- Posted by: Andre Misrole
- Category: Uncategorised
Last year during the pandemic I spent a few months living with a friend of mine in Kuilsriver, and often in the week but mostly on Friday evenings, he would order us takeaways.
I noticed the type of food wasn’t from your commercial or regular takeaway businesses like Burger King or KFC, and the food was really good.
When I asked him where he bought the food, on one occasion, he said that it was bought by a Chef who got retrenched just a month prior. (So he was pretty proactive)
Then I also met another friend from Kuilsriver whose mom sold food from home, which was really good by the way. She’d do Currys, burgers and steak rolls etc. Pretty much almost all the popular general takeaways you could think of… But as I said, it was really really good.
I then noticed on Facebook that more and more of these takeaway startups (if I can call them that) started popping up all over Cape Town…
And the more I inquired about the business, the more prevalent the story… It was started because the person got retrenched!!
I loved how some people would take the initiative to do something about their circumstances.
And that’s what this post is about…
Now I know the first thing many of you reading this would say to me if I was in front of you right now, is “but André, I can’t cook that well” or “I’ll never be able to cook commercially” or a more popular excuse “I don’t know the first think about running a business..”
The good news is that you don’t have to be a professional cook or entrepreneur…
I literally know people who have never even looked at a chef’s textbook, yet have a God-given talent to cook the most beautiful food and bake the most amazing cakes and sweet things.
I also know people who have started super successful businesses, and they know very little about starting, let alone running a business.
They do all have one very key thing in common though… THEY TOOK ACTION, REGARDLESS OF THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES OR WHAT OTHER PEOPLE WOULD THINK OR SAY ABOUT THEM!!
Obviously, there needs to be a degree of talent here…
I can make a decent curry because I’m passionate about not necessarily ‘Indian Cuisine’ but curry’s in general… So I’ve applied myself over the years and I’m always learning new things to improve my Currys. But I can’t bake for shit… So me baking cakes as an example for the sole purpose of selling them makes no sense at all because they simply won’t taste good, let alone look good. (My cakes would probably look like they need life support…)
The point of this post is not for you to start baking or cooking to make an extra few thousand rands a week…
The purpose of this post is to find your edge (as they teach financial traders) and then monetise that.
Your edge is taking what you’re good at, and doing that for money!!
For many of you, it could be making clothes, fixing furniture, helping small business owners with HR or Accounting, doing admin for companies as a personal assistant, doing graphic design work, or just buying and selling general things for profit.
I’m referring to taking your specific skill set and hiring it out to make an extra few bucks to see you through the hard times.
For example, what do you do at your job or previous job (if you got retrenched)? Use that skill and sell it part-time… It really is that easy!!
Now there’s absolutely nothing innovative or new about this post, but why do so few people endeavour to do so…
Well, I think there are many reasons, such as pride, what family or friends would think or maybe just downright a low self-esteem or self-confidence.
When it comes to other people’s opinions, I genuinely believe that you should only give a shit what other people think or say of you, IF THEY’RE PAYING YOUR BILLS EVERY MONTH!! If not, then you should care as much about what other people think of you, as much as you care about quantum physics or time travel. (and if you actually care about quantum physics and time travel, no offence)
Many of you have people or family that depend on your financially, so deciding to do this could fill some huge gaps at home.
If you’re struggling with debt and not making ends meet, the least you can do is give this a shot, instead of making up your mind that it’s not going to work, before you’ve even started.
Yes there are key elements to success, but it’s not rocket science and you don’t ‘have to have any qualifications etc. Simply look at what’s missing around you, in your community or even at work with colleagues.
This isn’t about making hundreds of thousands of rands a month, this is about making an extra R1k – R5k a week, and then growing from there, taking it as far as you can to better your financial situation.
Even an additional R1k to R5k a month can literally make the world of difference to someone who is struggling with debt, and that ladies and gentlemen is what I want you to focus on over the next 90 days.
Then, start using that additional cash, or most of it rather fill in the gaps. Pay for accounts or let them fill gaps that you’re short on in your budget.
Then start repeating the process every week or month.
I’m always telling my clients that if they have an aggressive plan, they can become debt free in a really really short period of time. You just have to have a plan and be disciplined.
That’s what I want for you!!
Remember, start small. You don’t have to have a fancy plan with a fancy website and a marketing campaign, literally just start and get the word out there via your contacts, put up a WhatsApp story and let your friends know on Facebook. That’s literally all it takes to get started today. Social media and the internet have made it easier than ever to sell things and start making some extra cash on the side.
If this post inspires just one of you to take action, to take that first step to better your finances, I’ve done my job for the day.
Cheers to your financial independence and have a happy Side Hustle Saturday!!
P.s. If you’re struggling with anything regarding this post, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, I’d be more than happy to assist where I can.
Andre Misrole
Chief Growth Officer | Debt Specialist
Exonerate SA