Tips for Parents on Turning a Hobby into a Lucrative Small Business
Parenthood, a joy on the whole, usually comes with plenty of challenges. For one, your free time is limited once you must care for another human being (or a few). Your cost of living also increases with each passing year. So your need to make a little extra cash on the side is unavoidably hampered by your inability to find extra time in your day to work. For busy parents, starting a small business based on an existing skill or hobby can be just the solution.
Determine your market potential
When it comes to starting your own small business as a side gig, the thing that matters most is whether there is market potential for your idea. You must find this out immediately. This will include doing industry research, surveying potential customers/clients in your area and outside of it (internet businesses have no geographic boundaries), and looking at your competition. You can make the tastiest sweet treats on planet Earth but it won’t matter if you can’t break through the competition. Your product can be amazing and you can be amazing at creating it, but if there isn’t really a market for it, you can’t make money starting a business centered on it. Do something that has a record of proven success, but find your niche in that market. As many successful business people will tell you, it’s better to have a very small slice of an existing market than zero slices of a non-existent one.
Names matter
The first thing anyone will judge about your business is its name. If you think your business can overcome a bad name, you’re engaging in wishful thinking. A great name means more than you think. When choosing a name for your small business, do some online research. Make sure it’s unique. Try to make it easy to remember and easy to spell. Don’t let it be limiting. For example, if you want to sell baked goods don’t call yourself “Karen’s Cookies” if you plan to bake things other than cookies at some point. Say your business name out loud over and over again. Does it sound good? If you’re stuck, using a business name generator can be of great assistance.
Keep overhead as low as possible
Let’s get this out of the way: very few (almost no) parent-run small businesses need external office space (especially at first). You can keep overhead low by running your business from home. This helps you save on rent, utilities, office supplies, etc. Use your own home’s sparsely-used spaces (garage, basement) for storing any equipment/inventory. Rent instead of buy when it comes to most equipment. Note that a lot of your business communications can be done via free online software like Skype or Google Hangouts.
And definitely make sure you keep working full-time in your regular job. This is a side-gig. You want to make extra money. You don’t want this venture to be your only lifeboat.
Marketing begins on day one
The first thing you do to improve your small business – before a single sale has been made – is to market aggressively. Marketing from day one is everything. And in this day and age, that means creating an online presence that doesn’t miss any of the key pillars – well-designed website, SEO (search engine optimization), and social media. Blogging or vlogging (YouTube video blogging) about things related to your business and your business specifically can also be used to boost your online presence. Check here for some tips of how to market your new business online for free.
Whether it’s crafting, consulting, or creating anything that could be desired by a paying public, busy parents can make solid extra money with a small business side-gig. Most mom or dad businesses can be run from home, so they are not an extra burden on childcare and overhead costs are kept low. If you have an idea, make sure you research its market potential first and begin marketing your business on day one.
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