Thinking of turning your side hustle into a small business? Here’s how it’s done

The rise of the "side hustle" represents a new iteration of entrepreneurs who are taking their first steps toward owning a business while still being employed full time. A side hustle is what we call the time and dedication put in after a long day at a nine-to-five to work on what you're truly passionate about.

Hiscox surveyed 400 small business owners whose companies started out as side hustles. We asked them questions such as, how long before you could take your business full time? How did you earn enough money to support yourself once you quit your day job? And, most importantly, how did you turn a side hustle into a small business? Here's what we uncovered:

They put in the overtime ... all the time. We found that people worked, on average, 20 hours a week on their side hustle before it became their full-time career. This extra work was  primarily completed at night and on the weekends. This was in addition to their 40-hour-a-week day jobs. 

It takes time and money. After about a year and a half, they were ready to ditch the day job and become full-time entrepreneurs. At this point, the average side hustle was generating $43,862 a year – the amount they needed to feel comfortable leaving the security of full-time employment. 

Patience is important. It took an average of seven months after taking the business full time for most side hustlers to hire their first employee. Within three years, they were making the same annual income as they had in their last full-time job working for someone else. 

Get a sneak peak of what it takes to turn a side hustle into a small business in the infographic below. Don’t forget to download the 2019 Hiscox Side Hustle to Small Business™ Study for everything you need to know. 

These courageous entrepreneurs were willing to put in the long hours, juggle their responsibilities and take a pay cut so they could make their dreams of being their own boss come true.

What does it really take to turn a side hustle into a business?

Turning a side hustle into a viable small business doesn’t happen overnight. According to our 2019 Side Hustle to Small Business™ Study, the journey from side gig to fulltime business is usually measured in years, not weeks.

On average, respondents:

• Worked 20 hours per week on their side hustle while still employed in a fulltime job.  
• Spent 19 months working on their side hustle before quitting their fulltime job.
• Needed to earn around $43,862 per year from their side hustle before they felt comfortable leaving their job.
• Hired their first employee about 7 months after going full time.
• Took about 3 years to reach the same annual income as they earned in their last fulltime role.

If your side hustle isn’t replacing your salary in a few months, that doesn’t mean you’re failing—it’s actually very close to what other successful small business owners report.

Learn more about turning a side hustle into a small business by listening to our Side Hustle to Small Business podcast and check out more tips to turn your gig into a full-time job.