Four side gigs you can start right now

Before you decide to quit a job to go into business, you need the idea, the capital and a plan.

It sounds easy enough on paper, but many aspiring entrepreneurs struggle to actualise their dreams to find the venture that will bring in enough cash to meet their needs. But why not start small? Here are four quick ways you can go into business.

Resell

You don’t have to be the originator of something awe-inspiring to earn the right to launch a business. The market is full of examples of people who made their fortunes by simply distributing what others have made.

You can buy goods from a manufacturer or wholesaler for resale in your place of work, neighbourhood or in church. And you don’t need to start with complicated products, pick small, fast-moving products that don’t take up too much space as you don’t want to saddle yourself with rental costs too early.

Rose Ouma, 30, sells chewing gum, assorted candy and biscuits from a jar on her desk. She got the idea after she realised many of her colleagues kept borrowing a share of the sweets she always carried in her bag to get her through the day.

“I got tired of always having to share my stash, so I decided to buy extra candy and biscuits and charge my colleagues for them. It would be cheaper for them to shop at a supermarket, but the nearest outlet is far from our office,” she says.

Rose spends about Sh3,000 buying the snacks in bulk to lower the unit costs, and makes an average Sh5,000 in profit.

“I break even in under a week of buying new stock, and my prices are still low enough for people to not feel conned. The small pack of biscuits or the lollipop that you can buy at Sh10 in a kiosk, I sell at Sh20. It’s a fuss-free way to make money.”

Mary Mundia, 29, sells baby clothes from the boot of her car in shopping centres in Nairobi’s estates.

“I buy a bale of baby clothes at Sh18,000, and I sell each piece at Sh100. I’ve saved people the costs of going to second-hand markets, and my prices are still reasonable, so the clothes move fast,” she says.

“I also buy some pieces from places like Gikomba or Toi at Sh30, wash and iron them and resell at Sh100. The good thing with doing this over buying a bale is that you can select the clothes you want.”

Mary opens for business from 4pm on weekdays, and 2pm on weekends.

You could also sell the things you have lying around your house at a garage sale or organised flea market. Consider collecting a few more items from friends and family that they want to get rid of to bulk up your sale. This could include books, unused electronics and clothes that no longer fit.

Get online

The future is digital, and it has brought with it numerous side-hustle opportunities. There are many online sites dedicated to hiring part-time contractors to carry out duties like data entry, creative writing, translation services or transcription work.

Rather than spending your evenings in front of a television, you can use the time to earn at least Sh1,000 for academic writing or Sh800 an hour for data entry. And you don’t need any money to get started, just research the platforms that best suit your range of skills.

Rachel Nyakio has been a member of Upwork, an online company that matches employers with freelancers. When she joined, she offered creative writing services and wrote plays for a few companies.

“Today, I have increased my skills and outsourcing has become my main source of income,” says Rachel, who also owns a clothes store.

However, John Juma, who does a lot of data entry work online, warns that people shouldn’t expect to make much in the first six months of joining online platforms.

“I make about Sh80,000 a month online, but that’s after nearly two years of forming relationships with clients. I didn’t earn a cent for six months, but once you start working, commit to doing a good job so that your rating goes up, and clients start asking for you. But expect to be conned a few times,” he says.

You can also start a blog and identify ad sponsors to reach out to. Before they sign up, however, you may need to work on building content and an audience over some time. But just get started.

Tutoring

Offering tutoring services requires no money at all, especially if you’re doing it from your house or a client’s home.

And tutoring doesn’t have to take advantage of just your academic skills – you can teach people all manner of things, from swimming and music to etiquette, baking and Excel skills.

Set up a Facebook page that advertises a skill you have that you wish to share with others. It’s quick and free. Decide where you will offer your services from, and identify your target market.

Go hourly

You may need to have a steady source of income before you start a business that charges people per hour of your time, says Kevin Muisyo, who’s a freelancer on PeoplePerHour.com. Kevin offers legal counsel to clients who then pay him for the hours he works on their cases.

“I studied law in Britain and learned about PeoplePerHour when I was a student there,” he says.

After moving back to Kenya, he got a full-time job but still works part-time helping people draft contracts. On average, he earns between £50 (Sh6,634) and £100 (Sh13,269) per client.

“All I needed to start was a working email address.”

Are you an accountant, payroll ‘ninja’ or social media marketing guru? You can also monetise these skills by charging small businesses run by your friends, family or acquaintances an hourly fee for your services.