The economy is changing, and so also the way people work. A
singular income is not enough, and employees are finding creative, lucrative
ways to work for themselves beyond the nine-to-five.



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A bearded man, wearing a pin-striped grey duckbill cap,
stands behind a bar counter. 



To his right adorning the counter is an array of empty
cylindrical canisters. To his left, a contrasting set-up presents glass bottles
filled with a transparent, salmon pink liquid. Next to them are gin chalices
filled with a cornucopia of berries that are to be served to connoisseurs of
the popular spirit.



Queen Nandi Pink Gin and Zulu Dry Gin are experimentally
infused spirits distilled by Gologo Spirits, a business venture that merges
African tradition with a contemporary outlook on alcohol brewing. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="926" height="609" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41761" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side3.png 926w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side3-300x197.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side3-600x395.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side3-768x505.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px" /><figcaption> Queen Nandi Pink Gin and Zulu Dry Gin are experimentally infused spirits distilled by Gologo Spirits owned by Mzwandile Xaba. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



Mzwandile Xaba, an accountant by day and distiller by night,
is the founder of the experimental distillery. 



Nine years ago, the entrepreneur and employee would not have
imagined that a childhood pastime would one day become a secondary source of
income. 



At 5PM, when most South African corporates are closing off
the business of the day, Xaba’s two-hour journey to the warehouse begins, where
he often spends hours losing himself in the craft. 



Once the boiler goes on, it is down to work. 



Cleaning distillation columns, labeling, bottling and
blending various infusions until the odd hours of the morning, ironically,
rarely feels tedious for the hustler who, in the next few hours, needs to make
his way back to his assigned office cubicle. 



How does an accountant&nbsp;
from the East Rand, in the Gauteng province of South Africa, end up, not
only distilling spirits for commercial use, but juggling two jobs in industries
that are worlds apart?



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="959" height="611" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side4.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41762" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side4.png 959w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side4-300x191.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side4-600x382.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side4-768x489.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 959px) 100vw, 959px" /><figcaption> Mzwandile Xaba says umqombothi distillation also taught him to recognize the various cultural environments and the greater role his practice played in ensuring the success of those events. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



&nbsp;Growing up in a
household with a father who pursued two careers; one in music and the other as
a mechanic, influenced Xaba’s work ethic.&nbsp;&nbsp;




Xaba, who was good at mathematics and accounting, pursued a
career in the financial sector. However, his childhood preoccupation of
distillation has remained with him through the various stages of transitioning
into adulthood, and recognizing that he needed a stable income. 



Brewing umqombothi (African beer), in time for the weekend
traditional celebrations with his father, is what he owes the success of Gologo
Spirits to. 



Although the process of brewing and fermenting the African
beer is predominantly done by women, without a matriarch in the household, the
men used to distill the beer themselves. 



Xaba says umqombothi distillation also taught him to
recognize the various cultural environments and the greater role his practice
played in ensuring the success of those events. 



Xaba expands on the use of spirits in celebrations.&nbsp; 



“You normally have those when you go to traditional
ceremonies. At home, it is also used during lobola (traditional engagement)
negotiations, and when young men come back from initiation school in the
mountains. Spirits are used for different functions and purposes from a
cultural point of view.”



Xaba’s fascination with biochemistry and spirits was
unrelenting, so in 2010, while working as an accountant, he decided to teach
himself the delicate balance of creating the drinks that were impactful to
him.&nbsp;&nbsp; 



Within three years, the first drops of alcohol were ready
for commercial use. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="923" height="613" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41766" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side2.png 923w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side2-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side2-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side2-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 923px) 100vw, 923px" /><figcaption> Mzwandile Xaba, an accountant by day and distiller by night, is the founder of the experimental distillery Gologo Spirits. Picture: Gypseenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



“It was just something I wanted to do. I thought it was
quite interesting and I was really passionate about it. 



“I don’t know why because I have never set foot in a physics
or science class but I was drawn to it,” he says. 



He started with vodka, experimented with brandy and whiskey,
and at a later stage he tried gin distillation. 



“For the past five or six years, almost every day there is
something that I am doing that is in line with Gologo. If I am not literally
making something I am reading on up on something.” 



Finding a balance



Xaba views his side job as an enhancement rather than his
primary source of income or a necessity.



“The day job is something I understand and something that I
need to do in order to do what I want to do. It covers some of my operational
costs. The business is something that I funded from my pocket.



&nbsp;“Some of the loans I
have taken to set Gologo up are what I am paying off through Gologo,” he
says.&nbsp; 



“As the projection is, there comes a point where I am really
making money to expand the distillery and cover some of my personal costs. It
is a blend of both, a blending and a calling and it is financially viable.
Doing both, keeping the day job and operating Gologo as a side-hustle is
probably one of the best decisions that I may have taken financially, and also
in terms of testing myself.” 



When presented with the burden of choosing one job over the
other, he is quite clear that financial stability is an imperative. 



“I would only quit my day job once it starts costing me more
money,” Xaba states decidedly. 



An online platform, Hustle South Africa, is an ongoing
project managed by Dana, who is in marketing, and her husband, Justin Arnoldi,
also the Head of Digital Transformation at Blue Turtle Technologies.



The Facebook page was created in response to the high
unemployment rate in South Africa which currently is peaking at 29% in the
second quarter of 2019. 



According to StatsSA, this is the highest unemployment rate
recorded since the first quarter of 2003, the number of unemployed citizens
rose by 455,000 to 6.65 million.



A problem Hustle South Africa hopes to decrease with this
challenge is by providing a platform for users to promote and acquire side-hustles.
Through the platform, hustlers are able to upload the services or products they
have on offer, whether it is through text, video or images. 



“The way of working has changed, people want autonomy and
flexibility. They do not necessarily want to be tied into one job; they want a
couple of jobs so that they can do different things.



“We wanted to create a central platform where people can
interact and sign up for side work relatively easy,” Dana says. 



Hustle South Africa defines the gig economy as a series of
freelance or part-time work assignments. 



On the platform, hustlers now can not only advertise their
business, but build a public data-base. Is it safe? 



“From a security perspective, we are going to have a
checking system where people can put their ID number in and they will be
checked for a criminal record; if they are a South African citizen; or if they
can be employed,” Dana says. 



Credibility is built through references, and referrals. 



This model has proven effective with Uber as they provide clients
with a driver-rating system. 



If Bryan Davey, a diesel mechanic and baker, chose to use
the Hustle South Africa page to market his side job, he would not only receive
the deserved exposure for his business but would also add to the database. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="927" height="609" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side5.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41763" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side5.png 927w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side5-300x197.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side5-600x394.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side5-768x505.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption> Bryan Davey, a diesel mechanic and baker. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



The self-taught baker, who has been a mechanic for seven
years, decided to bake on the side to take his mind off the noise at the
workshop. 



Doing something completely different takes the pressure off
when he is not at his nine-to-five as a power generation field technician at
Cummins South Africa. The balance between the two is a tightrope walk for
Davey. 



“I do try and go straight home and start baking, hopefully
if I have an order for the week. It does take a toll on you, I won’t lie it is
difficult but if you want to make something work, you will do it,” he says.



&nbsp;“It does have an
impact on your mental and physical health, but it also depends on how you are
managing it, so if what you are doing is a form of stress-reliever for you, it
will not impact you negatively but if you are doing it in a way where you just
want income, it will affect you.” 



Davey, nonetheless, does both jobs with a smile.



Based on research published by Henley Business School
Africa, nine of 10 people in Africa have taken on extra work to survive.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="920" height="588" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side7.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41764" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side7.png 920w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side7-300x192.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side7-600x383.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side7-768x491.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px" /><figcaption> Cupcakes created self-taught baker Bryan Davey, who has been a mechanic for seven year Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



The South African study uses the Henley Business School UK
in 2018 as a framework to explore local trends, which shows that&nbsp; 71.3% of the 1,158 respondents in their
African network have side-hustles for additional income. 



According to the study, the top three side-hustles in their
South African networks are professional business services at 25. 7%, real
estate at 20.1%; teaching, lecturing and tutoring at 13.3%. 



The lowest three being providing building/DIY services,
running a shop/tuck-shop/food truck, and waiting/bartending/ hosting. 



Jon Foster-Pedley, Dean of Henley Business School Africa,
says the demands for the highest three industries are caused by the job
descriptions. 



Side-hustling as a real estate agent would not require as
much time and attention as a food truck. The time and effort required,
according to respondents on the network, would demand them to learn a new
skill, which would take up too much time. 



“The bottom ones mean that you have to be good with your
hands, they are skills-based. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="924" height="613" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side8.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41765" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side8.png 924w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side8-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side8-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side8-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px" /><figcaption> Bryan Davey, a diesel mechanic, bakes cakes on the side. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



“Running a shop or a tuck-shop, you need to adapt to a lot
of the things which take a lot of your time. 



“You need to do that with your hands, you can’t scale
waiting and bartending,” he says. 



With the top three, on the other hand, a hustler can employ
other people to manage the operations of the business while focusing on their
day job. 



The economy is changing and so also the way people are
making money. 



Side-hustles can be as lucrative as the hustler wants it to
be, but finding a balance on the tightrope, is the ultimate challenge.&nbsp;

Tag: Bryan Davey

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Side Hustles: The Entrepreneur Employees