5 Things to Know About Starting Side Hustles From Someone Who Made It

In just 10 years, Briogeo founder and CEO Nancy Twine left her decade-long career in finance to grow a side hustle into more than she ever could have imagined. Today, Twine has grown Briogeo into an industry leader. In addition to running Briogeo, she also mentors entrepreneurs as they build businesses. 

And the population of entrepreneurs is projected to grow even more this year, according to data from the Northwestern Mutual 2024 Planning and Progress Study. Of women under 60 who are playing defense with their finances, 45 percent reported they’re planning to add a side hustle this year. 

“The more you can share and help other people, the more you can have a positive impact beyond just your company and really create better outcomes for the collective,” Twine says. 

We sat down with Twine in our most recent episode of A Better Way to MoneyTM podcast to talk with her about how to start a side hustle. So, if you’re planning to start a side hustle, here’s what you need to know.  

1. Successful ideas start with a white-space opportunity. 

What is a white-space opportunity? Twine says it’s an opportunity that connects your passion to a need in the marketplace—it doesn’t currently exist. You’ll use your unique perspective to identify a product or service that you think should exist to bring some greater good to society.  

“This is where a lot of great ideas are born. People want something that doesn’t exist, and they have the courage and passion to go out and create it themselves,” Twine says.  

The idea for Briogeo came from Twine’s unique family background. As a child, she made beauty and personal care products with her mom, who was a chemist and physician. Twine says they’d source ingredients from the health food store and transform them into beauty products.  

When concepting Briogeo, Twine thought back to the moments of making clean products. At the same time, the beauty category was evolving, and more people were gravitating toward clean products. Briogeo’s white-space opportunity came from the passion Twine had for making products and seeing an opportunity for clean products in the marketplace.  

2. Getting your idea on paper helps it to grow. 

Chances are the early stages of your idea are coming to you in pieces.  

“The more you can take those ideas in your head and put them on paper, the more you’ll start to slowly bring those ideas to life,” Twine says.  

Think about what the concept is, who the target customer is, what it looks like, what the brand’s essence is. Write it all down. Then talk about it. Being able to articulate the details of what you want to offer and the value it provides can be an important step in developing your concept.  

Once you have your ideas together, find a pitch deck or business plan template. (Twine says many very successful founders put their pitch decks online. You can find them with a simple search.)  

“Looking at how other people who have been successful organized their thoughts can be a great way to get inspiration for the things you should be thinking about,” she says. And having a template to go from can give you a great head start at putting your business plan together.  

3. Finances are a critical part of your plan.  

Getting things off the ground requires some capital. Some entrepreneurs are fortunate to have family and friends as early investors, but for many people, this isn’t the case. Twine says make sure you have enough savings to fall back on, and hold onto your day job as long as you can.  

And be realistic with your budget.  

“In the beginning, it’s unrealistic to think you’re going to pay yourself a salary above your required means,” Twine says. “Make sure you’re still able to pay your bills, but be honest about what luxuries you’re willing to sacrifice so you can reinvest in your business.” 

As with compound interest, Twine says the more you invest in your company early, the more payoff you’ll see in the end. Any incremental revenue you’re able to put back into your company will help you to grow it even more.   

Depending on your goals for your business, Twine says, you may eventually reach an inflection point when you ask yourself Am I doing the company’s future a disservice by not focusing all my time on making this as big as it can be? Twine says when you can confidently answer yes, it may be time to go all in and make this your full-time job.  

4. You can’t do everything.  

You may have a great idea, but that doesn’t mean that you can execute all parts of it.  

“Nor should you,” Twine says. “Surround yourself with a circle of experts who can help you navigate the early building blocks as you build your company.”  

Twine had many people helping to get Briogeo off the ground. She had a chemist helping to create stable and safe formulas. She had a creative agency helping with packaging and design. And she was still working full time, so she had to find time in the evenings and on weekends to start formulating her idea and business plan.  

Time management will be key if you’re working a day job while trying to get a business off the ground. You can get pulled in so many different directions. So, you have to budget your time and optimize it as much as possible.  

“It’s also important to leave time for your personal life, too, to create a sense of balance and prevent burnout,” she says.  

5. Being successful takes time.  

“Quality and consistency are what help you get to that next thing,” Twine says. 

Brands that scale quickly either have a lot to invest or get lucky, she says. The reality is building a business takes time. If you don’t have a solid head start, like a large social media following or a source of funding, stay focused on quality and consistency.