Side Hustle

How to Start A Successful Side Hustle

Everyone wants a bit of extra cash, but not everyone knows how to make it happen. But there’s a solution: The Side Hustle.

This is something that self-proclaimed side hustle queen, Chuma Jeremiah, has mastered. Her Chuma Hustle includes a trailer renting business, a taxi business and a chicken shop on top of her day job!

Chuma’s motivation to keep growing her additional income is driven by her pride and joy - her son Lisachuma - and everything she does is to provide him with the best possible future, and maybe even a few businesses to inherit. 

There are multiple ways of creating additional income for yourself, and Chuma has some advice on how to find your perfect side hustle, and keep it going strong.

  1. Start by thinking about what you’re good at doing. You might find that something you’ve never considered can be a source of additional income, like your super organisational skills, or your love of knitting.
  2. Find a niche. Do some research in your community and find out if there’s a service that people are missing that you could provide.
  3. Test your idea. Whatever you’re hoping to build your business on, enlist family, friends or friends of friends to give you advice and criticism. That way you can make sure you start out with the best possible product or service you can provide.
  4. Social media is your friend. Many small businesses earn their stripes on social media, and the way you interact with customers on these channels can make them feel that you care about them, which will make them care about your business.
  5. Don’t let it affect your day job. Remember, you want to create an additional income, not lose your main one! Don’t overload yourself to the point where you can’t do either job well. 

Lastly, don’t spend too much time overthinking or trying to find the perfect idea. Start with the first best idea and keep growing and improving on that. Starting with something small takes the pressure away and gives you time to eventually make it big.

Check out Direct Talk for more stories on life, money and everything in between.

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