5 Side Hustles That Helped Me Stay Afloat After Relocation

It was a great learning experience

Some years ago, I moved to South Africa after getting married. The decision to relocate was good, but it came with its own fair share of problems.

I came on a spousal visa and couldn’t work for some time. It was tough because though my husband had no problem paying the bills, I longed for some sort of financial independence. I also wanted to be productive with my time.

Now here I was, netflixing and chilling every day, being the dutiful wife. Slowly, boredom and depression started creeping in. After enjoying the honeymoon phase, reality began to take its toll on me.

I got tired and began to search online for any and everything I could do to keep myself busy and get some form of immediate financial fulfillment. While checking for jobs online, I stumbled on some quick freelance jobs that I could do.

Here are five of them and how I got on with them:

1. Transcription

I applied to a transcription agency and luckily, they accepted my application and asked me to send them some of my writing samples to see how well I could write. I also did a quick test and once I scaled through, I was put through the transcription process.

Based on my request and availability, they would usually send me different files to transcribe. These files ranged from seminar talks to academic debates, sermons, radio interviews and all sorts. I liked doing it and frankly speaking, it was the perfect opportunity to gain new knowledge on different topics.

I wasn’t exactly a fast typist at the time, so it took me a relatively long time to convert the spoken words to letters. There were specific formats and all I had to do was adhere to it. The transcription company paid fortnightly. I could sit for hours on end listening and typing till my ears, neck and fingers got completely sore.

The pay wasn’t exactly commensurate with the amount of work I did and the energy I exhausted, but it was something that got me on my toes and took my mind away from the stay-at-home predicament I was going through at the time.

I transcribed for some time and later moved on to something else that I considered an easier side hustle.

2. Writing consultancy

After some months of relocating to South Africa, I got an opportunity to do a bit of writing consultancy at one of its foremost universities.

Writing consultancy involved teaching students what they needed to know about language use, application and essay writing. It was also a form of guidance and counselling because we also got to hear a bit of personal issues that some students were struggling with.

Each writing consultant had specific slots and days when they would come in to meet with the students assigned to them. Payment was made every month.

Some lecturers also trained us on how to respond to issues raised by students about their essays. At the time, we were about ten writing consultants per session.

Once again, I saw this as an opportunity to learn more academic topics. I always read ahead too, so I would be able to meet up with the demands from the students I was meeting with thrice every week. It was an interesting experience which I wouldn’t forget in a hurry.

3. Invigilation

While the writing consultancy was on, my fellow consultants told me about the existing invigilation opportunities since exams were a few weeks away.

I applied for it and once my application for the chief invigilator position was successful, I was put through series of training alongside other invigilators.

The examiners gave each invigilator a book of rules and some other materials needed for invigilation. It was a good hustle and I did it for about 2–3 months during every school examination period.

I would wake up early so I could arrive just before the exams started. There was a timesheet for every invigilator and this was how we got paid at the end of the invigilation session, based on the number of hours put in.

I did the “regular” invigilation and then the “extra time” which was meant for students who needed to write their exams for a longer period due to one health or psychological reason or the other.

The pay was good and it wasn’t so hectic. All I had to do was arrive at the venue, arrange and distribute the exam question papers and answer sheets, read the exam instructions loudly, keep an eye on the students and collect their scripts once they finished writing.

4. Research

I consider research to be the best side hustle I have ever done because it is something I am quite passionate about.

After searching online for some weeks, I got a research opportunity at a law firm. I was excited about it and started almost immediately. It was the beginning of my research and writing journey.

From this, I began to build a research portfolio and did a lot more writing.

I still get requests from random people and friends who need help with research. I oblige if the pay is good.

5. Part-time lecturing

The good thing about side hustle is that some jobs pave way for other opportunities. While invigilating, I was approached by a lecturer who needed help with some research.

While I did this for him, I was introduced to another lecturer within the same department who needed someone to lecture part-time on a commercial law course. I opted to do this and did it for about two years.

It was a side hustle because by the time I got a regular well-paying job, I still went to lecture in the evenings and on some weekends. I also taught the students legal system topics, administrative law, contract procurement and some other interesting topics. It gave me some extra bucks with increased my savings and I was deeply grateful for it.

Benefits of side hustles

For me, having a side hustle at every stage was heavily beneficial and came in handy because: 1. It gave me extra money in my pocket and a bit of financial independence 2. It helped me meet new people whom I connected with and learnt so much from. 3. It eased every form of boredom because it kept my mind and body busy. 4. I learnt how to speak publicly while developing my reading and writing skills. 5. It exposed me to a greater audience that needed and appreciated what I had to offer.

Lessons gained from my side hustles

Learning is an essential part of life. Getting involved in different side hustles exposed me to a lot of life lessons. Here are some of those lessons:

1. Whatever the side hustle is, do it relentlessly

Regardless of how I felt, I kept pushing. With every experience came new lessons and I was always ready to soak it all in. Most methods were fundamentally new to me and in fact for others, I had no idea what I was doing.

However, I kept educating myself and adjusting to what was required of me.

I saw it as an opportunity to learn new things; the knowledge that came with it was immense.

“Determination is nothing without hardwork and dedication.”- Eshraq Jiad

2. Keep putting in the work

There is no such thing as free money. If you long for financial independence and growth, you have to put in the work. I lived far away, but would get up each day, juggle between jobs and contribute my own quota.

It didn’t matter what it was, I daily showed up. I also got to meet some very good people while at it.

3. Strive to make a difference

What kept me going was that I didn't want to be redundant. I set my mind on what I wanted and explored it to the fullest capability. With each work that came, I was extremely glad when I could do it to the best of my ability and know that my effort was recognized.

More than anything, I was happy to put huge smiles on the faces of my employers, students, teachers and others while offering quality services to them.

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” — Maya Angelou