#24: How To Start A Side Hustle Step-By-Step

This side hustle will require you to invest many hours over its lifecycle. It would make sense for your side hustle to be around something you’re an expert on AND you enjoy doing it.

By doing something you enjoy and getting paid to do it is how you sustain it long-term. 

For me, I created Millennial Money Veteran because I enjoy learning about all things personal finance and I wanted to share it with others.

Here are ways to prove that this is something I live and breathe:

While I don’t make much money off of it, I genuinely enjoy putting content together and talking about it with the hopes that it grows a bigger audience.

The market is ALWAYS changing. What people are interested in changes over time as well.

Think about how your skills and interest could fill in a gap in the market. While creating content wasn’t meant to fill a gap, I didn’t always agree with what went viral so my social media went from documenting my own journey to educating others. There are a lot of people who are just frauds or just share the same information as what’s popular.

Here are some ideas of filling a gap:

The main purpose of a side hustle is to generate income so the next thing to consider is how you would monetize. Without monetizing, it’s not a business, but a hobby.

Whatever you’re thinking about doing, consider how you will monetize. Look to see what others are doing in that field to get an idea. Look to see if there are opportunities to expand revenue streams. 

It might be harder to do than to just say it, but starting should be the next step. 

Here are ideas on how to start using the same examples:

Some of these ideas don’t even require you to be incorporated (like being a furniture flipper) and you don’t need to be concerned about this for any side hustle when you’re starting. 

Being a sole proprietor doesn’t require any filings to the state. Once you’re making sizable income, you should be prepared to incorporate your business.

Incorporating your business presents a few benefits over a sole proprietor. 

It’s important to incorporate before you hire employees, sign contractual documents, or get funding from investors. The only downside with incorporating is that it costs money and requires regular filings.

Fortunately, there are companies available that’ll assist entrepreneurs and business owners in filing forms correctly and regularly! 

If you feel comfortable incorporating on your own, you can start by filing your business on your state’s Secretary of State website. It’s important to only file in the state you’re located in or doing business in. 

You’ll file an Article of Organization and pay the state’s filing fee. You may need an Operating Agreement in some states, which you can find multiple templates on and tailor it to your needs.

Once you get approval from the state, you can get an EIN number from the IRS. It’s completely free. You can apply here.

With the EIN, you can open a business banking account. The important thing to remember when using your business banking account is to have all your business expenses through those accounts. DO NOT USE YOUR PERSONAL BANKING FOR BUSINESS EXPENSES! You can make owner contributions to the accounts to fund your business bank account.