Mindreading Performer Goes from Dorm Room to Paid Corporate Gigs

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

[Music]

Hello, what's up? Welcome back. I'm Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. Quick update from yesterday's buzzworthy episode about Nicole, the Houston beekeeper.

Here's a joke you can use on your friends or colleagues today. Why did the bees go on strike? Because they wanted more honey and shorter working flowers. Right? Well, you're welcome.

Okay, on with the show. And speaking of the show, what if you're a performer? A speaker, dancer, magician, musician, et cetera. If you're trying to start some kind of public performance-based side hustle, there are usually a couple of different ways to approach it. And one path pays much more than the others.

So today you'll hear about a performer who goes from doing college shows to making up to $20,000 for corporate events. [Music]

Jonathan Pritchard has multiple projects that make up his income. While most of them have evolved from his career as a graphic designer, today we'll look at his most intriguing project, mind reading. Now, whether he actually reads minds or not is another conversation, but basically he's a magician. He's always been fascinated by how people think and why they think the way they do.

As a kid, he said he was pretty shy, but when he learned to do magic tricks and juggle fire, it helped him come out of his shell and interact with people. He says now that his public speaking side hustle or side career is the result of a frustration he experienced in high school. Jonathan is very visual, he's an artist by nature, but he had a difficult time explaining things. And sometimes it was challenging for him to put what he had in his mind into words. So he signed up for his high school debate team and ended up competing nationally with them.

This experience really pushed him outside of his comfort zone and his skill in front of an audience grew and evolved over the years until as a young adult, he began performing at dorm parties, restaurants and open mic nights. As Jonathan learned about the business of speaking and performing and saw what the audiences really responded to, his services evolved and changed as well. He had started with this emphasis on reading people's minds or at least calling them up on stage and having this interactive experience with them. But he started offering a separate performance called Think Like a Mind Reader that teaches people how their minds work and how they can overcome the habits that are keeping them from being successful. Now with this unique niche, he was able to take his show from the college circuit to the corporate world.

It started when a friend who was also a performer couldn't take a gig that was offered to him so he referred Jonathan instead. And the gig was to speak to US troops at all 12 military bases in South Korea. For this 14 day tour, he got paid $20,000. In addition to being a great paycheck, having this on his resume gave him the clout he needed to start approaching and speaking for corporations. This meant that instead of earning $2,000 for a show at a college, he could now earn anywhere from three or $4,000 all the way up to $20,000 for a single corporate show.

Being in the corporate world also opened up different format options for him. It wasn't just the performance, now it was trainings, breakout sessions and even one-on-one coaching. By turning his show into a learning experience, he was really able to distinguish himself from other performers competing for the same events. He credits his steady ongoing success with this mind reading hustle to really focusing on what creates a quality service for his audience. This commitment has resulted in repeat events by the same clients as well as great word of mouth referrals.

And while he loves performing and doing these shows, Jonathan says that knowing he's the one in charge of his income is a huge motivation for continuing to build up the services he offers to corporations. [Music]

So congratulations, Jonathan. And by the way, I mentioned that Jonathan was a shy kid. I don't know if I use the word introvert or not, but that's certainly a description that I use for myself. I very much identify as a strong introvert.

I just wanna mention that for all my fellow introverts out there, Jonathan has been able to create success as a performer. I've been able to navigate a public career as an author and speaker despite not being extroverted or charismatic by nature. And in my case, I've just kind of learned some things along the way that have helped me kind of focus on what I'm good at and do it in a way that's comfortable to me. So if you know much about introversion or extroversion, if you've ever read up at all, you have probably read the book "Quiet" by Susan Cain. Susan is a friend of mine.

It's a wonderful book. It's been a global phenomenon for good reason. But I also want to mention another book by Beth Buhlo. And this book is lesser known, but it's definitely worth your attention. It's called "The Introvert Entrepreneur, How to Amplify Your Strengths and Create Success on Your Own Terms." And I love that subtitle because it's essentially what I've been able to do in my career through much trial and error.

So I hope that's helpful for some of you. I hope you enjoyed the story. To find the show notes for today's episode, learn to think like a mind reader, go to sidehustleschool.com/105. Wherever you are, have an awesome day. I'm Chris Guillebeau.

This is "Side Hustle School." I'll be back tomorrow. [Music]