OUTLINE
0:00:00 - Introduction to Erin Davis' Visionary Planning Day event for local businesswomen in Newcastle, Australia. The event is focused on clarifying business focus, building community, and connecting with like-minded women.
0:04:58 - Transitioning from a side hustle to a full-time business:
1. Start how you want to end - set up the business with the right systems and processes.
2. Understand the tax implications of moving from a hobby to a full-time business.
3. Have a clear intention to make a profit, not just focus on sales.
4. Calculate the income needed to replace a full-time job.
5. Avoid burnout by being mindful of spreading yourself too thin.
6. Treat the side hustle with purpose and intention, not as a casual side project.
7. Develop a solid strategy to successfully transition the side hustle.
0:21:23 - Conclusion: Turning a side hustle into a full-time gig requires strategy, intention, and purpose. Erin Davis offers personalized coaching and planning days to help women achieve their business goals.
THE ERIN DAVIS SHOW
Before we get started today, I want to share with you an event that I have created for local business women in my area. Now I'm in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. And this visionary Planning Day is where business women can come and connect. And really just pause for the day. The day is going to be about clarifying your focus for the next 90 days, because we know that where your focus aligns you direct your energy and your attention. So it's important that we have very clear ideas of where to focus our attention. Now, I also know that there is a real power in pausing, slowing down, disconnecting from the everyday, you know, as women, we always have a million things on the go. So to be able to just slow down, stop and remove yourself from the day to day running of your business where you can focus on actually on your business rather than working in your business all the time.
So the idea of this planning day is to slow down, it is to pause, it is to focus on our core components, which are money, mindset and confidence. But also I want to bring together a community because I love in person events. And I really find there is so much power in connecting with like minded women. Just being there to support each other. I want this community to build connections with each other. I want us to share ideas, and I want us to be inspired. I want us to challenge our thinking and to think outside the box a bit. Because being in business can be pretty lonely at times, particularly when you're a small business owner, and you're doing it by yourself. So to be able to provide an opportunity for women to come together in person, build that connection, build those real business friendships, that is something that is super important and super special.
So the planning, visionary Planning Day is happening in September. The idea is to have a planning day every quarter so that we have a focus for the next 90 days. And during that Planning Day, we are going to get really clear what it is that's important to you. While there'll be other women there, it's going to be a very unique plan just for you, we'll all work together. Collectively, however, you will work on your own plan, because your business is unique to you.
But doing it in a place where you feel calm and connected and aligned, will allow for that expansive thinking and the real focused planning. So that when you step away, you will have an absolutely crystal clear idea of what it is that you need to focus on. For this first Planning Day, we are going to be in the most beautiful location at Carrington House. And if you've seen my podcast, launch, videos and photos, you will know the place that I'm talking about. It is the most expansive and abundant and calming place. And I just love being there. So I have chosen this location to have the planning days. Because I know that as soon as you step through those doors, you will feel immediately at ease. You will forget about the world that's happening outside. And you will just really be able to lean into the quiet time and the focus time of planning what it is that's important for you and for your business. So to get all the details for the planning day, you need to go to my website, which is www.erindavis.com.au/planning. All the details are on there. And you can book your tickets there. The Planning Day is going to be very limited. I want to keep this very small and intimate. Because I think again, there's value in that personal connection. And as I said, I love impersonal events. It is just so beautiful to be able to connect. And it's not going to be a day where we're just chatting. We're actually going to be doing work, we're going to be focused on your business. And I'm gonna focus on my business too, because we're all in this together. But we're all doing our own thing. So we're going to lean on each other and we're going to have the most beautiful Day.
So I really hope that you can join us for this very first Planning Day, as I said, they're going to happen every quarter. And if you are local to Newcastle, I would love for you to come along, bring a friend. And together, we can just create the most beautiful vision for your business.
So getting into today's episode, we're going to be talking about how to go all in on your side hustle, and turn it into that full time gig. I have had quite a few conversations over the last few weeks about just this, that women have got the side hustle happening. And we know at the moment that economic times are pretty tough, and people are looking to create additional streams of income however they can. But what I'm finding is that the women that are doing this, they actually have a real passion for their side hustle. And their side hustle is what they're wanting to do full time. However, they're not quite sure how to turn that into a full time gig.
As we know, as business women, it is hard to get that full time gig happening, and replacing what would be an equivalent full time wage. So I'm going to go through seven key areas that I think are really important when you want to transition from that side hustle and turn it into your full time gig.
So the first one is that you need to start how you want to end. If you want this to be a business, there is no point starting without intending to set it up, like you want to finish, you want to make sure that you have the right frame of mind, you have the right systems and processes set up, which is step number two systems and processes. But I think they both go together. You know, you want to start how you want to finish, you want to have everything set up so that when you scale your business, and the business starts to grow, there are systems and processes in place that allow for you to grow easily. There's no point creating this side hustle and turning it into a business. If you can't have holidays, for instance, like what's the point of doing that? What's the point of working so hard to then never be able to have time off. Because a lot of us want this side hustle to be our full time gig because we want the flexibility, we want the time freedoms, and we want the financial freedom that comes along with having a business.
So if you don't start the way you intend to finish, then it's going to be a disaster from the outset. And, you know, you want to have your business set up with all the systems and processes in place to make sure that your business is going to grow. Because if it is going to be your full time gig, it needs to be able to grow and you need to be able to generate an income that is equivalent to wages.
So the next part of changing from your side hustle into a full time gig is really being clear on what the tax implications are. And I know that in Australia, there is quite a distinction between what's a business and what's a hobby. And in those early days, particularly when you have a side hustle, it could be argued that a lot of them are really not businesses. But it's important that you're aware of what the rules are around a business or a hobby that will then determine the tax implications.
Because if you have a side hustle, and you are at the same time working as an employee somewhere, this side hustle could very well be your business. And if that's the case, it will get added to your other income and you'll pay tax on it. And if you're not aware of what those tax implications are, then you could actually be left short at the end of the financial year with some tax to pay. Being an accountant. I see a lot of businesses, a lot of people, a lot of women that get a real shock that they have tax to pay because they had no idea. So as somebody that's wanting to go into business, it is really important that you educate yourself as to what the tax implications are, you need to be fully aware of what tax is going to be payable at what different rates and what different scenarios to make sure that you're across. The worst thing is that you can get a tax bill at the end of the year and have absolutely no idea that it is coming. The worst still is that you have no money to pay the tax. So that all comes with planning. And it comes with being across your numbers. And as you know, I love to be across the numbers. And the numbers are so important, particularly when you're in business. But even when you're not in business, and you know, you have wages and you have a household to run, you need to know your numbers, you need to know the money coming in, and you need to know the money going out. Because from there, you can then make informed decisions. So knowing the tax implications from transferring your side hustle into a full time gig needs to run through that business versus hobby scenario. And you need to work out where you sit. Now, of course, that can be quite complicated, and it is very much dependent on the circumstances. And it is quite arbitrary. So it's important that you get the correct advice to make sure that you are fully aware and understanding of what it is that you need to know. And you know what those tax implications are.
The next thing with how to go from turning your side hustle into a full time gig is you need to have a clear intention to make a profit. You know, you're not in business if you're not making a profit. And now businesses can make a loss for different reasons, like you may have invested heavily in setting up your space, you may have invested heavily in, your stationery and your logos, and your websites, all of those types of things. And there are different tax implications depending on what it is that you've spent. So it's not uncommon for businesses to operate at a loss. However, the intention for any business needs to be that it is profitable. Again, what's the point of going into business and working so damn hard If you don't make a profit? There is no point, you may as well go and get a job and be guaranteed that income unless you are so financially secure, that making money doesn't come into it, which in my experience is not very many of the population.
Most people are in business because they want the profit and they want to make the money. But again, they also want the time flexibility and the freedom that comes with it. But in order to be in business, and to turn that side hustle into your full time gig, making a profit needs to be a focus and it needs to be told top of mind, which is what I do with my clients and my financial wellness strategies and checkups is really looking at what we can do to improve that bottom line profitability. There's no point having big turnover numbers like that's the sales. There's no point having huge sales if you don't have a profit. Again, what's the point of working so hard if you're not making any money. So it's really being very clear on what those profit numbers need to be part of moving from that side hustle and turning it into your full time gig is working out how much you actually need to be able to resign from your job or you need to make your home loan repayments or to put food on the table every week. The side hustle, moving to a full time gig needs to come with its profit. So that's number four.
Number five is you need to be conscious of spreading yourself too thin, you know working in a side hustle and also a full time gig or another employment space actually takes a lot of mental capacity. And we tend to spread ourselves pretty thin as women and we try to do everything and I think sometimes we kid ourselves as to just how much we really can do without putting ourselves into that burnout space. So I think you need to be really mindful of what this side hustle is and what the purpose of it is. What's the intention? What’s the game plan? Why are you doing it? Are you doing it because you want to make this your full time gig? Or are you doing it because you need an outlet, and you need a creative outlet from your everyday life or it is just going to be a side hustle.
The intention is that it will always stay in that space. But I think the important thing to remember is that when you spread yourself across a lot of different areas, whether that be work home, kids, sport, side hustle, everything else, it can be really, really hard to focus and to direct your attention. And remember that where your focus aligns, that's really where you direct your energy and your attention. So you need to be clear within yourself as to what is the focus, and what is the intention with the side hustle. And is it going to not have the potential to redo, replace that full time income that you have and turn into your full time gig.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the emotion of what we want. And that dream of creating this beautiful life that has all of the time freedom and financial freedom we can think of yet we don't really know just how much time and energy it can go into running a business. So I think as you learn and grow and move into that space, there needs to be some real consideration about how much time and energy you actually have to put into this side hustle to turn it into a full time gig. Because the majority of side hustles won't turn into your full time gig unless you work super damn hard. And there's no escaping that hard work.
The emotional rollercoaster of being in business can be exhausting, particularly when you want it so hard and you want that success to happen. And if it doesn't happen fast enough, it can be really disheartening to keep going. So you need to be in it for the long haul, if that's what you really want. Because coming from that is decision fatigue. And that is, you know, we have so many decisions to make, and we get so overwhelmed with everything that we need to do that it can be mentally exhausting to have to make another decision. So if you want to, to move this side hustle into your full time gig, you need to put in place self care things that restore your energy and protect your energy. So you don't end up burnt out. You can stay fresh, you can stay alert, you can stay agile, and you can make decisions.
Because that decision fatigue is real. It impacts the way you show up. It impacts your ability to think logically, because we're so tired and exhausted, we become emotional. And when you're emotional, that rational thinking just tends to go out the window. So moving from that side, hustle into your full time gig requires a lot of decisions to be made. And it requires a lot of attention and intention. So if you are not in that good headspace, where you have the ability to be able to really put the focus and energy into moving this side hustle into your full time gig, then maybe now's not the right time to do it. That's not to say that it can't happen in the future. But maybe now's not the right time. Or you may go I just can't keep doing what I'm doing. I need to do something different. So I'm going all in.
The awareness around that decision fatigue needs to be there so then you can prepare for it and you can be ready for it and intercept it when it starts to happen.
And then the final thing that I want to share is that if you treat something like it is always your side hustle, then it is always just going to be that. It is always going to be your side hustle. So all of those things that I have spoken about before the start how you want to end, the systems and processes, the tax implications, the need to make a profit, focusing on one area or two areas and not spreading yourself so thin, the decision fatigue, if you are always going to treat this side hustle as a casual on the side thing, then that's what it's going to be. Moving it into a full time gig requires a whole lot of purpose and intention, and structure, and systems and processes to get it set up to how you want it to be. Now, that's not to say that sometimes it just doesn't fall into place, and everything just happens as it needs to. But most of the time, and in my experience, it's a lot of hard work moving your side hustle into the full time gig, it takes strategy, it takes intention, and it takes purpose. And it can be done. Lots of people do it, and they are really, really successful at it. But if you don't have that strategy behind it, then it's like throwing spaghetti at the wall and you hope it sticks.
I would be recommending that the strategy is really the key to turning your side hustle into that full time gig. You can go along as you want for as long as you want. But until you get really serious about what the next step is and how to grow it, you're not going to be able to turn that side hustle into your full time gig.
So there they have, my seven tips for or seven areas that you need to consider when you want to go all in on that side hustle and turn it into your full time gig. There are lots of people that do it, as I said, and there are lots of successful people who do it. But there are also an awful lot of people that get very deflated and feel very defeated. They spend a lot of money, and they don't achieve what it is that they want to achieve. So I think you need to be really clear on when you're transitioning from that side hustle into your full time gig. It's all about the intention, it is about the energy that you bring, it is about the way you show up.
Because as we know that what we feel inside is what we project out to the world. So if you have these doubts, that it's just a side hustle, or the intention that it's just, it's a bit of fun, it's not really going to be a business. It's very casual, it's not very structured, it's very loose, then that's what it's always going to be. And I really want for you to be able to turn that side hustle into your full time gig, and really create the life that you want. Because there is so much freedom and so much flexibility. But it comes with a lot of hard work. And if you're not prepared to put that hard work in and you're not prepared to have the strategy to go with it, then as I said, it's like throwing spaghetti at the wall and you're hoping that it sticks.
So this is what I do with my clients with the financial wellness strategies and checkups. We look at where they are where they need to improve what those strategies are. Now those strategies are also for women who are already in business and have gone to that next level. Their side hustle is a business and they're wanting to grow even further. But I think a really good first starting point is to have that check up to know where you're at, and know what you need to do. And then come along to a planning day because the planning days, as I said at the very beginning, are when you can focus and clarify where your focus needs to be for the next 90 days.
So there they have it: my seven areas of focus for turning your side hustle into a full time gig. And if this is an area that you want to explore further, then connect with me on all the socials and we can go into it because it is a unique situation for everybody and it requires that unique strategy.
