Starting your own business can be intimidating at first. But then, when you decide to turn your hobby into a real business or more than a side hustle, things seem a little less daunting. For most people, starting a business from home in 2020 meant taking things they enjoyed to the next level. For example, many people chose to take their outdoor event planning skills and turned them into their dream job, or maybe you know someone who started their own creative writing business or gardening/landscaping business this year. The point is if you want to turn your hobby into a money-making business, you absolutely can, especially if you follow these few steps.

Identify why.

Figuring out why you want to start a business is important. Maybe you’re looking for another income source, or perhaps you just have a little extra time on your hands. Whatever the case is, it’s important to know your purpose or goal here, especially when it comes to step two—defining what success means to you.

Defining what success means to you 

Everyone wants a successful small business right out of the gate, but a successful small business takes time, like most things. That said, defining your idea of success will help keep you grounded, especially when it comes time to working on the more tedious aspects of your business. What’s more, knowing exactly what success means to you can keep you focused on the task at hand.

Look at your finances.

Speaking of the more tedious aspects of your business, looking at your finances for startup capital and funds for projected overhead might make your hobby a little less fun initially. However, it’s important to go over the numbers. This will help you create a realistic business plan, and it will prepare you for handling other financial aspects of your new business later on down the road, like your taxes. If you’re not big on the idea of handling your business taxes or need a little guidance in this area, then go to https://taxfyle.com/small-business-taxes for all your small business tax needs.

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Draft a business plan.

After crunching some numbers, it’s time to sit down and create a realistic business plan. If you’ve never created a business plan before, that’s okay. There are tons of resources online that can help point you in the right direction, so make sure to check them out. It’s important to have a business plan drafted for additional funding, and to have a real idea of what you want to do written down on paper.

Set up your business. 

Once you have your business plan squared away, additional funding lined up, and you’ve set up your home workspace, at least for now, then you can register your business and start planning. During this process, remember it’s okay to make mistakes. In fact, mistakes are natural in the beginning. That said, the great thing about starting your own business is that it’s yours, and you can decide what happens next.