This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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The question I receive today, the one I'm gonna share with you here in a moment, is one that I receive on a pretty regular basis. Whenever I do Q&A calls from time to time, I do these calls from like if anybody has a question or wants to explore a scenario, an idea, let's talk it out. I often hear some variation of this question, which is, do you have to be active on social media? Do you have to be really into social media? Like, do you have to be posting all the time, be promoting all the time to be successful?
If you've got a small business idea, do you need to use social media? Well, today's listener hates the idea of using her Twitter or Instagram account to share anything at all about her business. And again, I hear this question all the time or at least variations of it. The answer is no, like we'll talk about it some more in a moment, but the answer is no, it depends on what you're selling. Maybe that's a better way to put it.
So in my detailed answer, we're gonna look at three examples of people who have largely avoided social media, right? Have largely avoided social media yet have been very, very successful, okay? So maybe the followup is, how are you successful without social media? So we'll talk about all that stuff. Do you have to use social to be successful?
We just said no, but what are some examples perhaps of people who have avoided it or have just chosen a different path, right? Because you know what? Businesses were actually around before Facebook and Instagram and Twitter, et cetera. So there is a way. Let's talk it out after this quick message from our sponsor.
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Hi, Chris, this is Charlie and I've been following your projects since the art of nonconformity. Thanks for all the helpful advice over the years. Most people I've seen with successful small businesses are really committed to social media and that's just not me. Don't get me wrong. I like using Facebook and Instagram, but I'm mostly a lurker who doesn't post much.
Do I have to improve the skill? Is this just something I need to get over? Or is it possible to not have an active social presence but still grow your business? Any examples would be helpful. Thanks, I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
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Thank you, Charlie. Thanks so much for the question. Thanks for being out there. So do you have to use social media to promote your business? - Well, of course not, right?
Because like I said, social media is relatively new, at least in the world of commerce, even in the world of online commerce, like for years and years and years, it was possible to just have a website or not even a website, but still be able to sell something online using a platform like eBay or something else. So we know that it's possible. But again, let's look at some examples. I was thinking of episode 975 of the show, three friends step up and pull in restroom revenue. These are the guys that I've mentioned them recently, they created this little device called step and pull, which is for public restrooms where you can open the door with your foot, which of course is hugely needed in the era of COVID.
But if you think about it, it was needed long before COVID, right? If you wash your hands in public restroom, you don't want to then open the door using your hands. So very needed, very helpful, very practical. It's actually very profitable for them. They're doing very, very well.
But do I wanna follow their social media updates? Like do you wanna follow the Instagram account of step and pull? I mean, I'm saying this, maybe it's a really big thing, but I'm guessing probably not. Like who cares, right? Episode 657, similar kind of thing.
Inventor unclogs profits with innovative drain solution. He created this thing called the tubshroom because I believe if I'm not mistaken, his daughter's hair kept clogging up the drain and he was like, I gotta fix this. So what do these things have in common? Well, they're not trying to be influencers. They're solving practical problems.
And so social media, like not something that's super relevant necessarily. Now, lest you think this is only applicable for inventions that involve bathrooms, like I just realized there's a connection there. Here's one more, totally different. Episode 1090, 1090, 1090. Frequent flyer formulates travel friendly dry shampoo.
Now in her case, she had this example, I was just reading the notes from her interview way back when, and she said, "I've had women with no social media influence by the product and then tell their friends about it and it would generate 10 plus sales." Like they'd be able to sell more than 10 bottles of this shampoo for me just by mentioning it somewhere because influencers are more than just social platforms. So I think that is the key point, right? And the second key point, which is connected, is that there isn't a single way to grow your business or an essential platform or tool. So if you hate social media or, you know, if you're like Charlie, you just like to be more of a consumer, a lurker instead of a creator, there are alternatives. Okay, that doesn't mean you don't have to market.
Like you have to have a marketing plan one way or another, which we'll talk about in other episodes. But no, I don't think social media is essential, at least depending on what you're selling. I hope that's helpful. Listeners, if you've got a question, sidehustleschool.com/questions. We're gonna continue to feature them each week, along with updates from listeners as they launch their projects.
I am cheering you on over here. Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you'll come back tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
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From the Onward Project.
