The Werking Girl's Guide to Managing a Side Hustle
Juggling more than one job is no longer an anomaly. Aside from the obvious monetary benefits of having more than one source of income, people tend to pursue jobs outside their 9-5 as a creative outlet - a chance to follow the path they've always wanted. However, the thought of not making enough money to pay rent keeps most people from pursuing it on a full time basis. So, instead of diving head first into launching that new app or creating that fashion line, they wait it out and work the standard 40 hours at their 9 to 5 and then burn the midnight oil (or glare at the LED light of their Macbook Pro) till it’s time to head to the office again.
The side hustle phenomenon isn’t gendered, but a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that although equal pay for full time jobs is not the law of the land, yet, women have been out-earning men in part-time work. For working women who are thinking about stepping out on their 9-5, the road to launching a functioning business while maintaining a full time job is long and arduous. But, there are rewards (financial and otherwise) for following your passion. In order to make the best out of your latest venture, we’ve provided some tips and tricks to think about before you start up.
Be Intentional
The term side hustle is a colloquialism for monetizing a deep rooted passion or interest. When pursuing a side hustle, make sure you market your skills and services in an intentional way. Verbally relaying your business as a hobby will give potential customers the impression that you’re not worth whatever you might be charging.
What does your potential customer want?
Most part-time ventures are targeted at a certain gap in the market. Is there a particular hair product that you know works, but you can’t find it in the aisles of your local store? Is there an idea for an app that you think can help increase service in a particular area or a website that can help foster dialogue about certain issues? The first stage of launching your own venture is usually the process of answering an internal question or looking for a way to fix a problem you have noticed and making your findings available to the masses. This is the most crucial part of finessing your business - don’t be afraid to reach out to people who you think might have the same questions or might be in need of the services you are willing to provide. Asking what they would like to see in an app/website/hair product is a great way to get feedback on your idea, it’s also called market research.
Utilize the world wide web
The internet is a wonderful resource, especially for people working for themselves while they work for other people. Since you’re still working a 9-5, you might not have employees of your own to delegate tasks to and that’s where the internet comes in. The internet helps make working much more efficient. With apps to help manage your time, promote your business and collect payments from customers, you can efficiently run your business with the help of the internet.
Save up!
Some people might not ever want to leave their full-time job, while others are just buying time till their second business really takes off. Either way, saving is an important part of working for yourself. Sometimes, finding someone to finance your venture is a hassle, so you have to foot every bill and every expense. If you’re thinking about making your part-time job a full-time job, save as much as you can because depending on what kind of business you’re running, it takes a while before a new business starts to make a profit.
Join us.. If you’re interested in talking to some werking women who’ve been able to start successful businesses and ventures outside of a typical 9-5, then you should join us Twitter on Saturday, Oct 24th at 4:00PM EDT for our #WerkChat - Making it Werk - Beyond the 9-5.
