Here's How This Former Corporate Employee Doubled His Salary By Live Selling On TikTok

Side Hustle to Full Time 

Jotham Tobiah Lim Jin Han left his full-time corporate job at one of Singapore’s largest healthcare groups to pursue a career in live selling on TikTok. Lim started live selling in 2022, as a side hustle and he now brings in $750 to $225 (SG$1,000 to SG$3,000) for a two-hour session, he told Business Insider. Lim started earning as much as his corporate job in just one year of live selling.

Here’s the story of Jotham Lim

In 2022, Jotham Lim started his side hustle of live selling on TikTok via the platform’s full-service e-commerce platform. At the time, Lim was splitting his attention between his job and live selling, but in 2023, when he realized that he was making as much as his corporate job, which was about 5,500 ($4100) Singapore dollars, a month, he decided to make a switch to live streaming full-time.

What Does Jotham Lim Do and How Much Does He Make?

In his typical livestream of about two to four hours, Lim talks non-stop, describing the deals, showing off the products, and answering questions about both himself and the things he’s selling, as per his interview with Insider.

For his work, Lim gets paid an appearance fee between SG$500 and SG$800 ($450 and $600) an hour, and he further makes a commission on some of the items which is usually between 15% and 30% of the item's price. Lim spends two to 11 hours a day livestreaming, including on weekends.

Today, Lim says his income has more than doubled since leaving his job, but he worries that his income may be seasonal. In the interview, he said in November, he earned close to four times what he used to in his old job, and in December he has earned double of his old income. However, most of his big payouts are tied to seasonal events.

Days like Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, involve hours of streaming lasting till 3 a.m., as viewers are still online and are keen to keep buying. However, Lim says that he doesn’t regret leaving his corporate and as a high-energy person who loves to talk, his current gig gives me a lot more agency over his success.

Behind The Scenes

Lim shared that before every live stream, he discusses with the company that's hiring him to understand the product and the level of discount they're applying to it. He said it sometimes takes up to a month to hammer out details about the deals, products to sell, and what the focus of the stream should be.

On Lim’s stream, products are usually offered at a 5% to 30% discount than they are on other ecommerce sites. However, these discounts only last for the duration of the stream.

Selling And Entertainment

According to Lim, viewers don’t prefer him pitching too directly to them. Instead, they want him to constantly respond to their questions and keep things moving while entertaining them. Even while showing the product, Lim needs to hold it, feel it, disassemble it, and make the process seem fun.

Further, Lim even plays games like Jenga on stream to keep viewers engaged and interested in the product. He asks viewers a question, and for every right answer, he takes a brick out of the tower until it collapses.

Information is Key

Lim says that the beauty of TikTok Shop is that during the livestream, he is fed with a dashboard that provides all the data on how long viewers are watching, their demographics, and what they're buying. Thus, it helps him get a good understanding of what works, and what doesn't.

Answering questions of the viewers is a big part of his work. Some viewers are genuinely interested in the product, while some are less interested. The latter asks questions like, "Are you attached?” and some even troll him and throw insults. Lim says managing such comments in a fun way is an important part of his gig and he says the viewers love it when he hits back at trolls with wit.