Kia Commodore: A side hustle can be a great way to get
Kia Commodore: a little bit richer. More and more people are taking
Kia Commodore: on extra work, whether it's selling old clothes online, renting
Kia Commodore: out a spare room, or even starting a new business.
Kia Commodore: But it's not something that you can just start doing
Kia Commodore: without being aware of stuff like tax implications and other
Kia Commodore: expenses you might have to pay. Also, you do still
Kia Commodore: need a personal life. You can't spend all your time working.
Kia Commodore: So today I'm chatting to Tolu Frimpong, a financial coach whose
Kia Commodore: work includes helping women break the payday to payday cycle,
Kia Commodore: beat debt, start investing, and crucially earn more via side hustles.
Kia Commodore: So let's do it. So Tolu, there's a lot of ways
Kia Commodore: that we can earn extra money so can you give
Kia Commodore: us some examples of short- term side hustles and then some
Kia Commodore: longer term regular revenue streams?
Tolu Frimpong: Oh, absolutely. There are so many different short- term and long-
Tolu Frimpong: term side hustles that people can try. I think the first one
Tolu Frimpong: I always like to mention is reselling because that's something
Tolu Frimpong: all of us can do. We all have clutter in
Tolu Frimpong: our homes that we can turn into cash. So what
Tolu Frimpong: I would say is sell some of that used stuff
Tolu Frimpong: online, make some money from those furnitures, from the clothes,
Tolu Frimpong: the shoes, the trainers, all these bits and bobs that
Tolu Frimpong: you have at home that no longer are serving you
Tolu Frimpong: and it's just taking up space in your house. Sell
Tolu Frimpong: those things online and make that extra money. It'll be
Tolu Frimpong: extra income for you to do what you need to
Tolu Frimpong: do. In addition to that, I would say things like
Tolu Frimpong: survey sites, market research is also another great side hustle
Tolu Frimpong: that you can try. Focus groups are also fantastic. User
Tolu Frimpong: testing is also great. Companies will pay you to test
Tolu Frimpong: their apps or test their websites and you can make
Tolu Frimpong: extra money for those things. And then those are short-
Tolu Frimpong: term side hustles which anybody can start at any time
Tolu Frimpong: with little to no experience. But then if you start
Tolu Frimpong: talking about the more long- term side hustles, things that
Tolu Frimpong: you can do may require a little bit more skills,
Tolu Frimpong: a little bit more learning, but you can eventually monetize
Tolu Frimpong: it. So those long- term side hustles that I like to mention
Tolu Frimpong: are things like creating an online course. So what is something that you're great at that
Tolu Frimpong: you're an expert in that you can monetize, you can
Tolu Frimpong: create a course about, help other people to learn how
Tolu Frimpong: to do it and sell it online. E- commerce is
Tolu Frimpong: also a great additional side hustle to start. Again, it will
Tolu Frimpong: take a little bit of learning what products to sell,
Tolu Frimpong: et cetera, but once you get up and running, you
Tolu Frimpong: can be able to monetize that side hustle. And then
Tolu Frimpong: also things like renting out parking spaces at your house,
Tolu Frimpong: renting out a spare room, that's something you could do.
Tolu Frimpong: Even renting out your garage or your garden for events.
Tolu Frimpong: There's just so many different things you can do to
Tolu Frimpong: make that additional long- term income on the side.
Kia Commodore: I think it's so great to hear that there's things
Kia Commodore: that we can do in the short term that I
Kia Commodore: know I've got a whole bunch of clothes at home
Kia Commodore: sitting there that I can just sell online and make
Kia Commodore: some extra cash from. And in the longer term, things
Kia Commodore: that you wouldn't consider. You mentioned renting a parking space
Kia Commodore: out. My dad does that. It's some extra money that
Kia Commodore: you can bring in. We've all got things that we
Kia Commodore: can look around and probably say, actually, I can make some extra money here.
Kia Commodore: And I think the great thing about side hustles is that
Kia Commodore: there's always scope for it to become the main hustle.
Kia Commodore: And we've heard from Georgina earlier on in the season who
Kia Commodore: turned her side hustle into a main stream of income.
Kia Commodore: So I think it's great to explore what you can
Kia Commodore: do, how you can make extra money, and yeah, just add
Kia Commodore: to your revenue streams. I love it. It just depends
Kia Commodore: on how much you want to make, how time you want
Kia Commodore: to put in, if you have to learn a new skill
Kia Commodore: and how quickly and how convenient you want it to
Kia Commodore: be in your day- to- day life. So what would
Kia Commodore: be your advice for anyone who's looking to do that
Kia Commodore: and what should they be focusing on when they're deciding
Kia Commodore: what work they should be doing?
Tolu Frimpong: Anyone wanting to build out additional income streams. So first
Tolu Frimpong: of all, look at what skills they currently have. What
Tolu Frimpong: skills do you currently have in your hand that you
Tolu Frimpong: can monetize, and what additional skills do you want to
Tolu Frimpong: learn to be able to monetize at a later date?
Tolu Frimpong: And then I'd say learners are earners. Yes, you want
Tolu Frimpong: to have that skill, but how are you going to develop
Tolu Frimpong: that skill? You want to commit to learning. So doing
Tolu Frimpong: your research online, but not just researching and learning about
Tolu Frimpong: that skill, but also practicing and learning to develop that
Tolu Frimpong: skill for yourself. I think that's going to really help
Tolu Frimpong: you to be able to generate that additional income on the
Tolu Frimpong: side. I'd also say time is important as well. How
Tolu Frimpong: you allocate and use your time in the evening and
Tolu Frimpong: the weekend is going to really be the difference between
Tolu Frimpong: you starting that side hustle and being successful at it.
Tolu Frimpong: Because that time that we have in the evening after
Tolu Frimpong: work, that time how we currently utilizing it, how you
Tolu Frimpong: utilize it is going to have an impact on your
Tolu Frimpong: earning potential when it comes to that side hustle because
Tolu Frimpong: the amount of time you give to it is the
Tolu Frimpong: amount of time you're going to be able to monetize
Tolu Frimpong: it eventually.
Kia Commodore: I think that's great. I think like you said, the time is
Kia Commodore: a key one. When I think back to my days
Kia Commodore: of learning how to illustrate, so I was like you, you
Kia Commodore: know when you said you uploaded your first YouTube video,
Kia Commodore: had no idea how to edit. I decided to download
Kia Commodore: Illustrator. I had no idea how to illustrate anything, but
Kia Commodore: I dedicated my evenings after work at least two, three
Kia Commodore: hours to learning that skill, which again, eventually gave me
Kia Commodore: that earning potential. But it is just investing that time in.
Kia Commodore: This is something that you want to do. So I
Kia Commodore: love that point that you made.
Tolu Frimpong: Yeah. Oh, I was going to also say to learn
Tolu Frimpong: a skill in something that you're passionate about because what
Tolu Frimpong: tends to happen is you start something and then you
Tolu Frimpong: lose interest or it becomes too difficult and you quit
Tolu Frimpong: before you actually see the fruits of your labor. So
Tolu Frimpong: I think when it comes to a side hustle, you want
Tolu Frimpong: to make sure it's something that you're really interested in
Tolu Frimpong: doing, something that you're passionate about and something that you're going to
Tolu Frimpong: put in the work for because yeah, if you don't
Tolu Frimpong: do it that way and you do something that someone
Tolu Frimpong: else is doing or you just think, I'm going to
Tolu Frimpong: jump on that wave because it seems like other people
Tolu Frimpong: are making money doing it, you're going to burn out
Tolu Frimpong: and you're going to quit before you actually see success.
Kia Commodore: I absolutely agree with you. So now you've given us
Kia Commodore: some ways of actually adding in that extra stream of
Kia Commodore: income. What can some of the benefits be? So obviously
Kia Commodore: money is the main driver for most people, but is
Kia Commodore: there other benefits that people can consider like maybe just
Kia Commodore: they're trying something different. What else can come from picking
Kia Commodore: up a side hustle?
Tolu Frimpong: Absolutely. I think a great benefit of a side hustle,
Tolu Frimpong: obviously beyond the monetary aspect is the personal development aspect
Tolu Frimpong: of it as well, because you're stretching yourself beyond your
Tolu Frimpong: current comfort zone and comfort levels because if I put
Tolu Frimpong: myself in that example once upon a time, I used
Tolu Frimpong: to hate public speaking. When it was someone's birthday, for
Tolu Frimpong: example, and I had to give a speech, I will
Tolu Frimpong: be so scared I'd run away and hide or I
Tolu Frimpong: would say two words and then that would be it.
Tolu Frimpong: But doing this personal finance content creation, I've had to
Tolu Frimpong: now speak in front of audiences of hundreds of people,
Tolu Frimpong: something that I never thought I'd be able to do,
Tolu Frimpong: but I've had to stretch myself. And it's so funny because
Tolu Frimpong: when you stretch yourself you realize, wow, I'm capable of
Tolu Frimpong: so much more than I thought I was capable of.
Tolu Frimpong: So I think that's one of the great things about
Tolu Frimpong: starting a side hustle is that you don't realize where it
Tolu Frimpong: will take you and how far it'll take you and
Tolu Frimpong: opportunities that can present themselves from you starting that side
Tolu Frimpong: hustle because you might just think, this is a little
Tolu Frimpong: passion project that I've started today, but a year from
Tolu Frimpong: now, if you continue to keep at it it will
Tolu Frimpong: take you places that you never even imagined. And also
Tolu Frimpong: I think a great benefit of it is your network
Tolu Frimpong: as well that it expands because I know since I've
Tolu Frimpong: started doing the personal finance content, I've met so many
Tolu Frimpong: incredible people like yourself, for example.
Kia Commodore: There we go, we have met (inaudible) .
Tolu Frimpong: Exactly. Exactly, and I would've never met you had it
Tolu Frimpong: not been for me starting this side hustle. So I
Tolu Frimpong: think it's just amazing the opportunities that can come from
Tolu Frimpong: you stepping out of your comfort zone, backing yourself, and yeah, it
Tolu Frimpong: just expands you and stretches you and adds so much
Tolu Frimpong: value to you as well. That's another great thing is
Tolu Frimpong: your skillset. It develops it beyond what you think you're
Tolu Frimpong: currently capable of or what you are currently capable of.
Tolu Frimpong: You develop new skills, you learn new skills, which is
Tolu Frimpong: basically adding to your skill stack, which in addition to helping
Tolu Frimpong: you generate income on the side, if you do want
Tolu Frimpong: to continue your 09:00 to 5: 00 as well, that's going to help
Tolu Frimpong: you with your employability when it comes to applying for
Tolu Frimpong: promotions because you've got all the additional skillset that you've
Tolu Frimpong: developed while building that side hustle.
Kia Commodore: Absolutely. I agree. I've listed on many a side hustle,
Kia Commodore: many a skill I picked up on that CV. It
Kia Commodore: is hefty.
Tolu Frimpong: Yes.
Kia Commodore: I've committed time and I said, this is going on because
Kia Commodore: I've put my time into this. And I think another
Kia Commodore: one that I'd love to add on the back of what you said as well
Kia Commodore: is it helps you to problem solve because you do
Kia Commodore: reach barriers and hurdles. You're going to think, how do I do this? And even
Kia Commodore: back again what you said of editing, when I first
Kia Commodore: started learning how to edit. There were so many things I was like, how do I do
Kia Commodore: that transition that you do there? How do I get
Kia Commodore: that up? But you come across that problem and you
Kia Commodore: figure out how to get over it. So let's talk
Kia Commodore: about the cost associated. What are the rules when it comes
Kia Commodore: to paying taxes on the extra money that you've earned
Kia Commodore: because we know when you're working a 09:00 to 5:00, you pay
Kia Commodore: PAYE, you pay income tax. But if you're earning side
Kia Commodore: hustle income are there taxes that we should be aware
Kia Commodore: of and any other expenses that we should be aware
Kia Commodore: of if you're trying to build that extra stream of income?
Tolu Frimpong: So that's a great question, Kia, actually, when it comes
Tolu Frimpong: to side hustle, I think there are so many tax
Tolu Frimpong: implications that we need to be aware of so that
Tolu Frimpong: we don't get ourselves into trouble when it comes to
Tolu Frimpong: that extra money. So the extra money that you're making,
Tolu Frimpong: first of all what I would say is when it
Tolu Frimpong: comes to the first part of your question in terms
Tolu Frimpong: of the costs associated with it, I think it's great to
Tolu Frimpong: know that a lot of side hustles can be started with
Tolu Frimpong: little to no money at all. So you don't need to think,
Tolu Frimpong: oh my gosh, I need 10, 000 pounds to start a
Tolu Frimpong: side hustle. Actually, all you need is your phone and
Tolu Frimpong: the internet and you can get started there and build
Tolu Frimpong: it. But then when you do start making that money,
Tolu Frimpong: HMRC are going to want their money too. So you
Tolu Frimpong: are going to need to make sure you set money
Tolu Frimpong: aside for taxes. So the first 1000 pounds that you
Tolu Frimpong: earn, actually you don't have to pay tax on or
Tolu Frimpong: declare, but beyond that, you are going to need to
Tolu Frimpong: start paying income tax. So what you want to do
Tolu Frimpong: is have separate account for your business expenses from your
Tolu Frimpong: personal income because the danger there is that you just
Tolu Frimpong: start spending that business money and mixing it with your
Tolu Frimpong: personal money and then when it comes to that tax
Tolu Frimpong: time of the year, you're in trouble because you don't
Tolu Frimpong: have the tax money set aside. So I would say
Tolu Frimpong: have a separate savings account or separate bank account for
Tolu Frimpong: the business income and expenses because you are going to
Tolu Frimpong: need to pay tax. When it comes to taxes there's
Tolu Frimpong: income tax that you'll need to pay, national insurance contribution
Tolu Frimpong: if you are paying yourself as an employee within that
Tolu Frimpong: business. Also, you want to consider the structure for that
Tolu Frimpong: side hustle as well actually. Do you want to register as
Tolu Frimpong: a sole trader or do you want to set up
Tolu Frimpong: a limited company because that would determine how you need
Tolu Frimpong: to pay your taxes for that business so when you
Tolu Frimpong: are paying yourself as a sole trader, you want to
Tolu Frimpong: make sure you're setting that money aside for your self-
Tolu Frimpong: assessment that you're going to need to pay. And if
Tolu Frimpong: you are a limited company, you're going to need to
Tolu Frimpong: register as well on company's house and set the business
Tolu Frimpong: up that way. So there is quite a lot that
Tolu Frimpong: you want to make sure you look into and research
Tolu Frimpong: when it comes to the side hustle to make sure
Tolu Frimpong: you don't get yourself into financial trouble later on.
Kia Commodore: Yeah, I agree with you. I think earning extra money is
Kia Commodore: great, but like you said, it is just figuring out
Kia Commodore: how am I going to register? How much money am
Kia Commodore: I making and do I need to declare a certain
Kia Commodore: amount? And especially it's good to also note that if
Kia Commodore: you are a limited company, things like the VAT, depending on how
Kia Commodore: much money, how successful your side hustle may be, we
Kia Commodore: hope that you get to the point that you will
Kia Commodore: have to be VAT registered, you earn over like 85,
Kia Commodore: 000 pounds per tax year, then you are going to
Kia Commodore: have to declare that. But again, that is another thing that
Kia Commodore: you'd have to research because we want you to earn your
Kia Commodore: extra money, get your money up. This is a great
Kia Commodore: time. But also, like you said, make sure you're researching
Kia Commodore: and understanding what that looks like. But overall, I think
Kia Commodore: we've said that side hustles are great, so there's a lot
Kia Commodore: of ways that people can increase their income. But I
Kia Commodore: want to end the episode as I do with asking
Kia Commodore: every guest the same question. So I'm going to ask
Kia Commodore: you, Tolu, what are your three top tips to help
Kia Commodore: our listeners get a little bit richer?
Tolu Frimpong: The first top tip I would say is to learn
Tolu Frimpong: a new skill. So learn that skill which you can
Tolu Frimpong: eventually monetize. So commit to reading about it, listening to
Tolu Frimpong: audiobooks, listening to podcasts. Learn as much as you can
Tolu Frimpong: about that subject area so that you can become very
Tolu Frimpong: knowledgeable about it. But don't just stop there. The second
Tolu Frimpong: tip I would say is to practice that skill. So
Tolu Frimpong: it's one thing learning, it's another thing actually applying what
Tolu Frimpong: you've learned. So commit to becoming an expert in that
Tolu Frimpong: area, or at least very competent. So I don't know
Tolu Frimpong: if you know about the 20 hour rule. If you
Tolu Frimpong: spend 20 hours learning a particular skill, you can become
Tolu Frimpong: very competent in it. So if you say I'm going
Tolu Frimpong: to commit 20 hours to learning this skill, I will
Tolu Frimpong: eventually become competent at it and I can then monetize
Tolu Frimpong: it. And I guess the third thing I would say to
Tolu Frimpong: become a little bit richer is to believe in yourself
Tolu Frimpong: and trust in your ability to monetize that side hustle.
Kia Commodore: Amazing. I love that Tolu, and especially ending it on that
Kia Commodore: believe in yourself. Yeah, I love that. That's a good
Kia Commodore: way to end. It makes you believe in yourself everyone
Kia Commodore: listening. Thank you so much, Tolu. You've shared some impeccable
Kia Commodore: gems and some very useful ways that people can increase
Kia Commodore: their income. That has been very helpful. Thank you so
Kia Commodore: much to Tolu for another great episode. So you know
Kia Commodore: the drill by now, hit follow, leave a review and
Kia Commodore: tell a mate. Also, if there's anything you'd like me
Kia Commodore: to discuss on future episodes, get in touch via Legal &
Kia Commodore: General's Instagram and TikTok channels. Thank you for listening.