Weekend side hustles that pay

It’s pay day. You sit down to allocate your salary to the many expenses you have and it dawns on you that this month, just like other months, what you earn is far from enough to take care of your needs. And no, you don’t foresee a raise in the near future.

This is where a side hustle comes in. But wait, what side hustle? And how will you pull it off when you work full time during the week? If you have no answers to these two questions, allow these six young people to enlighten you about how to go about it.

Benedict Okuku
Age: 25
Full time Occupation: Marketing communications & PR, Gilfield Services Ltd
Weekend side hustle: Real estate broker

When most young people are complaining how short the weekend is to do something resourceful, others, like Benedict, are looking forward to it because it is the best time to make some money on the side. In a good month, he makes about Sh80,000 brokering rental houses, property for purchase and land.

To begin with, how do you source for clients?

In the last two years, I was actively involved in the real estate industry having worked for both Villa Care and Cytonn Investments for one year respectively.

When I left to work elsewhere this year, I stayed in contact with my clients and the developers that I had met in the course of my work. In the real estate industry, you cannot afford to lose current and prospective clients’ contacts. Often, various companies organise expos, a great opportunity to meet prospective clients. The only requirement such companies expect from you is that you approach them in advance so that they can book you a slot to interact with potential clients during the expo. In return, I market the company's properties to interested buyers.

The process of leasing out and buying property requires a lot of document processing. Isn’t this too demanding bearing in mind that you have a full time job?

As a real estate broker, I am not involved with much paperwork. Once I have identified a client interested in a particular property, I link them up with the developer, who transfers clients’ details to a lawyer, who then drafts an offer letter. I come in after the client has made a deposit to the developer’s account because I am the one who gets the receipt and takes it to the developer so that I can get my commission.

How many deals do you close in a month?

An average of about three. The most I have ever made from a single deal was Sh180, 000, the lowest Sh15, 000.

What are some of the challenges you face, balancing a fulltime job and a side hustle?

Both of these jobs are important to me, but I value the full-time job more because the real estate industry is quite unpredictable. In the past, I have lost clients who could only meet me during working hours. Also, on some days when I am required to work on weekends, I end up cancelling meetings I had made with clients; this translates to a lost opportunity.

How do you spend your money?

Besides meeting my basic needs and other expenses such as rent, I support my family back at home and help pay for my siblings’ school fess. I intend to build my own house in the near future, so I save some of it too.

Ben Waruingi
Age: 33
Full Time Occupation: Bank teller
Weekend Side Hustle: Deejay

What a sea of difference there is between your two interests! This must call for you to be two different people, doesn’t it?

I think the environment sets the mood, and also the understanding of what you are supposed to be doing at a particular time. If you find me on the teller line on a Monday morning, you will not believe that I am the same person who played mixes in a club you visited the previous weekend, so yes, it does call for a change of personality.

What were your initial plans when you started disk jockeying?

I started doing this is 2005 for fun. I would go to local clubs, play mixes and return home the following morning without any pay. Things changed when I got married and had a child. I realised that I needed extra income to take good care of my family, so I decided to reinvent myself and go into deejaying professionally. This has been my weekend job for the last 10 years.

Did you go through any professional deejaying training or is what you do anyone with a turntable can do?

No, I don’t have any formal training, though I spent most of my evenings watching a DJ, a neighbour of mine then, play mixes at different clubs. Through him, I gained most of the skills that I have. Also, once in a while, he would let me play the whole night under his supervision. That said, disk jockeying is a course like any other, hence one needs to be passionate about it and learn the basic skills required. Some think that it is something that you only do as a pastime, but there are people making good money through it on a full time basis.

Talking of money, approximately how much do you make in a weekend?

The rates vary depending with the occasion and the club that I am playing in. The least I have made in the last two years in one weekend is Sh15, 000.

Deejaying requires you to stay up the entire night - when do you get to rest?

My weekend starts on Friday evening when most Kenyans are psyched up to dance and party, the number of club revelers reduces on Saturday night, and by Sunday, only a handful are partying, I therefore don’t play mixes on Sunday. That is my rest day.

You mentioned that one needs some deejaying skills before they can play. Where can one get this kind of training besides watching an experienced DJ at work?

There are various deejaying academies around town that one can enroll in. I have one in Ruai town - Onpoint Deejays, which offers basic deejaying skills to interested learners. I emphasise on passion because if nothing fascinates you about the whole process of disc jockeying, you are unlikely to create good mixes even after the training.

Are you a spendthrift or thrift type of person?

I am very cautious with money, so thrift best describes me. I saved for five years to buy my starter equipment, which cost me Sh200,000. It might have taken me less time if I didn't have a young family then, but I still managed to save the little I could.

Phiona Jullians
Age: 24
Full Time Occupation: Receptionist at an engineering firm
Weekend side hustle: Modelling and retailing

What motivated you to choose these two side jobs?

I started these last year to boost my income. I am a part time student at Moi University studying communication and PR – I am in my third year. The money I get from the hustles help me meet some extra needs that school throws in, for instance photocopying handouts and buying course work books.

With a full time job and two side hustles, how do you balance the three?

When I started, it was quite tough, and I would often complain of being worn out because I would run around all day. With time, a great teacher, I have learnt to give the three the time they deserve. Before, I would sign up for many modeling gigs, but I have since settled for one outfit. I model for Elegance Couture, a fashion house specialising in African designs. They only holds shoots when they have new designs, which affords me time attend to my school work and socialise. The modeling side hustle fetches me about Sh3,000 per shoot, with about two or three of them in a month.

I run my poncho-selling business online on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. This is one of the best ways I have found to market them because after posting on my page - Phiona Jullians, all I have to do is request friends to share the images and refer me to prospective clients. On weekends, I market the ponchos on the many market groups on Facebook and make deliveries. However, sometimes I am compelled to make evening deliveries depending on a client’s urgency, which means getting late for class. A friend introduced me to the business in December last year and referred me to a wholesaler. The wholesaler specialises on ankara ponchos, which are appealing and unique. My starting capital was Sh2, 000 which bought me four ponchos. I sell about 30 ponchos a month, earning me an average of Sh 10,000 every month.

Have you ever considered quitting your main job for the side hustles?

No. My main job comes first because I enjoy what I do. Also, my main job does not compete with what I do on the side. There are some challenges though, such as losing prospective clients who demand immediate deliveries. Also, I have friends that insist on buying on credit; they don’t understand that this is a business, and can therefore not thrive on credit.

The main argument many jobless youths give is lack of capital to start a business. What do you say to this?

If you have Sh1,000 and want to start a Sh10,000 business, chances are that you will not start it; I say start with what you have. A great lesson I have learnt is that if you don’t start today with what you have, tomorrow might be too late for you.

Polycarp Ochieng
Age: 21
Fulltime Occupation: Software developer
Weekend Side Hustle: Content writing

I founded my company, Solitec IT & Marketing Company in June 2016. We carry out digital marketing, web design and apps creation.

I learnt that getting a company started, even a small one like mine, is very difficult – money takes a while coming in. I therefore decided to venture into freelance writing as a means to pay for expenses such as rent, food and other bills since the pocket money I was getting from my parents was not enough. At the time, I was in my third year of study at Multi Media University, where I was studying computer science. Having not made a single cent three months into the business, I realised that for my company to grow, I needed to fully dedicate myself to it, and so I resolved to write only on weekends.

How much money do you make a month from your weekend hustle?

On average, I make around Sh6,500. I bid for writing jobs on sites such as transcribeMe and Kuhustle. To ensure that my full time and side hustle jobs are not in conflict, I only bid on jobs that require a fast turnaround. Often, there are clients that offer weekends jobs only, these are the ones that I cling on to.

It seems as if your plate is full; when do you get time to socialise?

One of the advantages of my full time job is that it requires me to go out and source for clients, this way, I get to move around and not only socialise, but also network widely, which is good for both of my jobs. Once in a while, I go out on Friday nights with friends. Usually, I fulfill other responsibilities such as doing laundry in the evenings.

What is the future of your side business should your business bloom?

That is a difficult question to answer at the moment because I do not know what bills will need paying in future, however, my wish is to earn an income that will sustain me comfortably. If I can get that through my full time job, that would be fulfilling.

Banice Mburu
Age: 23
Full time Occupation: Program officer at Society for International Development
Weekend side hustle: Farming

You tend to your farm only on weekends?

Yes, because this is the only time I am able to travel to Nakuru, where the farm is. Luckily, it is very close to home, so I can rely on my parents to take care of anything that needs urgent attention. If need be, I take a short break from my job during the tilling and planting season to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

Why farming?

When I got a job in 2015, I realised that my salary was not enough to meet my needs and expenses; my dad advised that I try farming. In the beginning, I was quite reluctant because most perceive it as a dirty job, but I am glad I gave it a try. My parents are my greatest motivation because they make quite a good amount of money from their farm. They lent me the three acres of land I started out with. My first crop was water melons, which did not do very well because some of the plants were destroyed by wild animals. Afterwards, I planted beans, which earned me about a profit of Sh120,000 within four months.

What exactly do you do when on the farm?

Depending on the season, I usually have people working on the farm. If they are planting or harvesting, I join them. Rarely will there be workers on the farm when I am not around.

Did your parents also lend you your starting capital?

No. The capital came from other hustles such as selling handbags and shoes. This, plus forgoing many luxuries such as eating out, and also refraining from impulse buying, I managed to raise the Sh80,000 I needed to buy seedlings and prepare the land.

What are the options for youth whose parents do not have land to lend them and are interested in farming?

There is the option of leasing land. As I mentioned, I sold handbags and shoes to raise the capital I needed to get this business going – I would still have done it even without free land. It is important to think outside the box. There are many ways to earn money - watching movies and series throughout the weekend is not one of them.