9 Side Hustle Tips for the Employed Kenyan

Kenyans know it is better not to wait for a paycheck at the end of the month.

That payslip money has never been enough for the white-collar Kenyans considering the unpredictable economic times.

The constant change in the prices of goods and hard times has always forced guys to go the extra mile to get more paper into their pockets.

According to the article by the Standard, “having several sources of income is quickly becoming a necessity, not an option”.

Such a situation is not uncommon in other parts of the world like New York, where you can have five jobs to keep you going.

However, for a place like America or Europe you can do hourly jobs… you are a bartender for 2 hours, a lecturer for 3 hours, a writer for 4 hours and a barrister for 1 hour at different times of the day or week.

Most Kenyan jobs are not organised on an hourly basis like that, and you have rather organise yourself if you are picking up part-time jobs.

Most employers don’t even allow them because they argue that if you pick up this pjs (part-time jobs), you will have divided attention and you won’t give them your all, but hey, people have to get paid!

The Daily Kenyan sees it just like investing in stocks so that your money keeps working for you. It is like having an extra source of income so that you can be more liquid. Or live without much straining.

And there are a lot of side hustles that Kenyans put their money or talents into.

If you want to run a side hustle successfully without it conflicting with your job, there are a lot of guidelines you can follow to achieve that.

Use your weekends

Let’s say you are an accountant during the day, but you host Karaoke or mc at weddings and birthday ceremonies. Or you do photography.

Your best strategy is to book weekend jobs only so that you can put your all to your office job during the week and switch to your hosting talents during the weekend. If you host Karaoke, you can book those sessions after work. Most Karaokes are on Tuesdays at 10 pm or Thursdays.

Pay people to do it for you

If you are farming in Narok and you work in Nairobi, that shouldn’t be difficult to manage. Once you have the land and tilling and planting is done, you can get someone on the ground to monitor your Barley or Beans plantation for you. All you are left with is to make monthly visits.

I think this is quite possible; in fact, many people do it. Such a side hustle doesn’t take much of your attention. It will only need some close monitoring during the planting and harvesting period, but within the growing season, it should be easy.

Join someone who does it full time

If you are good in the things you do, you are going to get a lot of offers, and you might not want to turn all of them down because your hands are full.

A smart plan will be to engage someone who does your side hustle as a full-time job. If you are a part-time photographer, you can collaborate with a full-time photographer who is equally good to handle all the weekday jobs you have and can’t get the time to close.

You can divide the pay at a certain ratio.

Let it be part-time

It is a side thing, so don’t treat it as the main. That means you will handle it after work.

If you sell cars as a side thing, meet your clients after 6 pm when you are out of the office — making calls in between the day when you are on your desk job can slow your output at work. To each its own…just as people are advised not to carry work home, so is it not advisable to handle your side business at work.

I think this is why employers don’t encourage them. You can’t be using their time and wifi to run your business… lol.

Use your talent

If you want to enjoy a part-time hustle, it is better if it is your talent that you are exploring. Talents come easily, and you will not be straining to execute it on the side.

Let’s say you are an artist and drawings and paintings comes naturally for you. This is something you can effortlessly do as you watch series after work. It is not going to take a lot of effort from you if you have been painting since childhood.

It can be quite tasking figuring out a side hustle that you are still new at. Most side hustles are small errands that you were running to sustain before employment. They were jobs to get by; now, they are things to get you by until payday.

Use your Network

Let’s say you were selling insurance and you had developed a database of clients before employment, you will not lose that clientele because you are employed, you will still get regular calls from your former clients or their friends who need policies.

You can’t say you don’t do it anymore; you just connect them to another salesman who will give you a small cut when the deal is closed.

Export your skills outside work

It can even be your main job; let’s say you are an accountant. That means you can help your friends and neighbours with small businesses to file tax during the weekends.

I see Kenyans running up down during the tax reconciliation seasons… catch them and save them.

And Kenyan soldiers or rather military men all over the world are good at this. When they leave the army, they go to offer security consultancy services to firms or individuals.

Cash on delivery

Or pay immediately after service. You will realise some Kenyans, especially Nairobians, don’t respect people’s hustles. They might be your friend, and they feel entitled to your skills.

But skills are built for many years so talk of pay and agree on terms before you deliver that trench coat or dress you are selling.

Sometimes they are just stubborn clients who need to follow up or more flexible payment terms. They might be tight on money, but you still have to get paid, or else you can waste a lot of time dealing with demanding clients.

The best policy is usually to agree on how payments will be made. You are not doing the side hustle for fun.

However, according to this article, it is “good to avoid confrontations with your clients”.

Keep your clients happy

Clients refer to each other to good service providers in any market. This is more of common knowledge and less of a tip; you have to know how to keep your clients with excellent services and affordable prices.

Most people have outrageous prices for their services.

If you are selling something like organic chicken that goes at a flat rate of Ksh800 in the market, it will be irrational to charge Ksh2000. We have a standard price for most things you will be doing unless you are in the top 1 per cent of providers of that skill who charge two or three times.

Onward and Upward…

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