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8 Things You Should Do Before Starting A Side Business

Let’s face it, times are tough. The unemployment rate is high and the cost of gas and food prices are on the rise. Out of necessity, many people have started to look for ways to supplement their income. Some have succeeded with side business ideas while they continue to work a full-time job. However, that’s a big step and many don’t realize how much time, effort and money it takes to really be successful.

If you’re looking for ways to increase your monthly income and have considered starting a business, here are 8 things you should do before starting a side business:

1. Set A Schedule And Goals

Consider your business plan to develop a picture of goals and timelines. Create a schedule by mapping out yearly, monthly and weekly goals while keeping track of them along the way. Making and meeting goals will help you stay on your timeline, which will help ensure the success of your business. On the other hand, if you don’t intend to leave your full-time job, determine how much time you’re willing to put into your side business on a daily and weekly basis. Then, create a plan that will help you stick with it!

There’s a good chance you’ll underestimate how much time your activities will take and overlook additional tasks. Be organized and document your time, so that at the end of the day you’ll know exactly what you got accomplished and how long it took. If you find that the goals you set yourself are too aggressive, be flexible and adjust them to be more practical.

2. Get Your Legal Documents In A Row To Make Sure You Don’t Cross Your Current Employer

One thing you need to do is to make sure you are on solid legal ground so that your current employer can’t come after you when your startup is successful. The easiest way to avoid any trouble is to be sure you are working on an idea that is unrelated to the business of your employer and to work on it on your own time and with your own equipment.

Getting this wrong can result in getting fired or in having your new company’s intellectual property be subject to claims from your employer. Make sure you go through these documents and this process, so you don’t have to worry about any of that.

3. Categorize Your Strengths And Interests

Which skill sets does your new business idea require? You likely possess at least some of the necessary skills to make your business happen, but if you don’t, you’re now faced with a tough decision. Pause to spend time learning a new skill or outsource it to someone else who can help pick up the slack.

If you want to discover your strengths as an entrepreneur, you have to really apply yourself in many areas to see what things you do well with and which areas you struggle in. By doing this, you’ll understand what your advantages and disadvantages in business are. With the things you aren’t so good at, you can build a team or hire freelancers to fulfill those needs within the business.

4. Make The Commitment

This will get difficult especially if you have a full-time job because it will end up straining your relationships and you’ll be forced to make tough decisions frequently. Write down a list of all the activities and commitments you have during your week with the amount of time you devote to each. Take note of the ones you can afford to lessen your involvement with and let  those who need to know that you will be taking a step back. The more time you can free up, the quicker you’ll be able to start seeing results.

5. Get Licenses & Registrations

Get the proper licenses, registrations and insurances in place before operating your side business. With some basic research, you can quickly find out what you need to legalize your operation. If you’re offering a service, do you need to be licensed and registered for it? Every state has their own laws so with a bit of research, you should be able to figure it all out.

6. Validate Your Business Idea

Early on in your planning, you need to validate your business idea. This means getting honest feedback from actual paying customers. The only answers that truly matter are dollars spent. People provide the truthful answer when they pay for something.

It’s human nature to think that we’re right and that our ideas are always amazing. Unfortunately, our business concepts and product ideas are often not fully thought out, useful or even properly researched. By slowing down and building a very basic proof of concept with ongoing feedback from your target audience, you’ll gradually create a solution that’s guaranteed to meet their needs. You’ll be able to grow from there.

7. Catch The Big Fish

In any business, it’s beneficial to start with a big client already willing to give you a business. How can you do this? Right before you launch, talk to friends and family about your new venture and ask them for their business. Also, ask them to recommend you to their friends. Join professional organizations and put your networking skills to work.

If you want your business to succeed and are not naturally an aggressive salesperson, you’ll need to step outside your comfort zone. You will face rejection, but the more people you approach, the more customers you’ll get. Remember, the most successful entrepreneurs in the world are often the ones who’ve experienced the most failures.

8. Create A Competitive Advantage

A competitive advantage is defined as your unique advantage that allows you as a business to generate greater sales, margins and/or acquire and retain more customers than their competitors. It’s what makes your business, your business.

This can come in the form of your cost structures, product offerings, distribution networks, strategic relationships, customer support or elsewhere in the business. Get honest with yourself here. Not only does your business honestly have to fill a market need, but it has to do so in a way that’s different from what’s available now.

Conclusion

Many full-time employees want to start a side business apart from the regular job they have. For whatever reason it may be, the problem in starting a side business is the preparation you need to do before you can have one. In this post, I shared with you 8 things you should do before starting a side business.

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