The coolest way to eventually become your own boss is to start a side hustle and build your self-employed income while you still have the safety and security of your day job. This is what modern entrepreneurs refer to as Hybrid Entrepreneurship.
Hybrid entrepreneurship is identified as the process of initiating a business while simultaneously remaining employed for wages. This approach allows entrepreneurs to reduce the risk associated with launching their entrepreneurial endeavour by reducing or eliminating opportunity cost. It is a career path increasing in popularity.
Just like starting any new business, there are pros and cons of building a side hustle business in Nigeria. If you’re planning to start a side hustle, here are the Pros and Cons of starting one in Nigeria.
The Pros:
1. Earn Extra Cash
Aspiring entrepreneurs with a strong drive can look to a side hustle as a stepping stone towards financial freedom. Your side hustle can also be the one thing that allows you to focus on the things you’re most passionate about if you don’t get that satisfaction from your full-time work. It can give you the ability to earn extra savings to travel the world, care for your family and loved ones, or pursue causes you’re motivated to work on in a more meaningful way.
2. Ability to grow and learn new skills
There is nothing like an entrepreneurial venture to teach you a million new things. From creating a website to networking to balancing a business bank account every month, you’ll be picking up fresh skills left and right. When cash isn’t your only concern a side hustle can be the foot in the door that lets you begin learning new skills and networking with people in other industries.
Also Read: Small Businesses That Make The Most Millions In Nigeria.
3. Possibility of true self-employment
Not everyone wants to quit the day job and turn to full-time self-employment. However, for those who think that maybe a little more freedom is desirable, the possibility of true self-employment is a definite advantage of a side business. With effort, it might be possible to grow the side business to a point that it becomes the primary income source. While self-employment does come with some disadvantages, by and large, it’s possible to get to the point where you can set your own schedule, and have a little more freedom with how you use your time, and when and where you work.
The Cons:
1. Less time to relax
Especially in a busy environment like Lagos, when clocking out of work is followed immediately by clocking in at a second job, day-to-day life can start to look pretty bleak. Make sure you think realistically about how many hours you can devote to any potential side hustle before your relationships and emotional well-being will suffer.
2. Moonlighting can interfere with your career
If your side hustle turns into a full-blown second job your performance at your main gig can suffer. Make sure you understand your employer’s rules (if any) about moonlighting before you start a side hustle. In some cases, you may even come up against conflicts of interest that make it hard to do your best in both roles.
Also Read: The 10 qualities every small business entrepreneur should have.
3. Burn out potential
A 20-hour workday and a 7-day workweek might be lucrative but it will take its toll on your physical and mental wellbeing. And if your day job is already stressful, piling more work hours onto your plate could literally be killing you.
Conclusion
A large number of Nigerians (myself included) have launched side hustles related to blogging, freelancing, consulting and other online-based businesses while having regular 8 to 5 employment.
Sometimes the best side hustle is obvious. If you’re a natural born salesperson then you may just kick butt at direct sales. Love to write? There are lots of places you can sell content online. But if you’re not sure then there’s nothing wrong with trying a series of part-time gigs until you find one you love.
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