Jean Kang, 32, earns about $20,000 a month from her business.
Courtesy of Jiang Kang
Jiang Kang says he never thought he would become an entrepreneur. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, she always imagined herself working for a major technology company.
“I grew up watching a lot of 'Shark Tank,' so I always thought it was fascinating, but I never thought it would be me,” Kang told CNBC Make It .
Having witnessed the rise of Silicon Valley from her own backyard, she worked hard to land her first tech job. “I felt like I was in a bubble. It was all I knew (and) I wanted to be part of this cool kids club,” she said.
After graduating from college in 2014, Kang began a 10-year career in technology, but things didn't go as planned.
According to documents seen by CNBC Make It, Kang's corporate career eventually led her to start her own business, allowing her to work freely from 9 to 5 and now earn a monthly income. He reportedly earns about $20,000.
start a business
Kang's career in technology was anything but linear. From 2014 to 2024, she was laid off twice and worked at six different companies in many departments, including sales, operations, and strategy.
Then, in 2020, she landed her first program manager role and realized she had the talent for it, so she focused on that skill. After two years, Kang noticed that people were asking her for guidance and asking questions about her role.
“I saw a need in the market…I wanted to help aspiring program managers pivot to this career path,” she said.
“And I decided to (announce) in one post: “Hey, I'm starting a coaching business, and if you want to get a job as a program manager, I'm open for sessions (and) Please, please call me,” Kang said.
After making her first post on LinkedIn in October 2022, Kang began creating career content on work-specific social media platforms and coaching clients online. And so her side hustle, “The Path to PM,” was born. By the end of 2023, she says, she was able to generate approximately $30,000 in total revenue and help 10 clients find employment.
“I was really shocked to find out that I was able to supplement my take-home pay with my technology job and make another $30,000 completely on my own,” Kang said. “It was such a foreign idea that it blew my mind.”
From side job to main job
During this time, Kang was working an additional 15 to 20 hours a week on top of her full-time office job.
It wasn’t until early 2024 that she started experiencing burnout. “[I was]working two full-time jobs because it was 9 to 5 and 5 to 9. There were literally no breaks, vacations were non-existent. I didn’t,” Kang said. “It was really hard to pull the trigger because I have a well-paying job.[If]you can do both, why not do both for as long as possible?”
At this point, she began to ask herself: “If you could do all this with just a few hours outside of work every day and on your weekends, how much money could you make (if you doubled it)?”
Kang's fate finally came together in early 2024 when the startup she worked for reportedly offered its employees the opportunity to voluntarily resign in exchange for three months' salary. did.
After looking into her financial situation and discussing it with her husband, Kang decided this was an opportunity to bet on herself.
“We didn't want to wait until we hit a certain revenue goal (or) until we were in the best position to do it. We'd rather do it now and figure things out,” she said. spoke.
Since quitting his corporate job in February, Kang has been on track to replace the $180,000 a year he earned at his previous job. She brought in about $160,000 in about eight months, according to documents seen by CNBC Make It.
Now, Kang has expanded her business by finding new ways to monetize her content, such as getting brand deals for her content and receiving royalties from her LinkedIn learning courses. She built around 100,000 followers on the platform through content creation.
She also expanded her business by moving from primarily doing one-on-one coaching to running five-week group programs.
4 tips for a successful side hustle
Here are the biggest tips Kang shared:
Identify the needs you are ready to solve. Create a minimum viable product (MVP) based on what helps meet that need. Consistently iterate and expand your products and services so you can trade less time for more money. Be disciplined and focused. Running.
Kang says you're more likely to succeed if you create something the world needs than by creating a product you want to create.
In addition to considering the problem space, aspiring entrepreneurs need to take a hard look at themselves and understand their unique position to help solve the problem. It is this combination that will help you launch your business successfully.
After this, you can create some kind of minimum viable product (MVP). For Kang, this was one-on-one coaching. It could be “something very simple,” Kang said.
“I ship it even if it’s not perfect,” she said. “I'm very focused on execution…I know what I have to do and how to get it done; not just how to get it done. Just get it done.”
Kang didn't worry about perfection and focused on execution. Over time, she was able to iterate and perfect the business and expand accordingly.
Currently, she spends about 35 to 45 hours a week working on her business. “I work the same hours at the company (as before), but this time I actually have free nights and weekends,” she said.
“I feel really energized…and now I have freedom,” Kang said. “I've learned a lot. I continue to reinvest in myself. And I'm a real example that when you do things for yourself, and when you do it intentionally, things go well. ''Kang said.
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