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What It's About
How a back injury gets a man in Australia back into doing what he loves to do.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
For some reason, many sax lessons are tedious and boring... Scales, more scales, boring songs from boring music books, some more scales, little black circles and horizontal lines on sheet music, then being forced to practice some more scales.
So Matthew put out his offer of helping students play the kind of music they want to play—any style, any volume up to and including 11, as well as playing by ear and improvising. He made some backing tracks on his iPad using Garage Band to cunningly disguise the musically nutritious requirements of scales with sauces and spices (see Ep. 191) and drum beats and different musical styles to make them taste better.
Putting a unique spin on his offering—like the guitarist from episode 23—Matthew thought, “Why not make it fun?”
Fun Fact
In a bizarre turn of events, Matthew actually wrote his own story for Side Hustle School! If you’d like to submit yours for consideration, send us some info. The more interesting and detailed, the better!
Notes from Chris
Episode 210
In July 2015, Matthew Harding—a late forty-something husband, self-confessed embarrassing Dad to two teenage daughters, IT professional and musician from Melbourne, Australia—hurt his back. In February 2016, he did it again, but this time he went down for the count. Spending a large proportion of the first half of 2016 lying on the floor unable to move and wondering how long his sick leave payments would last, he had plenty of time to consider his family’s financial future. The discomfort he felt was caused not only by his lower back injury but also by the realization that his payments would likely run out before he fully improved. Matthew had dabbled in the dark arts of the online side hustle for several years, but very little other than “learning opportunities” had been the result of his efforts. He’d made a few sales here and there over the last few years, but nothing substantial. So in October 2016, Matthew made the conscious decision to up the ante. He started a blog—MatthewsBack.com—where he began to document his sore back, his “come back” to the land of the living and his side hustle learning’s with the hope of helping both himself and others in similar stages of injury, recovery, side hustling—and removing the need and reliance on full-time employment. Then, in early January, Matthew discovered the Side Hustle School podcast. Discovering that inspiration was certainly good, but that inspiration combined with action was, in fact, even better, he picked up his saxophone. Still secretly harboring dreams of being a rock star when he grows up, Matthew has realized that in attempting to fulfill his own dreams, he can help others do the same. And, as an unexpected bonus, this can translate into an income. Overall, none of the three saxophone side hustles he's created have resulted in massive passive mega bucks...yet. However, they have opened Matthews eyes to the possibilities of what Side Hustling can do—from both a monetary and an enjoyment perspective.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- HowtoPlaytheSax.com Matthew now teaches saxophone lessons online.
- SaxophoneTShirts.com: Interested in snagging your own saxophone themed t-shirt? Check out Matthew's offerings on his website
- Merch by Amazon: The invite-only merchandising program that Amazon offers for those looking to sell their designs on t-shirts
- Guitar Teacher Sells Lessons on Craigslist and Makes $80/Hour: How a very busy, new father created a part-time hustle teaching guitar lessons for $80 an hour and has been able to turn it into a full-time income
- NYC Jazz Musician Builds $40,000/Year Blog: A musician finds financial freedom by growing a blog and starting an e-course teaching other people how to play jazz
- Equine Lover Makes $5,000; Stables Business to Change Horses in Midstream: A former NASA employee with an unbridled enthusiasm for horseback riding changes her hustle strategy and proves she’s no one trick pony. We’re not horsing around!
