Starting a Side Business: How I Made $70K in One Yr

If you happen to’ve followed Clever Girl Finance for some time, you realize that I’m an enormous fan of accelerating your income through a small business (in case you are latest to this platform – welcome!), and one in every of the ways I’ve ramped up saving money is thru my side hustles. Starting a side business is an awesome method to get monetary savings, repay debt, and increase your income streams.

Amongst the side hustles I’ve had include selling Avon cosmetics to my mom’s friends, starting a web-based retail store for bridal accessories, and becoming a part-time photographer.

My wedding photography business, called Onada Photography, was my longest-running side hustle which I did for 7 years. It also earned me essentially the most amount of cash of all my side hustles. As much as the tune of just about $70,000 in a single particular 12 months.

On this post, I’m breaking down just what I did to create a successful side hustle while still working at my full-time job, and I’m also sharing some suggestions you can hopefully apply to your individual side business (and even your full-time business) no matter what industry you might be in.

My steps on starting a side business

Whether you ought to start a side business for more money or eventually turn it right into a profession, there are key steps that can enable you create a successful business. Listed here are the steps I took to start out my side business.

1. I selected my side business

Starting a marriage photography business was mostly by accident. Photography has all the time been a giant a part of my life, going back to my childhood, which is why I adore it a lot.

My dad was all the time taking photos and I actually have tons and tons of photographs that document my childhood. Despite this, I never imagined myself as a marriage photographer, nevertheless, that is what happened.

I used to be visiting Jamaica for a friend’s wedding and I had just purchased a brand new camera. It was a low-cost entry-level DSLR from Nikon and I took it together with me.

For whatever reason, my friend’s wedding photographer was running late on the day of her wedding. She had seen my camera earlier on so she asked me to take just a few photos before her photographer arrived.

I loved the photos and more importantly, so did she. This got me pondering that perhaps there was a possibility to make some money with my photography!

Business tip for deciding on a side hustle

People ask me what form of side business they need to start. Sometimes the reply is just not all the time obvious, so go searching you and see if there’s something you do very well that folks all the time compliment you on and that you realize you can charge for.

Or perhaps you’ve a hobby that you can monetize. Nonetheless, weddings are expensive, so finding a side business in the marriage industry might be quite lucrative. Do not be afraid to check things out.

2. I focused on growing my photography business

A crucial part of beginning a side business is learning tips on how to grow it. I advertised the primary few weddings I did (on Craigslist back then) and shot them free of charge. Why free? Well, I did it because, truthfully, I felt that if people weren’t paying me, they might understand that they got what they got (lol), I had a lot to learn, and I actually needed to construct a portfolio of images to showcase on my photography website. I actually have since taken my photography website down, but you may see my photography business profile on Weddingwire.

It worked, people love free, especially people on a marriage budget, and since I didn’t set any expectations and I put in my best effort, my clients loved their photographs.

I attempted to succeed in out to more established photographers in my area to ask if I may very well be an assistant or second photographer for them to achieve experience and to assist construct my portfolio, but I either got no responses or flat out no’s and so I took it upon myself to search out my very own way. I purchased books, watched videos, practiced on my family and friends, paid for workshops, and essentially became a self-taught photographer.

Once I built a solid portfolio, I used to be in a position to confidently charge for my work. I also set expectations on the form of images I can be delivering.

Business tip for growing your online business

When starting a side business, getting help and advice from more experienced people than you is the very best method to learn; nevertheless, in case you haven’t got that, you may still construct a successful business. While I never got the chance to second shoot for anyone within the early stage of my business, I still managed to figure things out by myself, even with a ton of trial and error. Once I made just a few friends within the industry, I used to be in a position to network and gain more experience from second-shooting.

Don’t take a “No” as a defeat or as a reason to shut down your online business (or perhaps not even start it); as a substitute, attempt to figure things out on your individual before you choose to quit.

It is perhaps a slower learning process to do things on your individual, but you may totally study your industry and grow your online business on your individual. You only should make the time and put in the trouble to do the research and more (networking is essential) since it helps send referrals your way).

And in today’s world, there are a ton of courses you may soak up any industry to enable you grow. YouTube is one other incredible resource where you may learn tips on how to do practically anything.

3. I invested back into my business

Once I began being profitable with my side business, I knew I needed to take a position in higher equipment to create a greater portfolio to draw brides willing to pay more so I could ultimately charge more.

My goal was to construct a business with zero debt, and so I began budgeting for my business. I also began a business savings account, and once I paid my business taxes, whatever was leftover was what I used to take a position back into the business.

Over time I purchased latest skilled camera bodies, quite a lot of lenses, editing software, and in addition lighting and transportation equipment.

If you happen to are a photographer and have an interest, my core arsenal consisted of Two Nikon Professional DSLR camera bodies, the 70-200mm, the 50mm 1.4, the 24-70mm, and the 60mm macro Nikon Lens. I also ceaselessly rented the Nikon 85mm and 105mm lenses. My favorite photography book is named Understanding Exposure – I highly recommend it; it’s a superb book.

Business tip for investing back into your online business

As I discussed above, I’m an enormous fan of beginning a side business with no debt. Take things slowly and spend money as you make it along with your side business. This fashion, you should not operating on a negative balance.

Also, start budgeting for your online business, and be sure you keep your online business funds completely separate out of your personal funds. This is significant to a successful side hustle.

4. I put within the work

There isn’t any substitute for labor, and I worked hard at this business. After working at my day job (on average 60 hours per week), within the evenings (and sometimes early within the morning before I went to work), I used to be on my computer sorting and editing photos. On the weekends, I used to be busy photographing weddings and other events. I remember incredibly crazy summers doing back-to-back weddings –  Friday night,  Saturday, after which on Sunday.

I used to be exhausted but I used to be joyful to be making all that more money on the side. Most of which I put towards my long-term savings.

I charged between $3,000 to $5,000 a marriage and $300 to $450 for my lifestyle photography sessions (e.g., baby sessions, engagement sessions, family sessions, etc.). The 12 months I made almost $70,000 (~$68k), I photographed 19 weddings and several other lifestyle sessions.

Business tip on the subject of working hard

If you ought to construct a successful side hustle or business, you should have to place within the work, and it should be hard. I won’t attempt to downplay the trouble. You’ll be drained, and you’re going to get discouraged, frustrated, and wired.

However the rewards? They are going to trump all of that! It takes a number of patience, an open mind, and a powerful willingness to learn to construct a successful business. If you happen to keep on with it, though, you may achieve success.

Increase your income by starting a side business

That, in a nutshell, is how I built and grew my photography business. I, nevertheless, said goodbye to it just a few years ago. I used to be exhausted as a brand new mom and had pregnancy-related back issues. Each things combined should not conducive to standing for hours on end with heavy equipment.

I sold most of my equipment for a pleasant sum that I reinvested elsewhere. I still keep a camera and a few lenses to take photographs of my family every now and then.

Nonetheless, I highly recommend starting a side business. It’s an awesome method to increase your income, and it’s something chances are you’ll even turn right into a profession. Bear in mind that it does take time to construct your online business, and you must also create a marketing strategy before you start. Learn tips on how to launch a successful side business with our completely FREE business owners course bundle!