How To Scale Up Your Side Gig to a Full-Time Job
Written by
Martin Dasko
Edited by
Gary Dudak
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According to a recent survey from Quicken, 40% of Americans with multiple sources of income would love to quit their full-time gig to focus solely on their side hustle. If you’re someone with a side gig who wants to make a career pivot, the good news is that you can learn from others who have done this before you.
Here we will share actionable advice on financial planning, growth strategies and time management for turning a side hustle into a sustainable full-time job.
Ensure That You Have Enough Money Coming In
“The key metric for me wasn’t replacing my day job income — at least at the start — but I did want to see a track record of profit from the business that could at least cover my monthly expenses,” said Nick Loper, founder of Side Hustle Nation. “That should be a lower hurdle to clear for most people, and if you’ve got a little cash cushion, it will mean you won’t have to take on additional debt if there’s a downturn in your business.”
As tempting as it may be to quit your job in some dramatic scene like you would see in the movies, you don’t want to make rash decisions in this challenging economy. This is why you should focus on increasing your revenue from your side gig until it can come close to replacing your full-time job.
You don’t want to quit your job and then be stressed over how you’ll cover your expenses. You want a smooth transition so you don’t have to rush back to the workforce.
Invest Money Into Growing Your Side Hustle
“The key to turning a side hustle into a full-time career is to seriously invest in your side hustle,” said Erika Kullberg, attorney, personal finance expert and founder of Erika.com. “This doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of money to get your side hustle up and running, but you must invest your time and energy in it.”
If you want to accelerate the transition process, you’ll have to take your side hustle seriously and invest some money and time into it. Here are a few ways you can invest in your side hustle’s growth:
- Attend in-person events to network with others in your field
- Outsource time-consuming tasks
- Spend money on advertising
- Hire an employee to help you grow the business
- Purchase the right tools to ensure you can perform your tasks more efficiently
Stay Organized Until You Can Quit
Managing a side hustle in addition to a full-time gig can be challenging and stressful at times, as you’ll likely always have something to think about. This is why you should focus on being as efficient as possible until you can transition.
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“The key to balancing it all is to plan carefully and stay organized,” explained Kullberg. “Don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you want to build a good reputation and a strong client base, you need to deliver quality work on time, every time.”
Review Your Workplace Benefits
“Before you take the leap, the other important considerations are whether or not it’s worth it to lose your workplace benefits,” said Loper. “If your employer is covering your health insurance, that’s a big additional expense to start paying for yourself once you’re on your own.”
You should review all of your workplace benefits to see how much it would cost to replace them as a self-employed person. You should also involve your family in this process since this decision will impact your dependents.
Treat Your Side Gig Like a Real Business
“You also need to understand that turning a side hustle into a career involves running a mini business,” shared Kullberg. This means you’ll have to stay on top of your finances and create a structure so that you’re prepared to keep this entity afloat and profitable for the long run.
Kullberg added, “Create a budget for any tools and resources you need to pay for. Set aside money for self-employment estimated tax payments. Invest in a good digital portfolio or whatever technology you need to do your job well.”
When your side gig becomes your main gig, you have to ensure that everything runs smoothly, because you don’t want to find out that you’re not earning as much as you thought you were.
Start Charging More for Your Services
If you want to turn your side gig into a career, you’ll likely have to increase your income. Kullberg said, “It may feel intimidating, but you need to charge more than you make per hour than you do at your full-time job if you want to turn your side hustle into your new job. That way, you can afford your living expenses and to pay for things like healthcare and paid time off, while being able to save for retirement.”
If you don’t start charging more for your services, you’ll be limited in how much money you can generate. This will hurt your bottom line since you have to cover all your expenses when you’re fully self-employed.
Have a Plan for What You’ll Do With More Free Time
Loper pointed out that you can likely imagine a dozen ways to increase revenue with an extra 40 hours a week to dedicate to your former side hustle. However, before you leave your job, you want to ensure you have a plan for managing your time effectively.
The reality is that you want to create a plan ahead of time so that you don’t fumble through your days. You want to be positive that the newly found free time will increase productivity so that you’re not quitting your job for no reason.
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