How (and why) to treat your side gigs like businesses

People who make money on the side usually declare self-employment income. They’re running businesses, even if they’re very small ones — and by treating them as such, people with side gigs may be able to optimize their time spent working to reach their personal financial goals more efficiently. Those steps include separating your business income from your personal bills, tracking your revenue and expenses, working toward specific goals, setting some of your earnings aside for taxes, and, if you want your business to grow in the long term, incorporating or otherwise formalizing it.