I turned my side-hustle into a full-time job paying £144k a year – it all started with my dad’s love of music
A SAVVY entrepreneur has turned his side hustle into a £144k-a-year business, all thanks to his dad’s love of music.
Will Fenton explained how listening to classics like The Rolling Stones with his father led him to earn bags of cash every month with his music website.
He is the founder of MidderMusic – a platform dedicated to educating readers about all aspects of music and entertainment, as well as teaching them how to play their favourite instrument with online lessons.
Aspiring artists can also get help and tips on how to succeed in the music industry.
Will already had a music magazine on the side but wanted to immerse himself more in his passion by writing about it every day.
He said his father’s “excellent music taste” served as an inspiration when creating his company in 2020.
“Music has been a big part of my life, I started playing the drums at an early age,” he said.
“Also, my dad has excellent taste in music and had me listening to the greats from day dot (The Rolling Stones, the Faces, etc.) along with telling me about his early adventures in the Liverpool music scene.
“I also had a music magazine going on the side and just wanted to immerse myself in that world.
“So I listened to the advice, ‘choose a topic you’d be happy to write about every day’, and began MidderMusic.”
Will makes around £12,000 and his website has a valuation price of £400,000 to £535,000.
MidderMusic also averages around 400,000 page views per month but the entrepreneur said these figures are growing rapidly.
When evolving his side hustle into a full-time gig, Will said his biggest obstacle was earning enough money to make his business grow, and support himself at the same time.
“Although simplistic, this is also the most difficult part, as you have to take what is for some a passion project and figure out how to monetise it and turn it into a profitable business.
“Some people start with the knowledge and intention of how they will make money, but for many, starting a side hustle is a completely new path, and you don’t necessarily have that knowledge from day one.
“Some niches are harder to monetise than others, so figuring out how you will make money is key.”
Will doesn’t want to stop his business ventures at MidderMusic, as he has his own personal finance blog underway as well.
He said: “I’m already underway to expand and diversify the portfolio. With my education in Economics and Finance, as well as my experience working in London in financial services, I’ve launched a personal finance blog, Sterling Savvy.”
