It's that time of the year when you outline your new year resolutions -from getting a beach ready body, travelling more, eating healthier to making more money. Not that there’s anything bad in creating this long list of manifestos but its always a shame of an epic proportion when two months down the line you can’t stick to your claims.
This is not a 'get rich quick’ post, consider it a starter pack if you're really doing this for the long haul while you're temporarily keeping a paying job. It also treats your side hustle not just as a means of getting some loose cash, but a way of turning your passion (whatever that is) into a full time job, one that pays well and also allows you to employ more hands.
It's not advisable to dive headlong into entrepreneurship except of course you haven't secured a good job or you're being laid off and getting another job isn't happening. There's no fail-safe approach to being a successful entrepreneur, a little dose of risk taking, persistence and preparedness is essential to make you ready when your opportunity to make it 'big' presents itself.
Before I delve into the beef of the matter I'd love to mention that I'm not an authority in mapping a sure clearly defined path to success. Rather, as an entrepreneur I've had to re-strategise and remodel to suit the peculiarities of running a creative business in a 'thriving' (for lack of a more suitable word) economy. In fact reinventing my module has become a constant in the face of ever changing media trends.
Here are some pointers to consider before starting:
PROSPECTS OF YOUR PASSION
It's advisable to make a candid evaluation of your side hustle in terms of profitability, being passionate is not enough, at some point you'll be faced with the reality of going solo, if its not paying enough or it doesn't have the potential of sustaining you on the long run, its safer to reconsider at an early stage before you invest too much in it. The sole aim of being in business is to make money not waste money. So check your figures, if you're spending more than you're making or you're not making enough, you might want to restrategize or call it quit, I know thats sounds harsh but you just have to face that reality before it really hurts you.
BRANDING
At this point, you might want to take branding seriously, at least get the basics. You don't need to spend heavily on that at the moment, employ the services of a graphic designer. Its important you have your imprint on all your jobs, so getting a logo is in order, printing call cards should follow naturally as you interact and network with people. Refrain from cluttering your call card with all the services you can think about, rather keep it simple. A website is also important at this level if you can afford it, nothing too fancy, a basic portfolio site will work just fine, more like an online gallery where people interested in you can check your works, also make sure to include website address on your call card.
NETWORK LIKE A ROCK STAR
With social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and the likes connecting with potential client has never been easier, so make sure you're putting your works out all the time, people will want to size you up if you are truly worth the trial so make sure you're putting up works that best represent you and your philosophy as an artist, It is very important to step outside your comfort zone frequently too, get to meet people in their own space, step outside the confines of social media, it helps give your business a face to it and more importantly, people will definitely feel more comfortable working with someone they know than someone that exist in digital space.
PREVENT BURNOUTS
While its good to always push yourself, its way more important to take a chill every now and then, go at your own pace, never get to a point where you're overwhelmed with deliverables, remember burnouts or fatigue can be damaging to the quality of works you produce, get into the habit of scheduling your task and projects. Also negotiate for better timing on deliverables so as to ensure your day job doesn't suffer at the expense of your side hustle.
KEEP IT ON A LOW
Inasmuch as you want the whole world to know about what you do, remember you still have a paying job. It is very important you turn the noise down a notch. You dont want to be all in your colleagues faces, most especially your employer. During office hours, as much as it lies within your power put your hustle aside and your office job on the front burner. You must be seen attending to your official duties all the time even when nobody's there to monitor you. Learn to allocate and segment time to different tasks, that way the two doesn't clash.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
I can't over-emphasize the importance of research and development. You need to be abreast of trends in your field of endeavour, its the digital age and things are happening really fast. Even for the masters, they don't sit tight and claim to know everything, the day they do starts the beginning of their decline. You can be wary of reading in the general sense but be a voracious reader of contents and literature that matter to your field, consume and digest relevant tutorials, materials and any relevant manual pertaining to your side hustle. This might cost you some money so be ready to spend, regard it as a sort of investment and watch as your business not only blossoms but how you also develop professionally.
PRICING
There's always the temptation to charge more than you actually worth, bear in mind you need as many opportunities as possible because you're just starting out, you need a foot in the door, over billing might just be a way of shooting yourself in the foot. At the same time, you don't want to look too desperate by accepting a ridiculous fee for your creative work, there lies the dilemma of an aspiring creative. Striking a balance between what your work is worth and how much people are actually willing to pay for it is really critical. A little survey of the going rate will help a great deal.
ON CRITICISM
Give room for critics, allow people to shoot holes in your idea, get feedbacks from your clients and work on improving your stuff. As creative people we get too passionate and it's really difficult for us to make corrections or even let go of an idea. Bear in mind you're working for a paying client so it's very important you're on the same page. You might explain your way into him accepting the job but in the same manner you could loose a potential steady client, sake of your unwillingness to suit your him. Remember they say -the client is ALWAYS right.
MEASURE GROWTH
Doing a quarterly review will help you keep tabs with the growth of your business, you most definitely don't need the services of an auditor so you have to get into the habit of book keeping, stock taking and a little bit of accounting. You also take an introspective look at how you've improved as a person too. Your goal is to get better in every aspect mentioned above for example measure how well you've improved in engagements, face to face or on on social media; measure how successful you've become at delivering on projects while still keeping your 9-5.
EXHALE
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, that phrase rings very true. Get into the habit of rewarding yourself especially after delivering on projects you find really challenging, its a very healthy way to reset after the whole stress of delivering quality job on schedule. Give yourself a treat, splurge a little, do whatsoever makes you happy. In doing that you find a sense of accomplishment and a burst of energy to trudge on. A little pat on the back won't hurt anyone so please enjoy it.
Finally, juggling a side hustle takes dedication, motivation and endurance. Be open to criticism but don't let that discourage or set you back, it's the way to get better. With time you'll get so good and your client base will increase to a point you might want to delve into freelancing.
Good luck as you set out.
This is an excerpt from my free downloadable manual (Side hustlin'), it should be available for download soon. Watch Out!
Written by Unknown
