Side hustles in Kenya for you is extremely important since depending on a single income source has become difficult. It may be viable but not sustainable in the long run. As an employed person you need to boost your income to beat the ever-rising cost of living in Kenya. Here are some profitable side hustle and small business ideas you could start while you are still in employment.
Below side hustles do not need you to interfere with your current employment but they are among the most profitable side hustles. These side hustles are flexible and you can work only when you have time. Don’t give these excuses people give for not starting your side hustles. setting up cleaning services business or delivery business may require more time and resources to operate.
Driving Services
There are many jobs that people don’t want to do but need to be done; one of them is driving, because it’s very difficult, especially in a city like Nairobi where the traffic situation is so bad. Many companies have started looking at outsourcing their business trips by hiring drivers to take their employees around; you can easily become a driver for one of these companies and make money on your days off from your full-time job. This is a side hustle you need to consider to generate extra money.
What you need
This works if you have a low-consumption car with you and you like driving around. You have to like driving in Nairobi for you to succeed at this. There are people who hate the chaos associated with driving around this city. Try on Sundays its not much of a hustle.
At least 4 years of driving experience, a car, PSV badge and then apply to drive with uber, bolt, or little cab. There are others but those are the major ones. If you own a motorbike you could do uber eats or Bolt foods since the delivery business gained traction with major players weighing in.
It’s easy, you create content that people love to read or watch, get google to advertise on your website, and then boom you get views and subscribers and you earn. One thing that I should remind you is that you won’t make money in your first month of writing or YouTubing. You have to create a fan base and that takes time. You will need to practice patience for you to succeed.
Essay writing
Write essays for people. Essay writing is popularly known as online writing. online writing may be college application essays or speeches, don’t do assignments for students, its a crime. You write emails and proposals, and business plans among others. How do you start essay writing as a side hustle?
Google! That’s how you start. You will get lots of people offering employment for people who can write. Most of these employers have applied action forms on their websites. Apply, do tests, submit samples if you have any, and of they are quality you get money writing. There are websites that pay people to write content for them. You can start with those.
Mpesa agent/ Bank agent
You will need a good location within your neighborhood. You have to employ someone to run it for you. Those are two major challenges for this side hustle.
However, people who combine agent banking and Mpesa alongside a retail shop are enjoying this business. All major banks in Kenya have agents working for them across this city. If you have extra cash you can invest consider it. It needs a close eye on it and proper management.
Freelancing
You can begin freelancing online right away. This is a really popular way of making money online. There are several platforms like PeoplePerHour and Upwork where you could find clients who will pay to get tasks done for them in your area of expertise such as writing, coding, graphic design, etc.
Freelancing is popular because of its flexible schedule and propensity to earn more money. You could also start creating digital content on YouTube. YouTube recently announced a fund to boost digital content creators’ income.
Here is how digital content creators make money
Blogging is hard. You can also try creating videos. If you love writing then blogging is for you. If you can create motion pictures I mean videos then YouTube and Tiktok is for you.
Photography
You don’t need a big studio or fancy camera equipment to start taking photos; all you need is a phone camera and an eye for creating beautiful images. People love to take photos on their phones these days so you could easily get hired by friends, family members or even businesses who might want new headshots were taken or some nice shots of products they are marketing online.
Online Arbitrage
This involves buying stuff at a very low cost locally, checking if they are being sold online at a higher cost, and reselling them for profit. It’s like an online retailer. It is becoming more popular these days with sites like OLX (they rebranded to Jiji) where you can easily find people selling different stuff that might be of value to someone else.
For example, one could buy clothes cheaper locally while there’s an even bigger market overseas; another good example of this is buying industrial goods from an industrial supplier and reselling them to a company at higher prices. Online arbitrage is a smart online business that can be profitable if taken seriously.
Tutoring
If you have good subject knowledge, be it math, science, or English as a second language (ESL), you could easily make some extra cash by becoming an online tutor. Simply tutor students for additional sessions after school hours or on weekends. Tutoring, if approached well could end up being a part-time job or full-time job leading you to earn money that would otherwise involve much to earn.
Teaching Business Ideas
If you have some teaching experience such as having taught at a school or online, then it would be very easy for you to get employed by another institute. You can also start taking on private students and charge per hour of the lesson. On this blog, I try as much as I can to teach what I know about running a side business that can generate passive income.
Freelancing Online Courses
You could create an online course on sites like Udemy or Skillshare and charge people to take these. You can even offer your course for free when you are just getting started so that more people will sign up.
Affiliate Marketing
There’s a huge market out there with many companies constantly launching new products; one easy way of making money would be to promote these products and get paid for every customer you refer.
You can start a dropshipping business following this guide
Freelance Writing
One good way to earn some additional income while still employed is writing online content for other people or small businesses, who are looking to have something written. You can do this on your own time, but you will need to be very disciplined if you want it to turn out great. In Kenya, academic writing is popular among students. Being an online writer saves you the commute time and expenses associated with it. You are free to work on your own schedule and from any location across the globe.
Virtual Assistant
Helping other people with their work is another way of making some extra money while still employed; instead of helping local clients in person, one could become a virtual assistant and offer services online for people who might not be able to afford the services of a VA.
Bookkeeping
This is one side hustle that can turn out very profitable if you do it well and on time; bookkeepers help businesses with their accounts and taxes by keeping track of all transactions related to these activities, entering data into accounting software, etc. You don’t necessarily need to be very experienced, you just have to keep track of everything and work diligently. Go ahead and help people with the filing their taxes at a fee. I have a friend who makes some income from this.
Taking Online Surveys
One way that companies market their products is by getting people’s opinions on these through surveys; if you are good at giving your opinions about things then this might turn out as a lucrative side hustle for you too. You can sign up with a few companies that regularly send out surveys and get paid for your feedback.
Freelance Illustrator
If you have some artistic talent, this might be a very good side hustle to consider; there are many people who need illustrations done but do not necessarily want to hire an expensive professional artist or don’t know how to go about it. You can easily offer your services online to these people and make good money for very little work.
Event Planning
Most companies are always on the lookout for event planners who can help them out with organizing some of their events; this is a great side hustle especially if you have experience in doing so or happen to be very organized.
Rent Out Your Empty Space
This is a great side hustle especially if you have an extra room in your house or even an empty garage; many people are looking for places to stay when they visit certain areas and this could be a good way of making some money without actually having a full-time job yourself. Plus, you will meet new people and expand your social circle.
Yoga Instructor
If you are a yoga enthusiast then this could be another great side hustle for you; not everyone has the time to go off from work every day to attend classes, but if they can take private sessions on their own schedule at home or even in a public park then they would be more than willing to do so.
Dog Walker
This is another side hustle that can be very profitable if you are willing to put in some hard work; there are many dog owners who cannot take their pets for walks due to various reasons, so they might pay someone else a small fee to do it for them. You can earn money from dog walking.
Social Media Marketing/Ad Promo Manager
This is popular these days especially if you have a decent following on major social media platforms. If you are good at social media marketing then this could be a great side hustle for some extra income; it also might turn into something more permanent if you do very well at your work. Consider creating a YouTube channel during your free time to upload videos and monetize it to earn money
Selling Crafts
This is another popular side hustle. People still love buying handmade things, which makes selling crafts an ideal small business idea that can make you quite popular on Instagram and social media platforms if you have the right skills. For social media, you can start by setting up an Instagram account.
Wedding Planner
If you are good at organizing things and know how to plan ahead, this might be a very lucrative side hustle for you; not everyone has time or resources to take care of every aspect of their wedding plans themselves due to other commitments, which is where people like you come in.
Home Organizer
If you are good at rearranging things and making them look neater, this could be a great side hustle for you; people who live in small homes or apartments know the value of having an organized living space to help keep their sanity.
Wedding Photographer
You don’t necessarily have to do it as your full-time job, but it can be a great side hustle for some extra income; there are people who would love having their weddings captured in photos even though they might not necessarily want to hire full-time professional photographers.
Personal Chef
This is also one of the most popular side hustles nowadays because more and more people do not have enough time to prepare every meal on their own; it is a great way of making some extra money and getting more clients if you learn how to cook some very popular dishes that people want.
Personal Trainer
If you are good at fitness then this could be another lucrative side hustle for you; there are many stay-at-home moms who cannot find the time to work out but would be willing to pay someone else for their services.
Makeup Artist
Although this is not something that you can do full-time, it can make some great side income if you are good at applying makeup; people who want a fresh look or need help with special events usually go to professional makeup artists, but if you can do it for them then they will certainly pay a small fee.
Moreover, with a simple camera or phone camera, you could record make-up sessions and post them on a YouTube channel to teach your viewers how to do it on their own. This way you could generate some extra money on the monetized YouTube channel.
