SHIFTING from a side hustle to a scalable venture requires moving from a “kiya-kiya” mindset to a strategic execution focus.
It is elevating your work from owner-dependent, day to day grind to a true self-sustaining, scalable and system driven entity.
It’s a transition from doing everything yourself to building a business model, systems and team that can grow without burning out.
Here is a step by step to guide the shift to grow your venture.
Shift your mindset: Stop identifying as hustler (I do the work myself) and evolve to seeing yourself as a builder of systems that do the work for you.
Most people start their hustle i.e, selling wares like lotion, cakes, chicken or offer services like tutoring, videography etc. That is survival mode.
For the transition from hustling to business owner to work, you will have to ask yourself the following questions: Is this something that can grow with me? Can I delegate someone to do what I do? Can I serve more people consistently and profitably?
Have it in your mind that you are not operating your business to make ends meet, but you are building a brand, a system and a legacy.
- Accident, piracy affected my career: Zembe
- Kim Jayde revels in SA award nomination
- Building narratives: Chindiya empowers girls through sports
- Public relations: Which innovations are driving PR in 2022 and beyond?
Keep Reading
Formalise your hustle: It is not healthy to operate illegally because it stunts the growth of the business.
In that regard, it is prudent to register your company and stop running it from the back of your car or your home.
Use your savings or if you had not saved start saving now to cater for registration fees of your company.
More importantly, come up with a business name that resonates with your values, vision and your line of business.
There are a lot of benefits of operating a registered business and one of them is that you can access loans from financial institutions and the trading name of your business will be protected meaning no one can use it.
Your name will help in creating your brand identity and recognition.
Open a bank account in your business name with a proper financial institution.
Make sure to register your entity with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (If you are tendering).
Refine your offer: You have to run your business professionally and be financially disciplined.
If your hustle is solutioning real day to day problems; (like transportation, affordable food or convenience) — you have a good chance of potentially scaling your business.
Good examples would be the cake business, not just selling cakes, but selling birthday solutions for parents on the Fastlane.
Make sure to package your offering in a way that you can have return customers and possibly refers others.
Systemise and simplify: Hustling is not scalable, but systems are.
Be hands-on about the processes of your business; a step by step on how you make your product, how your deliver your services to your clientele, how you arrive at your pricing or how you intend to penetrate your market.
We now live in a digital world, notably potential clients spend their time on the digital spaces such as X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp, Instagram and AI.
Visibility is currency and, as such, digital media has to be embraced for publicity and visibility of services and products your organisation offers.
It is advisable to create a company Facebook or LinkedIn page bearing name, brand and logo of the organisation.
Effectively use the social media platforms for robust marketing, advertising and public relations.
Maintain a heavy online presence and create engagement to understand your clients so as to provide them with what they want and attend to their needs timely.
Build a small but strong team: Since your start-up capital is small, you can employ family members or friends and complement them with students on attachment or internship.
Orient them on how to effectively and efficiently carry out the task.
Train them on customer service and how to execute their duties and delegate tasks.
You can also engage a consultant to up-skill and develop them.
Your time should shift to strategy, client relationship building and business growth.
Manage money like a CEO: It is paramount to separate personal and business income.
Treat yourself like an employee of the company and for the effort you put in running the business reward yourself with a salary.
Categorise your costs to fixed and variable costs.
Plan on when to pay all the costs that include rent, electricity, data and wages.
Always reinvest back into the business by purchasing better tools or equipment to build stronger systems.
Think bigger: Do not just aim for Harare, Bulawayo or Gweru; think Johannesburg, Nairobi, Atlanta, London. Could your product or service be sold across borders? Take time to research already established businesses that are in line with your trade and learn what they are doing well and aim to penetrate the market and grab a slice of the pie.
Solicit and engage business mentors who will share their experiences encompassing their success and challenges to help navigate this unchartered territory for you.
Create for generations: Your hustle will feed you today, but your systems will feed generations.
The goal in switching from hustle to scale always hinges on the owner ultimately removing themselves from the daily operations.
True business leaders do not work in the business; instead, they work on it.
This helps build leadership layers to help run the business and make business on your behalf.
Your business should be able to operate seamlessly with you absent from the weeds; that is robust systems at play.
In closing, if you are still trading your time for money, you do not yet have a business, just a job you created for yourself.
- Innocent Hadebe, with 25 years of experience and credentials as a John Maxwell certified business coach, serves as a trusted executive advisor through Innocent Leadership Group (ILG), empowering global leaders to think boldly, lead transformational change, and turn operational complexity into measurable success.
