Many people think about working for themselves alongside their full time jobs to increase their earnings. As a side hustle, using your spare time wisely to freelance and make some extra cash can go along way. Paying for holidays and other luxuries in your life. It may feel like it is all working out, but there can be things you might not have thought about when it comes to working for yourself as a side hustle. Here are some of the obvious hurdles you might face and how to overcome them.
Do you need to tell your employer?
One of the first things you might need to think about would be whether or not you need to tell your employer that you are working in your spare time as well. Of course, this should only ever be an issue for your employer if it becomes a conflict of interest. Such as stealing potential clients away from them, or in direct competition with them. If this is the case then you may want to consider going freelance and leaving your job, or thinking of another idea to make some extra money. Letting them know is just a courtesy, and as long as it doesn’t affect your work, they will likely not bother.
What about the tax implications?
A big thing you may not have thought about would be the tax implications that may be apparent now that you are earning more income that will be specified through your main job. A payroll department will handle that for you, but if you are earning any extra then you do need to be paying tax on that. This is also the case if you decide to start your own business or go freelance full time. In some cases, things like the Making Tax Digital VAT concept could work in your favour. Furthermore, you may want to ensure that you keep a good record so that this becomes an easy task to sort through when the time comes.
Could you advertise for more business?
More work, means more earning potential, so you may want to look at ways that you can increase this. Having a website was an online portfolio and using the likes of social media could be a great way to drum up business. Sometimes brands can often call out on social media to work with people, and this could be exactly your line of work or something you can be involved in. There are also websites that advertise one off jobs, but this could also turn into long term contracts for the future. Seek out and advertise what you do and you will start to see results.
Having the discipline and time management skills to do it
Finally, working alongside a full time job will be demanding, so you may want to ensure that you remind motivated to do it and you also take advantage of time management skills and hacks to help you be more productive. Working out the timings in which you are more productive could also help, such as first thing in the morning by getting up earlier, or late into the night if you are night owl.
Let’s hope that these tips help you to work an increase a side hustle potential.