How do I scale my side hustle and make it my main job? Karren Brady gives career advice
APPRENTICE star and West Ham United vice-chair Karren Brady answers your careers questions, plus try our money-saving tips.
Here, Karren gives advice to a reader who wants to turn their side hustle into their main job.
Q) I have a small business selling kids’ clothes and soft toys, which I do alongside my job as a teaching assistant in a school.
I’m making a small amount of money from my business, but I really feel like I could make it into something so much bigger, if only I had the time to dedicate to social media, marketing and creating more stock.
However, I can’t leave my day job as we need my salary to pay the bills.
I’m not afraid of hard work, but I only have so many hours in a day!
How do I get to the point where I can make the jump to working on my business full-time – and how will I know when I reach that point?
Cassie, via email
A) Start by identifying key areas that can make the biggest impact to your small business.
Look at your sales history and identify which products sell best, then focus on stocking and marketing those.
Instead of trying to handle all aspects of your business in small chunks of time, try batching similar tasks.
For example, set aside one day at the weekend to source or make your products, and one evening a week to handle the social media.
While they can be time-consuming, platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are incredibly powerful tools if you are consistent and strategic.
Schedule posts throughout the week, so you don’t have to manually post daily, and engage with followers during your lunch breaks if you can.
Network with other small business owners local to you, as they can provide valuable insights and contacts.
Explore funding options, such as small business loans or crowdfunding, and give yourself clear financial, operational and growth targets that you need to hit before you decide to leave your job. Good luck!
- Got a careers question for Karren? Email bossingit@fabulousmag.co.uk.