One of the ways to really take control of your finances is to look for secondary sources of income to supplement your main job. I’m sure you’ve heard the term “side hustle” before, and this secondary job is what it is referring to. This secondary stream of income can help your reach your financial goals and help build savings, investments or funds for big purchases. If you want to build your side hustle, there’s a good chance you are going to need a website to accompany it.
Do I Need a Website?
There are lots of types of secondary income streams that you can build, some rely more than others on building out a website to support the side-business. If this business is something you want to run on-top of working a full-time job, you are going to need ways to automate some of the processes to save time.
If your side business is a gig economy job (e.g. Uber, DoorDash), you likely don’t need a website as working for these businesses provides your customer leads for you.
But if you are looking to sell items, freelance as a writer or photographer, or create a consulting business, you’ll need ways to build your online availability, reputation and find ways to market yourself to new clients.
How a Website Helps Your Side Business
Lets look at the different types of part-time income streams and how having a website helps you maintain your new business while keeping your regular job.
Selling Products
This one is a bit of a no-brainer, but if you have products that are are making some money selling in your spare time, creating a website with an online store can taking your money-making ability to the next level. An online store allows you to reach a larger audience, while also taking care of the time consuming tasks. Setting up an online store allows your customers to shop, make orders and make payments online when you might not necessarily be available because you are working your other job.
Freelancing/Consulting
If you are freelancing or offering consulting services on a skill that you provide, then going beyond having social media profiles for your services is a must. A big part of being a successful freelancer and consultant is building your reputation, and this takes time to do. With a website you can:
- Create a professional image
- Share stories about previous work you’ve done
- Showcase your expertise with portfolios and case studies
- Build your search engine visibility
How To Get a Website (at an Affordable Price)
There are a few options available to those looking to build their online presence for their side-hustle with a new website.
Website Builders
DIY website builders like Wix offer a range of features and functions that allow you to build a website for your side business. While all of these builders are different, they generally offer the following advantages:
- They are fairly easy-to-use, with having drag-and-drop interfaces.
- They often offer hosting and domains as part of their plans.
- Offer support services.
These can be great options for those looking to build a website off of the side of their desk – but there can be downsides as well:
- They are limited in terms of what you can design and how you can customize them
- They still cost varying amounts of money to use.
- They have SEO limitations
- You are stuck with the company that you use. You can’t up and move your website to new hosting.
- Time consuming – if you are new to using a website builder, they can still take a fair amount of time to figure out how to use.
So while this option works for some, it doesn’t work for everyone.
Hire Reputable Web Designers
If you are looking to save yourself a lot of time, especially considering you already have a full-time job that you are fitting in, then hiring a web designer or web developer, while costing you more money, will save you a ton of time and provide your website with the expertise that you need.
There are so many web designers out there and it can be hard to tell which ones are legit and which ones are scammers. I highly recommend working with a local web design company to ensure you are working with someone who isn’t going to run out on you or provide poor quality service. If you work with a local developer, you can meet them in person to get a better sense of who you are working with, and it makes it easier to check out their credentials.
For example, I’ve worked with Van Island Web in the past, a local development company in my city, and they have been able to provide great websites at affordable prices.
You may need to check out a few different companies, but when looking for a designer, google “web designers near me” to get a good list of local companies that you can review and contact.
The Importance of your Website
As you can see, setting up a website as part of your side hustle can save you time in the long run and help you build a professional online presence and reputation. It’s hard to imagine running a secondary business without one, so I definitely recommend either building a website yourself, or having a local designer build one for you.
