How To Plan For A Successful Launch Of Your Side Gig

April 18, 2019

In today’s age, more people are creating a business of their own, often to supplement their main source of income. Not too shabby of an idea as you look for ways to accomplish your goals sooner like saving more for retirement or passing on a legacy to your family. Perhaps you’re simply looking to pursue a life- long dream of having a business of your own.

Timing is important

I spoke to someone that had recently started a business on the side that she was extremely excited about. She was considering taking out a 401(k) loan to help cover a season of lower profits – it wasn’t due to low revenue, because business profits typically aren’t extremely high when a business is in the new phase.

Her issue was that it was winter and wintertime for her type of business is a very slow season, yet she had opened her doors for business just before the season started. We spoke more and worked through the details to help her move forward.

How to plan for success right out of the gate

People have many amazing business ideas, and some have the courage to go for their dream. I’ve found that people sometimes forget how much market research along with having a solid business plan can help them succeed sooner than later. It’s important to anticipate things like:

Who is going to be interested in what the business offers enough to actually make a purchase?

What’s the best time to start the business?
When might you expect lower revenue?
How can you prepare for that?
How can you compete as your industry evolves?

The list goes on.

Questions to answer and plan for

What if the needs or wants of those your business serves changes? What can you do to anticipate that before it happens, and how will you prepare your business to evolve accordingly? How will you serve your customers’ current needs, while anticipating and proactively being ready to serve the needs and wants they don’t even know they have yet.

Where to find help getting started

The good news is that there are plenty of resources out there to help you learn these important aspects. Taking time to review this stuff ahead of time can save you stress, help you avoid having to take on unnecessary debt and could possibly even be the difference between a business that succeeds versus one that fails.

Check out this 10 Step Guide to Start Your Business created by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Use SCORE to find a mentor in your area, get help with building your business plan, join workshops/webcasts across various business topics and more.
Learn from a fellow planner’s journey with his wife in starting a business.
Finally, here’s another encouraging perspective.

The secret ingredient to all successful businesses

Whatever you do, remember to believe in yourself – you possess everything you need to succeed, and the things you’re missing are out there for you to learn as long as you’re willing to commit. That’s empowering.

The difference between you and the people you see being successful in their business is that they went for it. Fail forward. One guarantee that you will fail is to never try. So, happy planning!