If you’ve ever thought about branching out from your regular day job into a side hustle, you’re in solid company. Recent Westpac research found that 27 per cent of Australians are currently earning money through a side hustle or micro-business, with a further 28 per cent considering launching one.
Earning extra income to ease financial pressure is the top motivator (according to 77 per cent of current or would-be side hustle owners), but personal fulfilment, flexibility, exploring a passion or creativity and building long-term wealth are also key reasons why more of us are hustling outside of our regular work hours.
Still, it’s a big leap from dreaming about a potential side-hustle to actually getting one off the ground. One woman who did it is Candice Reynolds (aka DJ-Candi), a Sunshine Coast based mum of two, who launched her kid-friendly DJ disco business in late 2022, on the side of her regular job as a high school physical education (PE) teacher. She shares her advice for those wanting to get started on a second job.
Starting a Side Hustle: From Concept to Reality
“We love music in our family, creating parties and having fun at home dancing. When my daughter was turning five and asked for a disco party, I thought, ‘You know what? I’m going to try this myself!’ I hired a hall, bought my first set of decks, a speaker and one light bar, and over the course of six weeks, I taught myself all the technology and rekordbox DJ software.
“Her party was so fun; I ran a few games, got the kids doing dance-offs and [playing] follow the leader. From that party I got two leads and quickly bought another light bar and a smoke machine, and started to expand on my ideas. My first paid gigs were word of mouth. Then I started doing gigs at breweries. Then I met some teachers who put me in touch with school P&C groups, and now I’m doing discos for just about every school on the Sunshine Coast.”
SEE ALSO: What I learned in the first year of building my business
Find a Side Hustle Routine That Fits Around Your Life
“When I first started DJ-Candi, I was working four days a week as a health and physical education teacher. I had Fridays off and normally did discos on Friday or Saturday only, but now the discos are so much busier, I teach three days a week and do discos on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
“To stay organised, I rely on my colour-coded Google calendar. I also set myself timers on my phone, like ‘sleep time’, ‘work time’ and ‘invoices’. It ensures that if I need to get something done I use my time wisely. I usually work on my DJ stuff before school, plus I get 40 minutes or an hour of work done at night after I put the kids down.”
Know Your ‘Why’ and Let it Drive You
“You’ve got to have a reason, because that reason becomes a reality. I’ve still got the ‘Why start DJ-Candi’ document I created in the initial stages. For other ‘micro actions’ you can do early on: I registered my business name, got an ABN and bought some initial equipment – my laptop and DJ decks. Now a whole side of my garage is filled with stuff, plus outfits to match the DJ-Candi look.”
Leverage Your Existing Skill Base
“My teaching background gave me the confidence to direct kids and keep them engaged with things like countdowns and quick transitions, and my physical education background meant that I had full confidence running games and activities.
“As a teacher, I had the ‘insider knowledge’ to only contact schools in week two or three and just before the holidays to remind them to start booking me. If you’re doing it during assessment time, no one’s going to reply.”
SEE ALSO: Work From Anywhere: How to Create Your Ultimate Remote Work Setup
How to DIY Marketing Like a Pro
“Marketing has been a huge learning curve for me. I have Facebook and Instagram accounts and my website, which I created on Squarespace. I paid someone to do my brand colours and logo and got a website designer friend to help me with the final touches, but the rest I did myself.
“It’s quite handy because now I know how to fix it myself if something goes wrong. Social media requires constant learning. If a video has over 2000 views, I’m like, ‘Okay, that one grabbed more attention’, and I’ll figure out when I [posted] it and how I did it. [Using an AI assistant] has also helped a lot with creating blurbs for my reels. I’ve done so many events now that ChatGPT knows how I talk, act and how I prefer to say something. It’s an amazing time-saver.”
My Go-To Side Hustle Supplies
1. Laptop
“My laptop is essential for running DJ-Candi, allowing me to organise playlists, manage bookings and invoices, edit promotional content, communicate with clients and operate music software for discos and events.”
2. Smartphone
“My phone is used for business communication, social media marketing, taking event photos and videos, managing bookings on the go and coordinating with schools, venues and clients during events. It also assists with music requests and live event organisation.”
3. Portable hard drive
“I use it to store and back up thousands of songs, event playlists, business files, photos, videos and important documents.”
4. Heavy duty extension leads & powerboards
“These are critical for safely powering DJ equipment, lighting, microphones and technology at discos and functions. The surge-protected powerboard protects expensive equipment from electrical damage while running multiple devices simultaneously.”
5. Storage containers
“These keep my equipment secure, accessible and organised for efficient event setup and pack down.”
6. Business cards & stickers
“I use them to promote DJ-Candi at events, schools and community functions, helping increase brand awareness and future bookings.”
[H2] What to Try
