There’s a whole lot of business and financial wellness advice bandied around online. Financial freedom has become somewhat of a buzz-term for us millennials. For anyone looking at developing a side hustle, let’s get one thing clear- there is no such thing as an overnight success. There are however lots of ways to develop and improve your financial wellness with a side hustle. Here’s how several successful entrepreneurs have gone from side hustle to creating their six-figure business and a few pearls of wisdom they have shared…
Side Hustle 101
Evaluate your skills
Everyone has a skill. You might be great at gardening, be physically strong or have the ability to code a website. Skills are varied and always in demand. The trick is to find the right person, who happens to require your particular skill and be willing to pay for it. Sit and make a list of all the things that you can do or enjoy doing for example, mine might go something like this:
- Photography
- Blogging
- Love gardening
- Social media skills
- Love animals
- Love nature
- etc…
You can list anything that you know, enjoy or have the ability to do. Once you’ve made your list, try to identify which of these you could utilise to create a side hustle that will improve your financial wellness.
Consider your passion
There are literally hundreds if not thousands of legitimate side hustles you could consider doing to improve your financial wellness. You need to consider your particular passion. There are lots of online resources that can help you decide which side hustle is right for you, like the free ‘what kind of business should I start?‘ course by Oh Joy. Remember that there’s no such thing as an overnight success, so whatever you choose you need to be willing to work hard at doing, so it helps to feel passionate about it! Here are just a few ideas you might consider:
- Ecommerce- Open an Etsy shop and sell your creations, maybe downloadables or offer your services like designing custom wedding invitations.
- Party planner- Maybe you’re well known for being able to throw a good party, offer your services online as a party planner.
- Dog walker- If you’re a dog lover try rover.com and turn your love of dogs into an income.
- Photography- Advertise your photography online, share and collaborate to build up your clients.
- Caregiver- If you’re a natural caregiver you could find a position to suit you through a website like care.com
- Driving- How about being an Uber driver in the evenings to earn extra money?
- Rent your spare room- Turn your spare room into a rental income with websites like Airbnb, or just let out your entire home for the weekend while you stay at a friends.
- Teaching- Maybe you’re into yoga, speak French or have a skill you could teach. Set up a side hustle offering your services to those that could benefit from your skills and knowledge.
- Writing & Editing- If you’re into writing or have a specific skill, you could try People Per Hour website where you can offer your services by the hour or find companies looking to hire on a project basis.
Manage your time
For a lot of people the thought of working outside the hours of their regular day job is enough to turn them green. Working a side hustle to improve financial wellness, does involve hard work. In order to be able to create and develop a profitable side hustle, lots of hours of unpaid work are typically involved- ask any entrepreneur! Managing your time and allocating regular hours to dedicate to your side hustle is essential. You can read my previous post on ‘how to improve your efficiency and productivity’ that lists a few of my tried and tested methods.
“Successful women often avoid looking at their phone or email right away in the morning because it puts us in a place of reactivity rather than empowering proactivity”
Jenna Kutcher, Entrepreneur
Fulfilling a need
Fulfilling a need is the smartest and best way to take an idea to market. You can get inventive or provide a service that you wish you had. A great example of this is A Beautiful Mess colour app, Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman realised that there was a need for a photo editing app that had the editing capabilities similar to Adobe Photoshop.
If you’ve identified a gap in the market, you could consider developing your own app. NET Development from Xibis create apps for Windows, iOS and mobile platforms. Say you’ve had a lightening bolt idea and there isn’t a satisfactory program or app out there, you can use this platform to make your own. When you have your very own app, you not only help your customer, but provide yourself with an additional revenue stream.
Diversify your income
“I think if you kind of diversify, so you’re creating a little bit of a safety net for yourself with your revenue.”
– Emma Chapman, A Beautiful Mess.
– Smart Passive Income
One of the main advantages of having a side hustle or several side hustles is that you are able to diversify your income streams. This means you don’t ever have to panic at the thought of loosing one revenue. You can build up your safety net by creating financial wellness via various projects or passive incomes.
“If you’re serious about changing your life, you’ll find a way”
– Jen Sincero, Author of You Are A Bad Ass Everyday
Stay fabulous
Christine
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