BOOST YOUR INCOME

One of the most popular reasons for starting a side hustle is to increase your income. An extra $100 a week adds up to $5200 a year, and if your side hustle brings in $500 each week, that adds up to a cool $26 000 a year. No matter how much money your side hustle brings in each week, it is definitely a boost to your bank account at the end of the year. Starting a side hustle can help you boost your savings, pay off debt faster, build your emergency fund, increase your investments and hit your money goals faster.

HAVE AN EXIT STRATEGY

Another reason why you may want to start a side hustle is to create a pathway out of your current job and into self-employment. Instead of diving straight into running your own business, building it up on the side allows you to maintain your regular pay cheque and create a level of consistency and stability so you feel comfortable making the transition. How do you know when it's the right time to take your side hustle full time? It'll be different for everyone, but having an emergency fund consisting of three to six months of your living expenses will help keep your mind at ease.

EXPLORE YOUR INTERESTS

If you are not quite sure what you want to do with your career, a side hustle is a great way to explore your interests, test out different things and figure out your next step. Make a list of all your interests and think of side hustles that may align with those interests. This is a low-risk way to find out exactly what you're passionate about.

MAKE A CAREER SHIFT

Changing industries or fields is hard, especially when you don't have any experience. Starting a side hustle can help you build up this experience to add to your resumé and make the shift. Think of it as creating your own work experience job to prepare you for the next big career step.

DEVELOP NEW SKILLS

Starting a side hustle also allows you to expand your knowledge, upskill and learn new things. If you want to grow your writing skills, offer blog-writing services to businesses. If you want to get better with Excel data management, offer Excel database cleaning services to businesses. To help get started, ask your family and friends if they would be interested in you providing your services and skills.

FIND A CREATIVE OUTLET

Finding ways to monetise certain hobbies is a great way to do what you love and make money while doing so. For example, if you love fitness, you could teach group exercise classes on weekends. Or if you love painting, you could create an online store to sell your artwork.

TIME AND EFFORT REQUIRED

A great place to start when determining what side hustle to pursue is deciding how much time and effort you want to commit to it. Below are some examples of low-, medium- and high-effort side hustles.

• Low-effort side hustles: online surveys, user testing
• Medium-effort side hustles: dog walking, re-selling items, food delivery
• High-effort side hustles: starting an e-commerce store, freelancing, content creator

Generally speaking, the higher the effort required, the greater the potential reward and income may be.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERTISE

Another thing to consider are your skills and expertise. Grab a sheet of paper and make a list of all the hard and soft skills you have. Hard skills refer to the technical knowledge you have acquired through formal education and training programs; for example, web design and copywriting are hard skills. On the other hand, soft skills are often described as ‘people' skills and are the personal qualities you possess. Some examples of soft skills include leadership, creativity and critical thinking. Based on your list of skills, brainstorm some possible side hustle ideas that incorporate your skills.

If you get stuck with writing out your skills, think about what your friends and your team at work always ask for your help with. If you find that you repeatedly get asked to help with the same things, this may be a good indication of what side hustle you should start.

YOUR HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

Lastly, consider any hobbies or interests you have. Are there any that you can monetise or translate into a side hustle? You will be spending a large portion of your free time working on your side hustle, so it is beneficial to choose something you enjoy doing.

MAKE A SCHEDULE

Determine how many hours and days you will commit to your side hustle. Will you only work on your side hustle on weekends? Will you dedicate a few hours every night after work? Pick your schedule and stick to it — and make sure you tell your side hustle clients or customers when your ‘office hours' will be to avoid out-of-hours distractions.

BLOCK OUT TIME IN YOUR CALENDAR

Schedule your working time in your calendar to keep yourself accountable. Treat this like any other meeting or appointment, and avoid booking in any other activities during these times.

WRITE A TO-DO LIST

List out all the tasks you want and need to get done. Break down big tasks into smaller chunks and focus on completing one step at a time.

CREATE AN OUT-OF-OFFICE MESSAGE

If you plan to be away for a weekend or have a special occasion, set an out-of-office message for any side hustle communications to avoid being stuck to your email in case a client/customer reaches out.

MAKE TIME FOR WHAT MATTERS MOST

Working on your side hustle is important, but don't forget to also make time for what matters most: self-care, rest, downtime and spending time with friends and family.

YOUR PERSONAL NETWORK

Your personal network is the best place to start to let people know that you are in business and to find your first client/customer. The people who know you will be more willing to give you a chance when you have no experience, and it will be less intimidating to ask for a glowing testimonial and a referral. Use your personal social media accounts to announce your side hustle and spread the word. You may also choose to offer a discounted introductory rate as you get started.

SOCIAL MEDIA

In this day and age, social media is a necessity when it comes to promoting your side hustle. Not only does it help increase your exposure, but it also allows you to connect with your existing and potential customers and clients on a much deeper level than ever before. Look back on your answers to the questions from your business plan on page 155 — what social media platforms does your ideal customer or client use? A younger target audience is likely on TikTok, whereas if you are targeting mid-career professionals, you would have better luck on LinkedIn.

Start with one or two platforms and learn how to use them well before incorporating another platform. It is better to use one platform strongly than spread yourself too thin across multiple. There are three main ways to help you gain followers, increase brand recognition and make sales fast: content, engagement and collaboration.

THIRD-PARTY PLATFORMS

Another way to expose your side hustle to a wider audience is to utilise third-party platforms and websites that already have an existing audience. Here are some suggestions for both product-based and service-based side hustles.

CREATING A WEBSITE

Even if your side hustle is done locally or you sell through a bigger third-party platform like the ones listed here, it is still a good idea to create a website for your side hustle. A website legitimises your side hustle and hosts all the information that your potential customers or clients need to know about you and your offer. Here are some of the elements that you may want to include on your website:

• About page
• What you offer
• High-quality photography
• Online store
• Portfolio/project gallery
• Current/past clients
• Testimonials
• Blog
• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Press/media page
• Contact form.

There are many websites, like WIX, Shopify or Squarespace, that make DIYing your own website simple, or you can hire a professional website developer to make one for you.

IN PERSON

Your side hustle may be best seen in person. Head down to your local community markets, take to the streets or head to the next relevant industry event and start spreading the word about what you do.

SEPARATE BUSINESS ACCOUNT

Set up a separate bank account to keep track of your side hustle income and expenses. This will allow you to never confuse your personal and side-hustle money and will simplify everything for tax season. Remember to also keep all invoices and receipts from any expenses you make during the year.

TAXES

When you receive your side-hustle income, it is likely that you will not have already paid taxes on this money. Make sure to keep a portion of this money aside for taxes (aim for at least 30 per cent) and declare all income earned from your side hustle on your tax return. You may also have to pay goods and services tax (GST) and/or sales tax depending on how much you make and where you live.

DEDUCTIONS

Make sure you know what expenses you can claim deductions for to decrease your tax payable. Generally, anything you spend that relates to you making your side-hustle income will be deductible. This means if you buy a new camera for your photography side hustle, you can claim this as a tax deduction. For more details, check out your relevant tax authority, such as the ATO.

ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE

Keep track of all your income and expenses using a bookkeeping program like Xero, MYOB or Wave. There are many options out there, so do your research and pick one that works best for you and your side hustle. While using accounting software is not compulsory, it will definitely make your life easier.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Your employer may restrict your ability to have a side hustle if it is in direct competition with the work you already do for them, or if your side hustle involves a competing company. For example, if you work for a marketing agency and you want to do marketing consulting on the side, that may be a violation of your company's policies.

The contract that you signed when you were hired may also include a ‘non-compete’ clause that states that you will not go into competition with your employer during or after employment.

Double check your company's policies and the terms in your contract to make sure that your full-time job does not have any strict rules in place regarding side hustles. If you're in doubt, you can also speak to your HR department or manager.

Even if no conflicts of interest exist, make sure you stay productive at your main job. Don't start missing deadlines or drop the quality of your work because you are distracted by your side hustle.

BURNOUT

Starting your own side hustle can be hard enough as it is, but facing the constant challenge of fitting it in between your full-time work and daily life activities can be exhausting. The issue of burning out when you are trying to start a side hustle is high, so it is important that you consciously manage this balance.

There are a few ways you can prevent burnout. Firstly, manage your time strictly and fit your side hustle in during your most productive working hours. Secondly, set aside time to practise regular self-care. Your health is always your top priority, so recognise when you are feeling burnt out and take a step back to rest and recharge.

START-UP COSTS

Your side hustle idea may require some initial start-up costs like buying inventory or equipment. Don't let start-up costs discourage you from starting your side hustle. Investing some money up front may be necessary so you can reap the massive rewards later. Set aside a portion of your income to go towards a ‘start-up fund' and avoid going into debt unless you are confident you can repay it quickly. Reinvest your initial profits back into your side hustle to buy more equipment/materials or to undertake further upskilling so that you can keep growing into the future.

DIFFICULT CUSTOMERS OR CLIENTS

While you will have positive interactions with most of your customers or clients, it is likely that you will also encounter some difficult ones. People demanding a refund, not paying you for your services, changing the scope of work, ignoring your requests for payment … and the list goes on. It can definitely be deflating and exhausting when you encounter these sorts of customers or clients, but there are a few ways you can manage them.

MAKE A CONTRACT

Before starting with a new client, set a clear scope of work that is agreed to by both parties. This scope of work should clearly define all deadlines and how you will deal with any extra inclusions or modifications. There are websites that have contract templates you can use as a starting point. Alternatively, you can consult with a legal professional if you want to make sure that this document adequately protects you.

HAVE CLEAR PAYMENT TERMS

Be clear on when you expect payment and define late payment fees. Avoid invoicing for the total price at the end, as clients can just avoid paying your invoice when they've already received your work.

If you do end up in a situation where your client has not paid, send friendly reminder emails the day and week after payment is due and reattach the invoice. If this fails, try and discuss with your client why they have not yet paid and reiterate your payment terms. Remain calm during this process and remind yourself that you have a legal right to payment for your work. If all else fails, consider taking legal action or engaging a debt collector to recover your payment.

REFUND POLICIES

Make sure that you have a robust refund policy in place that clearly states in what circumstances you will give a customer a refund. Check the laws in your area to make sure that your policy is in line with the relevant consumer law.

LOSS OF MOTIVATION

As you pursue your side hustle, you may go through periods where you are struggling to stay motivated and committed to it. If this is the case, remember why you started your side hustle in the first place. Was it to pay off your debts faster, to quit the job you hate or to save up for a holiday? Whatever it is, use that as motivation to stay on track.