Nigerian-American Entrepreneur, China Muoka talks balancing your 9-5 with your side hustle

Blackenterprise.com recently did a profile on 27-year old Nigerian-American entrepreneur, China Muoka, as part of their Cool Jobs series.  He talked about how young entrepreneurs can do well in their 9-5 jobs and be successful in chasing their dreams. He has proven that he is one to listen to as he is a senior IT recruiter at NY Staff Search as well as the founder of JobClickr.com and Rentish.com, two successful online ventures.

Here are some tips from Mr. Muoka on how he does it and how other young professionals can start their own side hustles and balance their day jobs:

On how he does it:

I prioritize my day hours, use my evenings for my side businesses, and sometimes dedicate one or two days in the weekend per month to my businesses as well.

His motivations:

Need. Every time a friend came to me with a need, I'd always think of the best monetized way to solve it. While solving it, I ask myself these questions: Are there other people out there who are having the same problem? Are there any solutions that will solve the problem? If yes, can I add value to these solutions? 

For example, I have this friend who lives in a 2-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, N.Y. His company was sending him to Texas for an 8-week certification course. He called me to ask if I knew anyone who was looking for a room to rent to help him cover the expenses and manage his apartment while he was away. I didn't know anyone, however, I told him I'd inquire.

We tried may rent listing sites out there and found no viable roommate. He had end up leaving for Texas without finding one. This problem spurred a thought in me: why not set up a website loaded with a database of renters in the U.S.? This website will give anyone who wants to rent his apartment a chance to find tenants in minutes. After months of planning, Rentish.com was launched with a database of 1.5 million renters in the USA and the list grows each day.

 The same story goes for JobClickr.com. My friends know that I am a recruiter by day. Whenever they are relocating to another state or country, they'd always ask for the best Websites to search for jobs. I got tired to saying Google it or 'I don't know' that I decided to build a global search engine for employment opportunities, providing a resource for finding work in any country or state you're travelling to.

His tips for young professionals:

First, spend time thinking. Many people don't want to just sit still and think, and the truth is, man is an intelligent being. If you spend time thinking of a solution or a business concept long enough, the urge to start one will come.

Second, spend time reading, researching and asking questions. Many businesses fail because their founders didn't have a quest for knowledge and they didn't research whether market timing is right or didn't ask the right questions.

And last, network. One of the biggest things I've learned as a human resources professional is that businesses are built in partnerships and networks. Attend events, tech meetings and Meet-up groups.

 Helpful tips. Check out the rest of the interview here.