From Side Hustle to Start-Up: Practical Tips for Women Using Design Thinking

---

Across South Africa, countless women are running businesses that don’t always carry the “entrepreneur” label but make no mistake, they are entrepreneurs in action. From baking late into the night, crocheting unique items that end up overseas, or running a mobile beauty salon on WhatsApp, these women are finding creative ways to build income while juggling family and full-time work.

According to Alvira Fisher, an MBA graduate at Stellenbosch Business School, these women are not only building businesses they are also unknowingly applying the same principles used by top innovation labs and start-ups: design thinking.

At its core, design thinking is a five-step process empathise, define, ideate, prototype, and test. And, as Fisher explains, many women already follow these steps instinctively in their side hustles. Whether it’s creating a homemade balm for a friend, testing it, gathering feedback, and refining the product, this is entrepreneurship in action.

“These businesses, born from necessity, talent, intuition, and care, thrive on something powerful called social capital,” says Fisher.

“The invisible web of trust, connection and mutual support that women build every day through friendships, family bonds, school gate chats, and digital networks is not formal, but it’s a powerful business tool.”

So, how can women take their side hustles further and transform them into structured businesses? Fisher shares a 5-Step Launch Checklist to guide the way:

1. Scan your world daily

Look out for frustrations, unmet needs, or opportunities in your community. Many business ideas are hiding in plain sight.

2. Activate your network

Don’t build in silence. Share your idea with people you trust and use your community as your first market research panel.

3. Prototype together

Offer small samples or previews of your service to build credibility and gather feedback early.

4. Iterate openly

Be willing to tweak and adjust based on what customers actually need and value. Feedback is not criticism, it’s insight.

5. Reinvest trust

Your early supporters are your brand ambassadors. Reward their loyalty and let them help you spread the word.

“The bottom line is that women who have side hustles already know how to do this,” says Fisher.

“Design thinking might sound like a boardroom strategy, but it’s really just human-centered problem solving something women do every day.”

At Chic-Tribe Digital, we celebrate the women turning their side hustles into start-ups with heart, resilience, and creativity. You already have what it takes!