7 Exciting Side Hustles You Can Start With Less than UGX 300,000

After the sun, the world revolves around money. We will always need money. Money to save, money to spend, money to tithe, money to buy that car, money to pay the ‘Jaj’ guy, money to buy the drinks (at least once so that you don’t come off as the needy clingy friend), money to surprise your girl (hope she says yes to whatever question you are preparing to ask), money to make your mans proud of you ….. Money! Money! Money!

Thankfully, with the way the world is evolving, getting some ka money has been simplified and ‘cheaper-ified’. If you are looking to boost your finances but do not have much to invest, here are 7 side hustles that can be started with less than 300,000 Ugandan Shillings.

(1) Private Chef
What do you think a private chef does? Cook? If you guessed cook, you guessed right. It does sound basic, but that is literally the sum of a Chef’s job. If you have a passion for cooking and the skill, all you have to do now is market yourself or get people to market you. Create short videos to post on TikTok or open up a YouTube channel and post religiously.

If you do not have cooking skills, you can consider getting a diploma at The Culinary School Uganda, Dash Culinary School, Bakers Culinary Institute, and any other culinary institute you think works best for you. However, getting a diploma is the more costly route. Take note that to reap big, you must be open to investing in yourself. Going to a culinary school exposes you more to potential clients and extra creativity.

Culinary school will cost you much more than three hundred thousand Ugandan shillings, but I have the cheat code. The University of YouTube provides a range of free classes and tutorials. So it is best for you who is looking to upgrade your existing skill or perfect a specific recipe. You must also position yourself right, tell as many people as you can that you cook, and if you can, get as many people to taste your food.

This will automatically draw attention to your skill and will put you as the priority when families are looking for a chef for a Thanksgiving party or Christmas dinner. Now for you who have no passion and skill for cooking, there are many more avenues to explore!

(2) Hairdressing
The beautiful thing about hairdressing is that it is versatile; from styling to trimming, plaiting, washing, and treatment. Plus, every day someone out there needs a hairdo! With this hustle sleeping hungry becomes a myth that remains so with persistence. I know someone who makes UGX. 300,000 a day while doing mobile hairdressing. If you are just starting out or would like to start, losing hope is not an option, just keep trying harder.

(3) Public Speaking
Being an MC is something that can get you good money and quick money. However, it requires great public speaking skills, good crowd engagement, and a great personality.

Worry not for all these can be established with practice, research (yes research), and a well of confidence to draw from. In Uganda, payment for an event MC ranges from UGX. 50,000 all the way to three Million plus. The higher the payment, the greater the skill and exposure of the individual.

If you are just starting out, it’s important not to have extremely high expectations. You might be good, but not many know you, so first establish yourself in the market. Let the people come to you like a moth to a flame and then you will be in a position to charge them as you wish because you will be on demand.

(4) Language Translation Services
What languages do you speak? If it is more than one, use that to your advantage. I can’t stress enough how important it is to market yourself so that people know about your existence. Leverage your existing social media platforms and sell yourself.

Your brain has its own limits, which allow you to set the pricing for your services. You can choose to work with tourists and provide verbal translation, or you can collaborate with authors and offer written translation.

The most epic thing about translation services is that all you end up spending is time currency. There is no need for startup capital or investing in equipment. The only money you might find yourself spending will be on polishing your existing language knowledge or actually learning a new language.

As a translator, you get to decide how much to charge per word, of which the charge also depends on the complexity of the language being translated, the language combination, and the content being translated.

(5) Cleaning Services
Some people clean as a hobby, so why not just make money out of it? There are families out there who have no time to clean their houses or have not gotten time to clean out that specific cluttered room. You can step in and save the day with your cleaning services.

In the start, you could invest in cleaning gadgets that make you stand out from the rest. Believe it or not, cleaning services are in high demand. So having a niche in cleaning will add to that unique selling point of yours. For example, you could specialize in laundry, carpet cleaning, or roof cleaning. This will not be as hectic as cleaning an entire house or an entire warehouse. It will give you time to explore other hustles as well as give you an edge in the business.

(6) Tutoring and Coaching
During their P.7 vacation, in the lockdown season brought about by COVID-19, my sisters started coaching a group of young children in the community. These children were mostly in Nursery school and needed to enhance their knowledge. Initially, the parents didn’t recognize the benefits of such coaching, however, once they started noticing results, they even suggested payment to ensure their child received more focused attention.

These sisters eventually established a payment method, charging parents UGX 15,000 weekly or UGX 1,500 per day. Fortunately for the two young girls, the season gave birth to parents who saw the need for coaching and were willing to invest in their children’s progress.

The moral of the story is that an inexpensive solution was birthed from a problem. These girls were not professional teachers, but they knew the basics and had the passion, to the extent that they even started handing out receipts to parents.

Additionally, tutoring/coaching is not only limited to education, you could also become a private swimming coach, a football trainer, or a voice coach, all based on your skill set. If you are out there and you have a passion for something, you must know that you can earn from those passions.

(7) Engage in Trade (Kuyiliba)
In Luganda, a businessperson is called ‘Omusubuzi’, this just refers to the buying and selling of goods. This is the most rewarding side hustle if you invest right. With a small amount of capital, start by observing people around you—they are your first potential clients, gauge their interests, and supply accordingly. You could buy and sell baby clothes if your potential clients are new parents, you could also buy and sell office pants, tops, ties, skirts perfumes, bags, and jewelry if your potential clients are university students or are working class.

For example, if shops in Mukono sell shoes at UGX 40,000, I could buy them in Kikuubo, Kampala, for around UGX 18,000 and sell them to my peers in Mukono at UGX 32,000—offering a more attractive price. Without shop rent or overhead expenses, this yields a profit of about UGX 10,000 per pair, excluding transportation costs. A common practice in the trade is to factor in transportation and labor costs when setting the final price. The larger your stock, the greater your profit potential.

These seven side hustles remain that, side hustles. As much as some may pay well, one shouldn’t depend solely on them for survival. But, if you plan to depend solely on one of these hustles, you should be intentional about growing the hustle. Get a practicing permit, register it as a business, get a catchy name for it, and build going upwards.