Guest post by Emily Taylor
Earning a bit more is one of the best ways to make living in London viable. A side hustle that brings in several hundred pounds most months will make a huge difference. Fortunately, you do not need much money to start one. If you choose something to do online, you will be able to use equipment you already own. Plus, in most cases, you can work from home.
Look professional online without spending a fortune
Create a website
Using a platform like Wix it is possible to set up a website without spending a penny. If that does not appeal, just set up a Facebook page instead. But make sure that it looks professional. You don’t want people to think that they may be getting a scam call from London when you call them to follow up on an initial enquiry. Having your telephone number prominently displayed on your website or social media page will help to make sure this does not happen. Just be sure to add it in a text format, so that the search engine crawler bots can find, read it, and present it to people when they do an online search to check who is ringing them.
Create a logo
It is also worth spending a Fiverr on getting a logo made up for your website or social media page. Or you could do it yourself. This tutorial shows you how to make one in under 30 minutes. However, we would recommend the usage of this professional business logo maker that uses its latest AI to craft a stunning trademark.
Setting up your Google Mybusiness account
You should also set yourself up on Google My Business (GMB). Again, it does not take long to do, learn how here.
Register your business
It is also important to register your business properly. In most cases, setting yourself up as a sole trader is the simplest approach. It takes minutes to do. But before doing so, go to the HMRC website and read up about the different business formats. For certain occupations, it is actually wiser to set up a Limited Company.
Advertise your services
Now you are ready to find some customers. Something you can normally do for little or no cost.
Tap into the power of word of mouth
Tell your friends and family about your service, or the goods you are selling. Even if it is not something that they need they will tell other people, who may buy from you. If you are offering a service that businesses use it is worth going door to door. People don’t do it that often these days, so it is a good way to get noticed.
Tap into the power of local forums
It is also worth going online and joining local forums and social media groups. Some will allow you to advertise for free or share details of your service in some other way. Provided you are polite and take the time to be helpful you are highly likely to pick up a few sales this way.
The best thing about the above approach is that it does not take long to get started. Once you have the idea you can launch your business within hours.
