How to grow a side hustle from your living room
Casual Chronicles started out as doodles five years ago and has turned into an ongoing art series. Last year I decided that I wanted to grow my painting passion into a side hustle. I went to countless events on starting a business from scratch but I found myself constantly asking ‘but how?’. So, here’s some practical things I’ve learnt from building a side hustle from my living room while working full-time.
Just do it - if there’s something you’ve dreamed of but keep coming up with excuses, stop overthinking it. If you’ve been sitting on something for ages, get it out there. There’s no perfect manual, rule book or business plan so get uncomfortably excited and just do it!
What’s your ‘why’ – sounds basic but it’s important to know your ‘why’. It gives your business purpose and builds a meaningful brand story. I’m a huge Simon Sinnek fan and I recommend his free online materials and book to find your golden circle. Mine is simple. I celebrate different people who make our cities unforgettable.
Brand it up – I started my career in branding once upon a time and some principles have stuck with me – simplicity, consistency and authenticity. But I didn’t have all the answers; I had a little help from my friends (see point 3). Their advice: leverage your brand qualities, show your personality, be transparent and start small with building local partnerships.
Have a support crew – I asked seven friends with different skillsets to be my ‘advisory board’. They come over for curry and afterwards we roll onto the couch for a workshop with big white foam boards and post-it notes. They gave me advice, feedback and ideas on different topics (e.g. brand identity, social media growth and partnerships). They have been an instrumental sounding board through every stage and a cheer squad when I needed it the most!
Use your network – I’m a firm believer of using your network to ask for help. Friends, loose friends, strangers you meet on a flight, and distant relatives are your network, and more often than not they’re happy to help! Doors open more easily when you’ve got an ‘in’ through a connection rather than generic company email address. I know that I needed to get into the groove of the arts world so I joined Marguerite, where I got to know the gallery owner who hosted my first exhibition. My flatmate’s work friend vaguely knew someone at Five Points Brewery so I asked her to put me in touch and after an email exchange with my proposal, they became my alcohol sponsor. It’s six degrees of seperation out there so get talking and go for it!
Rejection bites – everyone told me to be prepared for rejection but I didn’t know just how much it would hurt, especially when you deeply care about what you do. When I went out to find booze sponsors, I contacted at least 70 suppliers and heard back from 4. I reached out to over 80 people for press coverage and heard back from 2. The rejection rates were much lower when I tapped into my network (use those connections when you can!). It’s an inevitable part of starting out and it’s not a reflection on you. There are so many variables, including time, place and opportunity. The key is to keep moving forward because there is always another way, it may just not be part of the plan. Have a listen to Elizabeth Day’s podcasts on How to Fail, which is an important lesson to learn!
Personalisation is key - the average human’s attention span is 8 seconds and with social media I swear mine is significantly less than a goldfish. Personalisation is an impactful way to grab attention, create a hook and make a lasting impression. Take every opportunity you can to personalise with thank you notes, invitations and thoughtful gestures. It is a time investment (especially as I hand write notes) but these small things go a long way and everyone loves to receive something that looks and feels special. If you’re a stationary stickler like me, I recommend Moo for branded stationary - it’s a simple way to build an emotional connection and increase brand awareness at the same time.
Get experimental - when you’re starting out you have room to test what works and what falls flat on its face with pretty low risk. I’m a millennial who will happily confess that social media doesn’t come naturally to me so that was my major science experiment. I started with a free online Udemy social media course to improve my skills. Some other things I played around with: different themes on Over and Canva to see what suited my brand, content measured against engagement rates, the best times to post based on audience usage, and hashtags to improve my indexing.
It’s a whole new world –I’ve come from a high-pressure corporate world where there are milestones in project plans, hard deadlines and accountability for what is promised. I found the art world to be very different and I had to flex my approach, quickly. Every industry is different but you can’t go in expecting to work in the same way that you always have. I’m not saying to you need completely change but you do need to understand how this new world works and what skills you can bring to be successful. I had to leave most of my consulting skills at the door. But I did turn up to the install with a PowerPoint deck that visually mapped out the exhibition, which correlated to the price list and product details. At first the gallery owners were baffled because they’d never seen anyone do this before but it worked and saved us hours of time. I also recommend asking someone who knows the ins and outs of your new world to be a mentor. I found my mentor’s insights to be an invaluable bridge between these two worlds - she helped me with pricing models, display methods, operations and market rates.
Money, money, money – side hustles need investments other than time. Make a simple budget and see how much you need to bring your idea to life, and add 30% contingency on top of that. I put aside 30% of my salary for 5 months. I thought of it as the equivalent of a very exotic holiday but on something I’ve always wanted to do.
Manage your time wisely – sounds pretty basic but managing your time effectively is incredibly important when you have a full-time job that you have a perform in (not to mention it funds the side hustle!). Some things I did to build time into my day included using my commute to plan and prioritise in my notebook, setting up in a coffee shop for an hour before work, blocking out at least an hour every evening, and having longer living room sessions on weekends for tasks that needed more focus. This did involve a fair amount of sacrifice, dedication and sometimes not seeing the people I love the most.
Look after yo self– sometimes it gets overwhelming and self-care goes out the window. Bring it back. Go eat a jar of pickles, indulge in a sheet face mask, have a magnesium salt bath, or sweat it out – you do you!
These are just some of the things that have helped me but it’s in no way an exhaustive list. Just remember, everyone has to start somewhere and your living room (and bed as evidenced below) is a pretty good place to start!
When I was trying to figure it all out, I was overwhelmed by people’s kindness and generosity with their time and expertise, so please do contact me if you have any questions because I’d love to pay it forward.
Emma George xx
