Are you ready to give up your day job and make your side hustle your life’s work? You might have had some modest success selling your creations on Etsy or marketing gadgets to the masses, but when your income relies on it, you need to do better than modest.
Here are some tips that will help you transition from being an employee to being the owner of an online store:
Secure Investment
You might have been able to divert a little bit of your disposable cash each month to your side hustle store, but if you’re serious about running a business full-time, you’re going to need a much bigger investment to get things going. After all, you’re going to have to buy more stock, build a better website, pay copywriters and perhaps buy steel storage buildings from armstrong steel.
Not to mention the amount of money you might have to spend on advertising. None of this comes cheap, but if you believe your new venture can be a success, writing up a business plan and seeking a bank loan will be well worth the risk.
Hire People
When it’s just a side hustle, you can do everything from uploading photos and writing product descriptions to sending out packages yourself, but when it’s your main business, things are different. You might find that you start to flounder if you do it all yourself, so don’t be afraid to hire a web designer, a writer to deal with your web copy and even an assistant to help you with packing and posting if that’s what it takes to make your business a success.
Listen to Your Customers
When you’re transitioning from side hustle to major project, it is smart to speak to your existing customers. Ask them what they like about your store and what could be improved. Also ask people who are not your customers, but who are in your target demographic, what would make them buy and actually listen to what they say.
Not every idea everyone has will be a good one, but many will and you’d be foolish to ignore them if you want your new venture to succeed.
Have a Go at Content Marketing
Most small eCommerce businesses start out marketing on Facebook and Twitter, and although you should certainly follow suit, you should also think about trying content marketing.
If you are able to write or pay someone to write, compelling content, related to your niche, you’ll pick up followers, direct more traffic to your site and even become an authority figure in your niche.
All of these things will help you make more sales. Which let’s face it, is the most important thing when you’re transitioning from being a paid employee to a self-employed entrepreneur.
Diversify
As a small business, you can never assume that your current income stream is the only one you will ever need. There are only so many of the same things that people can buy, after all. That’s why, when it’s no longer a side hustle, you need to think about diversifying and offering more products and services than you do at present.
