This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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Is your boss a little nosy? Is your boss all up in your business? I can ask questions like that because I don't have a boss. I've never actually had a boss. Or in some ways you could say I have a lot of bosses, right?
Because I'm self-employed, but ultimately everybody answers to someone in one way or another. And if you're competing in the marketplace as an entrepreneur, freelancer, otherwise self-employed person, then you have customers. Or in my case, I have readers and listeners. So if you don't like what I write or produce, like ultimately you're going to fire me. I don't want to be fired, but fortunately I have some job security since my bosses are diversified.
You know, it's not just one person. So why am I talking about bosses? Well, first of all, welcome to Side Hustle School. My name is Chris Guillebeau, so glad you're here. We're going to have a great year together.
I look forward to bringing you lots of stories, actionable tips, answers to questions like we're doing here today, and so much more. Now today's listener has an interesting dilemma. That's why we're talking about bosses. This listener's boss is way too nosy. He's asking a lot of personal questions about our caller's side hustle.
Maybe the boss is a little jealous. Well, hopefully that boss isn't listening to this episode, but one way or another, we're going to dive right in. My boss is asking a lot of questions. What should I do? Answer is coming up after this quick message from our sponsor.
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Hi Chris, this is Tyler from Austin, and I've been listening to the show since episode one. So here's my situation. Some people have a problem with hiding their side hustle from their boss. My problem is the opposite. I told my boss about my after hours consulting project, and now they want to know everything, including how many customers I have and how much money I'm making.
I don't mind talking about those things with my friends, but it feels weird to talk about it with my work. Part of me wonders if he's jealous, and part of me thinks he's just curious, and there's nothing I need to worry about. What do you think? Tyler, what's good, man? Thank you so much for calling in.
And this is a very interesting challenge, right? And so, first of all, I should say congratulations on, you know, starting your side hustle and moving forward. It sounds like you've got something worth talking about, but maybe that's the problem. You know, as you said, you don't necessarily want to talk about it at work. So I don't know the personal dynamics of your workplace, right, but overall, it sounds like this is an issue of gently drawing some boundaries.
And I think there's a way to do this that's not, you know, standoffish or rude or, you know, too aggressive or assertive, I guess, you know, against your boss. I would suggest doing it in a way, perhaps by saying something like, you know, this side thing is new to me, and I don't want to put too much pressure on myself in the early stages. And that's why, you know, I don't want to talk a lot about, you know, customers and how it's all going and that kind of thing. And so that way you're kind of making it more about you than about them in terms of like, what is the problem here? You're like, I'm the problem, even though obviously you're not the problem, but, you know, just for the sake of getting along.
It's also good to remind your boss that you're excited about your job, right? Like, and that's the main reason why you and he need to communicate. So like, let's not focus so much on what I'm doing after hours. What am I doing here? You know, I'm excited about this job.
So let's, you know, stay focused on that. Now, I also, for anybody in a situation, you know, remotely like this, I do want to give a shout out to my good friend, Vanessa Van Edwards. She has a lot of helpful work on people skills. So I don't know what she would say specifically about this subject, but I have learned a lot from her in terms of communication, in terms of body language, in terms of making a first introduction. She's got all kinds of stuff like that.
Her book is called Captivate. She also has a very popular YouTube channel and community called Science of People. So maybe check that out as well. Science of People on YouTube. Tyler, good luck.
Let us know how it goes. It does sound like your boss might be a little jealous, you know, because you're on the right track. So we'll be thinking of you. And listeners, if you have a question, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. Once again, we'll be featuring them throughout the year, along with updates from other listeners as they launch their projects.
Out in the open or in secret. Whatever the case may be, do keep coming back. Be sure you're subscribed. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Sidusleschool." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
