Side Hustle

Keeping Your Side Hustle Legit

August 9, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

We’ve all been fed a lie. Well, perhaps not so much a lie as an anachronism. We were raised to believe that if we worked hard, learned our craft, dedicated ourselves to our studies and paid our dues that the path to success would be laid bare before us. While this may have rung true for previous generations it certainly doesn’t bear scrutiny in the current job market or economic climate. This is the age of wage repression, of zero hours contracts and career stagnation. It’s an era in which an entire generation of well educated and hard working women and men are languishing in jobs that offer neither the pay, the opportunities nor the challenge that’s worthy of their talents. In an era where their best never seems to be enough, it’s no surprise that these enterprising people turn to side hustles in their free time to achieve economic balance and take their future into their own hands. There are a plethora of ways in which you can make money from home outside of working hours, many of which could eventually become thriving businesses.

Side hustle legal

But if your side hustle is to be your passport to financial freedom and possibly even the start of a lucrative new career in entrepreneurship, it’s essential that you do it right and keep it legit. Your side hustle is a business, and that means you have certain obligations…

Tax… It’s not optional

However much money you make from your side hustle, you need to know that it is taxable income. If you fail to declare it to the IRS and are found out, the consequences may be serious and could at the very least torpedo your nascent business and your chances of financial freedom. And if you’re advertising your services online to gain custom, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll be caught out.

The rule of thumb is that when in doubt you should always declare your income. The IRS is far more understanding when it comes to income they know about than income that is kept from them. Be sure to enlist the aid of a tax specialist to help with your tax preparation. They’ll help you stay on the right side of the IRS while also ensuring that you declare any tax deductible expenses incurred in the running of your side hustle.

Incorporate your business

While not a legal necessity in your early days, this is still a good idea, for your own protection. Incorporating your business will allow you to stay on the right side of financial compliance by keeping your business and personal finances separate. This will also insulate your personal finances should something go awry with your business. It can also help to protect you from intellectual property theft. If someone steals your ideas it can be difficult to prove in a court of law and you need to afford yourself whatever advantages you can.

Whatever you do… Don’t use work time or resources

Even if you hate your day job, there’s a good chance you rely on the income it brings you. So keep your side hustle on the side! If you dedicate your workplace’s resources like computers, telephones, stationery, photocopier or office space to for running your side hustle, this could land you in real trouble. This kind of activity may be seen as a breach of contract by your employer that could get you fired. Work on your side hustle on your own time.

If you do it right and protect yourself, your side hustle could be your golden ticket to a brighter tomorrow.

Great Business Ideas For Aspiring And Creative Freelancers

June 20, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

If you’re a creative person then it can often feel as if there aren’t many job opportunities out there for you. But that’s not the case – you just need to rethink your approach to your career. Freelancing can really open the door for you if you’re struggling to find work that allows you to utilize your skills. Here are some great business ideas for aspiring and creative freelancers.

Blogging

There’s a lot of money to be made in blogging. We mentioned this in another post, but it’s all about creating the right content or selling the right product. Any and every blog can be monetized. And if you love the idea of writing about your favorite topics or posting pictures of your travels then this could be the perfect business idea for you. This is definitely one of the most popular outlets for freelance writers, but you need to work hard to turn it into a profitable source of income.

Building a following is the route to success. Not only will you stand a better chance of earning money from adverts if you increase your website traffic but you’ll also stand a better chance of getting noticed by the right people. Companies sponsor relevant blogs with big followings because it’s an opportunity to sell their products. If you’re a popular beauty blogger then you might be offered a sponsorship deal by a business that sells makeup, for example. The point is that there are many ways to earn money from blogging if you’re passionate about the idea of creating your own personal writing space.

Crafting

Another great business for aspiring and artistic freelancers is crafting. If you love to craft homemade things such as jewelry and vases then there’s a market that’s dying to buy your incredible creations. Thanks to the influx of crafting marketplaces such as Etsy and Bonanza, people selling their own handmade fashion pieces and quirky home decor can make a lot of money online. Perhaps you even love to craft (or want to craft) something a little more ambitious, such as furnishings. Of course, you might want to check out https://www.weldingoutfitter.com/collections/welding-jackets for welding jackets if your home business is going to involve woodwork and machinery. It’s important that you prioritize safety and professionalism if you’re creating a crafting business. You need to prove that your unique creations are more valuable than store-bought alternatives. If you can do that then you’ll make a lot of money from what is simply a creative outlet.

Web developing

As mentioned at https://theworkathomewife.com/72-ideas-for-freelance-jobs-from-home/, designing websites is a great option for freelancers. Not only is it one of the most profitable industries for freelancers in the modern age but it’s also a highly creative career to pursue. If you can code and design a professional website then you’ll also have clients knocking at your door to buy your services. There are always new individuals and businesses who need websites to be made for them. It’s a well-paid job that you can do from the comfort of your own home, and it gives you the opportunity to design some very creative (as long as you meet the requirements of the client).

Why a Side Hustle?

March 19, 2018 by Mike McRitchie Leave a Comment

Why Side Hustle [Article republished from “Mondays with Mike – 3/5/18” email newsletter ==> Subscribe to get weekly newsletter in your inbox plus FREE REPORT]

As you’re driving home from another day in the salt mines (no, it probably isn’t that bad…but at times it seems that way), you think about getting out.

No matter what industry you’re in or job you have within it, at some time you’ve probably thought, “I gotta get out of here.”

When it gets bad enough, or when reality slaps you upside the head, that is when I find people reassess things. And this is when the side hustle starts to come into the picture as a thought, as a possible path to freedom.

And whether that freedom is extra cash to make life easier, or being able to chuck the day job and work for yourself, it is the entry point that gives hope and breathes life into that new future.

So today I wanted to share a little about the why’s of taking on a side hustle, so you can know if it is right for you.

So what are some of the reasons?

Pay off Debts

This is a biggie. The Dave Ramsey Show on the radio is caller after caller sharing their struggle of getting out of debt.

Sometimes it is the credit card balance that got out of hand from extended unemployment, or an illness that racked up hospital bills, or just bad spending habits.

Or it is student loan debt. You know, that $80,000 of student loans you racked up while you were trying to find yourself or pursue your degree. Where the government gave you the ability to spend whatever you want and go wherever you qualified for and pursue whatever degree interested you…regardless of the financial viability of that career. And now you find yourself doing something entirely different than your degree (if you even ended up getting the degree at all) and still saddled with the debt.

Or it is the car loan. And every month they ask for their piece of the pie before you get yours. Yeah, you have the nice shiny new vehicle for the first year. Then you find a few years down the road it is worth half as much and you have no money for the next one. So the cycle continues.

Or it is the nice house. Its the American Dream of home ownership, right? But what happens when that house also comes with a steep price tag that takes a third or half your paycheck? Then you’re a slave to your house.

So lets say you’ve got this debt on your back. It creates real stress. You may not realize it but it is there. And if you have a job loss or other financial crisis hit, you could find yourself one paycheck away from having the whole house of cards collapse.

This is where a side hustle that generates $1,000 to $2,000 a month could be what helps you banish that debt for good and regain your freedom. You could wipe out the credit card debt in six months to a year – working Dave Ramsey’s “Baby Steps”. For student loan debt it could take a couple years and might require lifestyle changes as well. But the side hustle will generate the momentum and the excitement as you see yourself cutting those balances and creating a “Debt Snowball”.

Home Purchase

So maybe you’ve got your debt handled now but you need cash or extra income to help you buy your first or next home.

I’ve been there where the home you want to buy is just out of reach for your income or the amount of down payment you’ve saved up.

And you feel that if you keep saving and waiting, home prices (with or without inflation) will keep your dream home just out of reach.

So how do you close that gap?

Well getting side income, whether working a second job, or freelance work, or a side hustle (where you have a mini-side business that costs almost nothing to start), separately, or along with significant cuts in your monthly spending, will start you down the road to getting that home.

When you add income without adding significant expenses, you radically change your money situation. And you find those things you thought were out of reach (including home ownership or living in your dream home) quickly become possible.

Vacation Fund

Maybe collecting expensive toys or living in the nice house isn’t your thing. But traveling to exotic destination or just getting away from the day to day dreariness of work life is something that makes life worth living.

But you spend your entire paycheck each month from your day job. You just don’t have any wiggle room to pay for that vacation. So what do you do?

Some people take on a second job in the evening, especially over the holidays when the retail industry is hiring temporary help that time of year.

But why not do it all year long and build the cash for amazing vacation experiences you’ll cherish for a lifetime? Whether that is swimming with the dolphins, or seeing the Great Wall of China, or going on a safari in Africa, or seeing the great architecture of the great cities in Europe. The world is out there for you to explore.

And building several thousand dollars a month in a side hustle or part time job can often create the opportunity for you to take that awesome vacation every six months. Or you could save up for an over-the-top, once-in-a-lifetime vacation experience by saving up for a year or two.

Or if you like to do freelance work, you could even work that into work and travel for several years by building up a side hustle freelance business.

Building Your Retirement Nest Egg

As you enter your 40’s it begins, in your 50’s it is starting to become real, in your 60’s it has arrived. That retirement thing is looming.

And if you’re like most people you haven’t saved enough and are looking at the real prospects of having to work in retirement. And those prospects aren’t pretty as age discrimination becomes real and health issues could derail your ability to work.

According to the research, the average retirement savings for families aged 50 to 55 is $124,831. For families aged 56 to 61, it’s $163,577. Those figures are far less than the $1 million that many experts recommend as a target for retirement savings. While Social Security can supplement existing retirement savings, the average monthly retirement benefit of $1,329 may not be enough to fill the gap.

Here’s where the side hustle can help you in a couple ways.

First is you create income that builds your nest egg so you can hit your target retirement savings goal so you don’t have to have a job in retirement if you don’t want to.

Secondly you can start a side hustle that you could continue into retirement. That is a great option for something that can create a passive income. Then, coupled with savings and social security (assuming it isn’t bankrupt) you could have enough income to muddle through. Or even live well depending on the success of your side hustle.

And if you start now. Whether you’re in your 40’s or 50’s, you could have this business rolling right along by the time you hit your 60’s and retirement.

Create a Cool Lifestyle

So maybe you just want to live better. Have the toys – the boat, the RV, a plane. Or have the country club membership. Or provide for your kids’ education – whether that is private school, or moving to a better school district for public school, or building their college fund.

That is one of the great things about having money. It opens doors and creates opportunities that otherwise would not be available.

Or you can have cool experiences. It could be reasonably priced things even – like taking the kids indoor skydiving or doing indoor cart racing. Or going skydiving or hang gliding or ziplining.

Life is too short to not have fun. So build that “Fun Fund” and go take life by the horns.

Hopefully you got a few ideas from this article. If you did, I hope you were inspired to consider taking on a side hustle.

Is now the right time to start? Well if you listen to side hustle podcasts at all the guest they have on often say the one thing they’d tell someone who is considering a side hustle that they wish they were told when they were starting out was this.

The best time to start your side hustle was 20 years ago. The second best time is NOW. Things will rarely get better than they are now and by starting you’ll begin your journey.

And your side hustle will likely evolve as your career has evolved. But until you start you won’t really find out what your best side hustle will be or where it will lead you.

So start today!

Thinking a side hustle might be worth checking out? Shoot me an email and we can discuss your situation specifically.

The Different Faces of Side Hustle

March 5, 2018 by Mike McRitchie Leave a Comment

Side Hustle Hustle — Photo by Jonas Svidras on Unsplash

[Article republished from “Mondays with Mike – 2/19/18” email newsletter ==> Subscribe to get weekly newsletter in your inbox plus FREE REPORT]

Being part of several freelance/side hustle/work from home groups on Facebook, I get to see the different types of questions that come up. I started to notice a few trends or commonalities around each type of group.

Work From Home

They’re focused on opportunities like Virtual Assistant or Transcriptionist or Customer Service jobs. These are part time gigs that typically pay by the unit, deliverable, or hour. And the rates are typically really low. These are often below minimum wage jobs (if you calculated the rate hourly rather than by the unit).

Many of the people here are just trying to survive. Many have limited skills or education. Or they’ve had major life impacts like divorce (stuck raising kids alone and have lost the second income provider from their lives) or health issues.

Here it isn’t about doing what they want or reaching their full potential. They’re just trying to survive. Many times they’re desperate to make money. And make it fast. This is where many of the scam artists and get rich quick and MLM purveyors hang out and prey on their desperatation.

You see the pain and frustration of just trying to put food on the table. But complex solutions and even paying for a website or web hosting is too much money.

They’re often looking for a work from home option because they have kids and can’t work in a normal full time job around the pick up and delivery schedules of their kids. With the internet this has become a more viable option. There are a lot of work from home opportunities out there. But you often have to cull through many bad ones to get to something decent.

This is a place the Facebook work from home groups can be immensely helpful. Many have gone through the frustrations themselves and are more than willing to provide good guidance.

The main side hustle crowd often has the basics handled. They have some spare time on their hands that they’re willing to devote to a side hustle. But the side hustle or freelance work has to generate something substantial enough to be worth the effort and prioritizing over family time.

Here is where online marketing, affiliate marketing, coaching, and freelance tech and design work fits in.

You’ll see web designers, Amazon product marketers, authors, and people who have their eyes on the big dollars.

For these people you’re finding most have a good day job and just want an extra couple hundred dollars to a few thousand on the side each month.

A handful also want to eventually leave their day job and do their side hustle as their full time gig. But this is a low percentage of the whole. The rest are just looking for a little extra money and to learn, have fun, and create something meaningful that their day job doesn’t provide.

Sometimes the work aligns and supports their day job. Or it is what they do on their day job just applied as a freelance business. They may be a game coder during the day and do more coding as a freelancer at night. Or they’re an internet marketer who’s day job is in digital marketing but maybe just a small portion of it.

Entrepreneur/Startup

Then there is the group who is going full bore to create a new business full time. They may start as a side hustle but their goal is to create a business that can more than replace their full time income.

This is a much bigger operation and often involves more contractors and employees that the work from home or side hustle model requires. This is true business building. And it takes a certain personality and mindset. You have to be comfortable with higher levels of risk. And you need to be someone who can both sell a big vision and also build and manage a team of people as the operation is often much more complex than the side hustle model. Many times there is more than one founder as each person brings a different skill set to the operation.

This is where big valuation dollars are found and money is made or lost rapidly. This is where the Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, and Founders hang out. They’re looking for the next idea they can leverage to the stratosphere. Something, that if developed right, can create the next Google. But typically about 1 out of 10 are hits and the other 9 flounder or go under.

Employee Route

The final route is typically the easiest to maneuver. The entire business world is set up to make being an employee easy. They give you the rules and you follow them – just like school. You’re accountable but typically not to the same level as the founder.

The good side of this is predictability. You know when you go to work. You know when you leave. You get a paycheck every two weeks. You get holidays and paid vacations. You have most weekends to yourself.

The downside of this is you are still at the whim of your manager or the employer. If they don’t manage things well you essentially only have one client (the business you work for). And you could be out of a job in an instant through no fault of your own.

The other problem with this is you aren’t designing your own future typically within that one company. You may design your career but the company may or may not be a long term play.

Whereas with the Entrepreneurship model you are charting your own course.

So what is the right model for you to work?

Ultimately it is up to you. It is your choice. Only you know your skills, interests, family situation, and risk tolerance.

I know for me the side hustle plus employee route has been the best. It allows me to have a core career that I’ve developed and is now coupled with my side hustle that allows me to create and provide value in a different way. And it is something I can leverage into my retirement years and scale up or down (on the side hustle front) as makes sense.

So what about you?

Where are you at? Have you thought about your situation? Are you do for a change?

If you’re considering your options, email me. You may find it makes sense to work with someone who’s been through several of these options and can provide guidance to help you along your journey.

Or maybe you’ve already gotten started on one of these and need help getting to the next level.

Either way, have fun and let me know if I can help.