Here are 4 tips for aspiring entrepreneurs who grew their side hustle into a $20,000 a month business.

Jean Kang never imagined she would become an entrepreneur. As a child growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, she had always dreamed of working for a prominent tech company.

Kang, who grew up watching 'Shark Tank' and found it fascinating, never imagined that it could be him on the show.

"I felt like I was in a bubble, that's all I knew [and] I wanted to be part of this exclusive club," she said.

Kang, who graduated from university in 2014, embarked on a career in technology that spanned a decade. However, things did not go as planned.

Kang's corporate career eventually led her to starting her own business, which now brings in about $20,000 a month, according to documents seen by CNBC Make It.

Starting the business

Kang's career in technology was marked by frequent job changes, with six different companies and multiple roles in sales, operations, and strategy from 2014 to 2024.

In 2020, Kang landed her first program manager role and discovered she had a natural talent for it. Two years later, she noticed that people were seeking her guidance and inquiring about her job.

She stated that she recognized a demand in the market and aimed to assist aspiring program managers in transitioning into this field.

Kang announced the launch of her coaching business with a single post, stating that she was open for a session to help individuals land a program manager job. She also provided a call booking link.

In October 2022, Kang launched her side hustle "Path to PM" by creating career content on LinkedIn and coaching clients online. By the end of 2023, she had earned a total revenue of approximately $30,000 and helped 10 clients secure jobs.

"Kang was astonished that he could earn an additional $30,000 from his tech job without any assistance."

From side hustle to main hustle

Kang worked extra 15 to 20 hours per week on her business alongside her full-time corporate job.

She began experiencing burnout in 2024, as she was working two full-time jobs without taking breaks or going on vacation.

She began questioning how much she could earn if she devoted more time to this activity.

In 2024, Kang's startup reportedly offered its employees a three-month pay package to voluntarily leave the company.

Kang, after discussing her finances with her husband and considering the opportunity, decided to take a risk and bet on herself.

She stated that she didn't want to wait for the ideal circumstances to achieve her revenue target, but rather preferred to take action now and deal with any issues that arose.

Kang has earned $160,000 in eight months since leaving her corporate job in February, with the aim of replacing her $180,000 annual salary.

Kang has grown her business by exploring new ways to generate income, including securing brand endorsements for her content and earning royalties from her LinkedIn Learning course. She has amassed a following of approximately 100,000 on the platform through her content creation efforts.

She has expanded her business by transitioning from individual coaching to conducting 5-week group programs.

4 tips to build a thriving side hustle

Here are the biggest tips Kang shared:

1. Identify a need that you are equipped to help solve.
2. Rewritten sentence: Create a minimum viable product (MVP) that addresses the need for a quick and easy way to find information.
3. Scale your product or service to increase your revenue and reduce the time you spend on it.
4. Be disciplined and focus on execution.

According to Kang, success is more likely to be achieved by building something that the world needs rather than what you want to build.

To achieve success in starting a business, aspiring entrepreneurs should not only consider the problem space but also examine their unique strengths and abilities to determine what they can contribute to solving it.

Kang's MVP was one-on-one coaching, which he described as "very simple."

"Even when it's not perfect, I ship things out," she said. "I'm highly focused on execution and know exactly how to get it done. Not just how to get it done, but I simply do it."

Over time, Kang has been able to iterate, perfect, and scale her business while focusing on execution rather than perfection.

"She works the same amount of hours as she was in corporate, but this time she has her evenings and weekends free," she said.

Kang stated, "I feel energized and now have freedom. I've learned a lot and am continuing to reinvest in myself, serving as a walking example of the benefits of doing things for oneself and being intentional."

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