What It's About
Drummer marches to the beat of his own drum creating a highly successful niche podcast.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
Anyone can begin by talking about something they are knowledgeable about, whether through blogs, videos, or podcasting. Focus on distribution and get the word out, and build Only then, can you think about customers and advertisers.
Fun Fact
When he was younger and just getting started on his path to rock, Nick religiously watched an instructional VHS called "Under the Table and Drumming" from one of his heros—Carter Beauford the drummer for Dave Matthews Band. He watched it so much in fact that he broke the tape. Of course, he bought another one to replace the defective tape, and lo and behold, he wore out that one too!
Notes from Chris
Episode 296
Philadelphia native Nick Ruffini developed a love for the drums when he was a teenager. When he was 15, his parents hosted a party and invited his brother’s garage band over to play for them. As fate would have it, the drummer of the band left his drums at Nick’s place after the party and wouldn’t come back to collect them for over a month. During this time, Nick played with the drum set every day. By the end of the month, he realized that he needed a drum set of his own because he had fallen in love with the instrument. This love of drumming continued through his teens, and he took his act on the road with a band he helped form when he was 18. As Nick said, one of the best ways to make money as a musician in a band was to tour and get your name out there, and that’s exactly what they did. And this worked out really well for the most part—even as he was getting his degree—but all of that changed when he met a girl in New Jersey. This wasn’t just any girl, she was the girl, and it got Nick to thinking that there had to be a better way to make money from his music without having to sacrifice his time and relationships to life on the road. It was around this time that Nick decided to take up lessons to learn more about different drumming techniques and styles, and one day, Nick asked his teacher if he could record his lessons for the day. Nick was no stranger to side hustles, so naturally, he thought that there would be others who would want to listen to the conversations he was having with these knowledgeable drummers. One popular podcast, one blog, and four years later, he's been able to take Drummer's Resource on full-time and is bringing in six figures annually! Nick shows us that there's no fixed playbook on how you can expand your side hustle. Like him, you can march to the beat of your own drum. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:- Drummer's Resource: Check out some of the interviews Nick has featured on his website!
- GarageBand: Nick used this digital music creation studio to produce the episodes for his podcast
- 6 GarageBand Alternatives for Music Production on Windows: Interested in producing your own music (or podcast!) but aren't part of Team Apple? Here are some GarageBand alternatives for our friends who use Windows
- 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
- Lawyer Earns $400/Month With Stock Music Side Hustle: An online music marketplace offers a young lawyer an opportunity to fulfill his dreams of having his music heard, and also provides him with a new source of passive income
- $10,000 Side Hustle Helps Musician Land Full-Time Job: A classically trained musician creates affordable options for music students in search of quality music demos
Download Episodes By Months: Season 6 (2022): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 5 (2021): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 4 (2020): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 3 (2019): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 2 (2018): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 1 (2017): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |
Resources
WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH
Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for many websites. It's cheap, flexible, and offers support 24-7.
Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL
Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.
I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️
Quote of the Day
Sponsors & Gratitude
Create a Stunning Website With Wordpress
Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Wordpress.com! Whether you’re looking to create a personal blog, business site, or both—you’ll make a big impact, when you build your website on WordPress.com. 💻
Get 15% off when you build your website with Wordpress.com—use promo code PODCAST when you check out.
Get Started Here
Like the Show? Leave a Rating!
Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅
It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Keep in Touch
There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!
To infinity and beyond,
