What to Consider Before Getting Serious with Your Side Hustle

Needless to say, it’s honestly pretty nice having a side hustle, you get to have some extra spending money, some people use to for traveling (and travel is already expensive enough as it all is). Besides, a little extra money, a nice distraction, maybe an excuse to buy supplies without feeling guilty, because hey, it is technically for the business. 

But then someone says, “Wow, you could actually make this bigger,” and yeah, it basically gets to the point where hearing that, that this side hustle could become a bit more serious, right? Sure, maybe not full-on small business mode yet, just a little step up from messing around at the dining table. That weird middle stage is exciting, but oh wow, there is a lot to think about.

Time Gets Weird when a Side Hustle Grows

So, it’s probably best to start right here; side hustles are enjoyable because they fit into life. They happen on evenings or lazy Sundays when nothing else is going on. Once you start treating it like a semi-serious operation, time disappears fast. No, really, it’s true, like you’ll be packing orders or designing new products, and you better believe that those can easily eat up hours if there is no plan. It helps to be real about time. How many evenings are actually free? Will it feel fun still if Sunday becomes a “work day”? There is a balance that keeps burnout away and figuring out that balance early saves a lot of stress later.

Supplies Get Super Expensive

Well, not just expensive, but it’s going to get fairly stressful as well. So, think about it for a moment; at first, it is tiny orders of stuff. Like, it might be stickers here, postage supplies there, maybe a bit of cardstock because it looked pretty. All of that sounds great and normal, right? But then things pick up a little, which means those small packets are not cutting it anymore. Sure, bulk buying becomes a thing, and that can feel surprisingly adult. But even that is kinda expensive, well, upfront it is.

And wow, printers can be a whole issue by themselves. If you have ever owned a printer in general, then you have a solid idea of how horribly frustrating that can of worms can be, right? Now, what’s the problem here? Well, it’s not all printers, but some brands lock every feature behind a subscription, and it feels like robbery just to print a simple label. Nobody needs a monthly fee just to make their own packaging look decent. Besides, you literally bought a printer. Why is this even a thing?

So, you’ll need to pick a printer that doesn’t pull that stunt, like Epson, for example, and just going for something that takes straightforward supplies, like Epson ink makes life so much easier. Basically, before buying a printer, look if they’re pulling any awful stunts (HP is the one known for their subscription, too, by the way).

Customers Expect a Bit More Consistency

But can you realistically give that to them? Now, even with a side hustle, it was already expected, sure. But now it’s a 100% there’s no way out, you literally have to be consistent constantly, sort of thing. So, can you do that? Can you provide that?  For example, shipping on time becomes a must. The packaging needs to look intentional. Branding should not feel like it changes personalities every other week. Customers remember how a business makes them feel, and if the experience is smooth, they come back. If it feels thrown together, they do not.