Expert advice for turning a side hustle into a full-time job and becoming your own boss

NEW YORK - Recent numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that more than half of Americans have a "side hustle." Some want to supplement their income, and others want to pursue a dream.

Therése Gedda is an award-winning entrepreneur who started her own company Reimaginez two decades ago. She has worked with more than 1,000 founders, CEOs and C-level clients. 

She says a side hustle is when you use your talents, skills and passions to bring value to the market either to make extra money, use it as a creative outlet or build a company.  

"When I was 17, I founded a management consultancy firm, and there are so many other founders that have unique stories," said Gedda. 

So how do you turn that into a full-time business? She says the first step is acknowledging that entrepreneurship is limitless and that there isn't one way of building a successful company or being a successful founder.

"Put yourself in the shoes of the customer, invite your dream customer to have input and perspectives of what you're bringing to the market, and live as the customer yourself," said Gedda. "Make sure that you are experiencing your product or service from the customer standpoint and how are you making their lives or businesses better. Ask yourself how are you providing value that is faster, better or more cost effective."

Some common questions Gedda says she first asks her clients are, "What is your dream? What is the timeline? And why does it matter to you?"

"From there, we create a plan to make sure that you're building something you really want and not something that you believe you should do," said Gedda.

Gedda says a common mistake among first-time founders is not knowing their personal runway, and not optimizing for it.

"As an example, let's say you have $50,000 saved and you have a monthly spend of $5,000. That means that your runway is 10 months before you need to bring in a full-time income from your side hustle," said Gedda. "So that really impacts the plan and the strategy about how you are building your company and your approach to how you interact with the market."

The second most common mistake is not setting goals, Gedda says. It's important to set inspiring goals she says with clear milestones and metrics in line with what you're looking to achieve.

"When you step onto this rollercoaster, it's an amazing ride, however, it's really easy to get distracted, so it's really important to stay focused," said Gedda.

Lastly, Gedda advises aspiring entrepreneurs to "think in bets."

"Experiment, evaluate and adjust, while tapping into your creativity to see what works, what doesn't, and then course correct as you build your business," adds Gedda.

For more advice on how to become your own CEO, Gedda has written more about the topic here.