5 Essential Tips for Starting a Side Hustle at Home

When you're raising kids, in a relationship, keeping up with life admin, and growing a business, there are probably days when you feel like you aren't doing any of them justice. And while your personal life comes first, completely ignoring your work won't do anyone any favors either. Your side hustle helps you pay bills and, of course, brings enjoyment too.

It can be a tough balance, but these side hustle tips may enable you to run a business, while also carving out time for the other things in your life that matter the most – and help you to know that you aren't alone.

1. Communicate With Your Loved Ones And Find Your Passion

Devin McHatten says that he and his wife, who have two children, had a long talk before he started a side gig on top of his day job. He is a business development manager for a company in Fort Worth, Texas, and he is also the CEO of Telos Digital Marketing, which does online marketing for physician and medical practices. He started the company in 2018, and it's still a part-time thing.

McHatten works on Telos Digital Marketing early in the morning, before he goes to his day job – and on Saturdays, for anywhere from four to eight hours. He wanted to work throughout the weekend, but his wife wasn't so enthusiastic about that.

“My wife was on board from the start," McHatten says, “but it was still important to communicate, so we were both on the same page and knew what the expectations of the other person were.”

McHatten says his wife didn't really want him to work at all during the weekends, but it was difficult for him to focus on his work at night, after a full day of work. The compromise was that he would work a full Saturday, if he needed to, without interruptions, but during the evenings and on Sundays, it's purely family time.

“Everyone is going to be different, so my advice is take the time to figure out what works for your situation," he says.

Side-hustling isn’t always a walk in the park, so it’s important you're passionate about what you do to help avoid burnout and give you a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, as well as the extra funds it helps to bring in.

2. Start Small And Scale Up

Don’t overlook the value of starting small. Taking small steps at the beginning allows you to be more discerning when investing your initial resources, and also means you can make adjustments as you gain confidence and experience, which is much less risky than going all in from the start.

Paying someone to help is something else to consider, especially if you want this side gig or home business to grow into a full-time thing. You have to spend money to make money, and if you have kids you may need to pay a babysitter, or hire someone to help with administrative work. That's a strategy that Lindsay Raffaele often takes. Raffaele is a health coach in Los Angeles and usually sees clients out of her home office. She endorses paying for extra support, and hires a nanny three days a week and has a part-time intern to tend to administrative tasks.

She points out that when you do that, you're saving time and energy, and both of those resources are finite. Money may be finite, too, but at least you can replenish your bank account if you have the time and energy to work. This can be a game-changer when it comes to freeing up time and allowing you to focus on your business, as well as the other areas of your life.

3. Seek Out And Utilize Free Resources

If you're just starting out and can't afford to hire a nanny or somebody to tackle administrative tasks, don't forget your friends and family members who may be willing to come to your aid by babysitting, cleaning, or offering other help you need to keep your household running.

The most important tip I would give when it comes to side hustles [...] is to have one calendar of appointments and tasks to follow.

—Sarah Morgan, founder, BuzzARooney LLC

There are also a number of free resources and grants available to small business out there, too. Have a look on websites such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and GovLoans to find out what you could be eligible to receive.

4. Control Your Environment and Minimize Distractions

If you're not at the stage where you need or want to move your office out of the house, it could be worth considering moving to a different space. Marc Andre, a personal finance blogger in York, Pennsylvania and founder of Vital Dollar, suggests that when you're working on your side gig, you work in a room in your home that is quiet – even if it isn't, say, a home office.

“I've worked from home since before [my kids] were born," Andre says. “We also moved recently, and I learned just how important the location of a home office is. At our old house, my office was in the basement. It gave me some nice separation from the noise and I was able to work with minimal distractions. At our current house, my office is on the main floor."

So you may want to rethink the location of your home office if the basement – or some out of the way room – is quieter.

Minimizing the distractions that could break your focus in your WFH environment more generally can be essential, too. Try to keep it clear of unnecessary day-to-day clutter, set yourself boundaries with your phone and social media, and try working on tasks for 25 minutes at a time followed by a 5-minute break.

5. Keep One Calendar

“By day, I am a senior human resources director for an international home security company," says Sarah Morgan, who lives near Raleigh, North Carolina. “By night, I am a business owner who consults, coaches, blogs, and podcasts about leadership, management, culture, and HR."

She has been working her side gig, BuzzARooney LLC, for almost eight years.

“When I began, I was a single parent with two kids who'd just started elementary school. Today, I am remarried, and we have a blended family with five children; all the kids are in their tweens, teens and early 20s," she says.

“The most important tip I would give when it comes to side hustles, and particularly side hustles for parents, is to have one calendar of appointments and tasks to follow. When I first started, I tried to keep everything separate, and I ended up with four calendars.

"I was constantly stressed out, overbooked and dropping the ball. I felt like I was disappointing everyone – but no one was more disappointed than me," she says.

Accepting that you only have one life with 24 hours in each day and scheduling yourself accordingly can help you to feel more organized and equipped to plan, execute, and manage all of the aspects of your life.

Honing Your Side Hustle 

If you're seeking tips for starting a side hustle but also juggling a full-time day job, a busy home life, and maybe even some needy (but adorable) pets, the verdict is clear: staying organized is critical.

Your goal, after all, shouldn't only be to build a thriving business – there's zero shame in also striving to keep yourself balanced and happy, too. Begin making small steps towards achieving both of these things with the help of the side hustle tips explored here.

A version of this article was previously published on June 5, 2019.

Photo: Getty Images