This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Side Hustle School listeners, greetings, welcome back. I am Chris Guillebeau, here with an observation for you. Never underestimate the power of a good outfit on a bad day. I know that you listened to Side Hustle School for fashion advice. Okay, maybe not.
But today I'll tell you about someone who is more qualified than me in that department. This is the story of a fashion blogger who makes money by writing about clothes. And this is one of those relatable stories that I like. So she's not making huge amounts of money, but she is making money. It's definitely not just a hobby, but it's also something she likes to do.
It's something that fits in well with her day job. There's actually a bit of a connection between her day job and her hustle, which I'll talk about. And I know that there are a lot of people out there interested in the world of fashion. If you're not interested in fashion, well, this kind of model can be applied to a lot of different industries. So I'll tell you all about that, how much money she makes, how she did it, et cetera.
But first, this week we are looking at side hustle failure stories as submitted by listeners. This has been a good learning process for me. It's interesting to hear the hustling history of people who listen to the show so that we can continue to improve it for you. So listeners, what didn't work out? - Hey, what's up, Chris?
This is Jenna Spoon. Just calling about a hustle that I had first started off, which was I had launched an Etsy shop and of all the materials for shipping and et cetera. And I really didn't have any idea what I was doing. I just know that I wanted to do it. So I ended up having to put that on hold and reorganize on how I can approach it differently.
But now, thankfully, I've got off the kinks and it's doing better and I love the show. And thank you so much for all the help. - Hey, man, thank you for calling in. I appreciate you sharing that. These things often do require a bit of reworking.
You try something that doesn't work, so you try something different. And you try something that works a little bit, so you tweak it to work more. We are indeed all on a side hustling journey, such as the task before us. And we really can learn something from each story, each experience, each interaction. So thanks again, Justin, and everybody else who called in this week.
34-year-old Alison Zaccone was living in one of the priciest locations in the United States, New York City. A fashionista at heart, Alison wanted to keep up with the latest trends, but also had to keep up with her daunting bills. Luckily for her, she had a knack for bargain shopping, deal hunting, and getting the most out of clothes by mixing and matching. Around the time that our story begins, the term recessionista started becoming part of the lexicon, slang for a woman who can remain fashionable despite financial difficulties. This word seemed to perfectly describe Alison.
Her then boyfriend, who was the constant recipient of Alison's clothing and fashion revelations, suggested she reach a bigger audience than just him by pouring her passion into a blog. And so she did. She launched NYC Recessionista, a bargain shopping and fashion blog, to share her savvy with the world. Alison's goal was to show people that just because they have limited means doesn't mean they can't have unlimited style. For a while, the blog was just a hobby, but she slowly realized she was getting more and more readers.
So after attending a blogging conference where she learned about different ways to monetize her site, she decided to take it more seriously. NYC Recessionista now has between 30,000 and 50,000 visitors each month. And since starting it, Alison has made about $13,000 in side hustle income with pretty consistent profits month by month. And she makes this money a couple of different ways. The first way is to partner with affiliate marketing companies.
Now, you know how this works from previous episodes. If one of her readers clicks on one of the links or ads on her site and then makes a purchase, Alison earns a small commission. One of the programs that she partners with is called Reward Style, and I will link that up for you today in the notes. She also makes money by being invited to participate in campaigns, where she's paid a fee to create and share unique content. As an additional perk of those campaigns, she sometimes gets selected to attend fashion shows and also occasionally gets fashion freebies, the best of which was a Movado Gold Chronograph Watch, which is now one of Alison's most treasured possessions.
Blogging is cheap and startup is easy. She had to learn about basic blogging platforms like WordPress, some HTML and Photoshop skills, and some social media knowledge like which times were best for scheduling content. But the financial costs to get started were just a couple hundred dollars. There is a lot of competition in the fashion blog space. She says it seems like everyone has a blog these days, but she's been able to stand the test of time by bringing a unique voice, having specialized content and photography, and posting consistently.
She now spends anywhere from five to 10 hours a week writing and scheduling posts and creating the accompanying graphics. In total, Alison has written more than 3,000 posts to date and counting. She's found that people are more likely to click through to her blog on a social media channel than by heading directly there from their browser. The blog has enabled Alison to have a bit more spending cash as well as that security of a second income, but it's also had an unexpected benefit helping her full-time career. Now, I haven't actually mentioned her day job yet.
Alison is the Director of Communications for Bottomless Closet, a nonprofit that assists underserved women re-entering the workplace. She handles the organization's media outreach as well as much of its communication to supporters. Alison says that because of the experience gained through the blog, she's been able to improve her work performance as well. Through the connections and networks she's built in the world of fashion, she's been able to leverage donations from clothing and accessory brands and explore partnerships with different companies. So in other words, Alison's daytime employment and her side hustle continue to work for each other, helping not only herself, but also a group of people in need.
In fact, you could call them a perfectly tailored match. [Music]
So congrats to the NYC recessionista. That word recessionista can be a little hard to spell, kind of like my name, but I do think it's a catchy phrase, which of course is good. Now, by the way, there are some fashion bloggers who actually go on to become micro celebrities and end up making a ton of money. We might have a story or two about one of those at some point, but in some ways I almost prefer stories like Alison's because it's a true side hustle.
She's not trying to make a million dollars from it. There's no pressure. It's just fun. It's something that she's already interested in, but it's also fun that she happens to get paid for, which of course is what we're talking about on the show. It's not just about what are your passions?
What are your hobbies? It's about something that connects those things with the benefits of extra money, a creative outlet, something different to do, maybe something that even brings you security and eventually creates an all new career path for you. But if not, of course, there's no downside. That's why this is an easy and fun world to explore. And I hope that you are exploring this world wherever you are.
I hope you enjoyed this story. Remember, inspiration is good, but inspiration combined with action is so much better. Today's show notes, including a link to the recessionista as well as the nonprofit she works for and that affiliate company I mentioned will all be at sidehustleschool.com/161. This week is coming to a close. I'm excited to recap it for you tomorrow and look forward to some fun new stuff coming up next week.
Thank you for listening. I'm Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
