Need some extra cash? How about a side hustle?
If you ask this question to anyone, I don’t think many people would say, “No thanks, I’m good.” So, if you want to make some extra money, what are some ways to increase your cash flow? Here are a few tips, and ideas to help you start a possible side hustle.
It’s called a side “Hustle” for a reason
Remember, if you are looking for extra cash, more than likely you are going to need to put in some extra work (or hustle), and sometimes it might be a bit harder, and maybe even a little messier, than you had hoped. Whether it be the type of service(s) you are offering, to putting in the leg work to get the marketing, website, etc. up and running, time and effort will need to put forth.
How to get started
Think about what you are naturally good at, have a genuine interest in, or have a skill set to offer. This will make your side hustle more enjoyable, and also feel more like a hobby than extra work.
Do you have any specific talents? These can range the gamut from speaking another language, to knowing a musical instrument, or even just be really good at organizing things. Perhaps you could pick up a side job teaching someone how to do one of these skills.
Have something that you enjoy doing yourself? You could create a side business creating crafts for people – wood art, crocheting/sewing items, painting canvases or murals. What if you liked to garden? You could offer lawncare/landscaping services.
Have extra time and don’t mind running errands? Become a personal shopper through Insta-Cart, grabbing people food as a GrubHub driver, or pick up shifts driving people around through Lyft or Uber.
If you have some spare time but don’t want to leave the house – fill out surveys. You won’t make much off each survey, but these are pretty fast and simple ways to earn cash without much effort.
Do you enjoy children and consider yourself responsible? Join your local Facebook Babysitting group and see if you can babysit in the evenings or weekends. Like washing cars or cleaning houses? Pick up extra hours and cash by creating a client rotating list and every few weeks either wash their cars, or clean their houses.
Whatever it might be, the first step is to write down these ideas that seem the most interesting to you, and something you think you may want to do on your down time. Then narrow that list down to 2-3 options to give you a clearer picture of how you can accomplish one of these options as you go through the next steps.
Next, think through the amount of time you can commit
Once you have your ideas down, think through how much time you have to commit to your potential side hustle.
You need to think through multiple aspects of the time commitment here. Things to think about include:
How long it will take you to set it up?
Do you need to do marketing for this?
Create a website or rely on word of mouth?
Do you create a social media page?
How long will the task itself take to do? *Pay attention here – this time could impact your pricing*
Is there prep time needed?
How long will it take me to do the actual task?
Is there follow-up needed?
How much time are you able and/or willing to commit to this?
Do I want it to be an everyday, every week, or just a few times a month thing?
Do I realistically have that much extra time each day/week/month to commit to it?
Will there be something I have to give up to be able to achieve this goal?
Set your goal
Think through “what is your main goal”. Is it to get some extra cash a few times a month to be able to spend on your afternoon coffee runs and feel guilt free? Or is the goal a way to start supplementing your income and helping you build you emergency fund or pay off debt?
Knowing and having a clear understanding of what you want the goal of this side business to be can help answer some of the above questions in regards to time commitment.
Research, Research, and Research
See if others have done what you are thinking about doing. Ask yourself, how have they have been successful, or, how what has failed? Look and see what they are doing online. Do you know someone else or a business that is currently doing this? Reach out to them and see if you can pick their brain on how they got started. Get their feedback. Take suggestions on things that they saw work or didn’t work.
Also, create a checklist for yourself. See what you need to have to get this off the ground and running. This could include a certification of some sort, to office supplies, to online promotions, etc. Don’t also forget to consider any upfront costs such as materials possibly needed, or work space and rentals you may need to have to accomplish whatever it is that you have decided to undertake.
How do you know when to change it from a “Side Hustle” to a business?
If you feel like you are working two full time jobs, this could be a pretty good indicator your side hustle has moved on to being your business opportunity. Another indicator that you may need to consider making this your new full-time job, is when you are turning down other jobs or work opportunities associated with your side business because you don’t have enough time to accomplish these tasks.
If this is something you start to see with your side hustle and want to make it into a business, that is great, however, make sure you give it time to have actual data and know this can be stable, productive income for you. You need to see steady, consistent growth overtime with your side hustle before you decide to quit your day job. And make sure you have run the numbers, can live off the income, have reviewed all the legal structure and tax paperwork you will need to fill out. Also, don’t forget you may need to find new insurance coverage if yours is currently through your employer. Be sure you understand how all of these things can affect your overall bottom line.
Fast cash is nothing without the hustle
Whichever route you decide to go with, remember making “fast cash” is not really a thing if you want to start a side hustle. Time, work, energy and organization all need to go into it to make it successful. From the start of the process, to being smack dab right in the middle of it, how much “hustle” you put into it, regardless of what you decide to do, will give you’re the reward you are looking for in the end.