Turning a side hustle into more of a full-time employment is a dream many people have. Side hustles can start off as smaller ways to make more money and boost your income, but some have the potential to become more significant ways to make money and can even deliver you the career of your dreams.

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Whether you’re walking the neighbourhood dogs and want to branch out to opening a doggy daycare or you want to get serious about your home baking venture, taking the next logical step is exciting. But the last thing you want to do is run before you can walk, and it’s really important that you put the right framework in place before you go all in and quit your day job for a fun side hustle.

Run The Numbers

While girls do indeed run the world, like Beyoncé states, numbers and finances play a big part, too, it’s not the most glamorous side of running a business or turning your side hustle into a business.

First, you need to be aware of how much you’re making from this venture alone, what your earning potential could be and how much you need to make to replace any other income you lose to dedicate more time to this. Make sure your earnings are enough to keep the lights on and order that Friday might take away, because you deserve it!

Set a figure you need to be making before quitting your job; ideally, at least 70% of your salary to be confident you will have enough to live off.

Sanity Saving Software and Systems

A side hustle feels great because it’s part-time and extremely flexible. But when you make it a bigger part of your life, you’re going to need systems in place that help, not hinder, your progress. And this is a major factor in running a business as opposed to something that makes you cash so you can afford the fun things in life.

You don’t need fancy software from the beginning, but doing a bit of research into what is available, what you might need, and signing up for free trials or demos can serve you well here, so you can get prepared before you actually need to rely on it all.

Get Paid Easier

You need to look at how people pay you now and how you can make it easier and more professional for when this is your main source of income. And for smaller businesses, a mobile bluetooth card reader is a game-changer. These devices are small enough to fit into a pocket, and you can whip them out wherever to accept payment. Travelling to a customer’s house to drop off an order? Take the card reader with you. Taking advantage of a pop-up stand at a local event, yep, your card reader loves places like this too. This means you can kiss goodbye to sending your bank details via WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, and as you grow, you can use POS software to help you take more payments, streamline your income, and basically revolutionise the way people can pay you.