Should I set up a small business as a side hustle?

“Side hustle” is a commonly used term amongst today’s millennials and essentially mean a second job one does on top of their day job to earn some extra cash. Side hustles can range from freelancing, managing a revenue generating blog, taking up some shifts at a café/bar or running your own business. Many a time, side hustles are something you are passionate about and are doing out of interest but do not generate sufficient income yet to be done full time.

While there are plenty of “side hustles” that will generate extra income, running your own business is one of the hardest yet most fulfilling and rewarding side hustles you can choose to do. Below are some reasons why we chose to start up our own business while juggling a full-time day job.

• You can choose anything of your interest to be your business.

Literally anything can be a business be it baking, sewing, arts and craft, web design or graphic illustration, the possibilities are endless when starting your own business and you can take your passion and turn it into a money-making business. We dabbled in a variety of businesses including a drop shipping business, clothing business, sewing business and a coffee business as well. While we did wind up some of them as they proved highly unsuccessful, we did have a lot of fun and learnt many new skills that we took to our current business.

• It is an opportunity to learn many new skills.

Running your own business means you are the boss but it also means you would have to do everything on your own in the beginning. This is a great opportunity to learn about the ebbs and flows of a business as well as picking up skills in marketing, finance, project management and basically everything that keeps a business up and running. Even if you eventually stop your business, these skills are highly transferable and the experience will prove valuable in your future career.

• There is a possibility to scale and turn it into a full-time job.

Sick of the 9 to 5? Or more like the 8 to 6 here in stressful little Singapore? If your business is able to generate sufficient income, you may eventually have the options to trade in your day job to run your business full time. Do not be fooled that running your own business means an easier time, many a time you will find yourself putting in twice the hours to keep the business running profitably. While this lifestyle is not for everyone, the satisfaction and sense of fulfilment you will get from a successful business is unparalleled.

• You have the full flexibility to unleash your creativity and run it as you wish.

As I said, you’re the boss. No more micro managing managers, no more corporate red tape and no more ridiculous rules. You can now fully make your own decisions and decide what is best for your business. However, be reminded that this also means that you will be responsible for all your decisions and the resulting outcome.

• You can turn it into a source of passive income.

Even if you choose to keep your day job, scaling up your business properly and employing the right employees may allow you to enjoy the fruits of your business with minimal efforts for many years to come. Once you have established a stable foundation with the right processes and controls in place, you may have employees run the day-to-day operations for you while you focus on the management and strategic direction of the business.

While running a business is never easy and more often than not you will experience failures, starting a small business as a side hustle is a great way to learn new skills, dapple in your interests while making a little side income.