Side Hustles For Parents: Starting A Digital Marketing Firm

If you already work in the realm of digital marketing, starting an agency is the perfect side hustle. Aside from enabling you to utilize your existing skills and experience, it offers great earning potential. Better still, this B2B service means the venture can become profitable even with a small client base. Likewise, the long-term growth opportunities ensure it can be a full-time business further down the line.

It is a suitable solution for entrepreneurs of all backgrounds and is particularly useful for parents. However, it’s imperative that you begin the process with a defined strategy. Here’s all you need to know.

1| Planning Revenue Generation

The first big question any entrepreneur must ask is simple: how will I make money?

For a digital marketing consultancy, you can split this into two key areas. Firstly, you need to consider the services that you plan to offer. Finding SEO leads is almost inevitable. After all, a client’s business will not see any success if they do not have brand awareness and visibility.

Most B2B clients will want to keep the majority of their marketing endeavours under one roof. From your perspective, this is great news as offering a more comprehensive service may allow you to boost the customer lifetime value. In short, this means that each client will be worth more. This is a particularly ideal business model for a side hustle.

You don’t have to offer all services, but some that you may include are;

• Video marketing, 
• Web design, 
• Email marketing, 
• Rebranding, 
• Audience research
• Conversion rate optimisation.

As well as planning your services, you must consider how you will be paid. Deciding whether to charge hourly fees or flat retainers is a key step. When first starting out, you may also wish to consider offering your services to clients via the gig economy. The right platform will instantly connect you to a huge audience of potential clients. It is ideal when still establishing your brand and business.

2| Building A Suitable Workspace 

As an entrepreneur, you will be heavily influenced by your surroundings. You must not ignore the need to get it right.

Building a home office that makes the most of limited space is essential. It’s also a good idea to put a lock on the room. This allows you to leave projects out overnight without worrying that they’ll become messed up. Similarly, allows you to actively shut off from the outside world once you’re in work mode while family members see it as a clear barrier.

Operating from home is the obvious choice because it keeps overheads down and allows you to work whenever it’s most convenient for you. The whole point of starting a business is to build a better future for your family and gain a work-life balance.

The right home office setup will certainly help, but you also need to;

• Set a clear work schedule,
• Get up and ready for work,
• Remove distractions like games.

It is likely that you will continue to operate from home for as long as the business is a side hustle. In fact, it’ll probably continue to stay in your office while making the transition from side hustle to full business. With this in mind, it is truly the strongest foundation for building a better business.

3| Making Your Business Official

Ideas are great, but they count for very little if you are unable to trade.

Before officially registering the business, you should research sole proprietor versus LLC. In a sole proprietorship, you have full control but also take on all responsibilities. A limited liability company leaves you with far smaller responsibilities outside of your own taxes. Speaking to a financial or legal advisor is a wise move.

You will need to file the necessary paperwork to Companies House and register the business with HMRC. While some try to delay this process, it’s best to do it immediately. If nothing else, it saves you from a time-consuming process later on when you’re trying to serve clients. Besides, most B2B clients will research your business to confirm legitimacy.

As well as registering the business, you will need to; 

• Register your business name, domain, and website,
• Design the necessary letterheads and document templates,
• Take out business insurance and legal protection.

It can all be a little tedious, but it’s vital that you start your business venture on the front foot. With this in mind, you will also want to purchase the right accounting software to keep your finances under control. Perhaps most importantly, this step puts you in the right frame of mind to actively follow your business dreams.

4| Defining Your Audience

Another big question that every digital marketing company must ask is “who is the customer?”.

It’s actually a question all business owners must ask. However, digital marketers often fall into the trap of trying to reach all businesses. Understanding different niches within the B2B sector is a vital step. Focus on one, or a small number of niches, to boost your hopes of success. It’s better to swim in a pond than down in the sea.

Defining your audience will influence everything from your branding to client interactions. When you try to impress everyone the harsh reality is that the digital marketing company will become diluted. When operating as a side hustle, overcoming this obstacle becomes virtually impossible.

There are many reasons to focus on a niche, including but not limited to;

• Adapt your services to suit your market,
• Save time and money through target marketing,
• Minimise your competition for clients,
• Establish yourself as an authority in your environment,
• Deliver better results to gain increased loyalty.

As well as your niche, you should consider whether your services are aimed at startups, SMEs, or large organizations. This will enable you to build multi-tiered marketing packages or offer bespoke services. When they align with the client’s needs, your prospects for short-term and future success will be greatly improved.

5| Developing Your Selling Skills

Before you can prove your ability to deliver great marketing strategies for a client, you must first master your own.

You already have the technical marketing skills needed to thrive. However, you need to show potential clients that you can bring value to their company. Before worrying about strategies, you should focus heavily on communication skills. Body language and communication courses are a great investment. If you are serious, you’ll use them.

Of course, it is additionally important to showcase your business well. By giving your company the wow factor, it lets clients know that you can achieve the same results for them. After all, seeing is believing.

Some of the key features that will help your business make a great first impression include;

• A great website with strong search engine visibility,
• Dedicated social media strategies,
• Customer testimonials and a portfolio.

In addition to these features, you must focus on actively solving the client’s pain points. Listen and use consultancy meetings to build a clear and defined action plan of how you plan to deliver great results. Once you do this, clients won’t only know that your services can be trusted. More importantly, they’ll know that they can’t afford to ignore the services.

6| BuildingYour Team

When starting a side hustle, you may be tempted to go it alone. Frankly, learning to accept help is essential for success.

For starters, there simply aren’t enough hours in the week to handle all aspects of business alongside a job and parenting. If your skills revolve around strategising, it may be required to hire freelance graphic designers that can bring your vision to life. Aside from helping you maintain better speeds, it ensures that clients get the best results.

Ultimately, if your business cannot deliver the right results for its clients, there will be problems. Most notably, clients will either hire another agency or go back to in-house methods. Besides, a strong team will be essential as you look to expand and take on more B2B clients.

Therefore, other areas where you may need outside help include;

• Client support, 
• Social media influencer marketing,
• Running your admin and accounts,
• Market research,
• Analysing marketing plans.

When operating from home, it’s likely that all employees or contractors working for you will be remote. Using cloud computing tools to promote collaborations and communication is vital. Ensuring that business operations run smoothly, even when you’re unavailable, will translate to happier clients. In turn, this will take profits to the next level.

7| Setting Your Goals

Finally, it’s important to enter the process with a clear vision of what you want to achieve. Of course, you may deviate from the intended path during the course of your business journey. Nevertheless, knowing whether you want this to be your long-term business venture is essential. Above all else, it’ll help you balance the side hustle with your existing job.

Even if it’s simply planning the eventual exit strategy, keeping one eye on the future will help guide future decisions. When juggling business with parenting, this step is also necessary for motivational purposes. When things get tough, this vision will drive you on.