Side hustling is the ultimate balancing act. You’re juggling a 9-to-5 to make ends meet while working on your passion project that you only wished paid the bills.
Turning what you love doing into a job is the ultimate dream for many, so we’ve partnered with Bankwest to help take your entrepreneurial aspirations to new and lofty heights.
Define Your Side Hustle
No business can be all things to all people. Defining your value proposition will help you and your team focus on what you do best. Simply put, your value proposition is the reason customers should buy what you’re selling. The more clearly you define your main selling point, the easier it will be to deliver it.
People are time poor so if you can’t succinctly sum up what it is you’re selling, they won’t listen. It should communicate three things. First up, relevancy: explain how your product solves a problem. Second, your value: deliver specific benefits. And lastly, differentiation: what sets you apart from your competitors. Once you’ve nutted this out, this value proposition will be your guiding light for everything that you do. These downloadable templates are specific to sole traders or if you’re in a partnership, company or trust, it will help you flesh out your value proposition and business plan.
Know Your Strengths And Weaknesses
Knowing what your customers are saying about you is crucial for driving customer relations, retention and loyalty. If one customer thinks you’ve given them an epic experience or product, there’s every chance they’ll tell a friend who will then become a new customer.
Ensure your website showcases your glowing reviews. When you’re planning on buying a new product, it’s pretty likely you head straight to read the online reviews before making that purchase decision—and your customers are doing the exact same thing to you.
Send a follow up satisfaction survey to your customers' inbox or ask them directly to provide a review and quote them on your website. Consider including an incentive (for example, 10% off their next order) if they leave a Google or website review. You’re asking them to give up their time, so giving them something in return may drive uptake in survey responses and reviews. Consider looking at platforms like Survey Monkey and Typeform which can be great tools to facilitate surveys. As for sending the emails, Campaign Monitor can be helpful for email marketing from us particularly because you can set up automated emails to save time.
Your social media channels are another place that prospective customers will turn to get a gauge on what other customers are saying about you before they buy. Monitor your social media accounts daily and reply to comments and messages, even if it’s just to thank them for their feedback.
Outsource Help And Reclaim Your Time
You’re the CEO and this business is your baby. We get it. It can be tough to take the back seat but there comes a point where it’s a necessary step in the growth of your business—even though it might not feel like it.
Spending hours updating your website? Trying to crack that Insta and TikTok algorithm? Assess your strengths and consider if there’s someone better skilled to cover your weaknesses. There’s only one of you, so it’s best to work smarter, not harder. Whether you’re hiring an employee to take on these tasks or outsourcing to a freelancer, you’ll discover it as a real time lifesaver!
In the early days of your side hustle, spending $10 on an invoicing system or online payment system can feel like a stretch too far. But your business has grown, and these systems are now more than worth it considering the time they’ll save you. Consider investing in tools specifically for invoicing like Bankwest Simplify—and let systems and tools do the heavy lifting for you.
Use The Resources Available To You
Getting schooled and skilled can be a time-consuming feat, and if there’s one thing side hustlers don’t have a lot of, it’s time. Luckily there are heaps of digestible and snappy resources out there to help you take your gig next level.
TikTok is a goldmine for marketing tips and best of all, a video is usually only about 30 seconds long so you’re learning something new in literally no time at all. Still commuting home from your day job? Plug your ears with a podcast. Pinterest is also a surprising but super helpful platform for entrepreneurial tips, tricks and inspo. Your bank is also a great resource, and Bankwest has a heap of ‘how to’ guides for everything from content marketing to visual branding. Check them out here.
Get To Know Your Cash Flow
When it comes to your revenue, waiting to invoice can be detrimental to your cash flow. Get into the habit of invoicing immediately or as a daily habit. Depending on your product or service, you might even consider asking for a deposit upfront or a payment part-way through. But invoicing is only the start. To maintain a healthy cash flow, you need more than just strong revenue. Keep your accounting and books up to date so you can see the financial health of your business at a glance. And keep it simple. If you’re not confident in managing the numbers—or you’re wasting way too much time trying to figure it all out—consider hiring an accountant. Similar to a personal emergency fund, building a cash revenue will help cushion your business from unexpected events and expenses. It also gives you the money you need to grow your business. Keep your personal and business finances separate, and be able to collect your revenue with Bankwest’s Business Zero Transaction Account.
Managing a side hustle can be a complex journey, but Bankwest has loads of tools, guides and information to help. See here for all the deets.
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Bankwest and proudly endorsed by Urban List. To find out more about who we work with and why read our editorial policy here.
Important stuff you should know:
Bankwest is a division of the product issuer, Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123124 AFSL/Australian credit licence 234945. Fees and charges apply. Terms and conditions apply and are available on request. Any advice given is of a general nature only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and whether the product is right for you. A PDS is available from bankwest.com.au or by calling 13 7000. Service Fees including Periodical Payment fee and BPAY payment fee may apply.
Effective 5 October 2021, Target Market Determinations for Bankwest products will be available here.
[JL4]www.bankwest.com.au/tmd