We’re living in the era of the “side hustle”, aka part-time freelance work carried out to supplement an individual’s regular income. According to a 2017 Bankrate study, 44 million Americans claim to have a side gig – and unsurprisingly, many of these are Millennials. 

The average side-gigger spends around 11 hours a week on their secondary work, and earns $12,609 per year (based on an average of $25 per hour) according to research by The Hustle.

It’s easy to see why part-time home businesses are so popular. They’re often centered around something the person is passionate about and they provide that extra bit of cash for luxuries like holidays or long term investments like buying a house. 

Inevitably many side giggers get to the point where they decide to take the leap and transform their work-from-home endeavor into a fully fledged business. 

If you’re one of these people, here are a few tips to help you do it. 

When is the best time to do it?

Whether you’re running a small graphic design business on the side or brokering real estate, one thing’s for certain: you need to make sure you’re financially ready before taking the plunge. That means having a couple of months’ rent in the bank as a safety net.

Many people decide to ditch their main job to focus on turning their home business into big business once their work starts gaining recognition. If you’re getting more inquiries and clients than you can handle outside of usual work, you know it’s probably time to scale. 

Starting out – the basics

Understanding the basics of running the business is important, otherwise it’s at risk of falling apart pretty quickly. First off, think about whether you want to be a sole proprietor or if it’d be better to register your business as an LLC or corporation. Research is key.

Map out what your overheads will be so that you can prepare financially. Price your product or service accordingly, and be careful not to undervalue yourself (this is easy to do in the early days of running a business). Remember to keep track of all income and expenditure.

Be aware of some of the common mistakes new business owners make, including:

• Skipping the planning phase
• Choosing the wrong business type
• Not investing time in online activities, i.e. website
• Failing to research market trends

Growing your business leanly

If you’re operating on a relatively lean budget but need to compete with other businesses in your field, you’ve got to be savvy when it comes to things like marketing and office space. Thanks to technology, this is a lot easier than it used to be. 

Once you’ve got your business off the ground, look into the following:

Freelancers

In the early days of your business it’s likely that you’ll juggle everything yourself, which is great because it enables you to learn new skills and have a thorough understanding of your business’s inner workings. However  in order to really grow you’ll have to delegate.

Employing permanent staff members certainly has its benefits, but it can be financially and logistically unviable for many startups. Hiring freelancers allows for more flexibility and is a great option if you don’t need someone full-time just yet. 

Virtual office 

Working from home also has its perks, but having access to an office space will create a better impression on clients and could make you more productive. Yet leasing an office is expensive and risky, especially for businesses who need to be agile.

Unlike a traditional office, a virtual office provides the ultimate flexibility. Memberships are tiered and can include a business address, telephone number, mail handling and forwarding, meeting room access and hot desking options. 

Marketing tools

Unless you’re marketing-minded, this aspect of the business can feel like a burden – but it needn’t be. There are plenty of easy-to-use online tools that make tasks like social media scheduling and blogging easier for small business owners. 

Transforming your side gig into a successful big business is no easy feat; it requires bucketloads of planning, hard work and persistence. But remember, the fact that you’ve managed to establish a home business means you’ve already got a head start!

A recent study conducted by LinkedIn ranked finance among top five highest paying industries in the world. With over 80K dollars as the median annual wage (including bonuses), it has every reason to be lucrative and enticing. Moreover, it has a promising future ahead, as the Bureau of Labour Statistics has estimated that finance related jobs are expected to grow by 19 percent between 2016 and 2016—faster than the average of many other occupations.

The high profitability in finance industry comes with a cut-throat competition; and one really has to put strenuous and dedicated efforts to climb up to the top of the career ladder. However, effort alone cannot promise you a successful career ahead. The right career choice and the pertinent platform to make something out of that career are equally important decisions to be made. If you never heard about Jooble yet, give it a try. It is a great platform to find jobs, and there are plenty of Finance industry jobs on Jooble.

If you have a knack for a particular field in finance industry, it should be your top priority nonetheless the financial gain at the start. A number of studies have confirmed that people are more likely to get successful if they turn their passion into profession. And yet, if money is your only inspiration, you should choose one of the following occupations to make it happen.

1.    Investment Banker

It is beyond doubt that investment banking is one of the top rewarding jobs in terms of financial gains, but that only fact also makes it more demanding and extremely daunting career choice. Having an inherent talent to be good at making decision is one thing, making them in a challenging and almost gruelling situation is a different thing altogether. It demands working long hours and being consistently productive with your time, but at the top of it, one needs to be tenacious in his approach to become a top-notch investment banker. A part of the job is to raise funds for your clients by purchasing and selling shares frequently in a way that the overall profit surpass the money lost. Also, the investment bankers has to advise clients on emerging opportunities and effective strategies to tap their full potential.

2.    Equity or financial Analyst:

Equity or Financial Analyst’s are sometimes treated as different professionals, but their job is essentially the same: to make a thorough analysis of an equity’s worth. They both usually rely on quantitative analysis as a mean to the end, but the qualitative analysis of the financial data is not entirely overlooked in the process. A good example in this case is to go through the financial data of a company, peruse its public record, and follow recent news that have direct bearing on it. It is by the virtue of these elements, a potent financial analyst comes to a decision that actually make money for his employer, and of course for himself in the end.

Financial and brokerage firms hire these experts to analyse the potential worth of a company’s stocks, and then act on their educated guess about the prospects of these stocks. A successful financial analyst has to be sharp with his senses, good with numbers, and a thorough researcher to the core.

3.    Internal auditor

While most of you are familiar with the job of an accountant, which is a good money-making job in its own right, the auditor has a somewhat similar job to do but a special situation warrant their need.

The internal auditors are hired to perform a rigorous evaluation of a company’s accounts and to finalise report on any discrepancy if found. Companies usually hire them in special situation of suspected fraud, but their role is not limited to that. It is evident that their foremost job is to do analysis operations, but they also have to check reviews compliance, recommend controls, and assure safeguard for the firms.

4.    Managing Director:

Being the most senior role in any company, the Managing Director (MD) involves sharing the ultimate responsibility, along with other stakeholders, for the performance of a company. The job requires someone to implement the company’s policy, and make any changes to it—if needed. Furthermore, it also includes navigating company’s direction to successful trajectory, and to take effective steps to counter any misadventure. One powerful essential element of this job is good communication, as one has to convene a Board of Directors meeting every once in a while; plus, to break deadlock among stake holders on important decisions.

Sustainability has become a major focus for businesses today. Regardless of industry, sustainability is crucial in terms of remaining competitive and helping the environment. By developing a strong sustainable strategy, it increases the chance of a business’s long-term success.

Here, we’ll look at some of the reasons why businesses should look at more sustainable methods of working. You’ll also discover some of the best ways to make your company more sustainable.

Why is sustainability important?

There are a number of reasons why sustainability is important for today’s businesses. The most obvious is its benefits on the environment. Global warming remains a serious threat to the planet, forcing us to look at ways we can reduce our carbon footprint. Developing a more sustainable business helps to protect the environment and future-proof the company.

Due to how important sustainability has become, many stakeholders and investors now demand a company be more sustainable before they’re willing to invest. So, if your business wants to bring in an investor, it’s going to need to make sure sustainability is high on its list of priorities. Similarly, customers also look to do business with companies that are eco-friendly.

These are just a couple of reasons why sustainability has become so important for businesses. The question is, how can you make your business more sustainable?

How can businesses improve sustainability?

Businesses have a number of options when it comes to making their company more sustainable. These include:

• Minimising odours
• Recycling
• Investing in greener technologies
• Water management
• Change to LED bulbs

If your business generates a lot of odours, this isn’t great for air pollution. Not only are odours unpleasant, but they also cloud the surrounding atmosphere, contributing to increased pollution levels. Investing in professional odour control services can help the business to reduce its impact on the environment.

Setting up a good recycling scheme is also a great idea. You can also invest in greener technologies. This includes greener equipment and switching to green energy suppliers. These specialise in renewable energies, minimising their impact on the environment.

Water management can also ensure you aren’t wasting too much water. Meanwhile, making simple changes such as switching to LED bulbs in the workplace can also make a surprising difference to your sustainability. While LED bulbs are more expensive initially, they deliver excellent cost savings in the long term.

As you can see, sustainability is extremely important for today’s businesses. It’s easier than you might think to start adopting sustainable practices into your company. The above are just some of the ideas you can use to ensure your business is sustainable. While it can be expensive initially implementing these changes, you’ll save a great deal of money in the long-term.