Pursuing a Full Time Side Hustle: 10 Tips to Consider Before Making the Move
With Financial Literacy Month approaching in April, Remote.co and FlexJobs polled workers about finances and side hustles. The results, outlined in the Side Hustle & Financial Flexibility Report, show almost one-third of workers have considered quitting their jobs to pursue a side hustle full-time.
These findings shed light on workers’ career and financial decisions during this period of economic uncertainty, with return-to-office (RTO) mandates, a competitive job market, and continued fears around layoffs dominating the job landscape. In total, 41% of workers are actively considering quitting or already have quit their jobs to pursue side hustles. While 31% of workers surveyed have only considered quitting, 10% have already quit their full-time jobs to go all in on a side hustle.
Making proactive career moves, such as considering a side job, is one helpful strategy to improve your personal finances in the current job market. However, for anyone thinking about pursuing side hustles full-time (or part-time), there are considerations to be made before making the leap.
Below, we’re providing 10 tips to take into account before quitting your full-time job for a side hustle.
10 Tips Before Quitting Your Job for a Full-Time Side Hustle
As the career landscape continues to change, and with remote work remaining a top benefit for the majority of workers, anyone looking to make a career move may be anxious to move quickly. However, taking time to plan your side hustle and preparing financially can ease the transition, minimize the stress that can accompany a big career move, and help you find a side job that meets both your career goals and financial needs.
If you’re one of the 77% of workers who frequently (40%) or occasionally (37%) think about changing jobs for better financial opportunities, consider these tips before making the move to a full-time side hustle:
1. Always Negotiate Your Pay
Negotiating your pay is an important part of the job search process, whether you’re looking for a full-time side hustle or part-time gigs.
Working toward the best offer allows you to showcase your value and confidence in your professional abilities. Plus, employers expect there to be a counter once a job offer is sent. Even if you don’t get the exact dollar figure you ask for, any small increase in your pay compounds over time.
To prepare the best counteroffer in a pay negotiation, consider these steps:
- Review the entirety of the compensation in the offer.
- Determine how close the total compensation is to meeting your expectations.
- Make an informed decision on the dollar figure that makes sense to negotiate up to.
By skipping a pay negotiation opportunity, you could leave money on the table instead of in your pocket.
2. Research Market Rates
Arming yourself with the latest pay information will put you in a better negotiating position.
To determine current market rates, refer to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) or sites like Payscale to understand the average pay in your career field. With many states now required to post pay ranges in job descriptions, you may also find it helpful to review job postings to gather pay data for roles you’re considering.
Researching up-to-date pay for your field will increase your confidence in any negotiation, ensure you aren’t underselling yourself, and guarantee you’re using concrete information to determine your current market value.
3. Frame Negotiations Around Your Value
When negotiating for higher pay, a great strategy is to frame the conversation around your value and the results you have achieved. It’s helpful if you can provide numbers and data to quantify your accomplishments.
For example, if you were able to save a company money by creating new processes, be sure to mention how much money was saved and how you did it. Then, discuss how you will contribute to the prospective employer’s organizational goals and the impact you can make on boosting revenue, efficiency, and team performance.
Highlighting your results and accomplishments and emphasizing how you can provide value, especially as it relates to company goals and objectives, will give you the strongest possible negotiating position.
4. Document Your Wins
The results you achieve matter—not only to employers but also to you! Keeping a record of your achievements will make planning a compensation discussion much easier.
Notable wins to document include:
- Quantifiable results: If you created a process to reduce the time it takes to complete a specific task, highlight that when negotiating, noting the amount of time saved and the positive impact it had on overall efficiency.
- Positive feedback from reviews: Save the positive feedback you receive from your manager, paying attention to skills employers look for, such as communication, collaboration, meeting goals, and problem-solving.
- Big goals achieved: Highlighting accomplished goals, such as any certifications, courses, or promotions you’ve received, will show employers you’re driven, take initiative, and finish tasks you start.
Organizing your notable achievements in one place makes it easier to determine which accomplishments and results are particularly important to showcase in a pay or promotion discussion. Being organized will also help you formulate what you want to say in any negotiation.
For example, when highlighting your quantifiable results, you may say: “I reduced the time it takes to complete payroll by 20%, saving on labor costs through the streamlining of processes across a team of four payroll specialists.”
While you can keep track of your accomplishments in a number of different ways, maintaining an updated resume with your most recent accomplishments makes a lot of sense. Noting each role’s accomplishments on your resume gives you an easy way to reference what you’ve accomplished and when, and it will make tailoring your resume easier when applying for other jobs or side hustles.
5. Develop High-Value Skills
Investing in professional development will keep you current in your field and can also boost your pay.
To determine how to develop your skills, first identify which skills are most relevant to the work you do. Evaluate which of those skills may provide the most benefit to you in your work situation.
From there, create a career development plan to add professional development and skill-building into your schedule. Online courses, certifications, and workshops can provide beneficial learning opportunities, which you can do on your own time, to stand out among your competition.
Developing your skills will not only have an immediate impact but can also have a long-lasting impact on future opportunities. Pursuing professional development shows potential employers or clients you take the initiative and have a growth mindset—both skills employers look for in potential employees.
6. Job Search Strategically
Improving your financial situation may require changing roles. If you find that you’re being undervalued in your current position, finding a side hustle or changing companies is often the fastest way to increase your pay.
In fact, when asked about the best way to increase their pay, 54% of survey respondents said they believed changing jobs was a more effective strategy. Conversely, 46% said pursuing a promotion within their current company was a more effective way to boost their pay.
Whether pursuing a side gig or a new full-time job, knowing your value, understanding market rates, and leveraging your accomplishments are key strategies to utilize during a job search.
Other strategies that can help secure a new job include:
- Use trusted job boards: A trusted job board will minimize your risk of falling for a job scam and keep you focused on legitimate job opportunities.
- Incorporate keyword searching: Using keywords like “remote,” “side hustle,” or “freelance” will narrow your search results and give you an idea of the job landscape for alternatives to full-time, in-person jobs.
- Search by job skills: Strategically searching for roles with your high-value skills will uncover opportunities that could be missed when only focusing on searching job titles.
These strategies will help you laser-focus on legitimate roles that meet your unique and valued skill set.
7. Begin to Diversify Your Income
A side hustle could offer a great way to supplement your current income. These types of roles can help you insulate your financial situation in an uncertain economy.
To get started, think about what key skills and strengths you have to offer. Consider your hobbies and interests, or identify a cause or purpose you’re truly passionate about. Then, brainstorm some ideas for how you could leverage your skills and passion to create a side hustle opportunity.
To further flush out your plan to land a side gig, consider setting up informational interviews with people who have similar side hustles. Informational interviews are a great way to gather important information about the demand for a particular role and the expected rate of pay. It’s particularly helpful to speak with people who have already paved the way for themselves. They can offer tips and best practices based on their experience with a new side hustle.
8. Identify Specialized Skills to Monetize
Freelancing, consulting, and project-based work can make for lucrative side hustles, especially when you can leverage your key strengths and skills.
When considering in-demand skills, think about which skills you have that could offer others assistance outside of the work you currently do. Make a list of your ideal clients and what problems you can solve for them by using these skills. This is a good initial framework for further developing your potential freelancing or project-based work.
There are many ways to find freelance and project-based work, including networking, targeted niche job boards, and more. By using these resources to find work and leveraging your in-demand skills, you’ll give yourself a financial cushion to be better prepared for unexpected changes in the economy or job market.
9. Understand Hidden Costs and Deductions
While freelancing or consulting offers the opportunity to increase your income and alleviate some of the financial pressures many face when working a side hustle, it’s important to understand the legalities around side hustles and freelance work.
Research potential hidden costs associated with starting a freelance business. Here are a few to keep in mind:
- Payment processing fees: Depending on how you set up your payment system, there may be a processing fee based on the service used.
- Software subscriptions: Customer relationship management (CRM) tools to organize your clients, social media scheduling tools, and other tools to help with productivity are generally subscription-based services.
- Insurance coverage: Some freelance roles require liability insurance coverage. Check with the employer you’ll be freelancing with to verify whether or not this will apply to you.
- Websites and portfolios: Another cost to consider is building and maintaining a website or digital portfolio to advertise your services.
- Marketing and advertising: Getting started may require an investment in marketing and advertising to make your services visible to your ideal clients.
There may also be tax implications to consider when managing your freelance career as a business. Knowing and understanding the tax rules and regulations will help eliminate any surprises when it’s time to pay taxes. Consulting both professional legal and accounting advice can be very helpful when pursuing freelancing opportunities.
10. Be Budget-Wise and Have a Plan
Whether you’re turning your hobby into a full-time side hustle or working as a freelancer, building up a savings account ahead of time will minimize some of the stress that comes with making a big professional shift.
Before making any big moves, though, it’s important to understand your monthly expenses and needs to determine the appropriate level of savings for you and your situation. Putting aside money in case of emergencies or unexpected expenses that come up during the transition is likely necessary. Many financial experts suggest several months of savings before making a big career move.
In addition to making the transition period between jobs less stressful, increasing your savings and building a comfortable financial cushion will allow you to focus on your full-time side job or freelance business once you decide to take the leap.
Increase Your Income With a Side Hustle
Side hustles offer more than the opportunity to increase your income. Gig work and side jobs allow you to pursue work you’re passionate about and can help you develop your skills, as well as prepare for future career moves.
Whether you’re pursuing a part-time side hustle or you’re ready to leap into a side gig full-time, preparation is the key to success. With a well-thought-out plan, a new side hustle can positively impact your financial situation.
If you’re ready to take the next step and explore side hustle opportunities, check out the jobs available on Remote.co. With legitimate remote and flexible jobs in more than 50 career categories, including side gigs and freelance jobs, there’s something for everyone.
Find a Side Hustle
By Toni Frana | Categories: Work Remotely
