The idea of a ‘side hustle’ is becoming more and more common, as cost-of-living pressures mount.
One Shepparton entrepreneur kicking the cash-turning concept up a gear is Zulfiqar Alizada, who has struck pay dirt after fusing his expertise in vinyl work with a passion for cars to create Zulfy Customs.
By day, Mr Alizada works for Signs and Lines Shepparton, but has found a money-spinner through his own industry.
Mr Alizada’s makeshift business — which he runs out of his garage in north Shepparton — currently caters to vinyl wraps, tail light and window tints, chrome deletions and other small customisations.
He got the ball rolling on Zulfy Customs midway through 2021, and all it took to start was a little elbow grease, a keenness to learn and a well-known video platform.
“Seeing modified cars and stuff like that, I always loved it,” he said.
“I’ve worked at signage places so I learned a bit of how vinyl works, but it wasn’t cars.
“I was always pretty good with my hands — but to be honest, I mainly learned it all off YouTube.”
While Zulfy Customs has trundled along nicely since inception, Mr Alizada could well have taken a completely different route.
Before kicking off the business, he took inspiration from Melbourne car-wrapping pioneer Troy Williams, who operates under the moniker ‘Troy Candy’.
He even spent time learning the craft alongside Mr Williams’s brother at his mechanic mecca, Eye Candy Motorsport, in Melbourne, which is known for customising luxury and exotic motors.
And if not for circumstances beyond Mr Alizada’s control, he may still be working there.
“I watched a documentary on Troy Candy; (he was) one of the guys that pushed me,” Mr Alizada said.
“I worked for his brother for two weeks in Melbourne. That was mid-COVID, and it just didn’t work out because I couldn’t live down there.
“But at Troy’s joint they’re full on — from paint protection, film, wraps, the interior, everything. I learned a lot there.
“I came back to Shepp and thought ‘you know what, I can do this’, so I put my head into it and started doing it.”
Inspired to emulate Mr Williams, who boasts a net worth of $7.2 million, the 21-year-old got to work.
Zulfy Customs has grown to become a hit with locals, and Mr Alizada feels a tinge of pride whenever he passes a bit of his own handiwork on the street.
“It makes me feel proud of myself, to be honest, but I’m so grateful for the people around me — that’s what makes a difference,” he said.
“I want to move to Melbourne one day, but at the same time I like to support locals. That’s what I like about Shepp.”
Taking the business to the big smoke would mean extra competition, namely Eye Candy Motorsport, but Mr Alizada feels he has the know-how and attitude to cut it in the city.
But for now it is about lowering his nose to the grindstone and putting his stamp on the Goulburn Valley one car at a time.
“I’m not up there yet but day by day I’m learning,” Mr Alizada said.
“Hopefully one day I’ll make it big.”