Some have called 2018 the year of the side-hustle, and the head of core business at Gumtree SA, Claire Cobbledick, couldn't agree more.
"Side hustling potentially represents an economic revolution in South Africa. It enables everyone who can access the internet to capitalise on their earning potential without also requiring access to a vast amount of capital," said Cobbledick.
The barriers to entry are low and the demand for all kinds of services is remarkably high
The online world has made starting a side hustle far easier than it ever has been, she believes. Effective use of the internet allows anyone, at little or no cost, to accurately test for demand, market their services to a broad audience, target their offerings, and get customer feedback.
"The barriers to entry are low and the demand for all kinds of services is remarkably high."
This is evident on social media, where many South Africans have not been shy to market their side hustles looking for potential customers.
"At Gumtree, we've also seen South Africans generate substantial extra income from tutoring, renting out properties, selling homemade crafts of all kinds, catering services, transport, handiwork, hobbies like model railways or stamp collecting, and many other categories," Cobbledick said.
With South African growth forecasts weak for 2018 at one percent at best, there's little chance of the broader economy lifting incomes across the board in the coming year -- so it's imperative that more of us make something happen on the side in order to meet our financial goals, she said.