Launching a successful side hustle requires embracing your passion and life experience.
Kathy Kristof, founder of the website SideHusl.com, suggests either starting your own business or joining an existing side-hustle platform that matches people with opportunities. The former can be riskier but more fulfilling, while the latter provides access to websites offering short-term contract work, hourly gigs, focus groups, and more.
“Today, there are thousands of side gig companies, and they span every type of work you can imagine,” Kristof says. Experienced workers can command higher rates, with some earning $50 tо $100 an hour for consulting, tutoring, оr freelance gigs. She advises avoiding significant start-up costs tо protect your financial stability, particularly for those іn their 30s, 40s, and 50s.
Embrace Your Passion
Douglas Frazier, a magician and full-time business professional, emphasizes the importance of staying connected to your passion. His love for magic began in childhood, performing for family and friends. Today, under the name “Douglas Frazier the Brand Magi,” he performs for Fortune 500 companies but remains focused on audiences that excite him.
“I need to focus on the markets and audiences that interest me, or it won’t be emotionally sustainable,” he says.
Leverage Your Life Experience
Gail Sullivan, a former journalist, sought flexibility after becoming a mother in 2015. She began helping friends organize their homes, eventually turning her methods into her company, Calm Space LA.
“I loved creating systems that made life easier, and friends started asking for help with their projects,” Sullivan says. Her side job assisting a professional organizer gave her the experience to launch her business.
Invest in Marketing
If you’re not using a side-hustle platform, it’s crucial to promote your services. “You’ll spend as much time marketing and selling your services as doing the work,” Frazier says. Local media, social media, and word-of-mouth referrals are powerful tools.
Sullivan highlights the effectiveness of mom groups on Facebook, which helped her gain new clients through recommendations.
Emphasize What Makes You Unique
Sullivan’s experience with ADHD inspired her to design home organization systems tailored to her needs, such as meal planning schedules and visual checklists. Today, many of her clients share similar challenges, giving her a unique edge in the crowded field of home organization.
“I can see on clients’ faces what a difference it makes,” she says.