Notes from Chris

Episode 374

Sasha Soukup been selling vintage items on Etsy for eight years. It brought in a little money from time to time, but it also had its limitations—mostly that she was never able to replicate when she had a hit. Frustrated and looking to get ahead, Sasha started listening to Side Hustle School aiming to create a side hustle that was low investment and low risk but also replicable.

After a month of listening, Sasha’s thinking started to shift. Her once rigid reasoning began looking at things in new ways. That, she said, has been the greatest gift Side Hustle School has given her—flexibility of thought.

After two months, Sasha was coming up with an idea or two a week. Then, suddenly, it was like a dam burst and she was seeing potential side hustles everywhere.

Looking to combine her skill with physical products with her interest in popular culture, Sasha created a line of astrology-related printed goods. She started with coffee mugs. After coming up with initial designs, she then found an artist to develop those ideas. That artist was actually one of her former Etsy customers who specializes in far-out 1960s-inspired art—it was a perfect match.

  She had no idea whether her designs would be successful or not—she figured if it failed at least she would end up with great Christmas presents for her friends. Luckily it was the best case scenario, and not only her friends but also a lot of strangers, are buying her goods for their own gift giving.

Sasha’s now selling coffee mugs, t-shirts and stickers (and she will be adding buttons soon, too) and her sales are growing each week. For now, most of her profits are being reinvested into new designs, and promotions, since she covers her living expenses from her day job.

The additional income has made a big difference in her life—among other things, she can now go to the acupuncturist once a week instead of just in urgent situations without feeling like she is spending her food and basic expense budget.

Being able to shift her mindset from “working hourly” to the side hustle concept where you make your product/service/etc. work for you has made all the difference. It seems her astrological gift goods—and her success—was written in the stars.

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Astral Boutique: See what the stars have in store for you over at Sasha's eclectic Etsy shop!
• Marmalead: The paid service Sasha used that analyzes the strength of your keywords, titles and tags

SEE ALSO:

• EXTENDED CUT #6: The Million-Dollar Etsy Shop: Most Etsy shops don’t make money—or if they do, they make a small amount of money. But some make a lot of money. What separates them? This special episode takes a detailed look at the online storefront for a million-dollar Etsy shop whose full story is coming up next week on the show
• Single Mom Makes $15,000 from Astrology Calendar: After realizing that all of the astrology calendars in the market featured similar designs, a former restaurant owner decides to create her own
• New Yorker Doubles Her Income with Next-Level Tarot Cards: How a senior designer for a feminist media publication decides to create tarot card decks and ends up making as much with her side hustle as she does at her day job

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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