What It's About
A side hustle that brings sports fans together.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
Rhett had some great advice for someone looking to start a side hustle: 1) learn how to work with less than what you think you need, 2) expect everyone to tell you why it won’t work, and 3) have the fortitude to move on and achieve your goals.
Fun Fact
During the 2011 Super Bowl, Rhett and his team were about to be let into the locker room of the Packers right before the game started, but someone caught on that they weren’t actually members of the media. Better luck next time, Rhett!
Notes from Chris
Episode 573
Rhett Grametbauer can’t remember a day in his life without sports. As a child, he decorated his room with Sports Illustrated covers. He had an NFL lunchbox. He even wore his Dallas Cowboys jersey for school pictures, especially when the dress code was “formal wear.” So, when a sponsorship sales person from his favorite football team called him later in life, he was thrilled. Rhett was working for the Texas Department of Transportation as a marketing manager at the time, and the Dallas Cowboys were interested in getting him more involved. From then on, Rhett was invited to attend games, cheerleading parties, and other events. It was there that he expanded his network. He got to give Mark Cuban a fist bump and explain how to throw out the first pitch at a World Series game to the famous Cowboys quarterback, Roger Staubach. The more Rhett was involved in the sports world, the more he was reminded of a problem he had discovered years before. He realized that there was no simple service to help fans in faraway cities watch their hometown team play. Fans could either buy an expensive TV subscription or hope that they happened to pick the one bar in town showing the game for their team. Rhett knew there could be a better way of watching dislocated teams… so he took a shot at creating his own community, Foam Finger Nation. Members of Foam Finger Nation can simply log-in and find the closest location to where their team is being viewed. They can also create an alumni group and invite other fans to watch parties. For now, it’s free—but it won’t always be. After the next football season, Rhett is planning a redesign along with a transition to operating the site as a paid membership service. Foam Finger Nation is growing into the umbrella brand for everything Rhett wants to do. For example, he began and completed a quest to visit every NFL stadium in just 16 weeks, while driving a 1967 VW Bus from town to town. That project turned into a book he sells on Amazon called 25,000 Miles to Glory. Then the people from NFL Films came calling. They were interested in an interview he’d done with their co-founder, who had died in the year since Rhett had interviewed him. Rhett used the chance to talk with them about 25,000 Miles to Glory (film version), and they helped get the film version off the ground. He now earns royalties of at least $500/month from that project, in addition to sales from the book on Amazon. He’s currently raising money from his day job to pay for the next film he wants to make. This is definitely a side hustle in the works, but there are a lot of ways that Rhett can take this to the next level. If you have some ideas that Rhett can add to his playbook for Foam Finger Nation, record a voice clip (or put together a simple email) and send it to podcast@sidehustleschool.com. We'd love to share your thoughts and ideas on the show!
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Foam Finger Nation: Learn more about the community Rhett is building over on his website!
- Flight Attendant Touches Down on $50,000 Super Bowl Profit: A Dallas-based flight attendant discovers a way to capitalize on the football craze by providing rentals for the big game and making herself and nearby homeowners a slice of the money pie
- Soccer Fan Plays The Odds; Earns Affiliate Commissions: A British soccer—er, football—fan sets up a blog that refers visitors to bookmakers. He gets paid for every referral, making this a project worth betting on
- All-American Hits Home Run With Baseball Apparel Hustle: An entertainment industry professional transforms her body butter holiday gifts into a quickly growing Etsy store and craft show side hustle
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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
Sponsors & Gratitude
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To infinity and beyond,
