Are you working on your dream career after your 9-to-5 job, but wondering how to take your side gig to the next level? Meet several successful women who turned a part-time pursuit into a full-time focus, and learn strategies to turn your own passion into a profit-making machine.
1. Create a plan. "Don't just suddenly quit your full-time job. First, create an exit strategy," says Rhoda Smackum, a career coach and founder of Career by Design in Laurel, Md. Write down the goals you must accomplish before you can quit your full-time job, whether it's a specific amount of money your sideline must generate or a certain number of clients you must have. Next, write down the steps required for achieving those goals. "Talk it over with colleagues or people who are already doing what you want to do to get an idea if this is realistic," Smackum adds. Most important, give yourself dates for completing each step. If you fall behind, you can always adjust your plan.
2. Shift your priorities. While Alisha Gray-Johnson, of Richmond, Va., worked full-time as a social worker, in her personal time she was growing Messless, her professional organizing business. But in her mind, Messless was always her top concern. "I never thought of Messless as a gig on the side," says Gray-Johnson. "I always thought of my full-time job as the gig on the side." As a result, she was willing to go the extra mile, often working 20 hours per week on top of her full-time duties (and pulling in an additional $1,000 a month). Be sure to perform well at your regular job so you aren't shown the door before you're ready.
3. Make vacation time pay. Forget the plans to go to the Bahamas. Use vacation time to meet with potential clients instead. "Whenever I had an appointment, I would just take off work so that I really utilized my leave time," says Gray-Johnson. "When I had so many clients that I had used up all my vacation time, I knew it was time to take my business full-time."
4. Maximize your day. Think there aren't enough hours in the day to work full-time while you grow your side gig? Become an early bird or a night owl. Before she opened her shop in 2002, Katrina Rarris-Pinn, owner of Katrina Parris Flowers in New York City, worked her side hustle out of her home and would spend the early morning hours buying flowers at wholesale before clocking in to her main job as a human resources executive. During her lunch hour, she often returned clients' calls on her cell phone, and after five, "I would fine-tune the business plan, research or take classes at Brooklyn Botanic Garden," she says.
5. Hire outside help. When Debra L. Mars, of Dallas, Texas, launched her promotional merchandise company, Gifted by Dezyn, in 1988, she was still working as a marketing executive. With the $20,000 to $30,000 a year she was making through her side hustle, Mars hired an employee who was recommended by a colleague to be the public face of the business and take care of the day-to-day obligations. "She could filter all my calls with clients and fill in for me on sales calls," says Mars. "For two years I was a ghost owner." When hiring, get recommendations from people you trust, because reliability and honesty are crucial to a successful relationship, Mars says.
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