So you’ve worked in the corporate world for a few years, maybe you’re considering having a baby, taking a sabbatical, time off or traveling the world… and you’re not sure if you will return to your FT job! I’ve been there…
In 2011 I turned my side-hustle turned into my career.
I’d always done small business/startup marketing support in the evenings – helping friends grow their business, trade-exchanges with hairdressers and even advice to Estate Agents to help us lower our fees when selling a house. When I got pregnant with my first daughter, Annabelle, I knew it was my time… no going back to 9-5 (more like 8-8) it was time to do it on my own.
Coming from a family of self-employed people and my husband also running his own business, I had seen the good, bad and the ugly side of being self-employed. We knew our tipping point and, having a baby is also a big driver to make change happen.
It’s important to remember… everyone’s ‘tipping point’ is different – the tipping point being the point you come from full-time employed / regular job to going alone. Everyone has different financial commitments, attitudes to risk-taking, experiences and support structure around them. SO TREAD CAREFULLY WHEN YOU TELL PEOPLE ‘YOU SHOULD DO THIS FULL TIME‘… especially if you don’t have the experience behind you to back up your point of view!
My marketing tips to help you in taking your side-hustle into your full-time (or as frequent as you like!) career…
>> Know your niche – lean in and be specialist in a certain field, if you’re making products and selling them at a market, really understand who they are for and align your messaging about that product, to your potential customer.
>> Do your research & know your ideal target customer – create a profile of who they are – I often talk about this on my Facebook Page. Get to know their values, their real problems and importantly which competitors are serving them and how.
>> Build your case studies – if you’ve been doing work for free, for friends, on the weekends that is all fine, it’s still stories about the work you have done and the impact you have had. These will be great stories you will tell potential customers.
>> Develop a network – your network will be incredibly important to you do make introductions, get things done and ultimately help you to make sales. Whether they’re part of your supply chain, partners or potential customers – go to networking events, join different Facebook groups. Click here to join my private Kate’s Crew facebook group.
>> Social & Video – it’s 2019! Get comfortable making videos and showing off you AND your products and services. Know the social media channels your customers use, get on them and get practicing.
If you want any free advice & support please join my Kate’s Crew facebook group here and follow my facebook page too.
Best of luck!
Kate