The side gig economy is quite healthy as people look for different ways to supplement their income. This could be anything from freelance writing to consulting as it helps to eliminate a commute which is invaluable in certain cities. The freedom of being able to work for yourself from home is appealing to nearly every professional in some capacity. There are risks associated with working for yourself as your monthly income will be dependent at how hard you work as well as how long. Mitigating these risks can make a person feel more comfortable taking this leap when otherwise they would have been unsure or not made the jump. The following are tips that will help you reduce risk when you are turning your side gig into your main source of income.
Work Your Normal Job As Long As Possible
Two income streams can be a perfect way to build up a nest egg financially unless your full-time transition does not go as smooth as desired. This is going to incorporate long days but it will be well worth it once you only have to answer to yourself. You might find that within the first few months of working both jobs that your side gig might not be as profitable as you once thought. The last thing that you want to do is quit a great job without the certainty that your new opportunity is going to work out. You will save quite a bit of money if working both jobs nearly full-time as you will barely have time to do any spending! When you tell your new job that you are deciding to leave they might come back with a better offer in terms of salary. Stick it out at your current job until you simply cannot do all of the work for your own business.
Reach Out To Professional Contacts To Grow Your Client Base
The chances are that your side gig is related in some capacity to your full-time job. Once you have left this job reaching out to professional contacts can be a great way to grow a client base. People want to work with those that provide quality work and it is a bonus if they have worked with you in the past. Even former colleague can be a great resource as they have seen you work on a daily basis. Reaching out to these contacts can be done via email but it is far easier to target these contacts on a platform like LinkedIn. This allows you to see where former contacts have gone in their career in terms of company. Introductions can be enough to help close a deal as many people trying to make sales do cold pitching or pitch from a list. These pitches can seem generic versus having a contact introduce you to a decision maker at their new or former company.
Finding An Investor That Has Name Recognition
For certain businesses finding an investor with name recognition can bring in new business dramatically fast. Former AngelList partner Lee Jacobs is a perfect example of an investor that brings with him quite the resume. Tech is an industry where name recognition matters as having the right investor can help with closing deals as well as it is great PR move. The connections that this investor has already can also be leveraged to help your business grow at a faster rate than you could have imagined.
Hire Freelancers To Help Sell Your Services/Products
Sales are not for everyone so hiring sales professionals to offer your services/products from a freelancer platform can be a huge help. Some of these freelancers will only work on commission while others might want to be paid hourly. Track the ROI on these freelancers as you might find a person working hourly does not deliver production like that of a person that pays per deal closed. Find those that understand your industry as well as this can be essential in niches like that of offering SEO services which can seem like a foreign language to those without experience.
Market Yourself Daily
Staying active on social media and engaging with others in your industry is imperative. LinkedIn is a great platform to do this as it allows all of those in your professional circle see your knowledge showcased via an article that you have written/shared. For those people that are freelance writers or web designers it is necessary to have a portfolio that can immediately be sent to a potential client. This will cut down on the time you would spend finding files that you might have worked on a few years ago. You are now your own marketing department so take time daily to allocate to this. Try different marketing tactics to see what gives you the best return on investment as far as your time goes.
Turning a side gig into a full-time job is going to be a challenge but you can do it with little risk. Utilize the above tips to help you make this transition as smooth as possible.
