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How to Turn Your Hobby into a Side Hustle

by admin August 17, 2019

If you’ve got dreams of working for yourself, starting a side hustle is a great way of testing out a business idea without giving up the security of your nine-to-five job. A side business is also perfect for supplementing your income on your own terms. There’s nothing better than getting paid to do what you love, so turning your hobby into a side hustle is a no-brainer. But if the thought of trying to make money from your hobby feels daunting, fear not. Here’s how to turn your hobby into a side hustle… in five steps.

 

Test if your business idea will work

The difference between a hobby and a business is profit. Just because you enjoy doing an activity does not mean that people will be willing to pay you to do that activity. The secret to running a successful business is to provide a solution to a legitimate problem that your ideal clients have. With this in mind, always do your research before going ahead with your side hustle idea.

Just because you enjoy doing an activity does not mean that people will be willing to pay you to do that activity.

Test if your side hustle idea will work in three ways:

  1. Speak to people that have the problem your hobby will solve. Don’t ask them if they would pay for your service because people tend to tell you what you want to hear and will say ‘yes’ to avoid hurting your feelings. Instead ask them about the problem they have and the solution they would pay good money for.
  2. Find others who are making money from the hobby you’d like to monetise. Look at how they are doing it. Where are they finding clients? How much are they charging? What service are they providing? Are they making any money from it?
  3. Get a sample client. Find just one person to take through your service (or use your product) from start to finish. This will allow you to spot any oversights you may have made and to create a seamless process for providing your service.
how to test your business idea

Avoid getting carried away with your ‘great’ idea. Check that people will pay for it before you launch your side hustle

Make sure your product or service is professional enough

If you want to get paid for doing your hobby, you’ll need to step things up. It’s fine to be a little slapdash when icing cakes you’re baking for your mother or using the wrong brushes when doing your own makeup, but if you’re making cakes for paying clients or charging brides to do their wedding makeup, you can’t cut corners. If you’re ‘winging it’ on certain aspects of your hobby at the moment, it’s worth taking the time to sharpen any skills you are lacking and get hold of any essential equipment you need to do your hobby professionally.

If you’re making cakes for paying clients or charging brides to do their wedding makeup, you can’t cut corners.

Start marketing your business sooner rather than later

It can be tempting to wait until you are 100% ready before launching your side hustle, but the reality is that you’ll never be completely ready. Once you know that you can offer a service or product at a level that is worth paying for, it’s time to act. Start telling people about your business as soon as possible, both in person and online. You can fine tune and tweak things as your business grows and you discover ways to improve.

how to get clients for your new business

Don’t be shy and don’t wait until your side hustle is perfect. Start spreading the word as soon as possible

Make sure you make money from your hobby

Many people say they have a side business, but when you dig deeper it soon becomes clear that they aren’t charging people for their product or service. Instead, they continue to play gigs, plan weddings, bake cakes or design websites for free. To take you back to step one, the difference between a hobby and a business is profit. If you aren’t getting paid to do an activity, you don’t have a side hustle, you have a hobby. Sorry!

People will only take you as seriously as you take yourself. The best way to show you are a serious business is to charge people. (Not sure how to get people to pay you for your services? Here are seven ways to find your first paying clients.)

If you aren’t getting paid to do an activity, you don’t have a side hustle, you have a hobby.

Make sure your side hustle won’t get you fired

It’s easy to get so excited about your new business venture that you forget to check you aren’t breaching your employment contract. There are many terms your employer may have put into your contract that will determine if you can have a side hustle without getting fired. 

Most reasonable employers do not allow employees to start competing businesses while working for them (and sometimes for 6-12 months after leaving them), which means that as long as your side business is unrelated to your day job, your side hustle won’t get you fired. 

However, some employers can be more strict and forbid employees from having any other source of income, side hustle included.

Check your employment contract and seek clarification from HR if you are unsure about what you can and can’t do. Also bear in mind that some employment contracts include terms that aren’t actually legal. If the conditions of your employment feel excessively strict, it could be worth seeking legal advice before deciding how to proceed with your business idea.

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3. We stood firm and white knuckled our way through the fear. Then something funny happened.... we kinda started to enjoy the freedom. Like REALLY enjoy the freedom from our phones.  We clawed back a ton of time, which we used to rest, regroup and reconnect with our 'why' (so cliched!).⁠
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4. Then we started to get itchy feet. Once a type A, always a type A. 🤣  So, we're back! Older, wiser, realigned and raring to go. ⁠
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Oh and the world didn't stop spinning from hitting pause for a few months. 😊
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Moral of the story? Feel the fear and do it anyway. If you feel called to do something that doesn't make sense to others but it does to you, you know what to do. 😉⁠
⁠  #theambitionplan #pursueyourpassion #boldbraveyou #femalepreneur #womenhelpingwomen #selflovefirst #selfloveisthebestlove  #motivationnation #selflovequotes #womenwholead #focusonyou #mindsetquotes #whynotnow #inspirationalpost #girlstopapologizing #bossladiesmindset #workonyourself #pursuehappy #buildinganaempire #motivationalquoteoftheday #bossbabemovement #makingprogress #chooseyou #inspirationalthoughts #womenwithvision #femaleceo #wisdomquotes #selflovetips #selflovewarrior #celebrateyourself
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Real talk. Tag a strong woman who keeps going no m Real talk. Tag a strong woman who keeps going no matter what life throws at her. 👇⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
#keepgoing #theambitionplan #livelifetothefullest #vibratehigher #goodthoughts #motivationalwords #selfaware #createyourreality #positivity #strongmindset  #betrue #powerfulquotes #purposedriven #betruetoyourself  #believeinyou #startwhereyouare #madeformore #youarepowerful #highvibetribe #positiveintentions #manifestyourlife #betruetoyou #womenwithambition #hustleandheart #mindsetofgreatness #goalgetter #mindsetmatters #purposedrivenlife #youbeyou #livethelifeyouwant
Contrary to popular belief, no one has this all fi Contrary to popular belief, no one has this all figured out...⁠
and you don't need to either.⁠
⁠
Seriously.⁠
⁠
The only constant in life is change, which means that even if you do get to a place where life feels perfect, the universe will throw a curveball... just to keep you on your toes.⁠
⁠
So, worry less about figuring everything out and instead focus on staying true to yourself, moving in alignment and picking yourself back up when you stumble.⁠
⁠
It may not feel like it at times, but life is a PRIVILEGE. ⁠
⁠
Never forget it.⁠
⁠
⁠
#theambitionplan #mindsetquotes #beproudofyou  #growthquotes #ambitionquotes #girlbosslifestyle #beproudofwhoyouare #workonyourself #beproudofyourself #strongwomenquotes #strongwoman #motivateeachother #followyourdream  #encourageothers #savvybusinessowners #whorunstheworldgirls #femalebusinessowners #biggoals #lifechoices #womenintheworld #thinkbigger #createthelifeyoulove #motivationforlife #createyourhappy  #bossladymindset  #independentwomen #whoruntheworldgirls #reachyourgoals
You're solid gold, but some people prefer silver. You're solid gold, but some people prefer silver. Sucks for them. 😉⁠
⁠
⁠
#mindsetmatters #mindsetshift #theambitionplan #lifegoals #bossbabes #selfmotivation #thoughtfulquotes  #girlsempowerment #independentwomen #selfmotivated #entrepreneurcoach #motivationalquoteoftheday #dreambigorgohome #encourageyourself #innerthoughts #livetothefullest  #mindsetquotes #nolimitations #empowerwomen #empoweredwomenempowerwomen #successfulwomen #thebossbabesociete  #womeninspiringwomen #empoweringquotes #womenunite #yougotthis #empowerher  #pursuehappy #lifegoal #mompreneurs
We quit social media and shut our biz for 4 months We quit social media and shut our biz for 4 months... guess what happened?😱 😨⁠
⁠
1. We got SO much perspective. The amount of flexing that goes on here will screw with your mind and priorities if you aren't careful. And yep, we got sucked in too. 🙈  We noticed we'd started doing what we thought we 'should' do, instead of what we wanted to do, so we stopped.  And we stopped everything.⁠
⁠
2. We freaked the fuck out for the first 2 weeks. What if we lost ALL our followers? Was it biz suicide to stop selling our courses and running our events?  Yeah, we felt off track, but as they say, 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.' Maybe it was better to just keep going than shutting up shop.⁠ 🤔
⁠
3. We stood firm and white knuckled our way through the fear. Then something funny happened.... we kinda started to enjoy the freedom. Like REALLY enjoy the freedom from our phones.  We clawed back a ton of time, which we used to rest, regroup and reconnect with our 'why' (so cliched!).⁠
⁠
4. Then we started to get itchy feet. Once a type A, always a type A. 🤣  So, we're back! Older, wiser, realigned and raring to go. ⁠
⁠
Oh and the world didn't stop spinning from hitting pause for a few months. 😊
⁠
Moral of the story? Feel the fear and do it anyway. If you feel called to do something that doesn't make sense to others but it does to you, you know what to do. 😉⁠
⁠  #theambitionplan #pursueyourpassion #boldbraveyou #femalepreneur #womenhelpingwomen #selflovefirst #selfloveisthebestlove  #motivationnation #selflovequotes #womenwholead #focusonyou #mindsetquotes #whynotnow #inspirationalpost #girlstopapologizing #bossladiesmindset #workonyourself #pursuehappy #buildinganaempire #motivationalquoteoftheday #bossbabemovement #makingprogress #chooseyou #inspirationalthoughts #womenwithvision #femaleceo #wisdomquotes #selflovetips #selflovewarrior #celebrateyourself
Check, check, check, ✔ ✔ ✔. How about you? Check, check, check, ✔ ✔ ✔.  How about you?
⁠
#motivationalwords #thinkpositive #letsgo #thegoodquote #quoted #theambitionplan #womenwithambition #goalgetter #theuniversehasyourback #stayinyourlane #stayfocused #goaldigger #bossladies⁠ #positivevibes
#createthelifeyouwant #femalehustler #savvybusinessowner #bossbabequotes #sheboss #womenentrepreneurship #goaldiggers
External validation is addictive af. ⁠ ⁠ Make External validation is addictive af. ⁠
⁠
Make sure you catch yourself before you slip. 😉⁠
⁠
📸 @themayfairgroup⁠
⁠
#theambitionplan #fearlessfemales #knowyourworth #itsyourlife #dontsettle #moveforward #movingforward #dreambigger #lifethoughts⁠
#womeninspiringwomen #mindsetofgreatness #womenwholead #careergoals #pursuehappy #femaleceo #bossbabetribe #dreamersanddoers #livewithpurpose #theuniversehasyourback  #motivationoftheday #girlbosses #careeradvice #thefutureisfemale #bosschicks #selfaware #innergrowth #raiseyourvibration #highervibes
Tag the realest person you know... 👇⁠ ⁠ ⁠ Tag the realest person you know... 👇⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
#keepitreal #yougotthis #vibratehigher #goodthoughts #motivationalwords #positivity #strongmindset #powerfulquotes #theambitionplan #believeinyou #startwhereyouare #madeformore #youarepowerful #highvibetribe⁠
#thegoodquote #quoted #womenwithambition #goalgetter #theuniversehasyourback #stayinyourlane #stayfocused #goaldigger #bossladies⁠
#createthelifeyouwant #femalehustler #savvybusinessowner  #sheboss #womenentrepreneurship #goaldiggers
Eyes forward! Seriously. After 4 months off this p Eyes forward! Seriously. After 4 months off this platform, one thing we've learnt is how easy it is to get distracted by what everyone else is doing... and how much magic happens when you put blinkers on and do you for a while.
⁠
So, be honest. Are you busy for busy's sake or are you working toward something that truly (like TRULY) matters to you?⁠
⁠
⁠
#upgrade #empoweringquotes #positivityquotes #bossbabetribe #wordsofencouragement #positivewords #dailymotivation #womenwithambition #mindsetofgreatness #dreamersanddoers #successfulpeople #entrepreneurtips #positivityiskey #bossgirl #bosschicks #girlbosslife #bossbabes #goaldigger #lifegoals #fempreneur #womeneur #fempire #liveyourbestlife #girlbosses #womenwithgoals
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