The reasons to start a side hustle are obvious: you’ll have the chance to earn extra income, and there is always a chance that your “second job” becomes successful enough to become a full-time business. However, while knowing that you want to start a side hustle is relatively straightforward, deciding which is the right choice for you tends to be far more challenging.

If you have been stuck, trying to decide between driving jobs, freelance writing or blogging, starting a dog walking service, or designing an affiliate site, then help is at hand. All you need to do is follow four simple steps.

Step #1: Trust Your Gut

We named a few types of side hustles above, but there are plenty more to consider – but as you do so, it’s important to trust your gut. If you don’t like the idea of a particular side hustle, dismiss it immediately.

It’s best to focus on the ideas you do like the sound of and can imagine yourself doing for one straightforward reason: a side hustle should be simple. As a side hustle is not designed to replace your entire income, you need to choose something that you find exciting and interesting in order to dedicate time to it. If you don’t enjoy your side hustle, then you’d almost certainly be better off increasing your hours at your full-time job; for a change to be worth it, it needs to be something you genuinely find engaging.

Step #2: Run the Numbers

Many types of side hustles require investment to get started; if you choose to start a dog walking service, then you’ll need to pay for advertising, while creating an affiliate site means buying a domain name and webspace. The adage that you have to spend money to make money remains true here, but you need to ensure that the startup costs are suitable for your budget.

Step #3: Research the Downsides

In step one, we talked about the importance of choosing a side hustle you will enjoy; step three seeks to provide the counterbalance to this, providing the opportunity to ensure you are fully aware of both the positives and the negatives your side hustle will offer.

What the downsides of your potential side hustle are depend on the specific side hustle you are considering. If you’re contemplating driving side hustles, then you’ll need to be aware of the risks posed by other vehicles such as motorbikes, cars, and trucks, the latter of which is discussed in depth at Frekhtman & Associates. If you’re considering freelance writing, then all that extra typing could put you at risk of conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, which you can learn more about at Medline Plus – and so on, as you identify and then research the potential downsides of the side hustle you are contemplating.

Step #4: Getting Started

By this point, you should…

• Have a firm idea of which type of side hustle you are hoping to start
• Are confident that you are genuinely interested in, or excited by, your chosen side hustle
• Are aware of the downsides of your side hustle and are comfortable, so you can be sure you are making a well-informed, realistic choice

As a result, you’re now ready to get started – and should be well on your way to earning a little extra cash in your spare time.