus. Stay focused friends.
2. go slow:
If you’re going to juggle more responsibility on top of your current employment responsibility, you’re going to need to go slow and organise everything. There’s a process to setting up a side hustle and you need to walk through it step-by-step (depends on the product or service you’re providing). Write down the list of steps you need to cover. In order to ensure no mistakes are made and that everything is being budgeted wisely, you’re going to want to really cross those t’s and dot those i’s. If you feel like it’s taking you way too long to get your side hustle up and running, remember that now is the time you really want to devote your attention to curating the best possible foundation, and that takes consistency over time. We always talk about habits because they work! Instead of trying to rush to get it all set up over a weekend (although do it if that’s the time you have!) maybe set up a recurring time in your calendar to dedicate 1 hour to the next job in your set up list. Most people in this position take years to really bring their side hustle dream to life, so pace yourself.
3. be organised
Organisation is key to making a side hustle truly a side hustle. Yes, you already have a job or your own business. If you’re going to squeeze in additional requirements to your daily schedule for another side business, you’re going to need some serious organisation structure in place. Start with separate journals, bank accounts, and filing systems (probably linked to your side hustle email address if you use google for example). Keep all of your side hustle communication away from your regular hustle communication. It will make the entire process easier on you and keep everything where you need it to be. Use online order and payment systems. Use all the systems! Even just a spreadsheet. Do as much as possible to get you out of the “having-to-do-the-work” equation and get a system working for you - even if it’s just the invoicing side of things. Your time is valuable - value it.
4. have a stellar team
You’re only human. You need a support team cheering you on and offering up constructive criticism so your side hustle can reach its full potential. It’s not going to be easy organising an entire side hustle during your regular hustle, which is why you need different people to cheer you on, offer up advice, and volunteer to help you with the side hustle roll-out. Remember, only share your ideas with people who will encourage you. There are many "negative Nancies" out there who are eager to chop you down! Don’t let their words impact your choices - this is your thing, not theirs.
5. know when it’s time to review or call it quits
When you’ve achieved your initial side hustle goal, take a break and see if it’s time to pack your side hustle down. Apart from that you might want to set a timeframe from the beginning as a checkpoint - a time when you assess how it’s all going, and if it isn’t where you want it to be you either put more time and resources in, or you pack it up and call it a day. No shame. A good example of this is when Glen James started the my millennial money podcast with John Pidgeon: they set a pact for 1 year of episodes to see whether the idea had legs. They decided 12 months would be the target, at which point they’d assess how it’s going. As you can probably tell, it went alright! Choose your own timeframe.
You might use these questions to assess your side hustle:
did I achieve my initial goal?
what has gone well with the side hustle? Look at the sales/data.
what didn’t work so well? Look at the sales/data.
how is my time being spent - well? Are you feeling stretched, or comfy with how your time is being used?
overall, how are you feeling about the side hustle? Positive, negative, lukewarm?
is this something to scale up, or pack up?
if this is something to continue pursuing, what do you need to prioritise?
Maybe ask these questions with a trusted friend to have a third party help you assess it all.
Guys - good luck. Be smart with your time, invest well, work smarter not harder, set up regular habits and enjoy!
