How to start a profitable side-hustle

Have you always dreamed of being your own boss? Here you will find useful tips on how to achieve a stable side income. We're not talking about the quick money overnight that is touted in some other articles. We just want to offer you some interesting approaches on how you can earn some extra money and start a profitable side-hustle. Since you're still doing your actual job, the road to a side business may be a tough one at first, but it might be profitable some day!

In this post, you'll find 5 approaches you should consider if you're just about to start your own project and become your own boss. Have fun reading and good luck with your future side-hustle!

1. Research and first thoughts about your side-hustle

First of all, you should ask yourself some essential questions. Consider these, before going into practice.

What exactly do I want to do... and how?

The best thing, of course, is to turn your passion into a profession. Do you knit, paint or are you a passionate designer? Then offer your arts! Here you can find some hobbies you could make money with.

If you don't find anything there, we can recommend an overview of the Entrepreneur. Here you'll find 50 ideas for making money on the side. This business blog also provides you with 15 ideas that might work for a side-hustle. Among other things, selling products online or starting an own blog are considered here.

Is there a demand for my concept?

Analyze the competition and the supply on the market! You don't always have to be the first one, but a corresponding demand is elementary. Analyze the market, if you want to offer products or services, see how often customers make use of them on popular platforms.

Of course, it is great to find a specific niche. Read up and think about what this could be.

What is the cost-benefit effort?

To do so, you should analyze possible price structures in your target segment. Of course, the prices you can charge for your target project are important here. It is also important to weigh up the effort involved. Remember, you already have a job. So ideally, you're monetizing something that you're already spending time on.

2. Make a plan!

You should ask yourself another important question now: Is it my long-term goal to turn my side business into my primary source of income?

If that's case, you can be more aggressive in your approach and invest more time. On the other hand, this is a question that you will probably only be able to answer after a certain amount of time. Only after your first experiences you will know if it is profitable at all. We therefore recommend to handle this question well thought out.

What are my goals?

Set yourself clear and, above all, long-term milestones that you want to achieve! This may sound obvious, but unfortunately many ventures fail because of too short-sighted goals. Don't just think about tomorrow, but about the next weeks, months and years!

In conclusion, it is perfectly fine to dream big. However, it is not necessarily beneficial for the success of your side business if you focus directly on the big goals. Rather, aim for smaller, doable goals in the beginning and keep working your way up.

It' s better to aim for a single client in the beginning instead of 100, which may not sound like much, but you need to learn how to deal with a single client before you can deal with several at the same time.
It will help to have practical goals that are achievable on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to develop positive habits and train yourself for success. A good approach to formulating goals is what is known as the SMART Goals Criteria, developed by Peter Drucker. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound).

What do I want to offer?

If you want to offer products, ask yourself what kind of added value you can offer. If you want to be successful nowadays, you need to provide a clear added value for your future customers. You don't want to be just another small fish, you want to stand out and convince potential customers to trust you more than your competitors!

If you offer services, create a clear structure of how much time you want to invest and what your financial goals are. Your main-job should not suffer too much from your side business!

How do I want to reach my target group?

Think about which channels you want to use to reach your target group. Weigh up which ones make sense and which ones would be more of a disadvantage. And above all, think about how you want to build long-lasting customer loyalty.

It makes sense to look at the possible competition. Analyze the different channels that are used. What is the customer approach like? How does the competition deal with feedback? What do their customers wish for and can you perhaps already do it better?

If you follow these steps and can answer the questions, then you are already one step closer in order to reache your target group.

But...what about the costs?

Last but not least, you should create a cost projection. At the beginning, it is not about exactly calculated costs, but mainly about the consideration of what kind of costs you will have. Once you have identified these, you can quantify them. Now you need to think about financing options and create a revenue plan that will allow you to cover your costs and also make a profit.

With the help of a Business Model Canvas you have all these points at a glance. Enter the term "business model canvas template" in the search engine and you will find several templates.

3. Are there tasks I should outsource?

After this detailed analysis of your business model and after creating your plan for the future, you have certainly been able to identify even more what your personal strengths are and which of the upcoming tasks you will master without much effort.

On the other hand, there are probably a lot of tasks that you are not sure about, or some who require a lot of learning. In this case, it might be advisable to outsource these tasks to other people.

Depending on the tasks, you can, for example, contact a freelancer via one of the various platforms.You don't have basic knowledge of graphic design but still want to use a logo for your brand that stands out from the competition? Do you want to get a top ranking in search engines, but have no idea about search engine marketing? Such tasks can be perfectly transferred to freelancers and usually save you a lot of time and money!

Another hint: Work smart, not hard! For many problems there are already simple solutions on the Internet, which are also extremely cheap. For example, do you want to create your own online store to sell your products? Then you don't really need an expensive service provider who creates a store for you. With providers like branchbob you can do it yourself in no time, even if you don't have programming or design skills! And the best: It doesn't cost you anything.

4. Do not neglect your job in the long run.

This one is actually more or less self-evident, but should still be followed in any case! Even if your side business seems to be going well after a while, you should not neglect your job. This also means that you shouldn't do any private tasks in your regular working hours.

Furthermore, you should not use company resources to advance your project without explicit permission. This would not only be unethical, but most likely prohibited by your employment contract and could result in legal consequences. If your side business is doing so well at some point that you're thinking about quitting your job and devoting all your time to it, you should first calculate carefully. For example, the income from your side business should naturally cover all running costs and, optimally, should be a good 70% of the income from your previous job.

Also, just in case things turn out differently than you hope, you should accumulate some savings. Here you can create a personalized emergency plan that will allow you to bridge the gap until you can start working again or overcome the hurdles in your new business. For this purpose, you should aim for about six months' salary from your old job; of course, you can adjust the number according to your needs and willingness to take risks.

5. Keep at it!

Here is probably the most important and also the most difficult point: Keep at it! Many side businesses fail because of a lack of stamina. That's why it's important to think about whether you're really ready to invest your free time in a side business after your main job.

Remember that your side business will take up several hours a week that you would otherwise spend with friends, family or whatever. If you are willing to invest this time, then consider a system of positive incentives and routines so that you develop better self-discipline. This is how you build a psychological foundation for a successful side-hustle.

This foundation also includes the right attitude towards your business itself. No matter how good a product or service may be, if you lack the determination and a genuine interest in helping your customers solve meaningful problems, your business will not succeed.

For this reason, always ask for feedback and take it serious!

Conclusion

As you can see, a successful side-hustle requires a lot of thoughts and preperations. But don't let these hurdles discourage you! If you're really determined to start your own small side business, then take the tips in this article to heart. Think about it, plan your business idea thoroughly, think about what you can outsource, don't neglect your job and above all: keep at it! If you keep these things in mind, then nothing will stand in the way of your side business.

That's it for our article on "How to start a profitable Side-Hustle". We hope you enjoyed it and that it showed you the first hurdles. If you now feel like starting your own side business, how about an online store? With branchbob you can open your own online store, completely free of charge! Come on, what are you waiting for?