It could grow your network and broaden your horizons
Imagine you’re a client care centre agent at a large fashion retailer. Chances are you probably spend most of your time at work with your team members. Many of them may also be your friends, who you see on weekends and after work.
If you only socialise with people with the same experiences and interests as you, you may not meet new people with new ideas. That’s where a side hustle can make a difference. If you do something completely different with other people, you could discover new ideas and new ways of working. This can help you grow in your career by exposing you to new perspectives.
Take for instance a client care centre agent who loves reading and tutors English as a side hustle.
It could boost your CV
Not too long ago employers may have been unhappy if an employee had a side hustle. Now it’s not unusual. A third of all South Africans have a second job, according to Moneyweb.
To run a professional side hustle, you will have to deal with clients, send out invoices and sometimes chase up payments just like a real business. These are all skills that could make your CV stand out and show employers that you are responsible, organised and serious about doing things right. Which in turn might help you get the job or the promotion you want.
While a side hustle normally adds to your monthly income, the idea is that this initiative will grow into something bigger. Instagram, Under Armour and Etsy are 3 big companies that began as side hustles.
But stay focused on your day job. Having a stable income is important and can help you save to grow your side hustle into a business.
The money
Even if your side hustle is your passion, a little extra money never hurts. But you have to manage it properly. While it’s perfectly okay to pay yourself a certain percentage as a salary, it would be wise to save some and earn interest. A good way to go about it, is to decide on a percentage to save every month and stick to it.
When you had a good month, 20% may be R5 000. In a bad month it could be R10. It doesn’t matter – as long as you always save 20% of the total amount and don’t go on a spending spree in good months. To make it easier, use our app to track your spending on your bank statements and budget accordingly.
So, why wouldn’t you want a side hustle?
The boundaries between your day job, your side hustle and time for yourself could become blurred. Being always on and missing your gran’s 85th birthday is not a good idea. To avoid being sucked into this vacuum, decide how many hours a day you will work on your side business. You should still have time for your family and friends.
Jeff Haden, the author of The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win, recommends adding 25%-50% to the number of hours you first decided on. You will always need more time than you think and there will always be that one more thing that you want to finish. “If you're thinking two hours, make it three or four. Then commit to that schedule. Write it down, and if your schedule says you will work from 6pm to 9pm every evening, and from 9am to 3pm on weekends, work those hours,” is Haden’s advice.
Action your goals
Looking for ideas for a startup? Check out Making Money on the Internet, an Educate24 affordable online course that will introduce you to various ideas. Pay with your Capitec card when you register and you’ll get a 50% discount on any Educate24 course. You can also use your card to register for a GetSmarter online course, whether it’s social media marketing or bookkeeping, and save R4 000 on selected courses.
