Before you leave your boss an epic “I Quit” letter, test out your skills and the viability of your business idea by making it a side hustle. Many people start this way. Work on client projects while you continue your regular 9-5 job.
Here are some questions to think about.
- Are you disciplined enough to work from home?
- Do you have the desire, time, and determination to market yourself to find clients?
- Do you have confidence in your skills, more than your loved ones saying, “You’re so great?”
- Have you done enough research? Don’t make any life changes without doing some important research and including your significant other in the conversation. Avoid getting stuck in the research phase but ask yourself some important questions:
- Are your skills marketable?
- Are there competitors offering the same skills?
- Have you researched how much your market is willing and able to pay for those skills?
- Where can you find your target market?
- Have you calculated how much money you need to earn to pay bills and thrive each month?
If you’re unsure about any of those questions, a side hustle is a great way to test the waters.
Once you actually work with some clients successfully, answer these next questions before quitting your day job.
- Can you find enough customers right now who are willing to pay for your skills? Whether these skills are related to a degree you earned or you’re self-taught, having confidence in these skills will set you apart from the competition.
- Is the amount your customers are willing to pay you enough to sustain your current lifestyle at minimum? Remember, you are working for yourself to increase, not just survive.
For example, wedding photographers will always be in demand but are there enough brides to your targeted communities who will pay your fees? The same is true for website developers, graphic designers, and ghostwriters; the need will always be there but can you find enough clients who are willing to afford you?
- Are you comfortable being solo in your marketing efforts? You need to banish the thoughts that you’re not good at sales or that you’ll just wait for people to come to you. Quite frankly, that’s just wishful thinking, not running a business. Put yourself and your family first; you have bills to pay so you have to be comfortable getting into the spotlight and telling the world about your new venture.
With research and some fine tuning, almost any side hustle can be turned into a full-time business. But you have to do the research and the work to make it work.
Need Help Researching Your Side Hustle Viability?
If you have some time one weekend, you can easily decide if your side gig will make a viable business alternative. My latest training, “YOUR SIDE HUSTLE INCOME PLAN: Created in a Weekend,” walks you through multiple exercises, from start to finish, to determine what you should choose for a side hustle and if that idea is sustainable for many years.
You’ll need to dig deep to answer some of the questions inside but self-exploration is the only way to know for sure if this is the right answer for you. The best part is it only takes a weekend. Sign up for the class offered throughout the year. Learn More
