Do you have a side hobby that you would like to make some extra money from?
Whether it’s selling handmade crafts on Etsy, freelancing your services on Upwork, or creating a successful blog – there are so many opportunities to turn your passion into a profitable business.
We will explore the most popular side hustles and the steps you can take to turn into a profitable business, and earn some extra cash!
Firstly what is an online side hustle?
An online side hustle is a way to earn extra money outside of your regular day job. Sometimes you will actually use the skills and knowledge built up in your day job to offer freelance services. Other side hustles may be born from passionate projects you have been doing for years as a hobby and you have found a way to monetise it and earn extra income! Examples of online side hustles include selling handmade crafts, offering freelance services such as writing or graphic design, creating an online course or coaching program, or starting a blog or YouTube channel. The beauty of an online side hustle is that you can work on it in your spare time, from anywhere in the world, and with minimal upfront costs.
Examples of Side Hustles
Why turn your side hustle into a business?
Firstly if you are reading this guide you may already have a side hustle that you enjoy, so the motivation is already present, now all you need to do is create some additional income from doing what you love!
When you turn your side hustle into a business the extra income can create new freedoms and opportunities for you and your family.
Additionally, running your own business can give you more control over your schedule, your side hustle could even replace your day job and become your new full time career. This will allow you to set your own goals, work on your own schedule and and make a positive impact in your area of expertise
Steps to turn your side hustle into a profitable business
Here are some steps you can follow to turn it into a profitable business:
Start Operating your side hustle
If you are not already operating then this is step number one, provided you can start with £0 to low entry costs. If you require to gain some things like license or qualifications and you are not 100% sure then you can always start the journey as a hobby first. Eg if you want to become a personal trainer you can start by going to the gym regularly, creating your own programme and training family and friends. If you want to try drop shipping on Amazon you can start with a pay as you go fee structure
Develop a business plan and gain qualifications
The next step is to develop a business plan. and gain any qualifications you need to get started. Your business plan should contain information about your marketing strategies and a financial forecast so you can plan out some initial goals with an awareness on expenses involved.
Build your brand identity
One of the keys to building a successful business will be to create your brand identity. This will include things like your trading name, getting a logo designed, creating a website and regular posting on social media platforms. You may even want to use online tools such as Canva to support with graphics and designs for your website and social media. Canva is designed with the everyday user in mind, so you dont need to be a graphics expert to use it. It’s also important to establish what your ‘brand tone’ (which should be aligned with your values).
Create a website
Everyone is online, usually they are connected all day too via their smartphones! So having a website is essential for any business. Your website is your online storefront, the equivalent to your store in the high street for 2023 – where your future customers will go to learn more about your product or service. However, simply creating a website isn’t enough on its own right – you want to ensure its optimised so its user friendly and rich with information for your visitor. Much like you would want a physical store to be welcoming, easy to find your way around and attractive enough to keep your customers in the store to make their purchases.
You can use platforms such as WordPress or Squarespace to create your website, both have super user friendly platforms to make it as easy as possible to design and create your own website. Alternativley, you can hire a web developer to create a custom site for your business. Over the long term this option will be preferred by search engines and mean you can rank higher when someone searches for you services, however it will come at a cost. Therefore you may want to start with a custom builder site and start to build revenue in your business first.
Promote your business and attract customers
Once you have your brand and website in place, the next step is to promote your business and attract customers.
You can do this for free by using social media to promote your business, platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. You will want to think about your target audience and what platform they are likely to use.
You may also want to invest in paid marketing activities to increase your audience reach – like paid social media or pay per click advertising on Google.
Tips for managing and growing your business
As your business grows, it’s important to have systems in place to manage your operations and scale up your efforts. This includes setting goals, tracking your progress, and managing the admin side of your business. For example the finances will need to be tracked and logged in a manner that is easy to digest and present to HMRC at a later date. For this you can use tools like Xero or Quickbooks.
Conclusion
Turning your online side hustle into a profitable business is something that is rapidly on the rise and by following our guide you can start to develop your side hustle into a new business. if you don’t yet have a side hustle this article can inspire you to start one, we have given you some ideas of some of the most popular side hustles, so try some out and when you find on you enjoy follow this guide to turn it into a profitable business.
