The Top 5 Tips for a Successful Side Gig

Learn the top five tips for side gigs so that you can make the most of your time and effort.

The Top Line

• If you want to have success with your side gig, you should listen to those with experience in starting and maintaining side gigs.
• Side gigs can be good ways of earning money on the side when done correctly.
• We’ll show you exactly how to ensure that your side gig project meets success.

If you are considering taking on a side gig to earn extra money, then you’re not alone. Many people are looking to start side gigs in order to help them make ends meet or just have some extra spending money to throw around when they feel like it. However, not everyone will have success trying to find a good side gig.

The reason that some people don’t have success with starting their side gig is that they often don’t do the preparation work required to ensure a favorable outcome. With our top five tips for a successful side gig, you will be prepared and have the knowledge that you need to successfully obtain a side gig that will provide you with all of the benefits that you are looking for out of a side gig.

Track Profit and Expenses

While many people look at side gigs as not serious jobs and just something to earn a bit of extra money, that doesn’t mean that you can ignore the tax implications of your side gig. Side jobs are still taxable income, and if you want to avoid an audit or other action by the IRS, you should report your income.

While this might sound like a hefty task, it really isn’t. However, you do need to be very diligent when recording your income. You should record all of your income, what you did to make the income, and how much income was brought in. You should also record other details such as the date that it occurred.

While it’s important to track income, you will also need to track your expenses. You don’t want to be taxed based on just your income because in many cases, it costs you something to do your side gig. This could be gas money, electronic equipment, physical goods, or a range of other things that you need to do your side job.

Make sure that you record these things so that you can be taxed fairly on only your profit, not your total income.

Give It Time to Succeed

One of the most common mistakes that people make when they decide to do a side gig is that they give up on making money too quickly. You should know that it does take time for you to build up a successful side gig. That’s why, when you’re trying to make money with your side gig,  you should give it some time and allow it a chance to succeed, rather than simply giving up on it when it becomes difficult. If you have started a website or app, you shouldn’t expect it to make money right away. These are income streams that can take years to build.

If you are looking for a side gig that is a bit faster and will allow you to hit the ground running, you might want to try a service like Uber, DoorDash, or a similar gig marketplace that already has the web traffic and brand recognition to make you successful right from the start.

Try Out Different Side Gigs

If you don’t know quite what you want to do yet for a side gig, one thing that you might try is branching out to various different side gigs. You should give yourself a chance to try many different side gigs so that you can see which ones you like the most. When you are able to do this, you can have the opportunity to have more fun with your side gig, which makes it much easier to do on a daily basis. When you like what you are doing, you are much more likely to stick with it and earn more money.

Another bonus of trying out various side gigs is that it provides you with the potential for learning something about yourself and your future career endeavors. Many people have discovered what they want to do for a career simply by starting a side gig that turned out to work great for them.

Don’t Overdo It

A very common mistake that people make when they start doing a side gig to earn extra income is that they overdo it. By that, we mean they work too much, burn themselves out, and then no longer enjoy doing their side gig. Unless you absolutely need to in order to pay your bills, you should try to avoid this at all costs. Burning yourself out with a side gig is not a fun thing to go through, and it could lead to a decrease in enjoyment in both your work and personal life.

If you’re thinking about taking on a side gig, you should make sure that you have a plan for how to balance your side gig with other responsibilities in your life. Without a proper plan, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the appeal of earning some extra money, but that appeal could quickly fade when you are causing harm to other areas of your life.

Do Something You Like

Earning extra money can be fun, but it will quickly get old if you aren’t doing something that you have at least a little bit of passion for. That’s why, when choosing a side gig, you should be sure to choose something that you think you will like doing in the long-term. The everyday grind of trying to earn extra money with a side gig can quickly wear on people. So, even if you have to try various different side gigs, you should choose a side gig that you’re going to enjoy.

If possible, you should choose a side gig in an industry that you know you want to be in long-term. That way, you can use the side gig to possibly jumpstart a career that you’re going to love.