This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Hey there, what's up? Welcome back. This is Chris Guillebeau, your host for Side Hustle School, the only podcast in the history of the world, the universe that provides a daily story of someone who starts an income generating project without quitting their day job. How did they do it? What did they learn? How much money did they make? And most important of
all, what can you learn from their stories to apply it to your own life? Well, today in a few short hours, I will be on a plane leaving the UK from Heathrow Airport heading back to the US, first stop Atlanta, then Miami, then Phoenix, then Chicago, four cities in a row starting the day after tomorrow, I believe. In fact, I think I actually have a day off from the tour tomorrow. That's a strange concept. I wonder what I'm going to do. Oh, I know.
I'm going to record a podcast episode. That's right. The show goes on. All right. What's one of the simplest side hustles that you can start? Here's a tip. It's teaching something
in some format. I'm going to break this down. Teaching something, you've got some topic, you've got something that you're an expert in. I believe firmly that everyone's an expert in something. You're probably an expert in more than one thing, but for our purposes, you're looking for one specific topic and then some format or some medium. Today's story
is about a guy who teaches an in-person class or workshop, but it could be any variety of formats. It could be online. It could be offline. It could be a course. It could be a webinar, something that's presented in written form like a book, a report, a guide, something that's presented in audio forum or video. Lots of different options for essentially
transferring knowledge, like taking knowledge that you have and helping someone else gain that knowledge. Because this is a hustle, not a hobby, doing so in a way that allows you to get paid. I focus on these stories because they are accessible and everyone can do this in some way. Today's story is about a Canadian guy who teaches men how to shave. It's kind of a funny story. I don't think he's going to make a million dollars doing
this to be honest, but as a first hustle, it's not a bad idea. And he is making some money. So I'll tell you that story. And then at the end, I'll come back and tell you the successful ingredients of a knowledge-based side hustle. All of that is coming right up.
Shahan Fancy is a marketing and sales professional for a kitchen cabinet manufacturer in Saskatchewan, Canada. At least that's what he does for his job. He's also managed to turn an everyday irritation into a side hustle. Like many men, Shahan struggled with shaving. From razor burn to irritation to ingrown hairs, he used to get it all. Part of the problem was he
was never really taught to shave properly. In that common rite of passage from fathers to adolescent boys, he was simply given a cartridge razor, a can of shaving cream, and the loving fatherly advice of "try not to cut your throat." After years of frustration over the cost of overpriced shaving cartridges and subpart results, for a time he gave up and quit shaving altogether. But as time went by, Shahan began longing for that clean-shaven feeling once again. So he turned to Google and did a deep dive into all things shaving. About nine pages of search results in, he discovered an article on traditional wet shaving.
His interest peaked. Shahan eagerly read through the article, which made the claim of an irritation-free shave and talked about how old-school tools and processes made shaving zen-like. And not to mention how inexpensive it was. Safety razor blades cost, on average, 30 cents and are recyclable. Shahan immediately searched for all the supplies in his home city and came up short. But later that year, on a trip to Toronto, he purchased his first safety
razor and mustered up the courage to do his first shave, which resulted in, you guessed it, a perfect, irritation-free experience. Suddenly, the sun was shining. It was a whole new world of smooth cheeks. Ever since that first shave, Shahan has been geeking out, testing soaps, brushes, and razors, as well as talking about wet shaving to anyone that would listen. He converted a few friends here and there, directing them to a few of his favorite online retailers. Everything was going nice and smooth, just like those cheeks,
until a friend purchased a safety razor online and had terrible results due to poor technique. When Shahan heard the news, he knew if he could just spend some time with him to demonstrate proper technique, that frame would have a great shave, just like he did. It was then that Shahan realized his destiny, or at least an opportunity. First of all, there wasn't much available by way of traditional shaving supplies in the Canadian province he lived in. Second, safety razors require a bit of practice and learning the proper technique.
And there wasn't anyone offering to teach people who were interested. So earlier this year, Shahan and his wife drafted plans to solve both these problems. And his new business, Shave Valet, was born. He was confident in his product recommendations and was now a very skilled shaver. So the vision was that Shave Valet would provide both the traditional wet shaving supplies and the education needed to achieve a perfect, irritation-free shave.
He hoped to create a clear brand identity, starting with that name. Shave was important for messaging and search engine optimization benefits, and Valet helped convey the full service and attention to detail he was offering. As for the technical details, he signed up for Square to accept payment. He just used Gmail to communicate. For social media, he grabbed Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter profiles. And since he had experience working with WordPress
at work, he stuck with what he knew and picked a classic theme for his new website. He also got a business license, commissioned a logo, and bought a rolling toolkit to more easily transport his inventory. All of these startup costs in total came to less than $500. Then once he had his products in place, Shahan put out the invite for his first intro to wet shaving class, which, thanks to his network of friends and followers, almost immediately filled. That first class went really well and gave him the confidence to proceed. However,
there was a big scheduling mix-up for his second class. When he and his wife arrived to set up, they were greeted by a few hundred toddlers dancing to Sir Mix-a-Lot's baby-got-back. It was the ultimate double-booking snafu. Shahan liked big butts just as much as the next person, but he couldn't lie. This wasn't really the right setup for a shaving class, so he had to cancel it. Ultimately, however, that scheduling snafu led to a big improvement.
Shahan successfully approached his employer about using their showroom for his classes. They said yes, no problem, and that's where he's still running his classes a few months into the project. Shahan has continued to offer classes in his area and has slowly grown his social media following as well. Shave Valet is just a few months old but is already bringing in $550 a month and is growing. In his words, "Margins in the shave game are razor thin, but we're continuing to turn a profit by staying sharp." Awesome congrats to Shahan and to Shave Valet. If you're up in Saskatchewan and you want
to learn the art of wet shaving, all the things you've been missing, at least if you're a guy, and when you learn to shave, your dad gave you a cartridge razor and a can of shaving cream too. Now that I think about it, that was pretty much my experience too. As I said, I'm not sure he's going to get rich from this idea, but first of all, you never know. He could. If you've been listening to this show for a while, you probably heard all kinds of crazy stories that somebody from the outside would say, "That's not going to work," or, "It's not going to take off," and then somehow it did. So I never count anybody out. But
I would also say, "Well, this is why it's a side hustle. There's no pressure. There's no risk. He's not trying to make a living with this thing. He's just essentially dabbling in the world of hustling." So he might do this for a while, and then he might find something else. But he'll have a great story and a great experience for him, perhaps some skills that
will help him in the next thing. Now, what are the successful ingredients of a knowledge-based side hustle? Well, first of all, it's your expertise and enthusiasm for the topic. It has to be something that you know a lot about. I suppose it's not necessary, but it's much better if you're excited about it and enthusiastic about the topic. You feel like this is something
you want to communicate. You want to show the world, or at least whoever you can connect with. Then, of course, it has to be other people's desire as well. People have to want this thing. They have to understand the value or at least recognize, "Oh, this is something that would be good for me to learn about." I do wonder a bit about that in this story because I understand there's this resurgence in the interest of wet shaving, and that may be sufficient. But I think for a lot of guys, they're just not really into it, or at least
they have to be persuaded of it. It's always hard when you have to be persuaded of something that you should learn, as opposed to hearing something right away and saying, "Oh, I absolutely want that. I want that right away." Then you have to create a format for that transfer of knowledge. In this story, Shahan is doing classes, lots of other ways to teach, lots of other ways to transfer knowledge, but it's pretty important to think about that right from the start. Not just what is the topic, not just what is the content, the objectives, what you're going to show people, but what format is best for that? What format do you
think is best for the delivery of the information, as well as what format is best for you? Because you're the one making this or doing this. Some people would really like the idea of doing these in-person classes in Saskatchewan or wherever you live. Other people absolutely wouldn't. They would think, "How can I do this online so that people can watch on YouTube or come to my website or Facebook or wherever it is?" That way, I have the chance to reach people anywhere. I also don't have to worry about scheduling. I don't have to experience
that common problem of showing up somewhere and seeing a few hundred toddlers dancing to Sir Mix Lots baby got back. I can just do this in my own way. Obviously, there's a lot more to creating an offer. That's why I wrote the side hustle book to provide a process for this idea to income in 27 days, but those are essentially the ingredients. Your expertise and enthusiasm for a topic that other people also value, and some format or some means of transferring that knowledge to them. Oh, and also, of course, a way to
get paid. Can't forget that. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better. Today's show notes are online at www.sidehustleschool.com/277. I'll be cheering you on from the sky today
as I travel across the Atlantic Ocean and return to the U.S. Back with you again tomorrow. I'm Chris Guillebeau for Side Hustle School.
