From Tech Job to Tech-Savvy Entrepreneur: Jean Kang’s $20,000-a-Month Side Hustle Success
Jean Kang, a 32-year-old former tech employee, defied expectations by transforming a side hustle into a thriving six-figure business. After a decade-long corporate career marked by several job changes and two firings, Kang leveraged her expertise and online presence to build “Path to PM,” a coaching program that now generates approximately $20,000 in monthly revenue. This remarkable journey showcases the power of identifying a market need, creating a minimum viable product (MVP), and consistently iterating to achieve entrepreneurial success, ultimately allowing her to leave her corporate job behind.
Key Takeaways: From Corporate Grind to Entrepreneurial Freedom
- Transformation from Corporate to Entrepreneur: Jean Kang’s story highlights the transition from a traditional corporate career to a successful entrepreneurial venture, inspiring those seeking alternative career paths.
- High-Income Side Hustle Success: Kang’s business generates a remarkable $20,000 per month, showcasing the potential for substantial income through dedicated effort and a targeted approach.
- Leveraging Online Platforms for Success: The role of LinkedIn in building Kang’s business demonstrates the power of utilizing social media platforms for marketing and connecting with potential clients.
- Practical Steps to Entrepreneurial Success: Kang shares actionable advice, emphasizing the significance of identifying a market need (problem space), developing a simple MVP, consistently iterating, and focusing on execution.
Starting the Business: Recognizing the Need and Building “Path to PM”
Kang’s journey wasn’t straightforward. Between 2014 and 2024, she experienced the realities of the tech industry firsthand, working at six different companies and across various roles—sales, operations, and strategy—before eventually being fired twice. This experience, while challenging, provided valuable insights and skills that would later prove instrumental in her entrepreneurial journey.
It was in 2020, while working as a program manager, that Kang discovered her true aptitude. She excelled in this role and realized she possessed valuable skills that others sought. This led to numerous mentorship requests and questions about her career path, which she saw as a clear indication of a market need. “I noticed a need in the market… I wanted to help people who were aspiring program managers pivot into this career path,” she explained.
From Initial LinkedIn Post to Thriving Business
In October 2022, Kang took the leap and announced her coaching business on LinkedIn with a simple post: “‘Hey, I’m launching a coaching business, if you… want to land a program manager job, I’m open for a session [and] you can book a call with me.'” This seemingly small step marked the birth of “Path to PM.” Kang simultaneously began producing career-focused content on LinkedIn, consistently building her online presence and gradually attracting clients. By the end of 2023, her side hustle had generated $30,000 in revenue and helped 10 clients secure jobs – a significant accomplishment that surprised even Kang herself. “I was very shocked that I could supplement my take home pay from my tech job, [adding] another $30,000 completely by myself,” she said.
From Side Hustle to Main Hustle: The Leap of Faith
Initially, Kang juggled her full-time tech job with her burgeoning business, dedicating an additional 15 to 20 hours per week. But by early 2024, she was experiencing significant burnout from this demanding schedule: “[I was] doing two jobs full-time… my vacations were nonexistent,” Kang admitted. This prompted her to evaluate her situation and contemplate a pivotal decision – leaving corporate life to fully focus on her thriving side hustle
The Opportunity to “Bet on Herself”
A fortunate opportunity arose when Kang’s startup offered voluntary departures with three months of severance pay. This presented a unique chance for Kang to “bet on herself,” a decision she made after careful financial planning and discussions with her husband. “I didn’t want to wait… to hit a certain revenue target [or] for things to be in the perfect condition for me to do it. I would just rather do it now and figure things out,” she explained.
Scaling the Business and Expanding Revenue Streams
Since quitting her corporate job in February 2024, Kang has been steadily increasing her income. Within eight months, she generated approximately $160,000 in revenue, effectively replacing her previous $180,000 annual salary. This remarkable achievement is a testament to her dedication and strategic business development. She has diversified her income streams, securing brand deals for her content and launching a LinkedIn Learning course that generates royalties. Her consistent content creation has built a substantial following of about 100,000 on LinkedIn.
Furthermore, Kang successfully scaled her business model by transitioning from primarily one-on-one coaching to more profitable five-week group programs. This transition helped optimize her time and increase her overall revenue.
4 Key Tips for Building a Thriving Side Hustle: Lessons from Jean Kang’s Journey
- Identify a pressing need you can uniquely help solve: Don’t simply build something you want; build something the world needs and that utilizes your specific talents and skills.
- Develop a minimum viable product (MVP): Start with a simple, functional product or service that addresses the core need and avoid getting bogged down in details initially.
- Constantly iterate and scale: Continuously improve your product or service based on feedback and market demands; work toward maximizing output while minimizing time investment.
- Practice discipline and execution: Focus on consistently delivering solid results. Ship your work even if it is not perfect, and perfect it over time; focus on action rather than stagnation.
Kang emphasizes the importance of focusing on execution over perfection. Her approach highlights pragmatism and adaptability, essential qualities for any budding entrepreneur. She now works approximately 35 to 45 hours per week, effectively maintaining a similar workload to her corporate job but with significantly improved work-life balance. “I work the same amount of hours [as I was] in corporate, but this time I actually have my evenings and my weekends free,” she said, highlighting the profound impact of her entrepreneurial venture on her well-being.
“I feel really energized… and now I have freedom,” Kang concluded. “I’ve learned a lot and I’m continuing to reinvest in myself, and serve as a walking example of when you do things for you and when you’re intentional about it, things work.” Her journey serves as an inspiring testament to the transformative power of dedicated effort, smart business development, and a willingness to take calculated risks.
