Maybe you're in a corporate job, but climbing that corporate ladder doesn't sound quite as appealing as it did a few years ago. Instead you're thinking about turning a passion or a hobby of yours into something that can become your new stream of income.
If that's you, well then you're gonna want to read this. But first a word of caution...
Turning a passion into a paid-gig sounds like the dream job! But don't forget that despite what people say about never working a day in your life when you do something you love - it's still a job. There are going to be days when you don't feel like doing it or have to do some menial tasks and things out of your comfort zone. Essentially, you are becoming self-employed and with that comes business admin, accounting, marketing, sales and a whole lot of other responsibilities.
That being said, we believe in you and your passion, so these are 5 tips to help you get started!
1. Strategic Brand Positioning and Differentiation
Spend time doing research on your industry, potential competitors, your target market or similar brands to learn from. In order to understand how you are going to succeed you need to understand the space you are entering. Based on your research you can then develop a brand identity that reflects your values and resonates with your target audience. Emphasize what sets your offerings apart from competitors, and integrate this unique value proposition into every aspect of your brand messaging and design.
In order to understand how you are going to succeed you need to understand the space you are entering.
2. Compelling Visual Branding and Design
Create a visually appealing brand identity that encapsulates the essence of your passion and values while resonating with your target market. When it comes to brand design, we always say that strategic means sustainable, make sure to spend the time on your brand identity that it deserves and, if done correctly, it will set your brand up for years and growth to come. Invest in professional logo design, cohesive color palettes, and visually engaging marketing materials that create a consistent brand presence no matter where your audience might interact with it.
3. Get your systems in place
Before you even think about marketing to your target audience, make sure you have your business systems in place. We're talking about things like your email communication templates (a game changer, we promise), presentation templates, customer journey, fulfillment processes/documents and payment systems. Your initial customers do not want to feel like your guinea pig - show up professionally from the get go.
- A note: We said professionally, NOT PERFECTLY, do not spend years trying to get everything perfect, you will never start that business. Your business will grow and evolve over time, but make sure you have the foundations laid down properly to support that growth
4. Holistic Content Marketing Strategy
Develop a comprehensive content marketing strategy that focuses on providing valuable and educational content to your audience, when building brand awareness you need to give a little to get a little. Create engaging blog posts, informative videos, and visually captivating infographics that showcase your expertise and thought leadership in the industry. Leverage various social media platforms to share your content and foster meaningful engagement with your audience.
5. We love a good boundaries chat...
We spoke about it in the beginning, when we turn a passion into a paid gig, we want to make sure we retain that passion and that it becoming our full time job doesn't somehow take the magic out of it. The key to this is by setting your boundaries from the very beginning and STICKING TO THEM!
Whether that be a practical boundary such as time structure where you don't work past a certain time or a more personal boundary like once a month doing something that isn't only business or income related, keeping the spark for your passion alive and not simply as a means of income.
These 5 tips are just to get you started, we know it can seem overwhelming but it's possible. And if you need some extra guidance then we're right here to support you!
Click Here to find out how we can help you gain confidence and clarity in turning your passion into a paid-gig!