How to Make Your Side Hustle Your Full Time Career

By Destiny White

What is a side hustle? It’s a way anyone can make an additional income on the side of what they do on a full-time or regular basis. Some examples of this can be driving for a ridesharing service, tutoring, or babysitting. A lot of the time, a side hustle can be someone’s passion – their jewelry business, a performing gig, selling an online course, maybe even giving advice. It’s what most of us would call a passion project.

Who wouldn’t want to make their passion a full-time reality?

Here are a few ways you can make a side hustle that you love into your full-time career.

 Choose Your Hustle

You basically already have a side hustle. All you have to do is identify your main hobbies or things you like doing. Brainstorm a list, and from that list, do research on how you can get started doing those activities. From there, pick one to get started with.

Create a Social Media Account or Website

Let the world know what product or service you are offering through a personal website or on social media. This also gives people the opportunity to write reviews about your product or service, which can generate credibility for your business.

Learn All About It

You can never learn enough about something you are passionate about. Take a few courses on the topic or hobby. Do as much of the activity as you can and read about it daily to become the master of the hobby. It also helps to learn from people you know that have succeeded in starting their own business, so speak with your peers or take their courses.

Treat Your Day Job Like an Asset

While you eventually want to turn your side hustle into a full-time career, it’s important to note that your day job should be viewed as an asset that can accelerate your side hustle. If you don’t already have a day job with transferrable skills, we’d suggest making that shift and finding a day job that compliments your long-term goals. You can find mentorship and gain experience this way.

Go Live and Spread the Word

Let the world know about your new ‘hustle’ going live! Spread the word on your personal social media handles, and make sure to have people in your circle who are willing to promote your business and celebrate with you.

Evaluate Your Finances

Now that your side hustle is live, you’ll have to figure out how you can make a living from it. In this week’s #CreditChat, you’ll learn about the personal and financial considerations you should make before making this transition full-time, how to track your finances once it becomes its own business and more.

Our weekly #CreditChat started in 2012 to help our community learn about credit and important personal finance topics (e.g. saving money, paying down debt, improving credit scores). Each chat is hosted by @Experian on Twitter and all are welcome to participate. DM us any questions.

This week, we’ll discuss financial considerations in becoming your own boss.

Topic: How to Make Your Side Hustle Your Full Time Career

When: Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 3 p.m. ET.

Where: Join the live hashtag discussion.

The panel will include: Tom Brickman: Real estate investor, side hustle pusher & personal finance enthusiast; Patrina Dixon: Personal Finance Expert and Author, It’$ My Money; Leslie H. Tayne, Esq: Founder and Managing Director of Tayne Law Group, P.C. (f/k/a The Law Offices of Leslie H. Tayne, P.C.); Beverly Harzog: Credit Card Expert and Consumer Finance Analyst for U.S. News; Lawrence D. Sprung: CFP® President of Mitlin Financial, Inc.; Jennifer White: Consumer Education and Advocacy Expert at Experian; Rod Griffin: Senior Director, Consumer Education and Advocacy, Experian and Christina Roman: Consumer Education and Advocacy Manager at Experian.

Gift Card Giveaway

Enter here for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card! We will be announcing a winner at the end of the chat. Entry Period: Raffle open now and closes at the end of this chat at 4 p.m. ET. Complete rules here.

Questions We’ll Discuss:

1. What is a side hustle?
2. What are some lucrative side hustles in our current economy?
3. How do you know if you are ready to transition your side hustle to your full-time career?
4. What are some personal and financial considerations you should make before making the transition?  
5. How do you track your finances when your side hustle becomes a business?
6. How do you prepare emotionally for changing a career and owning your own business?
7. What are some common mistakes people make when they start a new business?
8. How do you separate business credit from personal credit?
9. How can you safeguard your new business from economic downturns or volatility?  
10. What are some downsides to transitioning your side hustle to your full-time career?
11. What final tips do you have for anyone looking to transition their side hustle to a full-time career?

Check out our complete list of upcoming personal finance Twitter chats here.