Gen Z Is Turning Side Hustles into Businesses. Financial Tools To Help

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You know how people always tell you to “start small”? Turns out, those small first steps really can pay off. A recent U.S. Bank survey found that 49% of Gen Zers are more likely to turn their side hustle into a full-fledged business than acquire an existing company.

Making that transition and growing your business can be challenging. The good news is that plenty of resources and tools are available to help streamline the process, build the right infrastructure and set your business up for success. Here’s what we recommend.

If you had an unregistered side hustle but you’re looking to transition it into a business with an LLC, S corp or some other legal structure, business formation services can lend a hand. Platforms like Bizee and Northwest Registered Agent walk you through the process and submit the right paperwork for you.

They also offer registered agent services for an added fee that keep you up to date on all legal and compliance communications about your business. If you opt to not pay for someone else to be your registered agent, then, by default, you’re your own registered agent. It’s just nice to have someone else letting you know when a legal or registration matter needs your attention.

ZenBusiness is another option for legally registering your business and it offers one-day order processing if you sign up for a Pro or Premium package. Otherwise, order processing takes seven to 10 days.

Indiegogo and Kickstarter are two well-known reward-based crowdfunding platforms. They do collect a 5% fee if you reach your fundraising goal, but they won’t charge a fee if you don’t. Other than that, you get to keep the rest of the funds you raised.

If you’ve tried platforms like these and haven’t had much success, consider Kiva. This is a debt-based crowdfunding platform that lets you raise up to $15,000. While you do have to repay the funds you raise, Kiva doesn’t charge interest on the loan, which is a plus.

Some of the best business bank accounts also let you integrate with bookkeeping and invoicing tools, or have them built in. Novo Business Checking, for instance, connects to platforms like QuickBooks, Stripe and Xero. Syncing your data means there’s less room for human error. Mercury lets you send simple client invoices directly through the banking platform and it keeps track of which invoices have been paid and automatically sends scheduled reminders when the deadline for a client’s payment is coming up.

A business credit card can help you build a credit history for your company, pay for larger expenses and keep personal and business expenses separate. The more premium business credit cards let you earn points that can be redeemed for perks like travel.

Cardholders can also earn statement credits for purchasing office items and subscriptions relevant to their businesses, so this helps save some extra money. The U.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa® Business Card, for example, offers a $100 annual statement credit for recurring software subscriptions. You would need to make an eligible software service purchase directly with the software provider for 11 consecutive months in order to qualify.

The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees) lets you redeem points for cash back, gift cards, travel and more. It does come with a $95 annual fee but also offers a huge 100,000-point welcome bonus after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. These can be good starter credit cards if you want a low or no annual fee but have relatively high business expenses.

If you’re interested in more premium perks for business spending, the Business Platinum Card from American Express offers some standout benefits. You can get up to $300 in statement credits per calendar year on U.S. purchases of ChatGPT Business (subject to auto-renewal), a $250 statement credit after you spend $600 or more on U.S. purchases directly with Adobe per calendar year and up to $150 in statement credits on U.S purchases directly with Dell Technologies, to name a few. Not to mention the travel perks, like complimentary lounge access and up to a total of $600 in statement credits per calendar year on eligible bookings through American Express Travel.

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For rates and fees of the Business Platinum Card from American Express, click here.