What It's About
A Dubai accountant crunches numbers and drops rhymes.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
Jamil had some great advice for anyone looking to start a side hustle of their own: "You must work on your branding before you offer your service. Just like how you've got to dress to impress in the morning before you go out to meet clients.
Making sure your followers are your target audience is crucial. That is why I would say start by creating a logo, mission statement, website and social media look/vibe that will attract your target audience before anyone else."
Fun Fact
This certainly isn't Jamil's first side hustle! During his time spent at university in Halifax, Nova Scotia he launched a video game tournament hosting company by the name of Coliseum Gaming.
Notes from Chris
Episode 252
I have been going to Dubai and Abu Dhabi every year at least once since 2008. In what other place can you go to an indoor ski lodge at a mall…when the temperature outside is more than 100 degrees? It’s a strange place in that way and other ways. Today’s story takes us to Dubai, but there isn’t any skiing. Instead, there’s poetry. We’ll meet the managerial accountant who sets up a series of workshops and poetry slams, earning $1,000 each month doing something he cares about. Not really trying to make a living from it, but pursuing a hobby that happens to pay him...in other words, a side hustle. Jamil Adas is a managerial accountant at Qurum Business Group (QBG) which specializes in staffing solutions in various industries. He’s originally Palestinian, born in Canada, but has lived in Dubai most of his life. Dubai Poetics is the name of his Side Hustle. He’s building a community of poetry lovers in the Middle East by organizing poetry workshops (both written and spoken word) as well as performances. Jamil had written some poetry himself and wanted to start a poetry blog. However, he wasn't confident about his work and felt shy, so he created a blog under an anonymous name. He came to realize that there are probably a lot of other people with mutual feelings about their work, so he set out to create an intimate, safe and (definitely) cool platform for people to express themselves. He says that people are interested in feeling part of something noble and authentic. Poetry is an art form that has not been taken seriously in the Middle East recently, but he’s working on changing that with Dubai Poetics, his spoken word poetry workshops. Between the organizational commitments and the individual payments, this is adding up to $1,000 a month on a regular basis: not enough to retire on, but definitely real money built on a meaningful mission.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Dubai Poetics: Learn more about Jamil's poetry movement on his website!
- Scott Berkun | How to Run a Good Workshop: If you're interested in starting your own workshop series, here's a guide to help you get started
- Queer Punk Artist Starts Personal Finance Workshop: A manager for a non-profit organization who describes herself as a queer punk artist creates a series of personal finance classes
- Weekly Recap: Free Video Training + How to Start a Workshop: In our twenty-eighth weekly recap, we'll highlight the lessons learned in this week. Also: more listener Q&A!
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Resources
CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE
Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.
Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today!
Learn More
GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS
Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time.
Quote of the Day
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To infinity and beyond,
