This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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What's up everybody? Hey, welcome to Side Hustle School. My name is Chris Guillebeau. So glad you're out there. So glad you're listening.
In 2020, I've been doing a series of questions and answers directly from our listeners who are out there starting all kinds of projects. One of my favorite things is to hear what you're up to, what you're working on, what's going well, as well as what might be challenging. It's okay to talk about that stuff too. Not everything does go well. That's a big part of the side hustle journey.
So I wanna make sure that we are talking about challenges and missteps and failures along the way as we go along. Today, we're gonna focus on a side hustle idea. Today's listener, the one who's calling in, loves corgis. Corgi, that would be the kind of dog. And he would like to make a series of daily videos all about corgis.
So what should he think about if he decides to pursue this idea? Now also, did you know that the corgi originated in Wales? They're actually two different kinds, but they're both from Wales. And corgis are known for being tenacious, bold, outgoing, playful, friendly, and productive. That's what I learned in my research as I worked on this episode.
I would tell you more, but I don't wanna steal this guy's thunder because he's gotta make a lot of videos. So I'm gonna focus here on the business aspect of daily corgi videos. Can I make a different video about dogs every day for a year? That is our focus for today's episode. Here's a quick shout out to our sponsor.
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Hi Chris, this is Sean from San Diego and I've been listening since episode one and I think I've finally found my side hustle idea. What if I make a video every day for a year? What would happen? I have an idea to teach people about corgis. It's my favorite kind of dog.
There are a lot of corgi lovers out there and I was inspired by the guy who blogged about fish tanks. Instead of blogging, I'm thinking of making a series of videos. And because side hustle school is daily, I'd also like to make a different video every day for a year but just all about corgis. Is this a good idea? And what do you think will happen if I do that?
Thanks. - Sean, thank you so much for the question. Interesting idea for sure. I've never heard this one before. Daily video series all about not just dogs but a specific kind of dog.
So let us leave the discussion about corgis themselves for now. I wanna focus more on the broad question here. Sean specifically asks, what if I make a video every day for a year? What will happen? I think what he's thinking, I've kind of fallen into this trap myself.
It's not necessarily a trap but let's just kind of break it down. I think what he's thinking is, okay, if I make a different video every day for a year, it might start small but over time, more and more people are gonna be watching. And then like month one, month two, month three, as I've moved toward corgi video number 365, all of a sudden there's gonna be a huge audience of corgi lovers all watching and just anticipating each day's video, et cetera. So that may happen, okay? So first of all, it may happen and it is good to be consistent and it can definitely help not just in terms of building the audience but also you yourself.
Like if you're trying to get in the habit of regularly publishing something or just again being consistent, that can help. But I think it is a trap to think that automatically the audience is going to build. Often with these things, I think this was true a lot when like everybody was live streaming every single day during the beginning of like the COVID-19 season. And I've done live streaming myself. I'm gonna keep doing it.
I think it's a great way to interact with folks. But I noticed that like in the beginning of that season, like a lot of people started doing it who weren't doing it before. And at first they did see a lot of growth, but then like often what happens is it just declines after a while, which can feel demotivating because you're like, hey, I'm here, like I showed up, I'm here every day or however often it is. Why did people stop watching? And I think we just have to remember that people have busy lives and they're not necessarily going to be committed to coming every day or whatever the pattern is.
Like you have to make it worth their while. You have to always say like, what's in it for that other person to make that commitment? So doing something over and over consistently can be a good path to building more traction, but you could also do that over and over and not see those results. So just keep that in mind. Remember that classic definition of insanity, right?
Is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. And I often think about this, I'm sure a lot of people have heard of the 10,000 hour theory which Malcolm Gladwell popularized. I'm a fan of Malcolm Gladwell, I like his books, but I think there is a critique, a valid critique of that theory, which is you can spend 10,000 hours doing something and still not have much to show for it. Yes, the Beatles practice for 10,000 hours and had all these experiences playing in Germany before they got big in the UK and in America and beyond, but lots of other bands can practice for 10,000 hours and not be the Beatles, right? And so we could talk about that for a long time, but I think you get the idea.
Just doing it doesn't necessarily guarantee success. So to get back to Sean, I would say it's definitely worth a try, but the bigger question is to ask, what can I do to help educate the world about corgis or whatever my topic is, but we're talking about Sean and hopefully build my authority as the corgi guy. And so if you think about that question, then the answer might lead to that daily video series, but it just as might well lead to something else, okay? So don't let the medium or format drive your process. Don't let that medium or format lead the way.
Focus on the topic, focus on what you wanna communicate and be open to different mediums or formats as you go. So that's my two cents there. Good luck, Sean, and anybody else out there. Listeners, if you got a question, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. Tell me about your ideas, no matter how wacky or wild you think they are.
Oftentimes those can be the best side hustles, the best small businesses that sometimes grow into companies, as you may have heard from listening to previous episodes. We're gonna feature questions throughout the rest of the year, along with updates from other listeners as they launch their projects. And I will be here every day. Thank you, by the way, to those who listen every day. I don't take that for granted at all.
And I'm gonna keep trying to come up with better content, more ideas, more helpful stuff for you to be able to apply to your life. So that's my goal. You can subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the "Onward Project."
