Puttyhustle 101: Building a Foundation for your Future Business

So you find yourself standing on the cusp of what might become your brand new business or side-hustle. You have an idea of what you want to do, and you’re excited about doing it! There’s just that small matter of figuring out exactly how to execute your idea…

Like you, I was recently (I mean, very recently) in a similar position: with an idea for the business I want to launch in the next year or so, but uncertain about what I could do right now in pursuit of that goal. While there are plenty of guides related to the legal and financial considerations involved in launching a new side-hustle business or freelance operation, I wanted to be more intentional about the stages of planning that come before those parts of the process.

Since I’m currently a full-time grad student, I don’t plan to “fully” launch my freelance music production and composition business, Studio Cerulean, until 2024. But I’m not just waiting around! In the meantime, I want to take on a few more music production clients, grow my network of collaborators, and gain experience by working on my own projects. Even though I’m not quite ready to prioritize my freelance business yet, I am taking steps to prepare myself and think honestly about the future I want to pursue for myself and my future business.

For multipotentialites, it can be especially important (and equally difficult!) for us to take a pause in order to refine and clarify our ideas, especially when it comes to projects we’re passionate about and excited to pursue. Even if you feel you’re in a position where you technically could launch your freelance business at this very moment, chances are that you can still benefit from taking some time to intentionally establish a strong foundation to build your business.

Based on my experiences so far, here are some of the considerations that have helped me the most in planning to more fully launch my business in the near future. Thinking through these steps has helped me to feel more prepared, less overwhelmed, and ultimately more confident in the decisions I am making today to build my dream business tomorrow.

1. Identify your initial focus & consider future plans to broaden it

At first, you will likely want your focus (or focuses) to be fairly specific and easily definable, to enable you to represent yourself effectively to potential clients or customers. I know—for some multipotentialites this might feel difficult, or even impossible. But hear me out: in order to build a positive professional reputation and build trust with your community of clients, your initial freelance efforts should be focused in the areas where you feel most confident in your skills. As you establish your reputation in those areas, you may feel comfortable branching out into other related areas when you feel adequately prepared.

At the same time, you shouldn’t wait to take on your first clients until you feel like you’re one of the best in your industry! For those of us with perfectionistic tendencies, “waiting until we’re ready” could lead us to indefinitely postpone what we’re actually ready to start right now. Realistically, we learn and gain expertise through hands-on experience, and it’s possible to create work that you’re proud of right now—even though you’ll be able to do much better in the future. Don’t let imposter syndrome deny you the joy of doing hands-on work in support of your goals right now.

In my case, I will start out by focusing primarily on music production for local artists and multimedia composition for independent projects. As I gain more experience and build a community of collaborators, I will aim to build my clientele to include other artists beyond my local network. When I can demonstrate that my skills in audio mixing meet professional standards, I may add that to my offerings. But since my main interest and expertise lies in collaborative production, that will be my primary focus as I work to establish my business.

2. Decide how to get your feet wet & prepare to launch your business

Maybe you have a solid skill set in a particular area but don’t feel quite ready to market yourself as a professional yet. Or, you might want to test out whether you actually like working in an area that you’re interested in before you take action to prioritize it. If you’re not ready yet, it doesn’t mean that you can’t take concrete steps to get there. Your process will be unique to you, and could involve seeking out mentorship in the area you want to pursue, taking on a few clients that you know personally to build up your portfolio, or participating in a class or workshop to help solidify your abilities.

When we can trace a direct line between what we’re doing and our hopes and goals for the future, we feel a stronger sense of direction that helps us pursue—and hold onto—the dreams that bring the most meaning to our lives. Taking small steps now to prepare yourself to confidently launch your next endeavor can have a tangible impact on your life, both now and in the future.

3. Set guidelines for yourself in relationship with your new business

While recognizing that these ground rules can and will evolve over time, I have found it crucial to establish some guidelines for myself and how I want to engage with my new business. This process of creating boundaries can involve setting hours for yourself, establishing how many clients you want to take on at any given time, or creating a schedule of occasional projects that will help prepare you to launch your business.

Using myself as an example, I am a full-time master’s student who also has two part-time teaching jobs that I value and regular freelance writing agreements with two media outlets. I agree with what you’re thinking—I can’t spend too much of my time launching a business right now! That being said, I have allotted a few hours each week to take steps like building and maintaining my website and incrementally experimenting with new production tools to build on what I’m doing in my classes. I also plan to work with up to three production clients this year, a limit I set to preserve the quality of my work and avoid unnecessary overwhelm. These guidelines work for me right now, and I will certainly change them when I more formally launch my business and seek out more clients and collaborators.

4. Start small (maybe really small)

If, like me, you’d like to lay a foundation for your business but aren’t in a position to fully launch yet, consider taking a few meaningful baby steps in the direction you want your business to go. Maybe it’s time to take on your first few clients or freelance gigs, or to sell your first products at local fairs or events that highlight small businesses. These first experiences won’t be perfect, so don’t expect them to be! Instead, remind yourself that every freelancer and entrepreneur starts somewhere, and the only way to become experienced is through, well, experience.

For me, the first steps toward building a foundation for my business included releasing a portfolio on Soundcloud, saving up to improve some of the hardware and software in my home studio, and producing a friend’s album. Each of these actions were small but tangible steps that helped me build and maintain a confidence that I’m on the right path, while also incrementally moving me closer to my future business goals.

5. Be honest about where you want your business to go & embrace it!

Maybe you see this business idea as a fresh and exciting side hustle opportunity, and you plan for it to stay that way. In this case, you would plan to invest less of your time, energy, and resources into the business both now and long-term, limiting how much space the side hustle can occupy within your life.

Alternatively, you might view your business idea as something that you hope to grow into your primary occupation or source of income in the future. If this level of growth is truly what you want to work towards, recognize and embrace that from the beginning. If you feel strongly in your gut that you want this business idea to evolve into your primary focus, don’t do yourself a disservice by treating it like a hobby.

Either way, recognize that building a business or freelance hustle from the ground up will take time, patience, hard work, and vision. While you can’t expect massive growth and results right away, going in knowing that you want your new venture to become a major part of your life will help you to make more strategic decisions and prioritize planning for your future.

Your turn

If you’re planning to launch a business or side-hustle, what excites you about the path ahead?  If you already have experience launching a business, did any parts of the process surprise you?

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