Times are tough; the global economy is struggling, Britain’s cost of living is high, the UK has recently had a new Labour government, yet the financial landscape still feels uncertain for most of us. Businesses are closing left, right and centre. Yet starting a side hustle is something many people are both intrigued in, and pursuing.
Why starting a side hustle could make a difference
Many people are looking for ways to generate new streams of income, or multiple streams of income. These days, having your eggs all in one basket is risky. If you lose your full-time or part-time job, it could send your life to a crisis point. Starting a side hustle Could make a difference, by giving you another income stream, to help top up funds or keep you steady.
Why a creative business is key
Being creative is a joy, and starting a side hustle that’s also an outlet for your creativity is a dream for many.
A creative business can be a great option is due to the relatively low start-up costs, depending on the type of products you wish to create. Start with a small batch or small projects, and you can go from there.
7 tips to start a creative side hustle / business
1. Find your style
What speaks to you? Why not make a mood board to find out? Pinterest can be super useful!
Put together some designs, products and branding that feels like ‘you’. Whether you’re drawn to moody blues or bright orange, scented candles or painting, learning to crochet or designing new logos – see what colours, patterns and styles draw you in, as much as the products themselves. These things will inform your branding too.
Ask yourself questions. Which era are you more drawn to? Do you love Gothic, Victorian-style things, or do you like the jazzy 1970s? Is neutral and muted the way to go, or do you like bold and brash? Do bright, modern designs appeal to you? What about sleek and simple? Or do you love a ditsy print? There’s no right or wrong, it’s all about putting together things your eye is drawn to, because your business should really represent the tastes that make you ‘you’!
When you start to plan designs or think about products you want to sell, it’s easy to go too broad and get carried away. It’s a good idea to niche down; hone in on a particular style and potentially a smaller selection – perhaps even just one product. This will help you to start to build the backbone of your brand.
2. Get planning
A business plan is vital for ANY business! It’s doesn’t have to be long, it doesn’t have to be fancy, but it DOES need to an outline an idea of your ethics, aims and goals as a business, as well as your target demographic.
This plan will also help when building out your product lines. When you have a clear idea of who you’re trying to reach with your designs, it can help to keep you aligned and not get sidetracked.
There’s always scope to go into more depth, such as a financial forecast of revenues, profits, various income streams, and metrics of your marketing i.e. social media, website traffic and so on – but you don’t have to figure all of that out at starting stage.
Having a timeframe for these goals will also help plan your launches, work out when you need to have things done (e.g. products made, branding in place).
It’s great to get started and jump in with your new business, but an element of planning can be what makes or breaks the success of your new business! You may just be starting a side hustle, but there’s no reason for it to not be a profitable one – or even a full-time one, should you want it!
3. Keep costs low
Use sites like Freecycle, Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, or even Vinted or Depop to find second-hand equipment or materials.
Whether you decide to get your products printed, upcycle furniture, make jewellery, re-upholster furniture or clothing, make candles or anything else, invest in equipment and materials that you could re-sell if it doesn’t work out.
4. Decide where to sell
Once you’ve got your products designed, your branding popping and things made – who’s going to buy them? Where will they buy them from?
It’s time to connect with your customers!
In this day and age, it’s never been easier to have multiple channels with which to reach customers. From selling at local artisan markets to online marketplaces, to building your own website or selling through social media. It’s all been made so much easier to acquire more channels to reach potential customers!
If you’re setting up your own website, you can customise the entire customer experience, but then you are also in charge of driving visitors to your website. If you choose an online marketplace you’ll still need to do a level of online marketing to compete with other, but a physical market will naturally have customers visiting already. But then you’ll need to actually attract them to your stall, and your sales patter will need to be on point to convert those sales. What about online markets?
As your business grows and awareness of it grows, you can consider branching out into new avenues. You don’t have to do them all at once!
5. Let people know
As mentioned already, the technological era we live in means that many aspects of starting a business have become so much easier. That includes marketing!
Get yourself on social media – you can choose any platform you like, but you need to pick at least one of them really! Instagram is a good all-rounder, Facebook is a little more outdated but can still be done, TikTok is where the younger audiences are at.
Don’t fancy getting on the socials? Click here to read our blog on marketing your business WITHOUT social media!
Physical marketing should not be completely forgotten either. Selling at local markets is a great way to start to build brand awareness and can help to drive further custom to any online channels you may have, along with being a great opportunity to connect and share your personality / the person behind the scenes. It’s been proven that customers value familiarity when buying from a business! Click here to read more about having postcards and business cards as another way of physical marketing.
However you decide to go about it, it’s never too early to start getting the word out about what you’re doing!
6. Be determined!
Whilst building something yourself is extremely rewarding, and starting a side hustle can be profitable, you will also need to be aware of the grit and determination you will need to truly push forwards with your creative business.
In the early days, things may start slowly, and it can be easy to become demotivated by this. But having the trust, belief and determination to stay committed is essential. As the saying goes, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’! Give yourself a pep talk (or three!) if needed, because building a business by yourself is a feeling second-to-none. Seeing your ideas come to fruition is a wonderful feeling. You never know, what may have been considered as just a secondary source of income could quite easily become your dream job!
One idea to stay determined is to make sure you celebrate. Give yourself credit and make sure even the small wins are shouted about! It can be easy to become self-critical if your idea doesn’t become an overnight success, or over-analyse when things go wrong. Taking pride in small victories is a great way to keep yourself motivated and determined to continue.
7. Just GO FOR IT!
So many small things hold us back from our big ideas.
From self-limiting beliefs to how your friends and family may view your idea. But the only way you can truly find out whether or not something will work, is by just doing it!
We often can find ourselves waiting for the ‘perfect time’. But the perfect time doesn’t exist.
If you really want to know whether your creative business has any real potential, the best thing to do is to start. You won’t know all the answers before you start, and no amount of research can prepare for the multitude of situations that can arise once you have started. No matter what, taking the opportunity to learn from the experience of launching a business is sure to aid you in the future.
Whatever you decide to do, make sure it’s something you feel passionate about. Starting a business is hard work, especially if you are doing it alongside current employment. It’s important you feel passionate about it as this will help spark you to keep going when things get difficult or you find yourself working long hours.
It’s never too soon to start!
Want more support starting your side hustle?
Whether you’re starting a side hustle or launching a long-held business dream, Pedddle is here to support you in your creative pursuits! Find out how we help a variety of creatives by clicking the button below.