Sticky Brand Lab Podcast

158: 5 Ways a Side Business Can Transform Your 9-to-5

• Lori Vajda & Nola Boea • Episode 158

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Not only can a side business help you earn extra income, it can also bolster your current career or even empower you to change careers completely. In this episode, Lori and Nola share how their own side businesses helped them gain promotions, switch careers, and enhance their day jobs. Learn how having a side business can strengthen sales skills, increase marketing and PR savvy, refine communication skills, bolster networks and networking skills, and enhance leadership abilities. Tune in to learn how starting a side business can open doors in your primary job and career.

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By the end of this episode, you’ll learn 

  • The amount time and energy the typical side-business owner actually invests in their business. The number may surprise you.
  • Five skills we built by running our own side-businesses, and how they spilled over and supercharged our careers.
  • Regardless what business you're in, you are in the sales business. You can take that skill anywhere.
  • The most authentic way to network is to focus on giving. You'll be surprised at what you'll receive


Key points Lori and Nola are sharing in this episode:

  0:00  Starting a Side Business Benefits
  2:41  Examples of how side businesses helped advance our primary careers
  4:38  Statistics that bust myths about running a side business
  8:37  How a side business strengthens your sales skills
15:59  How a side business increases your PR & Marketing skills.
19:15  How a side business improves your corporate communications skills
24:47  How a side business enhances your network and networking skills
29:09  How a side business increases your leadership skills
30:09  Putting it all together

Resources

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[00:00:00] Nola: If you search side business or side hustle on Google, you'll receive at least 1 billion results in 64 seconds. The vast majority will advise you to start a business or do freelance work. If you want to turn your hobby or interest into a business, or if you just need some extra money beyond simply monetizing your skills, however, a side business can help you advance your current career or change careers completely. That's right, friend. Stay tuned because we're sharing five powerful ways starting a side business can benefit your primary job. 

[00:00:30] Lori: Welcome to Sticky Brand Lab, where we bridge the gap between knowledge and action by providing you with helpful information, tips, and tools from entrepreneurs and other experts so you can quickly and easily jumpstart your side business. We're your hosts. I'm Lori Vajda, and this is my co-host, Nola Boea. Hi, Nola. 

Nola: Hey, Lori. 

You know, Nola. Starting a side business is a definitely a great way to test and refine a business idea. It's a great way to earn extra income. And that is especially true if your ultimate goal is to go all in and one day work for yourself. But you and I both started side businesses with really no intention of making them our full-time job, or at least that was the case for myself. Was that always the case for you? 

[00:01:21] Nola: Well, full confession, often I did start a side business as an exit plan from a less than desirable job. Really? But, yeah, more often than not, though, I was able to make internal moves to just roles I absolutely loved, and then reframed my side business as an addition to instead of a replacement for my job, and so... When I did that, I just limited my workload, canceled my transition plan. But I've always loved to keep a side business going just as a way to exercise creativity and really to help people literally, especially people who needed help with their business.

[00:01:57] Lori: Are you talking about a specific side business in general that you had? Cause you've had several. When you said help people with their business, are you speaking on something in particular? 

[00:02:06] Nola: Well, actually, most businesses I have started as a way to help people, and that's really what businesses are. So yes, my most recent businesses have frequently been in communications, marketing, not all of them. But all of them have been a way to help people because frankly, if you have a service that people are willing to pay for, they are finding value in that and you're helping them. So, and I enjoyed that. And it's so often said that if you have expertise that'll help you grow that expertise in your side business.

But we've actually also found the reverse that having a side business, they have actually helped us gain promotions, switch careers, and overall enhance our day job.

For example, when I was freelancing, I had clients and was helping them build websites. I had a partner that was the tech person. I was developing the web content, but I was the one working with the clients, kind of casting the overall vision and design. And that was on my side job. But in the end, I ended up growing this expertise to a point that it led to a promotion in managing web content and electronic marketing in my day job. It really helped me be able to talk tech and talk marketing. 

Another example is I had a freelance client that had me writing a quarterly newsletter in a very specialized niche there was a lot of numbers and it's a niche I was comfortable with because of my education, but it wasn't something I normally dealt with in my day job. However, I got really well versed in it and writing this quarterly newsletter. Well, eventually it came in really handy because my primary job employer decided to really delve into that niche. And I was the only one that actually knew a lot of detail about it and could turn it into marketing materials that really enhanced my day job.

What about you? 

[00:03:59] Lori: Starting a side business. This allowed me to switch industries and change jobs completely on more than one occasion. And if I hadn't had that side business, that opportunity would have never opened up for me. Because one of the things you often hear when you want to switch industries or go into a different area within a department, the comeback is often you don't have experience here and you need experience in order to switch jobs. So the side business helped in a variety of ways, which is part of what prompted us to want to talk about this. 

But before we get into that, I do want to share just some interesting statistics on side businesses as well, because I think there's a lot of misinformation out there, particularly when it comes to the amount of time.

And what I found was in research, the average person spends between 11 and 16 hours a week on their side business, which when you think about it really isn't that much to begin with, but it's enough to develop new skillsets. And the average person working in that 11 to 16 hours can make roughly about 1, 000 or more a month.

So, it doesn't take a lot of time once you establish your business to see some results coming in. Now, the other interesting thing that I found is When people are thinking, what kind of side business do I need, or what are the top areas for making income, there are actually three top areas. One of them is online businesses, and that can be anything from an Etsy or Amazon, or even digital courses, things that you sell online. Freelance work, which can include consulting. It can include coaching, copywriting services, photography that you do on the sign, any of that and investing, particularly real estate investing, which I found to be fascinating.

[00:06:02] Nola: And it is fascinating as well as the finding that on a few hours a week, people are earning about a thousand dollars or more a month, which is nothing to sneeze at. It's maybe not a full-time business, but it's certainly a second stream of income for sure. 

[00:06:17] Lori: Another misnomer out there is who is actually working in a side business. And we hear that a lot of young people today to pay off education, debt, or to have travel money, or doing side gigs. But interestingly enough, I found that about half of Millennials, and that's roughly ages 25 to 34, have a side business or a side gig. 40 percent of Gen Xers, which is the ages 43 to 58. have some kind of side income as well, and about a quarter of baby boomers have side businesses. So, it cuts across. There are many reasons people do start a side business, even though it can have a variety of benefits, as we were sharing today, beyond just the extra income. It's a way of having income for sure. But it's also an opportunity to have a more flexible lifestyle, kind of like build a business around the lifestyle that you want rather than having a lifestyle and then including business in there. So, I like that kind of idea. 

But here's probably the most interesting information that isn't discussed a lot. And that is that researchers out of the University of Iowa found that a side business or even freelance work actually boosts performance in your full-time job. You know what the reason was for that? Tell me. People reported feeling more empowered by their side work and that carried over into their day job.

And I know for me, that was actually the very first thing that I told people when I suggested that they start a side business is that you will have more energy for your primary job by developing the skill sets. 

[00:08:18] Nola: Absolutely. I can so relate to that. I would not have guessed it at the time, but looking back, I agree. And that's how we came up with five ways that having a side business has directly impacted our current careers. So, listener, I'll just dive right in. 

Number one, having a side business will strengthen your sales skills. Two, it'll increase your marketing and PR savvy. Three, it'll refine your communication skills. Four, it'll bolster your network and networking skills. And five, it'll enhance your leadership.

[00:08:55] Lori: I think the reason that that works so well in those areas is because often when you're hired into a role in a primary job. It's very narrow focused, right? You don't have as much exposure directly to doing, for example, if you're in communications or you're in sales, you're working sure with departments, but you don't have a deep dive understanding of their role.

You're only comparing that role to how it impacts what you do during your day job. But when you have a side business, you have to wear many hats and those hats actually build off of one another and inform each other. And I think you get to take that information back to your day job, if that makes sense.

[00:09:44] Nola: Well, absolutely. Our entire life, our experience is not divided into little pieces of pie. We are holistic. And so you get this halo effect. Let me just dive right into talking about sales. The first benefit, strengthening your sales skills. So, let me start with the first example, the first benefit. Our guest on our podcast a while back talked about sales and she reiterated that if you have a business, you are in the sales business. You cannot have a business without being in the business of sales, right? And it's true. I think we found out that having a side business, you have to sell what you're doing, right? And the truth is for me personally, I had in the past received training and sales techniques, but I am inherently shy. And when I went out on my own, it took a lot of courage and I really warmed up to the idea. But eventually when I decided to offer my marketing and freelancing services, it was actually with a nail salon owner. I really got to know her and She was really quite a savvy woman. The nail salon was only one of many businesses she had and she desperately needed a website. I had up to this point run freelancing inside businesses before, but I had been away from it for so long. I actually almost forgot how to sell. And when I finally pitched the idea of building her website and she took notice and made an appointment with me to come back and we'll talk about it, I had such a bolster of courage. For me personally, being so shy, just building the courage to make the pitch was a big leap in my sales muscle.

Now, that's one lesson, but also in my experience in just in sales, I had what was probably what I initially felt was a negative experience only because it was a first-time thing. And that is, I went into an office thinking I was hired and just ready to discuss the project at hand. And, and what I didn't realize is. He and the group that he had assembled was waiting to hear my pitch, and I had no idea that was the forum. It was a complete misunderstanding. I was not prepared. So, because of that, I was a little embarrassed and very frustrated, and so that was why it was a negative experience. But the lesson? Always be prepped to speak about the benefits of what you offer.

[00:12:13] Lori: Often when we think of sales, we think of selling a product or selling a service. But sometimes we're selling just an idea or we're selling ourselves in getting to know somebody.

Sales is a lot different. Sometimes, it's about selling yourself. It's about how do you enter a conversation? How do you let other people know about an idea that you have? How do you get their interest? And so now we're talking about the difference between the features and the benefits and really understanding where a person's pain point is.

So for me, part of good sales is being a good listener because you're looking for that moment. In their story, in which you understand that you have something of value to offer. Sometimes what you're offering is directly related to the product or service that you are selling, but sometimes it's just related to your experience.

And so in that way you become a trusted resource. So you're selling yourself as well as your viewpoint or you're being persuasive. I think from my standpoint. I recognized that first of all, sales was a lot different than I thought it was. Second, it required me to learn how to enter conversations.

So when you start a side business and you're trying to let other people know about your products and services, it feels like you're pushing, but really sales is about pulling people in. Getting them aligned with where you're at and then introducing your ideas, your products.

[00:13:58] Nola: Absolutely. A lot of sales is relationship and it's just being willing to be of service. And I think that's also what our prior guest, Barbara Fonte, really emphasized was you're there of service, you're providing information, you're making yourself available. So in general, there is a halo effect. When you build the courage to create the relationship, offer the service and ask for the sale, that builds confidence to assert yourself appropriately in other situations. And even those situations where you face potential rejection and having experience in sales helps you to not take rejection personally, because you're again, you're just making yourself available to be of service. If the timing is not right or whatever, don't take it personally.

Sales experience in your side business also helps you to better articulate the benefits of what you have to offer and the ability to sell your own ideas 

[00:14:52] Lori: Something that I think is really important is sales is about being concise. I didn't realize that because you are watching people's expression, you're listening for the sigh.

Do they get what you're saying? And the way for me that translated was getting to not just to the point, because I think you can dive and get very narrow, but lose the person that you're talking to. So when you're selling your idea or your recommendation, that's very similar to selling a product or service. You have to be a good listener. You have to be an active listener. You have to be concise and make sure that they're on the same page as you are. 

[00:15:36] Nola: Absolutely. And that can help you in your day job when you have to articulate your ideas and really sell your ideas or your initiatives to stakeholders in your organization. All of that can help. So with that said, so once you become skilled at sales, I would say that you can practically write your own ticket at any organization because sales skills are super transferable. 

[00:15:59] Lori: Another skill set or area is PR and marketing, and we've put those together, but I think there's definitely some distinction between them, but there's also some overlap. So when I talk about this in my experience. I'm going to talk about how they both came together. I was thinking of marketing and PR as kind of a creative that was out there. That you develop materials for getting publicity for collateral. And that all is definitely true. But the way that it really helped me in my side business, I actually got very creative.

So I had to get the word out. My first side business was as a dating coach and I built up these packages, actually manually I put them together. So, they were little containers. It was close to Valentine's Day. I got hearts, I got candies, I got little mementos, just a lot of different things. Put them together in a basket, sent them out to radio stations, to television stations, to specific people, letting them know that I was a dating coach, letting them know about my business.

And letting them know that I was available to talk more about it. I got invited on TV shows and on some radio shows as well, and got invited as a recurring guest. But the point here is I would have never stepped out and learned how to do marketing and how to take risks with PR if I hadn't had a side business.

And the way that it benefited me is I was working my primary job. And I was working for the state, Colorado I was in the division of youth corrections, my boss wanted to start a new program. So I had to develop a collateral material around this new program, went to present. I didn't have the collateral ahead. I brought it with me. We were trying to sell the idea of this new program. And as a leave behind, I put down the sheet of paper that really very eloquently talked about what this program was about, the benefits of the program, the audience it would serve, where the funding would come from, in basically a one-page format.

In the conversation, we were turned down for this new program. However, my leaf behind generated interest and it was in the leaf behind that they accepted our proposal for this new program. Had I never developed that content. That information, that idea would have never sailed and my ability to do so and do it in a way that was creative came from having to get the word out on my own business.

[00:19:05] Nola: Isn't that amazing? Once you begin to think in a certain way and get those creative juices going, it just spills over into other areas. 

[00:19:14] Lori: Absolutely. And I think that's a really important piece because now you're thinking marketing and communications. Well, in order to do that. I actually was developing my copywriting skills.

I didn't know that at the time. I was just thinking that I was learning how to get the word out about the business and I was coming up with these creative ideas, but really what was happening is I was developing copywriting skills that later also impacted communications. So now here, this is where there's kind of this overlap, but I'm separating them out.

So one of them is the creative, that's the marketing and PR, but the communications aspect, which was the third area that we wanted to talk about is how do you succinctly get information out there? You have to build a website when you have a side business. You have to do social media marketing, blogging. You could write articles that ended up on LinkedIn. You could pitch ideas to magazines. All of those things were things that I was doing in my side business that had a direct impact because I was developing those muscles that I had no idea about and I was applying them in my primary job. 

So when, for example, that program got funded and we were able to move forward with it, I had to develop material around it. I had to send it out to key stakeholders. I had to come up with a name for the program, all sorts of things that happened around communication. And because it was a research component to it, I had to be able to put that information together succinctly. So here I was developing skills that were helping me get the word out about my side business.

And I was taking those and applying them directly in my day job. And not only was I doing it there, I was teaching my colleagues how to do it as well. So that they could communicate effectively about what the new program was going to be. I had to share that information with them so that they could sell the idea, market it to other people to generate interest.

We had to get employees to work in that program. So we needed all of those skill sets that we really weren't thinking about, and it was a totally different approach. Then the state had been used to doing when it came to getting funding for a new idea. 

[00:21:53] Nola: That's a great success story. That's awesome.

Yeah. I can say that when I was running side businesses and had to do all of that marketing and PR and communications and collateral and development. All of that personally, it got me out of the silo for my day job, I was usually doing one thing. I was focusing on one type of assignment in general, but it allowed me to expand my horizons.

 In the end, in future positions in my day job, I was able to have intelligent conversations with marketing folks. I may not have been in the marketing department, but I completely got what they were talking about. I would have liked to say that I understood it as a concept anyway. But there's no replacement for just having been there, done that. 

[00:22:36] Lori: That's I think very important because initially I was proposing the idea of this new project within the government agency that I was working for. Later, I was applying to implement and run the program. Um, because I had developed some skills from the side business as in leadership, because I was the CEO and founder in marketing, in communications, in selling the idea, it opened up the door for a promotion within the job that I currently have. But later when I wanted to leave that field and do something completely different, it wasn't the day job and the education that I had gotten in my master's degree that helped open a new door and a new opportunity for me. It was all the skills combined that I had learned from my side business. And so, when an opportunity with a Fortune 100 company opened up, they were looking to pilot their social media department, but they wanted it to expand beyond just social media.

They wanted all forms of internal communication, which was an internal newsletter and external communication in this case also was a newsletter to their clients. But it was also blogging, articles, and it was social media. And all of that fell under my side business. So I was able to draw on the psychology and working in departments and working with teams and hiring from my primary job. But I was also able to apply these new skill sets that were in a very new field going forward. It is actually what got me the job. And then that ability to work for a fortune 100 company in the area of marketing and communications that opened me up to getting agency work. 

[00:24:45] Nola: That's great how it all came together.

So the fourth benefit of running a side business is how it enhances your network and your networking skills. The truth is that having a diverse network and being active in that network is always a good idea, regardless if it's a network that's associated with your day job or your side business.

I had joined a mission that I was passionate about. And I felt was aligned with the side business and the image that I wanted to create on the side business. So I met likeminded people and people with a certain level of expertise. They were all business owners. I really learned from them. And the benefit that I was able to take back with regard to that network is I was inspired based on that expertise to go back to my day job and recommend new approaches and innovations based on what I'd learned in that environment that I never would have possibly thought about if I hadn't been involved in this other organization.

You and I have also met a lot of interesting people. We've built a network of guests and other people in having our podcast. And I will say that. On my day job, I have recommended those guests as either speakers or trainers or consultants. In the day job, these are people that I would never have met had we not had this side business.

[00:26:06] Lori: That's a really good point. When we think of networking, we tend to think of it more related to our area of expertise. So whatever your job is, you're networking there. But when you have a side business, networking is a way to help not only cultivate likeminded people like you were talking about, but it's also a way to help you get the word out.

I was attending a networking event, specifically the Women's Chamber of Commerce. And I happened to sit next to a person who was starting a print magazine. Well, I was there for, as a dating coach, her focus of her print magazine was to help people go through the transition of divorce with some positive skill sets.

And dating was going to be one of those. So as we got to know each other and talk, she asked me if I would be interested in writing for her magazine. So I had a byline under there that then opened up opportunities for me to pitch ideas to other magazines. So, I was developing not only an area as a subject matter expert and developing a new skill set.

My network was expanding from a side business in the way that it would in a traditional business, meaning that when it came time to finding a new job, it was my network that I turned to, both networks. The one for my primary job and the one that was evolving from my side business. And as it turned out, it was my side business that actually opened up channels and opportunities for future jobs.

So, one of those benefits to me in networking is not only are you developing it as a participant when you're an employee, when you're a business owner, you bring in all the other reasons networking is so important. And as a business owner, you want to meet other business owners. Well, now you're developing a new network of professionals that you can rely on.

And then within your side business, you look for opportunities or niches in which your product or service can be sold to that opens up a networking opportunity. So you end up using networking from your profession in the same way that you do in your business. But it's greater and wider, which to me has been extremely beneficial.

[00:28:41] Nola: Absolutely. I would say that the key is to see your network as an opportunity to give rather than see how you can extract your own benefits from it. Be involved, keep your commitments when you make them as far as being active. be a resource to people. And when you're just a natural participant in whatever that network organization is doing, then your network will be a resource for you when you need it.

That is so true. That networking experience where I joined a community organization, I really did believe in the cause. I will say that experience led me to enhance the next skill that we're talking about number five, and that is leadership. Because as I became more motivated to advance that cause in my community, I was actually invited to become the regional chapter leader.

And that gave me the creds basically to approach local business leaders, those in my community, and to build professional relationships. It's just really exciting. Now, running my side business also had me interacting with company leaders who wanted to change their branding and their messaging. And I learned how to overcome that intimidation factor because I was very often encountering and interacting with very self-assured.

We're talking business company owners, president. It built up my confidence and leadership muscles that I have directly applied and has, I believe, has led to advancement in my day job. 

[00:30:09] Lori: When we think about the areas that you and I have been discussing, like sales, marketing, PR, communications, leadership, we tend to think of these very narrowly, especially if it's not in our primary job, um, we think about them as ideas or departments, or we have a specific person. When you have a side business, you have to develop those skill sets. You get an understanding of how they're interconnected. So when you're pushing your agenda, but you have the wherewithal in the big picture, because now you understand how sales and marketing comes together. How PR and marketing comes together, how marketing and branding and internal and external communications, client services, and in leadership, you have thought leadership. You have asserting yourself. You have being able to ask key questions or stand up for something that you really believe in. You have to apply networking to that. You have to really put yourself out there. And the more you practice those, And the more you feel comfortable wearing all of those different roles, the more integrated they become so that a new you, really steps forward. And to me, that's where thought leadership really takes things to the next level because you're able to understand what your unique point of view is and share that with others.

And in order to do that, you have to practice active listening skills. You have to practice not taking things personally. You have to assert yourself in a way that you might not be used to or might not be typical depending on the primary job role that you're in. But when you have a side business. That entrepreneurial muscle and developing that, to me, what I have gotten from having a side business has far outweighed what I have gained simply by going to school or taking a job in one very narrow field.

[00:32:33] Nola: I totally agree. And once you have experienced and applied all those skills, then they'll help you in any career. 

[00:32:42] Lori: You refer to it as a halo effect. Where I come from, we refer to it as generalization, that you're able to take a skill and generalize it to the larger world at hand. And I think that's what we're really talking about in these areas.

So what we hope friend is now that we've shared five career advantages of running a side business. We hope you feel better prepared and more motivated to get started so you can become a first-time entrepreneur in the second half of your vibrant life. And be sure to stick around to the very end of this podcast for our fun little chuckle.

[00:33:20] Nola: If you found the information we've shared helpful and want more tools, tips, and inspiration delivered to your inbox, sign up for news. You can use over on our website, sticky brand lab. com and remember small steps, big effects.

[OUT-TAKE]

I had to make a save here.

[00:33:45] Lori: I know. I told you it went off script and you're like, that's not in there. Spot me, Enola. 

[00:33:52] Nola: No, no,