This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Hey, what's up? Thank you for tuning in today. My name is Chris Guillebeau. I have been producing this podcast, Side Hustle School, for quite some time now. Every single day since January 1, 2017, I am so grateful for our global community of people out there who are all trying to explore the world of part-time or full-time entrepreneurship, but typically starting from a place of being really busy, having lots of responsibility, and so on. And so when I started this show,
I knew I wanted to talk about all kinds of issues related to this topic, anything that would be relevant for someone getting into this world for the first time, or perhaps someone feeling a little bit overwhelmed with all the different advice and information out there. And something I learned pretty quickly is that it's not just practical or logistical issues that our listeners have to deal with. There are all sorts of emotional or psychological issues that come up as well. So lots of people who are like, I really feel, you know, again, overwhelmed, or I feel like I'm not giving my best. Like I feel like I'm not giving my best to my side project or to my day job.
Or perhaps I worry that if I take time for myself or my own project, I'm taking it away from my family. Had that come up a number of different times. And all these things we have discussed in some detail. I like to think of it as kind of an ongoing dialogue that we're having here. But today's listener brings up something from a very different perspective. She actually brings up a
problem that I don't think we've ever talked about, at least not in this way. So I don't want to give it all away. We're going to hear from her directly. I was going to say what her question is, but she'll tell you. So shout out to our sponsor, Her Question, and then let's dive in a bit deeper. Hi, Chris,
this is Lauren, and I've been listening to the show since season one. Here's a question I don't think you've ever talked about. My sister has started an art restoration service where she cleans up old paintings and antique furniture. It's a lot of painstaking work that has to be done carefully and delicately. So it takes a lot of time. Since she started the service, she's had three referrals
to well off clients and has made $5,000. So far so good, right? But here's the thing. She feels guilty about it. She says it's a form of capitalism that only rich people can participate in.
And even though she loves art, she'd rather do something to make it more accessible. I told her there's nothing wrong with charging people for a valuable service. What would you tell her? Thanks for your help, Chris. Wow, what a question, right? I'm so curious what our listeners would think about
this. Yeah, so Lauren, thank you for sharing this. And Lauren's sister, just in case you happen to be listening, congratulations on your service. I mean, you've had well off clients, you've made $5,000. You know, I am tempted to say, like my first inclination when I think about this question is to say, you know, it's okay, don't feel guilty, like you shouldn't feel guilty. Just like Lauren
said, there's nothing wrong with charging a good price for a valuable service, you know. And I do believe that the challenge is that, you know, if you say that to Lauren's sister, it's not really going to help much because you know, saying that is kind of like telling somebody who's anxious, don't feel anxious, you know, or if you're depressed, don't be depressed. Like as somebody who often feels anxious and sometimes depressed, it doesn't really work like that. You know, if I could just stop feeling anxious, I would, right. So I think what's helpful here is to separate reason from emotion a bit. And you know, reason says, it doesn't really make sense. It's a free
market, you know, people who own paintings that need to be restored, clearly have the money to pay for it. You know, so yes, that's capitalism. But what are you supposed to do? Are you supposed to do it for free? You know, it's a lot of painstaking work, like we just heard in this question. So nothing wrong with it, I think. But emotion says, you know, at least for Lauren's
sister, emotion says, I have this hang up or objection, no matter how illogical or unreasonable it may seem. So let's take that objection or concern at face value, let's give it the respect it deserves, while also being willing to investigate it a little bit. I think that's what's helpful when you come up against this kind of thing. And so I guess my question would be, can you have that vision to make art more accessible, while still providing this service? In other words, is there something you can do to pursue that mission, while still making a good income from people who seem to be happy to provide it? So if you really think you can't, like if your answer
is honestly no, then go with your heart, right? Like you should never listen to anybody else who says otherwise. But I would just suggest that it probably is possible in some way, you know, to pursue your vision of making art more accessible, but also charging a good price for this valuable service. And that's kind of where I come back to it is okay to charge for something that has value, the people who are clearly willing to pay for this service think it has value. But somehow you'll have to reconcile these things for yourself. So good luck. And thanks again,
Lauren, for the question. Good luck, Lauren and Lauren sister. Listeners, if you have a question, or if you have a comment on this or anything else, come to Side Hustle School comm slash questions. We will continue to feature them throughout the year with this ongoing dialogue and updates from other listeners as they launch their projects. Thank you so much for tuning in today. I really enjoy making this show for you. I hope you'll come back tomorrow. My name is
Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School from the onward project.
