How To Turn Your Skills Into A Side Hustle?

Do you have incredible skills people would pay for?

Do you have a knack for repairing things and would love to offer your services to busy homeowners who need help tending to repairs in their homes?

Or perhaps you have incredible design skills that you could sell to businesses looking for new business cards or logos?

If you’re looking to turn your skills and hobby into a side hustle, you’re not alone.

‍48% of Australians have or plan on having a side hustle.

And if they can do it, so can you!

So, to help you achieve your goal, here are four steps to turning your skills into a profitable side hustle.

Starting Your Own Side Hustle With Your Existing Skills

1. Define What Skills You Want To Monetise

Perhaps you’re the creative type and straddle different worlds at once. You might be a videographer adept at writing powerful copy and designing digital content. Or perhaps you’re good at fixing things and selling second-hand items! Regardless of how wide your skillset is, you need to start small and focus on one area. This will allow you to allocate your time, resources and energy efficiently and position yourself as an expert in your niche.

And to decide which skills to choose, simply analyse the supply and demand for the services you want to provide. Jump on freelancing platforms and look for the number of clients for each service, scour social media and online marketplaces such as Airtasker.

2. Connect With People Who Do The Same Thing

This might sound counter-productive. After all, they’re your competition!

Yet, reaching out to people who provide the same service you want to provide can be extremely helpful in understanding how you can reach your goal. Use LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Groups and online forums to reach out to people and ask how they started.

While not everyone will get back to you, you’d be surprised by the number of people who are willing to help.

3. Identify Places To Promote Your Skills

With so many people having side hustles, so many companies looking for freelancers or independent contractors to reduce overhead costs, and so many consumers buying online, there has never been so many platforms for you to promote your services or products.

Here are a few ways you can promote your products or services depending on your industry:

Promoting your skills on dedicated platforms will allow you to test the waters and see whether people are ready to pay for your help.

4. Don’t Risk Your Full-time Job

If you’re monetising the skills you use in your full-time job, read your contract meticulously once again. These days, many companies have non-compete clauses, especially in the creative space. And if you break it, you could expose yourself to costly legal action, which could bankrupt you and cost you your job and reputation in your industry!

Also, make sure your freelancing gig doesn’t consume all of your energy and focus. While it’s fantastic to earn some extra cash and work for yourself, it would be disrespectful to your current employer and, here again, may cost you your job.

You may also need to get an ABN in order to legally operate your side hustle.

Growing Your Side Hustle

Even though you might only consider it a side hustle, it's still important for you to treat it like a business. Here are some great articles that can help you grow your side hustle:

And when the time comes, be sure to check out our article on how to turn your side hustle into a business.

Don’t Forget Business Insurance

If you operate as a sole trader in industries such as cleaning, home improvement, fitness or beauty services, there is a risk something bad could happen due to your business operations. Fortunately, business insurance is an affordable way to protect your side hustle and your financial assets against potential claims.

To help you find the best insurance policy for your needs, we’ve created a free instant quote generator where you can get an estimate on market-leading insurance in seconds. Simply enter your occupation and expected revenue to get started.

This way, you don’t have to spend precious time scouring insurance providers and can focus on growing your side hustle!