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What It's About
Bats and bat houses make a triumphant return to Side Hustle School!
Business Model
Manufacturing
Skills Required
Product Development & Marketing
Complexity
Medium
Profit Potential
Medium
Words of Wisdom
Here are words of advice from Steve:
1. Stay in your lane: if you’re the wildlife biologist, do that.
2. Be brave: If no one else on earth is doing what you’re doing or selling a product like yours, don’t be afraid of that.
3. Don’t make it all about the money: Sure, you need money, but don’t let that stop you.
Fun Fact
Bats play an important role in many environments around the world. Some plants depend partly or wholly on bats to pollinate their flowers or spread their seeds, while other bats also help control pests by eating insects. In the UK, some bats are ‘indicator species’, because changes to these bat populations can indicate changes in aspects of biodiversity. Bats might suffer when there are problems with insect populations (because our bats feed on insects) or when habitats are destroyed or poorly managed (for example, some bats only live in large woodlands).
Notes from Chris
Episode 909
Let’s face it—bats get a bad rap. Bats conjure cave-dwelling creepy creatures or deadly, blood-sucking vampires. But one man is sticking up for these important mammals and is building them custom Big Bat Houses… or three men, actually, considering Ep. 877. Steve Barlow grew up in a beautiful, natural setting in North Central Florida. He always loved wildlife and was an aspiring biologist by the age of ten. After five years in the US Army, Steve earned bachelor’s degrees in biology and chemistry, and then a master’s in Wildlife Ecology. He was dismayed by the loss of habitat that came with rampant development and dedicated his life to wildlife. In particular, he wanted to expose people in urban areas and suburbs to natural beauty. Out of college, he worked at Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Part of his job involved designing and building bat houses. This was a natural fit—his dad had been a builder, so he grew up around construction. But he was frustrated that his work felt mired in bureaucracy. When he complained to his dad, his father said something to Steve that he will never forget: “Son, obstacles are opportunities in disguise. It is your responsibility to find a way around, over or through the obstacle.” Steve understood how crucial bats are to our ecology system. They are pollinators for our gardens, forests, and communities. They eat insects that would otherwise require pesticides. They help spread seed, diversifying vegetation. So in 2003, he started Wildlife Integration, with the goal of providing blueprints for community-sized bat houses. That’s right, it’s a build-your-own bat house. The blueprints allow landowners, farmers, or park rangers to easily build and install one or more of these houses. These educational spectacles foster a love of nature and bats that help to accomplish his mission of bringing wildlife and people together in a positive way. Thousands of bats pour out of each bat house every evening. Watching the bats leave the house at sunset is quite the sight. His side-hustle now brings in about $20,000 annually and he is working on a new product that’s a logical extension—the Chimney Swift Roost Tower and Nesting Post, which integrates bird houses onto preexisting marker poles scattered across the country. This is in addition to his day job is Director of Energy Partnerships at The National Wild Turkey Federation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the wild turkey. (Side note: I don’t think it has anything to do with bourbon.) It wasn’t all easy flying—right off the bat he faced naysayers and people who thought he was batty. Even the employees at a local home improvement store laughed at him when he went in with a shopping list of materials to build his first house. But like his beloved bats, he went out on a limb and decided to hang in there. Steve says that the best part of the experience so far is the gratitude he feels knowing that he’s helped millions of bats and has given people the opportunity to enjoy watching them. Proving, if you build it, they might come.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Big Bat Houses: Hang out over on Steve's website to learn more about this batastic side hustle!
- WordPress: Steve used WordPress to set up his site for Big Bat Houses, and here you can learn how to install your own WordPress site in 5 minutes
- Bat House Hustle Takes Bite Out of Pesticides: Two friends hated the pesticides people were spraying during the Zika scare, but they had a long way to go to make bats—the natural alternative—appealing to consumers
- Beekeepers Build Buzzing Backyard Business: After learning to care for bees by watching YouTube, this European couple living in Australia turns it into a full-time income
- Rent the Chicken! An Egg-Cellent Idea Clucks Into Cash: Yes, really: this Pennsylvania couple rents out 2,000 chickens to people interested in urban homesteading. It’s a side hustle worth clucking about!
Quote of the Day
"I'm grateful for the many naysayers along my journey. Of course, I have had more people encourage me than discourage but the naysayers help to motivate me just as much!"
—Steve Barlow #SideHustleSchool
