In some way or another we have all been affected by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting employment drop brings two crucial truths sharply into perspective.
1. Full-time employment is no guarantee of financial security
As dedicated as an employer may be to its staff, a suffering company can only afford the renumeration its income allows. Families who are dependent on salary income drawn from a single employer (whether this is an SMME or large corporation) are therefore extremely vulnerable.
2. It’s time to start your side hustle (if you don’t have one already)
An additional source of income is the best way to safeguard your lifestyle in the case of unforeseen unemployment or pay cuts. But this realisation is not limited to employees. Business owners who diversify their income are also in a much better position during financially unpredictable times.
What is a side hustle?
Absolutely anything you do outside of your normal job or business focus that generates income.
Usually this term describes freelance or piece work, but is can also mean selling products. As it will require some of your free time, a side hustle should preferably be in a field that interests you.
The benefits of a side hustle
A personal point of focus
Working hard at your day-job is a good thing, but we often let our work define too much of our lives. Having a personal ambition allows you to separate your work goals from your personal passion and create a healthy sense of achievement outside of your job.
Finding connections in your passion
Even the most obscure passion can be become a business venture. The online world is geared to linking you with likeminded individuals, so don’t write off your idea for a side hustle as being too niche until you’ve done your research.
Building a network of suppliers and clients who are interested in what you offer may even become a therapeutic past time in addition to an income.
Extra money
As a secondary source of income, your side hustle is under no pressure to grow overnight or pay all the bills from day one. This being said, a small initial commitment can steadily grow into a constant stream of revenue.
Keep things simple and outsets low by sticking to a product or service you can manage from home and offer online. E-commerce websites are an ideal means of generating sales while you are at work and a lot easier to maintain than you may think. Best of all, as long as you are registered for exports, selling your wares online means you can reach a global client base.
Peace of mind
In the event that you do lose your job, a running side hustle means you would merely be shifting a secondary source of income into the primary position until you find something else. Be sure to add the experience of being an entrepreneur to your CV. Companies tend to prefer the term “self-employed” to “unemployed” when screening potential hires.
Starting your import export side hustle
Getting your side hustle up and running doesn’t have to be hard, and it doesn’t have to wait until the world is back to normal. In fact, it shouldn’t.
Importing an innovative product and offering it to the local market on wholesale or retail level has proven to be an effective business plan, providing you’ve done a bit of market research.
With our start-up bundles, specially geared towards setting you up for international trade, we can either register your company and provide an import export license to get the wheels turning, or provide everything you need to start marketing immediately. This even includes an expertly built e-commerce site, web domain and logo.
Click here to browse the various options available to you.
Some basics you’ll need to know for imports and exports
- Determine your product’s HS Code with our Tariff Code Lookup Tool. Based on this code you can determine all import duties and regulations regarding your goods.
- Find out which regulation and permits apply to your goods.
Make sure you understand all the duties payable on imports to determine a fair selling price.
