Zions Bank Business Resource Center offers tips to “Scale Your Side Hustle” in honor of National Entrepreneurship Week
Zions Bank Press Release
When Shanna Magnuson sold her homemade lip balm at a local fundraiser, it quickly caught the attention the Castle Dale community.
She started experimenting with other skincare products: scrubs, butters and lotion bars. Friends and neighbors would stop by when they needed a gift, prompting Magnuson to set up a mini store in her home kitchen. She also joined several local vendor shows, gathering a larger following.
That’s when she realized she could turn her hobby into a full-fledged business. After six months, Magnuson opened Naturally Inspired, a retail store selling clothing and skincare products. Since opening in 2015, Naturally Inspired has grown from its original location in Castle Dale, Utah, to a larger store in Price and is expanding its online presence.
Side businesses are growing in popularity. Two in five Americans currently have a side hustle, according to a Zapier survey. And many of these enterprises have the potential to grow into something larger.
“A side hustle can be a great launching pad for a successful business,” said Braden Saddler, counselor at the Zions Bank Business Resource Center. “Once you’ve tested the waters and determined that a business idea works, it’s just a matter of scaling your efforts.”
In honor of National Entrepreneurship Week, Saddler offers the following strategies to scale your side hustle:
Have a Plan. Mapping out a business plan can help you determine concrete steps to grow your side hustle. A business plan serves as a roadmap to guide your principles, goals and measurable outcomes, and it need not be complicated. Agencies such as the U.S. Small Business Administration *SBA) and SCORE provide detailed information on writing a business plan. The Zions Bank Business Resource Center counselors can also help aspiring entrepreneurs get their plan in order.
Seek advice. Entrepreneurs must wear many hats, from bookkeeping to marketing their business. Identify knowledge gaps and seek out advice and training in areas where you are lacking. It’s also helpful to get general advice from a business incubator. The Zions Bank Business Resource Center, for example, offers free consultations and virtual classes on a variety of topics that can help you scale your side hustle.
Get a Handle on Capital. Lack of capital is one of the primary reasons start-up companies fail, sometimes because business owners are unaware of financial resources available to them. Large banks historically have been the most common source of traditional commercial loans and lines of credit. But there are other financing options, too. The SBA, as well as state and local economic-development agencies and various nonprofit organizations, offer low-interest loans to small business owners who do not qualify for standard credit arrangements.
About the Zions Bank Business Resource Center
The Zions Bank Business Resource Center offers education, tools, resources, and hands-on guidance to help aspiring, new, and existing entrepreneurs start, grow, and finance their businesses.
About Zions Bank
Zions Bank is Utah’s oldest financial institution and is the only local bank with a statewide distribution of branches operating 95 full-service branches. Zions Bank also operates 26 branches in Idaho and Wyoming. In addition to offering a wide range of traditional banking services, Zions Bank is also a market leader in small business lending. Founded in 1873, Zions Bank has been serving the communities of Utah for 150 years. Additional information is available at www.zionsbank.com. A division of Zions Bancorporation N.A., Member FDIC.