These Toronto entrepreneurs took on a creative side hustle, and are revealing how they’re

Being your own boss is a dream for many, but the fear of being unsuccessful or leaving a stable job holds many back. However, some creative entrepreneurs in Toronto don’t regret switching out of the corporate grind. 

Now Toronto reached out to four entrepreneurs in different industries across the city to share how Torontonians can lead more fulfilling lives, learn how to monetize their hobbies, and decide if a side hustle feels right. 

Kirk St.Cyr

Kirk St.Cyr, who’s also known as DJ 4 Korners, is the Toronto Raptors resident DJ, but he’s also a musician, his own digital marketer, event curator, and host of his new show. 

“What’s your real job?” people would constantly ask St. Cyr when he first started DJing. Now, St. Cyr notices the rest of the world is catching on to how far DJing can take someone.  

“Being a DJ is being a business. To do this, you are an entrepreneur. You learn a lot of skills that can be applied to a lot of things…I just bought a bunch of cameras and I’m learning how to use them, shoot and film from YouTube,” St. Cyr told Now Toronto. 

St. Cyr recommends listening to your gut when making business decisions and being interested in meeting new people to work with. 

“I know what my goals are, so every decision I make in some shape or form has to be in service of those goals and aspirations.”

Recently, Canopy Hilton in Yorkville approached St. Cyr to curate nightclub-style events for the Dia restaurant inside the hotel for both guests and the general public.

Sonya Gill

Sonya Gill has founded over three businesses and now runs The LNK, a fashion wholesale platform that hosts brands from all over the world.  

Gill told Now Toronto her entrepreneurial journey is driven by curiosity and persistence. 

“I’m naturally inclined to question the status quo and seek out areas where there’s room for improvement. This innate curiosity has led me to identify pain points within various industries and communities,” Gill said. 

For those who have that same kind of curiosity to make a living beyond the 9-5, Gill suggests embarking on some passion projects. 

“I would say start dabbling in things to see what you find interest in and then find a way to do that thing while figuring out how it will better people’s lives.” 

Gill acknowledges the rising costs of living is hurting many people. However, she recommends having an entrepreneurial mindset to help you innovate and adapt, which can ultimately lead to new policies that address the root causes of the cost-of-living crisis. 

Matt U Johnson

Matt U Johnson is an international artist who’s been pursuing music and acting since he was 13 years old. He also had a few hit songs with Snoop Dogg and Choclair and ecently came out with his song “XX.” 

During the pandemic, Johnson worked on a record with Choclair. “It broadened the horizons for me to link with Karl Wolf and other Canadian icons,” he told Now Toronto.

Johnson feels Toronto is one of the best cities to pursue a creative field because of the diversity, despite originally being from New York. 

“If you have a good team and a good work ethic and you know how to schedule things, everything works out,” Johnson said. 

As a creative entrepreneur, Johnson recommends starting the day with an easygoing routine with a healthy breakfast and going to the gym. 

Shivani Sharma

Shivani Sharma and her mother founded Mubarak Clutches, an affordable luxury handbags business that people like Lilly Singh and Mindy Kaling are wearing, after just one year of operating.

Although Sharma still has a teaching job, she says she’slearned a lot as a new entrepreneur. 

“The biggest difference in mindset from being a 9-5 employee to an entrepreneur is that you realize that work never ends. Especially on an online selling platform, inquiries and orders come in at all hours of the day and you realize that the sooner you can reply or pack that order the better customer satisfaction so there’s no such thing as waiting for tomorrow to get the work done,” Sharma told Now Toronto. 

Sharma and her mother already expected that it would take at least five years to have an established customer base and they are driven beyond the profits. 

“I am in my 40’s and my mother is in her 70’s. One of the main reasons we took this endeavour on was to fulfill the desire to try something new and learn about a new line of work,” Sharma said.