Side hustles can provide opportunities to develop leadership skills, strengthen your professional network, and continue learning—all things that could benefit your main job, mindset, and bank account. For many, a successful side hustle can even provide a gateway into a new full-time business.

If you’re interested in starting your own hustle (or you already have), here are a few tips to help light a fire under your side hustle idea.

Beyond your skills, it can be helpful to identify your passions to narrow down a side gig.

• What ideas do you think about almost every day?
• What do you look forward to doing after work?
• Are there aspects of your day job you really enjoy?
• When you hear “time flies when you’re having fun,” what is fun for you?

Bonus: When you launch your side hustle, you’ll probably be the CEO, the project manager, the marketer, and the finance department. It’s a great opportunity to build up some skills that can help you move forward in your career. Just remember to always check with your full-time employer before starting your side gig to make sure there aren’t restrictions or conflicts with your current job.

2. Determine a product or service.

Once you have your lists of skills, passions, and opportunities, analyze the information. Do you see patterns or anything obvious that rises to the top, such as being good with people or working with numbers? Take in your evaluations and determine a product or service that aligns with them. Here are some ideas that may match with your skills:

3. Find your market. Who wants what you have to offer?

Consider your prospective customers. Are they in your geographic community? Your social feed? Do you have the tools to reach them? Is there a demand for your product? Is there room in the market for you, or is it already too saturated?

Do the necessary research to identify potential competitors. How you go about this may differ depending on your gig—you’ll need to identify other dog walkers, freelancers, or tutors and determine how your services differ. If you’re selling a product, research online to figure out how yours is different or better.

“How are you going to get people to pay you for what you do or create? If you can answer that question and know your value, then you should go for it,” says Jen Brown, owner of The Engaging Educator. “If you can’t, then keep it as a hobby.”

4. Get ready to launch your side hustle.

There are several things you may want to take care of before officially launching your business or side hustle. You may not need to cross off every item on this checklist, but you can use it to help you get started:

• Do some research on similar businesses. How are they pricing their products or services and how are they marketing them?
• Name your product or service. Pro tip: Keep your future customers in mind when thinking up a name. What words would they use to search and find you?
• Define your brand. In one to two sentences, describe your business, what you offer, and what makes it so special.
• Create a logo. Tap into artist friends who don’t mind lending their time, or use an app or design platform that lets you flex your creative side.
• Obtain licenses or permits where necessary. For example, you may need a seller’s permit to sell your products at a market. Check in with marketplace organizers for details.
• Make a website. You don’t have to know how to code to launch a website. There are many platforms that allow you to build or customize pre-built websites relatively easily.
• Set up your social media presence. Make sure people can find you and your side hustle. You may not even need to build a website if, for example, you want to focus on selling directly to customers from a business social media account.
• Budget for your expenses. Buying products or materials to make products, monthly website fees, and permit expenses are just a few examples of what you may need to budget for when running a business or side hustle.

Although there can be a lot to do when launching a side hustle, focusing on one step at a time can help you avoid becoming overwhelmed. Remember to try to have some fun along the way, too.

5. Dip your toe before you dive.

One of the luxuries of the side hustle is the advantage of trying new things at your own pace and with better control of your initial costs. For example, if you’re thinking of event planning as your side hustle, experiment with a small family event first and see how it goes. Or if you’re dreaming of social media content creation, rent the lights and camera equipment you’ll need instead of immediately buying a full kit of your own.

“Getting started is often harder than staying started. You’ll need to have a strong motivating ‘why’ behind your side hustle and carve out the time to consistently make progress on it.” – Nick Loper, founder of Side Hustle Nation and host of The Side Hustle Show podcast

6. Take stock of the experience.

Remember, it’s OK if your side hustle stays a side hustle—in fact, only 16% of people said they want their side hustle to become their main source of income.^{Disclosure 1} You may still need your primary job for income, benefits, and overall stability.

“We often focus on the risks or the downside of starting a new project, but it’s equally important to ask, ‘What if this works?’ And if it does, would that be a win for you?” says Loper. “If the end result isn't exciting to you, the work required to get there probably won’t be exciting either.”

If it brings you joy, the part-time income from a side gig might not matter as much. Are you meeting new people and expanding your network? Are you developing new leadership skills? Bringing new energy and knowledge from your side hustle to your primary job can be an important benefit. These returns on your investment could provide you with a greater sense of purpose, which is a key to happiness.

7. Side hustle or future full-time business?

What if you want to build a career out of your side hustle? For many entrepreneurs, their dreams of success as a full-time business owner began with gig work. For DollarSprout co-founders Jeff Proctor and Ben Huber, making sure you’re realistic about your income expectations should you decide to go “all in” on your side hustle idea is the first step.

“If you were to quit your job today, and your income drops 50% the next day, are you going to be OK with that?” asks Proctor. Entrepreneurs like Proctor and Huber also advise side hustlers to avoid diving in too quickly, learn to manage time and expenses, and schedule time for yourself—valuable advice for part-time or full-time passions.