Helping others manage their ‘side hustle’
Secrets of a Side Hustler founder helps ‘accidental entrepreneurs’ manage their time efficiently We’re hosting a Side Hustle Week
A decade ago, Chivon John was climbing the ranks of a corporation as a coder and developer, but it was her side hustles — blogging and event planning — that got her noticed. “I’d always do that outside of work, and I got to the point where folks were coming to me and asking me for help with things they were doing,” she says. “Things that were just hobbies to me, people were approaching me for help with, and asking me, ‘Hey do you charge for this?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, not yet,’ and realized there was a way to monetize that passion.” Now John — a communications specialist with a media company by day — uses her spare time to run Secrets of a Side Hustler, a company to help people who are also working full time and have a desire to start a business on the side
Tell me about your company? What exactly does it do?
It’s basically a community that provides training, resources, and we host workshops for people who want to have a business and also hold a fulltime job. It started in 2013 as an event series, which evolved based on the feedback from the people who attended . . . Right now, it’s both online and in-person — anything from how to create a business plan to the financial resources you need to consider. A lot of times, we’ll partner with experts to have them come and present different content, and one of the things I’m working on is building customized training curriculum that we’d host through our website, meant to address challenges people encounter as they’re balancing being both an entrepreneur and an employee.
The best kinds of side hustles are the ones that play to your strengths. It’s usually based on a hobby or passion that a person has, so for instance, people we’ve worked with are media coaches because they have a background in media — they went to school for that and realized that they have that expertise and that they’re able to help other individuals getting media attention.
Another example is freelance writing. So if someone has a talent for writing, they might’ve started a blog and then offered their services to other individuals . . . People find themselves being accidental entrepreneurs because that passion’s taken on a life of its own.
As someone with a job and a side hustle, what tools do you use to stay organized?
For me, planning and scheduling are really important. Google Calendar is one way I keep all my calendar appointments in check. I also use paper and pen, so it’s a combination of both old school and technology.
Another thing I use to stay organized is Google Drive, because I love to explore the collaboration it offers. So sometimes, when I work with freelancers or friends on different initiatives, I love the fact that you can share and work on the same document at the same time.
How do you manage to stay healthy, and balance your work and personal life?
Health and wellness is a big passion of mine. I’ve been a certified personal trainer, and I discovered fitness early, and love to incorporate it within my life. For me, it’s defining my self-care non-negotiables.
So ensuring that I do some sort of physical activity, whether it’s going for a walk or going to the gym, turning my phone on airplane mode maybe after 10:30 — that’s kind of how I keep my sanity amidst the hustle, finding things I’ll commit to myself to doing everyday and putting myself as a priority on my to-do list. So instead of saying I’m too busy to do it, it’s something I prioritize daily.
What’s next for Secrets of a Side Hustler?
from Sept. 15 to 19, which is designed for people who want to start a side hustle or who have one to come out and learn how they can grow whatever it is they’re doing, and if they have the desire to make it a full-time business, what some of the things are that they can do to set that foundation.
In the long term, I want to keep hosting events, but also expand our outreach across Canada.
We’ve had success in Toronto, but I have members in the online community in the United States and the U.K., so I’d love to expand and have our programming in different cities.
What are the ideal circumstances for somebody to start a side hustle?
I think it’s about taking a good selfassessment before you start in terms of how much time you’re willing to commit to it (and) what are the skills you have that you can see potentially using in your side hustle. I don’t think there’s a right time per
se, it’s just having that desire and commitment. Are you willing to make the sacrifice or the investment, I should say, of time to make it happen?