You have a full-time job, but you are also pursuing your passion for making jewellery on the side. This is a great way to build up your business while still having the security of a day job to bring you income. Sometimes you daydream about turning your side gig into your career. You wish you could quit your day job and making jewellery full time. However, it can be difficult to know when the right time is to make that move.
How do you know when it is time to make the transition from making jewellery as a side hustle and doing it full time? Here are some important pointers to consider.
Do the Maths – Can You Cover Your Expenses?
It’s time to sit down and do some serious maths to figure out whether the money you are earning from selling your jewellery would be enough to cover your basic living costs. Add up the month by month revenue over the past year and find out what you are earning on average. If you quit your day job and relied on your jewellery business, would you be able to cover your household costs?
If the answer is no, how close are you? If you make enough to cover 75% of your household costs with your jewellery business, how could you increase your jewellery earnings in order to cover the full amount? Or, how could you cut down your living expenses until they match your current jewellery making income? Can you buy craft supplies online to save money and make a bigger profit? You might project that if you increase your jewellery making income by a certain percentage per month, you will be able to fully rely on it within a time frame.
Is Your Full Time Job Holding You Back from Growing Your Jewellery Business?
You will get to the point where the only reason why you cannot make more jewellery or take on more commissions is because you are spending time at your day job. At this point, you might want to quit your job or at least cut down your hours so that you can devote more time to your growing jewellery business. If your customers are clamouring for more, don’t let them grow bored and go somewhere else. The demand is there, so it’s time to let your business grow. When you are able to buy more jewellery making supplies, make more products and invest even just a little more time in the business, you will really start to see it thrive.
Do You Have An Emergency Fund?
Before saying goodbye to your day job and relying on your jewellery making hustle full time, it is crucial to have an emergency fund saved up that you can rely on if things go wrong or don’t grow as quickly as you predicted. When you have money saved up as a buffer, this will alleviate a lot of the stress that will come with quitting your job and pursuing your jewellery business full time.
Are You Ready to Work Hard?
Quitting a typical job and investing your time and effort into your own business is hard work. You might end up working much longer hours than you ever did before, as you try to establish your brand, meet the needs of clients and produce beautiful jewellery to sell. You will feel like you are always thinking about your business and you will likely find yourself updating your website, working on your designs or messaging clients in the evenings and on the weekends.
This is the life of an entrepreneur, and it’s not so bad because you are passionate about what you do and you love your business. Also, when you work hard for yourself you reap all the benefits – rather than working flat out and having your boss enjoy the fruits of your labour. So, if you are ready to work hard and invest in yourself to make your business a success, it just might be time to make the transition from part time to full time.
So are you ready to take the next step and turn your jewellery side business into a full time gig? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
