Top 5 Tips to Make Your Side Hustle More 'Serious' (and Successful)

So you've started a side hustle. Whether it's a graphic design consulting business, a small online craft store, a cupcake bakery, or a home-based meal prep service, a side hustle can be a great way to earn extra cash. But if you want to get serious about your side hustle and make the most money possible, you need to run it like a "real" business -- even if you only work at it a few hours a week.

Here are a few easy steps you can take to make your side hustle more serious -- and ideally make serious money!

1. Raise your prices

Many side hustlers don't charge enough. You might not realize just how much people are willing to pay for the products or services you offer. Don't sell yourself short! This is not a hobby, this is a business.

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The best side hustles should be profitable for every hour you put in. Don't give away your goods for free, don't sell your services for less than they're worth. Charge enough to make this a lucrative venture for you. Your side hustle should be putting piles of extra cash in your bank account, not just giving your friends free cupcakes.

2. Create a real website

Unless your side hustle is totally contained within an online platform, like an e-commerce platform for craft stores, you should get a dedicated website with your own URL. The best small business website builders can help get you up and running fast, with elegant-looking designs and minimal fees.

3. Sign up for Google Business

Getting a Google Business profile makes it easier for people to find your business on Google. It's free, and it helps you get found on Google Maps and in Google searches. This is especially important for small, local, brick-and-mortar businesses like food businesses or craft shops.

4. Get business cards

A little while ago, a young man helped deliver a new refrigerator to my home, and he mentioned that he had a side hustle as a handyman. He was a good guy and I would've been happy to hire him. But he gave me his contact info on a scrap of paper, which I then unfortunately lost!

Business cards make you look much more professional and help your customers remember you. And they're easy to create and order online; for example, Vistaprint offers business card printing for as little as $17.99 for 100 cards.

The internet is important for small business marketing, but real-life word of mouth is often even more powerful, and physical business cards are not dead. You'd be surprised how often you meet people in real life who might love to hear more about your side hustle; give them your card.

5. Form an LLC or other legal business entity

There's no one right answer to the question of when you should form an LLC for a side hustle. But if you're starting to make serious money from your side hustle, forming a limited liability company (LLC) or other legal business entity could be a good move.

Setting up an LLC for your side hustle can help you in a few big ways:

• It keeps your business income (and identity) separate from your personal finances.
• It lets you open a business bank account.
• It can offer some extra tax advantages.

Think carefully about whether your side hustle is making enough money to be worth the costs and complexity of setting up an LLC. For example, some states charge business registration fees of a few hundred dollars to form an LLC; so if your side hustle is only making $2,000 per year, that's not worth it.

But if your side hustle is making $12,000 a year and you are considering quitting your day job to turn your side hustle into a full-time small business? You might want to make that business "official."

Bottom line

The early days of starting a side hustle can be fun and empowering, even if you're not making much money. But if you want to make serious cash, you've got to get serious about your business. Just by investing a few dollars in business cards and a small business website, you can make a stronger first impression on new customers.

Raising your prices can make your business more profitable (and weed out some customers who are low-ballers, tire-kickers, and slow-payers). And if your side hustle is thriving and you want to make it a "real" business, check with your state's Secretary of State to find out what it takes to register a legal business entity, like forming an LLC.