Many people start a side business today. It is a great way for employees to supplement their income, especially when they are in the first few years of their job and still establishing themselves, which can mean a lower salary. Having a side business enables you to have a bit of income security, not necessarily because your job is at risk, but you never know what is going to happen in life. If you are the type of person that always likes to be prepared, starting a side business is the perfect way to give you that extra insurance you need in life – ensuring that you will not run into financial difficulties, no matter what life throws your way. Of course, there are other great reasons to run a part-time business including paying off debt or saving for retirement, making something of yourself, and realizing your dreams while having a stable income.

Making more Money

The obvious reason for starting a business on the side is to make more money. Even if you have a stable job where you have a decent income, sometimes it is not enough. Maybe you have a large amount of loans that need to be paid off, such as car, student, or personal loans. If your income from your day job is enough to just get you by without paying extra to these loans, starting something on the side will give you that extra income to get out of debt. This then allows you to enjoy a larger amount of disposable income from your steady paycheck in the future.

Many people also begin a side gig in order to save money for things like vacation, purchasing a home, or retirement. When you have a steady income to rely on from your job, you can use the extra money brought in by your side business to sock away for future needs. It is a great way to be able to plan for fun things in the future, whether it is taking that dream vacation or having enough money to do whatever you want once you are able to retire.

Make Something of Yourself

Does your job help you to show your capabilities or is it just a job? If you are not doing what you always imagined yourself doing for a living, beginning something on the side is a great way to reach that sense of accomplishment. Life is short, we all know that, so do what you can when you can. If you have a talent that you want to put to good use, do it while you have a stable income. This allows you to showcase your talents without risking too much. This is especially important if your idea is one that has not been tested on the market yet. How do you know that it is going to be successful? If it is your sole source of income and it fails, you could find yourself in deep financial trouble. On the other hand, if you have your steady income from your job, you can take the risk and see what happens. If the business fails, you still have income to rely on.

Keep your Benefits While Realizing your Dreams

Benefits are a key component of any stable job. If you have always dreamt of starting your own business, yet have a family to support which means the need for medical and dental insurance as well as retirement benefits, starting a business is something that you will likely never realize. The cost alone of medical insurance for an average size family is enough to put any family in financial distress. This is why many people have to stay with their regular 9-5 jobs despite their dreams to do otherwise, in order to have affordable health insurance. With a side business, you can have the best of both worlds – have your benefits from your full time job while doing something that you love on the side. This gives you the opportunity to try your business out, see what the world thinks of it and then decide from there if you can continue to do this business alone or if you should keep it as a side business.

How to Start your Side Business

Now that you know the benefits of starting a side business, it is important to know how to get started. When you work 40-hours a week at a job, you have limited time to get your business going, but it is not impossible! Here are a few key tips to help you get started:

• You have to take a chance. It may seem like a huge leap of faith to throw your product or service out there and wait for people to either love it or hate it, but you need to do it. If you want to make something of yourself, throw caution to the wind and see what happens. Remember, you have your main income to rely on so if this fails, you will not be in financial ruin.
• Use the internet as your resource and marketing tool. It is much easier today to create a website and get products and services out to your target audience with the internet at your disposal. Find networks of people doing the same thing as you or at the very least a group of entrepreneurs and use each other’s resources to reach success.
• Pick something that you love. When you are running a side business in addition to working 40-hours a week at a federal job, you need to make sure it is something that you are not going to hate doing. Remember, you will likely spend your evenings and weekends focusing on this new business, but if you love it, you should not mind spending your time doing it.
• If you are unsure about what type of business to start, research your options. Start with your passions and see what types of services and/or products are missing, enabling you to fill a void. If you are thinking about starting a business that already exists, research your competitors to see what they are doing and/or not doing that you could use to your advantage to give you the leg up on the competition.
• Technology has made it easier and cheaper than ever to perform many business functions. There are many low cost 800 phone number services, online fax services, payroll services, incorporation services, etc. Today you can look and sound like a much larger company without spending a fortune.

If you are ready to share your passion with the world, helping them to solve a problem or provide them with something useful, starting a side business could be the perfect answer for you. There are numerous ways to get started and many businesses require very little money to get up and running when you are doing it on your own and as a side operation. Starting your own business can help you grow as a person and even become a more valuable employee as you learn new skills and levels of responsibility as you try to manage and even grow your business. It is a great way to supplement your income or help you realize dreams that would otherwise be impossible with your regular income from your job. Having the stability of a 9 to 5 job in combination with doing something that you love on the side is like having your cake and eating it too!