#28: From side hustler to being a solopreneur
Get inspired from a journey of failure, persistence and success
Meet our next featured side hustler - a 35-year-old solopreneur in Bordeaux, France. Along with a demanding full-time job, this hustler has turned his passion into a profitable side gig.
😍Built 29K+ Twitter following
🤩Built an audience of 27K+ on Instagram
💰Built a portfolio of products earning $16K+ in revenue
Victor's decade of side hustling paved the way for his current solopreneur lifestyle
Victor Bigfield was his family's first to get a bachelor's degree and an MBA in International Business. From there, he worked in various marketing, communication, and customer experience roles in subsidiaries of a large French group. With a passion for e-commerce, he shifted to become a project manager and later a support service manager. His career journey eventually led him to a startup, where he worked as a customer account manager. He worked in a 9-5 job for a long time and since the last two years he has been able to lead a solopreneur lifestyle because of his side hustle journey.
Laying the foundation for a hustler mindset
Victor started his entrepreneurial journey early on. When he was 13, he started selling CDs to his friends. He used his CD burner at home to create copies of his favourite rap albums and sold them to his peers. His friends were impressed with the quality of the CDs, and soon enough, Victor had a budding business selling burned CDs.
As technology advanced, he pivoted to selling book summaries online. He was one of the few people in the school who had access to the internet, and he took advantage of it. He created summaries of popular books and sold them online to his friends, making a profit.
A decade of trying and failing
After his MBA, Victor joined a French conglomerate. For the next decade, he got experience working in various industries, including marketplaces, startups, and SaaS. He had done everything, from marketing to customer service. Still, he struggled to conform to a strict framework and hierarchy.
He tinkered with different business ideas, from drop shipping to e-commerce. And he found an outlet via side projects. He would implement what he learnt on the job in his side projects. His side hustles also allowed him to experiment and learn new things. Unfortunately, only some of his projects became successful, and he came to a point where he gave up on wanting to be an entrepreneur.
Twitter reigniting the fire
Victor discovered the no-code community on Twitter two and a half years ago, and everything changed. He decided to go all-in on building side projects on Twitter and began building in public. Initially, he did anything to gain followers, including follow/unfollow tactics. However, as he began studying what was working on the platform, he took the time to learn how to write effective tweets and connect with other creators. This allowed him to launch his first successful side hustle on Twitter - a list of business ideas with an associated guide - which generated $2400 with just 400 followers.
At this time, he was holding a demanding job at a startup and was a parent of two kids. He optimized every minute of his day to focus on his side hustle. When he got home from work, he shifted his focus to family until his kids went to bed at 8 pm. Then, he switched to "side business mode" until 11 pm and even worked on the projects in the bathroom or during meal breaks.
While he did this for some time, in 2021, he decided to quit his job and take a bet on himself. Since then, he's been consulting and building different side projects on Twitter.
“Starting a side hustle is a way to learn new skills, create a complementary income, and potentially lead to quitting your job. It can also provide leverage to negotiate a new position or salary increase as an employee with your new skill set. In all cases, starting a side hustle is a win-win.”
Building in public
In 2021, he managed to launch one product, but it was a success that generated an impressive $2500 in just 3 or 4 months.
The following year, Victor's focus shifted towards visuals, and he began generating around $2000 a month from this venture. But the entrepreneurial spirit still burned brightly, and he continued to search for new ways to build and grow. Towards the end of the year, he generated an impressive $3000 with more projects. The success gave him the confidence to continue exploring new opportunities and pursuing his passion for entrepreneurship.
At the start of 2023, Victor realized he had many ideas but struggled to focus on just one. He set himself a challenge - 12 projects in a year. This way, he could focus on one project at a time and still pursue all his ideas. Two projects are already launched - Serial Builder, his newsletter, and Builday.app, a platform to help other builders build in public.
In addition to the side projects, Victor works as a consultant, adding another income stream to his portfolio. He also has a Telegram channel where he shares tips and remains connected with his community. Along with all of this, he had his visual business on demand. With his 12 project challenge, he had found a way to stay organized and pursue all his ideas without feeling overwhelmed.
"Focus on building an audience, identify a problem you can solve, and execute and deliver quickly. Feel free to fail fast and iterate even faster. Success in entrepreneurship often comes from relentless experimentation and iteration."
Victor’s advice to anyone starting a side hustle
Hustlers Insights of the Week
Be persistent: Persistence is crucial for anyone who wants to succeed, especially when building a side hustle. Victor had failed at many side projects over a decade until he discovered the power of building in public on Twitter. Through persistence and following principles like "shipping fast" and "iterating quickly", he could finally launch successful side hustles and gain the confidence to continue.
Develop a portfolio of products: As a hustler, you can increase your chance of success by building a portfolio of products. By building a diverse portfolio of products, Victor has been able to tap into different markets and revenue streams, increasing his chances of success. Each product also serves as a stepping stone, allowing him to learn new skills and gain experience to apply to future projects.
Maintain a balance between life and work: Balancing work, and personal life is crucial when building a side hustle. Balancing work and life is a continuous process, but it's possible to manage both successfully with a bit of discipline and determination. It's essential to prioritise and make time for things that matter most while pursuing your goals and ambitions. Victor's story is a great example of how a successful side hustle can be built while maintaining a fulfilling personal life.
Resources of the week
Get Smarter About Business: A newsletter with free summaries of the best business podcasts. Save 10 hours of listening every week
Serial Builder: Victor’s newsletter with actionable tips to become a serial builder.
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