Four tips to help you turn your side job into your career

Side hustle tips

With the advent of the internet has come a whole universe of possibilities when it comes to business. In fact, more people than ever now have internet-based businesses, or “side hustles”, to boost their monthly income. If you’re one of these people, you probably want to turn your side job into your career at some point – but how do you do that? Here are some quick tips on turning your side-hustle into your full-time career.

Tip 1: Don’t make the change until you can afford to

One of the biggest mistakes people make when transitioning from full-time employment to self-employment is moving too fast, and there’s no need to rush. At the minimum, you want to be able to bring in the same amount, after-tax, as you do per month with your main hustle. Once you reach this figure, you’ll be in a great position to make the move.

Tip 2: Find the time for your side hustle

Another vital step when trying to make the jump to full-time self-employment is to dedicate some time aside to work on it. Putting time aside to manage your project is very important. Although, most of the time it won’t even feel like work when it’s something you love! 

Tip 3: Leverage the power of digital marketing

Another key to hitting the ground running with a new full-time gig is to be as established as possible when you go solo. The more clients you have, the more content you have on your website, and the more online visibility you have will be key factors in ensuring your new main gig can survive in the long term. Having a rock-solid website for your new business is the cornerstone to success in today’s digital world.

Tip 4: Don’t spread yourself too thin too soon

When you’re making this transition, you’ll essentially be working two jobs, meaning your time will be at a premium. This means that the time you spend on your side gig needs to be focused on quality. Your first few projects will be the starting ground for your business. This means you’ll need to be creating great material and maintaining healthy relationships with your client – in return getting amazing recommendations and excellent examples of the work you can do. Maintain focus, and keep it directed toward the best quality client you can find – and most importantly, don’t take on too much! It’s important you focus on maintaining your work/life balance.

If you’re ready to take your side-business to the next level with a beautiful website, try out Go Sitebuilder for free today – and see how far you could go.

Starting a hypnotherapy business

Starting a hypnotherapy business

Hypnotherapy is a life-changing form of therapy. It uses specialised techniques to help patients find the root of their anxieties and curb any unwanted impulses. If you want to start a hypnotherapy business as a guiding light to clients, then these are some pointers you should consider.

Draw attention to specific practices

People will have certain grievances that they want help with. Some of the most common issues include weight loss, smoking and sleep. Don’t just offer hypnotherapy as an umbrella practice. Talk about all the issues people might want help to demonstrate the specifics of your capabilities. If you focus on a particular specialism, for example, smoking addiction, you need to explain all the ways you can support an individual.

Gather testimonials

When you initially open your business, the most basic signs of your professionalism will be your credentials. But as you help more patients, you’ll have success stories to tell. As such, you’ll want to start gathering customer testimonials in which patients describe how their lives have been enriched by your treatment. Positive feedback can be what makes you stand out of the crowd, especially if you have competitors offering very similar services.

Offer discounts

Like any good business, everyone loves a bargain, so don’t be afraid to offer discounts. Encourage your existing client base to recommend other people to come to your practice by offering discounted sessions and free content. When your business is in its early stages, word of mouth is going to be the most powerful tool in getting your name out there.

Establish an online presence

Any business that wants to make a name for itself is expected to have some online presence. The best way to do so is with keywords relating specifically to your business that will improve your rankings in the search engines and of course, using the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so that audiences will get the message not just of what you’re offering, but who you are. This is an opportunity to build up your brand identity and separate yourself from the competition.

Establish yourself within the medical community

Wherever your practice is based, there will be healthcare professionals located near you. You should look at making yourself known to them. Imagine a patient checking out a medical directory and running across your name, then talking to the community and finding more positive information about you and your services.

If you’re looking for more inspiration on starting a hypnotherapy business check out our case study with Polly Evans, and see how she’s making her hypnotherapy business a success with Go Sitebuilder.


Since its humble beginnings, Go Sitebuilder has built up a dedicated following to benefit many up-and-coming entrepreneurs. If you want your own website and online presence, start your free trial – there’s no credit card required!

How do you create an online store from scratch

Creating an online store from scratch

Selling online has never been easier. There are numerous routes to market that will allow you to have a successful and profitable career as an eCommerce business owner. To be successful, you need to start a store from scratch and for this, you need to think carefully. The more planning you do, the better it is for your business. So, here are a few quick steps for you to consider when starting your online store.

Choose a niche

The first thing you need to do is to select a niche market that you would like to sell into. This will have to align with the product you’re creating as well. It has to be something that you’re passionate about. Something that you could talk about all day. The more passion you have for your product, the easier it will be for you to sell it.

Choose the products

Some niches will have a wider selection than others. Or you might have developed your own products. It is important to aim for a profit margin of between 40-70% with the higher amount being better. Be sure to benchmark your pricing against your competitors to ensure you’re not overcharging. For instance, if you’re selling a product for £20 but everyone else is selling it for £10, then you might struggle to find customers.

Buy your domain

Next, you need to buy a domain name. This should be something that resembles the branding for your store, allowing you to build long-term relationships with customers. Having a domain name that represents your brand efficiently will help you with your marketing and in most cases is very cost-effective. Connect your domain/brand name to something that is meaningful. For instance, if you sell teddy bears, having this in the name or something to do with cuddles could be important. Go Sitebuilder offers a free domain name with every subscription.

Build your website

The next step is to build your website. You want to create several pages including pages for home, about, contact, terms and conditions, delivery and more. Building a website is very easy and you can get started for free with Go Sitebuilder.
Your website should be optimised for search engines and conversions to help you generate more revenue. However, you shouldn’t expect success straight away. While search engines may have some restrictions for new businesses within the first 6 months, this will allow you to put some time into other important areas such as perfecting your storefront and building out your launch plan.

Add your products

Now you need to add products. Products should have a great description and lots of high-quality images and videos to help them sell. You should also concentrate on writing descriptions that sell the benefits and not the features of your products.
Finally, always include a call-to-action in your product descriptions, encouraging visitors to buy your items.

Building a new eCommerce store is easy, especially with Go Sitebuilder. Discover how you can create an online store today for as little as the cost of a coffee a week.

Three must-have features for any beauty salon website

Three must-have features for any beauty salon website

Beauty is big business, but in this competitive field, standing out from your rivals is vital if you want your beauty salon to succeed. Having an eye-catching website that is informative, useful and easy to navigate are essential starting points for any beauty business owner. But, as a beauty salon business, you should also include these three must-have features if you want your site to enjoy a high search engine ranking.

1. Quality images

Beauty is inherently visual, so if you want to attract clients to your site, you need to include images of your products or the services that you provide. Never include stock photos on your site, but instead take real shots of work you’ve undertaken on clients’ nails, hair, make-up, eyebrows, or whatever is relevant to your line of work.

Pictures certainly say more than words in the beauty industry, so make sure the images you include are of high quality and aren’t grainy or fuzzy. If you specialise in nails, take close up shots and think about including images from different angles. Update your images regularly to keep your content fresh and to stay on top of the latest beauty trends. Search engines also favour those websites that keep their site current.

2. Testimonials

Add reviews from satisfied clients to your website to give your brand a credibility boost. This is also a positive way to encourage people to try your services if they may have been reluctant before or don’t know what to expect. If you offer a range of services at your salon, include reviews covering this variety of offerings, from a wide sector of customers. Again, it’s worth keeping this section current, so update your reviews frequently so that your site doesn’t become stale.

3. Online booking

Unless you can afford to hire a dedicated receptionist to take bookings, many beauty salon staff find they need to juggle working on clients and answering the phone at the same time. Alternatively, if therapists are busy, they might leave the answering machine to catch any incoming calls. This isn’t ideal, and many beauty salons might end up losing business if clients can’t book an appointment there and then.

This is where your website can come in handy. If you include an online appointment booking section on your site, this will make life so much easier for you and your clients. It means appointments can be made even when the salon is closed or you’re busy with another client.

Apps can be easily embedded into your site to include a calendar and booking system, and while clients are visiting your site, you can use this opportunity to promote other services or offers you might have at the time.

If you’re looking to create a website for your beauty room or hair salon check out Go Sitebuilder for free and see just how easy it is to get your business online.

How to make your bar or restaurant visible on Google

If you own a bar or a restaurant, chances are that you operate in a highly competitive market. Getting your bar or restaurant visible on Google is one way to stand out from the crowd – and here’s how to do it.

Get on Google

If you want to be seen by Google, the first step you need to take is to get on Google itself. Register with Google My Business to increase your presence on the site, so that your name appears in local listings and on Google Maps.

Devise a local search strategy

Unless you operate a global chain of bars or restaurants, most establishments will have a localised presence, so use this to your advantage to enable your Google ratings to soar. Adding your name to local search listings will work in your favour with Google, but including relevant geographical keywords naturally within your website’s content can also help to boost your visibility online.

Mobile friendly

Any bar or restaurant that wants to earn brownie points with Google needs to have its website configured so that it is easily viewable on mobile devices. This also makes for a better user-experience, bearing in mind that the vast majority of online searches are now conducted using mobiles.

Focus on content

You’ll boost your visibility on Google if you focus on adding varied, quality content to your website that is useful to viewers. Menus are a worthy inclusion on a bar or restaurant website, but images of your food or premises also score top marks with search engines. If you do include photos, however, make sure that the image files aren’t so large that they’ll slow down the speed of your site. This could work against your Google ranking.

It’s also a good idea to keep your website up to date if you want to see it soar on Google. Add content on a regular basis, and consider starting a blog. Include relevant keywords within your content that will get your name visible on Google – but don’t necessarily opt for the most obvious ones. Choose keywords that are unique to your brand to boost your rating.

Add links

Another way to increase your visibility on Google is to feature your web link on other relevant websites. There are lots of options for this in the bar and restaurant industry, such as through an esteemed food blogger’s site, or an online magazine detailing local eating and drinking establishments.

Social media

Google favours those websites that have a presence on social media sites, so as well as owning a website, create pages on relevant platforms that showcase your bar or restaurant brand. Include buttons on your site that link to your social media pages to further boost awareness and appeal of your business.

We’ve created Go Sitebuilder to be the easiest website builder for small businesses. If you’re looking to give your business the web presence it deserves, check out Go Sitebuilder’s 14-day free trial and see just how easy it is.