How To Build A Side Hustle While Holding On To Your Day Job

Before you read these tips on how to build a side hustle, you should check out our post on the building multiple streams of income in Nigeria; a summary of a tweet chat we had with Dr Tayo Oyedeji, the author of this post.

A Background Story

I ran at least 3 businesses on the side while working for the man. I rented an office, hired employees, and worked with them remotely while doing a good job for my employers.

Let me first debunk an insidious lie that has killed many careers: “Your salary is the bribe they give you to forget your dreams.” It is just NOT true. “Your salary is what you earn while giving value to your employers and learning to run a business at their expense”

“Your salary is what you earn while giving value to your employers and learning to run a business at their expense”- Tayo Oyedeji

We can’t all start business straight out of university. Many of us have to work for food, clothing, and shelter after graduating. Others need to support struggling family members. Whatever your reason, please don’t see paid employment as a betrayal of your goals.

I’ll share the five steps that helped me build my own businesses on the side while delivering value to my employers.

Step 1: DON’T STEP TOO FAR FROM YOUR CORE COMPETENCE

If you work in banking, you probably understand finance better than most people. If you work for an FMCG, retail may be your forte. Find something that is in your natural sphere of influence.

My father was the CFO for a major corporation in the ’80s when he had the genius idea of building an agrochemical business on the side. Bad idea. Accounting and agro-chemicals are so far apart that the business never succeeded. Stay in your lane, bro.

My first side business was a tech development firm. We built business strategy implementations tools. I was a business leader implementing a new strategy for my paid employment. The tech we built was based on my experience delivering value to my day job’s board of directors.

Step 2: ALWAYS START SMALL

There are no guarantees in business. Your business can fail despite the best-laid plan and even topnotch implementation. Start small, then scale slowly until you can do it full-time.

I have a friend who started a restaurant in Lagos with about $250,000. He had the money and thought it would be a good idea to blow out the competition on day 1. Bad idea, he lost everything.

Step 3: WORK WITH A PARTNER

It is important for one of the business owners to work full-time in the business. If that’s not feasible, give small equity holding to your most senior employee. That way someone in the business has an ownership stake that binds him/her to the firm.

Step 4: RECOGNIZE THE PLACE OF INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT IN YOUR DAY JOB

You are a star employee. That’s great. Corporations, however, have strategies to help you succeed. Please make sure you can deal with the uncertainties of entrepreneurship before you make the jump to build a side hustle.

Step 5: DON’T LEAVE YOUR DAY JOB UNTIL YOUR HUSTLE CAN PAY THE BILLS

You’ve gradually built a business while working for the man. Is it time to resign and face your hustle full time? Maybe. But please be sure that your hustle can pay the bills before making the jump.

These are just a few thoughts on starting a business while holding on to your day job by Dr Tayo Oyedeji. Please feel free to share your thoughts on this.