50 6:33

Belgian Fine Chocolate Comes to America

After living in Belgium for 13 years, a Louisiana freelancer starts a side hustle making fine chocolate out of his home and brings in $8,000 his first year!

6:33

Subscribe Now For A Free Five Step Tutorial

Get a free five-part email course that shows you how to find, validate, and launch your side hustle idea — no experience required.

What It's About

After living in Belgium for 13 years, a Louisiana freelancer starts a hustle making fine chocolate.

Business Model
Product
Skills Required
Chocolatier & Independent Learning
Complexity
Medium
Profit Potential
Medium

Words of Wisdom

Do you really need a mentor? Well, you might need to learn some things to get your side hustle up and running, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need a formalized relationship from a guide or guru.

As a resourceful side hustler, Jeff set out to learn about how to make chocolate in the traditional European manner—but at first his quest led only to dead ends. Finally, he came across an online program in Vancouver, Canada known as Ecole Chocolate. This 3-month course exceeded his expectations and gave him the working rules to learn much more on his own.

When getting started, ask yourself this: What do I really need to learn?

Fun Fact

Louisiana and many other states (and some countries!) have what’s known as a Cottage Law where you can sell certain foods that you make in your home until you reach the $20,000 a year revenue level. This made it easy for Jeff to get ChezSlaughter Chocolate started.

Within the very first year, Jeff’s chocolate hustle brought in $6,000-8,000. This is a seasonal project, and his biggest limitation is not having a consistent place to work. He’s hoping to eliminate that limitation by putting in a second kitchen in a home he and his wife are building so that he can produce chocolate whenever he wants—and potentially ramp up the hustle.

Quote of the Day
"I didn't want this side hustle to run my life—I wanted it to fit into my life."
—Jeff Slaughter #SideHustleSchool

Find your side hustle

Search 450 real case studies by income, difficulty, and business model. The Side Hustle Finder helps you skip the browsing and find ideas that actually match your situation.

Explore the Finder →
Side Hustle book
From the Host

Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days

The step-by-step guide behind many of the stories on this show. Find your idea, validate it, and start earning — no experience required.

See all books →

Keep in Touch

Chris Guillebeau speaking to a packed crowd

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 a weekly recap of each episode!

Email hello@chrisguillebeau.com
Say Hi From your favorite airport

To infinity and beyond,
Chris Guillebeau

🚀

5 Days to Your Next Side Hustle

Get a proven step-by-step plan delivered to your inbox

  • Day 1: Find your profitable idea (even if you think you have none)
  • Day 2: Validate your idea without spending a dime
  • Day 3: Create your minimum viable offer
  • Day 4: Get your first paying customer
  • Day 5: Scale without quitting your day job
🔒 100% Free
📧 No spam, ever
👋 Unsubscribe anytime

We respect your privacy. Your information will never be shared or sold.