Nearly half of employed South Africans have a side hustle. The rising cost of living is one reason, but so is sheer ambition.

More and more people want more control over their income streams, their creativity, and their futures.

And there's no need to wait before you start turning your ambition into action. Just ask Willem Gous, an award-winning startup entrepreneur and author of Side Hustle Success.

Willem believes that anyone can start a business today. Not tomorrow, not next year, but right here and now.

Speaking on the My Money, My Lifestyle podcast, Willem shared his tried-and-tested lessons on starting small, testing fast, and avoiding the traps that keep ideas stuck in notebooks.

Stop waiting for the million rand

Willem has seen too many would-be entrepreneurs held at bay by the belief that they need major funding before they can begin.

“I meet people who’ve been waiting for funding for six, seven, eight years,” he says. “They could have started six years ago.”

The myth of “I need a million rand” pops up everywhere, from aspiring fashion designers to small-scale bakers. But it’s often an excuse not to move forward.

Instead of holding out for a bank loan, begin with the resources you already have. To learn what customers want, sell a competitor’s product on consignment. Share your services with your neighbours.

The key is momentum. As Willem puts it: “Build with the bricks you already have.”

Test in five minutes, not five years

Planning is important, but overplanning destroys more ideas than it saves. Willem urges would-be entrepreneurs to test ideas quickly, ideally within five minutes.

He tells the story of a neighbour who baked sourdough bread for her community during lockdown. What began as a few loaves from her kitchen became a full bakery, supplying major retailers.

She didn’t wait to secure funding or open a shop. She started where she was, with what she had.

“The test is simple,” Willem explains. “Pick up the phone, ask someone if they’ll buy, and see if they put money down. If they will, you’re onto something. If they won’t, change the idea, or walk away.”

Customers are your best source of ideas

Entrepreneurs often fall in love with their own “brilliant” concepts, only to find no one else cares. Willem learned this the hard way. He spent R40 000 on an online photo-editing platform, only to discover that his intended business customers didn’t use profile pictures to begin with.

The smarter move is to listen. “Customers share their challenges every day. All you need to do is come up with a solution,” says Willem. That means asking questions, not just flattering ones, but the hard questions that might disprove your idea.

Surveys and focus groups can be misleading, because people say what they think you want to hear. Real-world behaviour is more telling. Selling “future coffees” for a café, or asking for deposits up front, can prove whether there’s genuine demand. As Willem insists: “Show me the money.”

Don’t sell yourself short on pricing

For freelancers and product-sellers alike, pricing is one of the hardest hurdles. Charge too little and you burn out; charge too much, and customers walk away.

Willem suggests a good rule of thumb. Around 30 per cent of potential customers should think your price is too high. If nobody balks, you’re too cheap. If almost everyone balks, you’ve overshot. And never feel guilty if someone says no.

“They’re not your customer,” Willem says. Finding the right buyers, those who see value in what you offer, is part of the journey.

For beginners, there’s merit in pricing lower while you build experience, but always be clear about the true value. Show discounts on invoices, so clients know the real worth of your product or service.

Know when to walk away

Falling in love with an idea can be dangerous. Willem admits to losing R2.5 million on a business he should have abandoned years earlier. The lesson? Set timelines and benchmarks.

Decide what success looks like, whether that means profit, customers, or growth, and be prepared to shut down if you don’t get there.

“Marry slowly, divorce fast,” he jokes. In other words, experiment, but don’t cling. Many successful entrepreneurs fail multiple times before finding their jackpot idea.

The trick is not to stagnate. If something isn’t working, pivot or move on.

Small clients first, corporates later

It’s tempting to dream of landing a big corporate client for your startup business, but Willem warns against it. Big companies are slow to decide, involve multiple stakeholders, and can tie up entrepreneurs in endless meetings, without delivering revenue.

Far better to build a base of smaller clients who can move quickly, pay faster, and help refine your product. Once you have proof of concept and cash flow, the corporates may come knocking.

Shift your mindset from excuses to action

At the heart of Willem’s philosophy is a mindset shift. Too many people focus on what they lack –funding, time, confidence – when the better approach is to look at what’s already available.

Side hustles aren’t about perfection, they’re about testing, learning, adapting, and above all, acting.

“Entrepreneurs don’t wake up and eat risk for breakfast,” says Willem. “I’m a single father. I don’t want risk. But I know how to minimise it.”

That means starting small, selling early, and learning fast. It means listening to customers, and means being willing to let go when the numbers don’t work.

From survival to success

South Africans are no strangers to hustling. Whether it’s selling food, designing clothes, or offering professional services, the side hustle economy is alive and growing. For many, it’s about survival in tough times.

But as stories like the sourdough baker show, a kitchen-table idea can grow into something far bigger.

The side hustle doesn’t need to begin with a million rand, a perfect business plan, or years of preparation. Sometimes all it takes is a phone call, a customer, and the willingness to try.

“If you can’t start your business in five minutes,” says Willem, “maybe you need a different business.”