NCBW National Small Business Week: Achieving Success with Your Side Hustle – Bet on Yourself!
By Belinda Walker, National Economic Empowerment Committee Chair
What’s Your Side Hustle? Are you utilizing your skills and talents to generate a passive income? Are you being intentional with supporting Black Female Business Owners?
According to the Business Nextdoor Editorial Team, roughly 17% of Black women are in the process of, or currently, running a business. In fact, they’re launching businesses at a higher rate than white men. However, only 3% of Black women are running mature businesses, which can be attributed to unequal distribution of resources and the fact that 61% of Black women self-fund their total start-up capital.
Working from home has given us a lot more time for creative projects and side hustles. Whatever your project of choice, if you’ve dreamed about turning your side hustle into a full-time business, what’s stopping you from taking the leap into entrepreneurship?
STARTING YOUR OWN SIDE HUSTLE BUSINESS
Top 10 tips for successfully turning a side hustle into a thriving small business:
#1 Establish a Legal Business and Open a Business Bank Account
#2 Research Your Market
#3 Take Steps to Scale
#4 Create a Business Plan
#5 Seek Financing
#6 Embrace eCommerce Tools
#7 Virtual Ways to Connect with Your Community
#8 Anticipate Risks
#9 Be Prepared to Pivot
#10 Find Joy
Finally, many entrepreneurs have found success by growing their side hustles — defined as a gig on the side that has turned into something more. In fact, a study by the Academy of Management shows businesses that are launched while the founder is still employed and only later become that founder’s full-time focus, are one-third less likely to fail than those that started out as full-time ventures.
