How To Up Your Game: Turning Your Hobby Into A Business

In a post pandemic world, there has never been a better time to turn your passion project into an online business. Maybe you’re already sharing your gifts with others as a side hustle but are thinking about taking it full-time. 

If the past few months have shown us anything, it’s that no job is 100% safe and secure anymore. Starting an online business about something you’re passionate about is one of the best ways to increase your security. Not only will you get to enjoy what you do but you will also have a second income stream that you can grow into a full-time business (if you want).

But growing from a part-time side hustle to a full-time online business requires you to do more than just hustle though. There are only 24 hours in the day and working more isn’t always the answer. 

At EasyWebinar, we get the pleasure of serving thousands of solopreneur and entrepreneurs just like you. We want to help you make this transition from part-time to full time as easy as possible. 

Here are five things you should know before going full-time and 10 tips that will set yourself up for success.

Side Hustle to Full-Time Online Business: 5 Things You Should Know

In 2017, I quit my safe secure six-figure career at Yelp to become a blogger and writer. While I just hit my three-year entrepreneurship anniversary, I’ll be the first to say it hasn’t been easy. 

There have been a lot of ups and downs along the way but can say looking back, it was the best decision I’ve ever made. To help you navigate the uncertainty and avoid a lot of my early struggles, here are five things you should know about taking your side hustle to a full-time online business.

1. Success Isn’t Overnight

If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you’re ambitious and ready to take your business to the stratosphere. You probably want to reach more people, generate more revenue, and create more transformations with your product or service. And all of that can happen but it won’t happen overnight and likely not as fast you want.

But that’s okay. Most entrepreneurs want success seemingly overnight when in reality, they aren’t equipped for it yet. 

For example, if you got 1,000 new email subscribers overnight or a piece of content you created went viral tomorrow, are you prepared? Do you have your funnels set up? Do you have a team that can help support all the new people coming into your business?

Chances are, you don’t… yet. So remember, everything is happening exactly as it should, don’t try to rush the process of becoming a successful entrepreneur.

2. Most People Won’t Understand What You’re Doing

A lot of people understand side hustles now but not everyone understands how you can turn your passion into a full-time business. Especially when you’re working at home. 

My advice is to not get frustrated when people don’t understand what you’re doing all day long. Whether it’s friends and family, or someone you meet at the coffee shop, not everyone will understand what you’re up to. 

But that’s okay… as long as you are passionate about your business, it will work out if you persevere. 

3. You Will Doubt Yourself

Entrepreneurship will require you to face a lot of new, uncertain situations. To your brain, these new situations are “scary” and usually outside your comfort zone. 

When this happens, your brain will trick you and try to keep you safe and not keep going (as it’s a survival mechanism above all else). It usually does this by deliberately sending signals of fear and doubt. 

While facing doubt and uncertainty will happen, you have to learn how to push through the tough times. Remember, this is just your brain trying to protect you, these are not your thoughts.

Nothing great ever comes when you’re staying safe inside your comfort zone. Feel the fear, doubt, and uncertainty and push through to achieve your goals.  

4. Your Business Will Require A Lot of Your Time 

Taking your side-hustle to a full-time online business will require a significant amount of time investment on your end. Think of it like having a child. Your business is going to need you to survive, nurture, and grow. 

There will be a lot of early mornings, late nights, and copious amounts of caffeine. If you know this in advance, it will be easier to prepare for it. But when you’re working on something you’re passionate about and know that you can help others, you’ll also have more motivation than ever before. 

5. You Will Experience a Ton of Emotions 

I’m not going to sugarcoat it, entrepreneurship is tough, especially in the beginning. Let’s face it, if it was easy, everyone would do it. 

You will face a lot of self-doubt, uncertainty, maybe financial issues, and ride the roller coaster of emotions. Some of my worst days have been followed by my best and vice versa, that’s the beauty of entrepreneurship. Remember to take one day at a time and use everything that happens as a learning process. 

I promise amazing things will happen if you keep going. I would argue there isn’t a much better feeling than creating a goal, hustling, going through all the emotions, and finally see it come together. 

10 Things You Should Do to Grow Your Online Business 

Now that you’re mentally prepared for the journey of entrepreneurship, let’s dive into some tactical steps to help you grow quickly.

1. Get Clear About Your Goals

With a side hustle, you can have a “wing-it” mentality and make it work. But to grow to the next level, you need clarity. 

Before hustling more and more, start by getting clear about what you want first. Ask yourself questions like:

• Who are my ideal clients?
• What do I want from my business?
• How does my brand show up on social media? 
• What is my revenue goal for the next 12 months?
• How many hours do I want to work? What is my schedule like?
• What are my biggest ways to attract new people into my business?

Set time aside to get wildly clear about the next 30, 60, and 90 days. Then, think about where your business is one year from now. Clarity is power so ask yourself tons of questions and write down your goals in a business journal. 

2. Create a Plan 

Once you have clarity around what you want your business to look like, next up is creating a plan to make it happen. But don’t try to do everything, instead master your skills in 1-2 areas.

For example, one of the mistakes I made in the beginning of my journey was trying to be on every single social media platform. This only led to burnout and not gaining a meaningful following on any platform! I was a mile wide and an inch deep on each platform instead of going deep on any one platform.

In the beginning, master 1-2 high income skills and stick with it, don’t get shiny object syndrome and jump around to each new idea. While it’s easy to feel that you’re hedging your bets this way, you’re actually doing yourself a huge disservice.

Instead, create a plan for the next 90 days and stick with it. Show up consistently on one major social media platform, stick with one offer, and stay committed to the plan, even if things aren’t progressing as quickly as you want. 

3. Talk With Your Partner

As I’ve mentioned, running an online business will require a lot of your time in the beginning. This can have a negative effect on your relationships if you let it. Instead of letting this happen, make sure that you communicate with your partner and other family members before embarking on your journey. 

Having a meaningful conversation will help them understand why you’re working so hard and allow them to support you. When you’re taking this full-time, you need all the support you can get! 

4. Manage and Track Your Time

Working in a 9-5 is easy… your boss tells you when to be there and what to do. But as an entrepreneur, you control your days and weeks. This is a blessing and a curse for a lot of solopreneurs.

To help you stay accountable, make sure to schedule your days and weeks in advance. You can also use tracking apps to help you monitor your time every day as well. This will help you realize if you’re wasting time in one area and also help you identify your peak productivity hours. 

Keep testing and tracking to find your best times and schedule the hardest stuff in those time blocks. 

5. Schedule Time Off 

While tracking your time and sticking a schedule is important, don’t forget to include time off as well. When you’re running a business, especially from a home office (or your kitchen table) it’s easy to feel like you need to work every day per week. I tried this in the beginning and it led to a massive burnout and mental health struggles.

Don’t forget, you need rest to show up properly in your business. Schedule intentional time off and stick to your calendar. While you need a great work ethic, don’t overwork yourself by never taking time to recharge.

6. Practice Self-Care

While scheduling time off is vitally important, don’t forget to take care of yourself every day as well. As I’ve mentioned, entrepreneurship is an emotional roller coaster. But if you’re not showing up 100%, it can hurt the growth of your business.

One of the habits I’ve found among all successful entrepreneurs is that they take care of themselves. They usually have an evening and morning routine to get ready for the day and suggest doing the same. This will help you set your intentions, focus on the day, and wrap up at night. 

Some of my favorite self-care rituals include regular exercise, walking my dog, meditation, putting my phone in airplane mode to read, and journaling. Do what works for you but make sure that you’re always setting time aside for yourself each day. 

7. Surround Yourself with Entrepreneurs

The first year of entrepreneurship I tried to hustle by myself in my office but it got pretty lonely and I found it hard to stay motivated. So in my second year, I became intentional about surrounding yourself with like-minded people. I started working in coffee shops, reaching out to people for Zoom calls, attended events and joined masterminds. 

While it’s easy to feel like you have to hustle nonstop, don’t forget the power of relationships. One conversation with another entrepreneur could change everything for you. There is power in proximity and is a common trait among highly successful entrepreneurs.

As best-selling author Napoleon Hill said, “Deliberately seek the company of people who influence you to think and act on building the life you desire.” 

8. Create Scalable Offers

One of the most important things you can do to grow your business is to create scalable offers sooner rather than later. This usually comes in the form of online digital courses or creating membership sites. 

These allow you to attract more people into your business without more time working. Plus, with webinars you can improve your reach and make sales 24/7. Then, you can have a high-ticket 1:1 or group coaching offer that people could pay for more as an upsell or in the future. 

9. Start Outsourcing 

You can’t do it all alone. While most of us start as solopreneurs, usually it won’t stay that way forever. The sooner you can hire help, the faster you will grow your business. I did the solopreneur thing for two years until I hired my first part-time virtual assistant. Within a few weeks, I realized that it was the best investment ever.

Remember, you don’t have to hire full time employees either. You can start with someone who helps 5-10 hours per week. That way you can buy time back so you can focus on the big things that move the needle and stay in your zone of genius. 

If you have a big vision and want to share it with the world, you need others to help you grow. Surrender some control so you can make a massive impact and grow your business to the levels that you deserve.

10. Have Fun

Finally, don’t forget to enjoy the journey. While running an online business is stressful at times, it should also be fun as well. Never forget that you took a risk on yourself and are impacting people worldwide by sharing your gifts with others. 

The more fun you have, the more income and impact you will make. Learn your lessons, adapt as needed, and just keep going.

Final Thoughts

Following your passion is the greatest gift that you can give yourself. While it won’t be easy, I can promise it’s worth it. 

Have the courage to believe in yourself and take a risk. As Steve Jobs said, “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” 

Next Steps 

Hopefully, you have a clear understanding of what it takes to turn your side hustle into a thriving online business. 

Here are some EasyWebinar resources that can make your journey easier so you can speed up success.

1. Sign up for EasyWebinar: If you’re not yet using EasyWebinar, make sure to check out the different options to get started. Remember, webinars can help you grow your business 24/7 and make more impact on people around the world. Click here to check out our plans and start a 14-day demo. 

2. Upgrade Your EasyWebinar Plan: If you’re already an EasyWebinar user, it might be time to upgrade your plan so more people can join your live and automated webinars. Click here to check out all of your options. 

Create an Automated Webinar: One of the ways that I keep growing my online business and the way Casey Zeman went from $0 to $250,000 in online course sales is automated webinars. Click here to read the full guide on getting started.