This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hey there, greetings. What's up? Thanks for tuning in today. My name is Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to Side Hustle School, the only podcast featuring daily episodes, case studies, tips, stories, reports, all about creating extra money without quitting your job.
That has been our mission for more than 1,800 episodes, seven days a week. Thank you for tuning in. Today's caller is an avid concert and festival-goer. She's really into those big music festivals. And now that some big events are back in full swing, at least in some places, obviously that varies a bit around the world, but she's wondering, is there a way to get paid to help VIPs have a great experience?
Because these concerts and these festivals are not cheap, and wherever money is being spent, there's often some opportunity where you have money being spent and also people who are passionate about something. So let's use this question because you might not be into festivals yourself. Let's use this question to think about some experience you may have, or you may have had, and how you might turn that skill or knowledge into something monetizable, because that is after all our goal, right? You already have the skills you need. You just need to learn to adapt them in some way.
Many of our case studies are essentially about adaptation or skill transformation, okay? So that's the question. We'll think about it from a broader perspective as well. Can I market myself as a festival concierge? Her question, my detailed answer coming right up.
[Music]
Hi Chris, this is Vanessa from Bend, and I've been following this show since last year. Congrats on season six of Side Hustle School. Now that festivals and concerts are back in swing, at least in some places, I think there's a big market of people who want to attend more events, but would also like some personal assistance. I'm thinking of high-end guests who can spend a couple of thousand dollars on a festival pass at Coachella or other big events. What can I do to market myself as a festival concierge?
I think of it like being a travel agent. My understanding is that most travelers no longer use travel agents, but some travel agents are able to stay in business by focusing on those premium guests or people who require customized itineraries. So can I do that? But for festivals, thanks, and looking forward to your response. [Music]
Vanessa, thanks so much.
So glad you're out there. Thanks for listening all this time. Now, I like the comparison you make to the travel agent model. I think that's a good comparison. Most travel agents are long gone, but a select group of them are doing very well through that type of focus, premium service for a select type of traveler, something that's really specific and specialized.
And I don't actually know a whole lot about big music festivals, but my understanding is that some of them can be pretty expensive with ticket prices in the low thousands of dollars sometimes. And that's just the actual ticket price. Then of course there's lodging and whatever other add-ons from there. So some people clearly are spending a lot on going to Coachella or South by Southwest for more international events, like some of the bigger gatherings in Europe. And obviously this all depends on the local situation, as mentioned in the introduction.
But I'm sure there's something that can be done, okay? At least wherever these festivals are happening. My only concern is that the way travel agents make money is typically through commission, from the hotels or cruise lines, the tour operators. So I don't actually know if the festivals work with that model. Like Vanessa might know since she's more familiar with it.
If so, well, that's great, that works. If not, though, you'd have to justify your fee as an additional cost to the customer in paying you directly. So that may or may be possible. That may or may not be difficult. I'm not sure, but I think generally speaking, whatever approach you take here, probably the next best step or the best next step is to build your authority in this field.
How will customers find you? How can you become the authority for reporting on festivals or for showing hacks or where the best deals are or best experiences or how to experience some of these things safely. Or there's lots of different directions you can take, but if you want to be a travel agent, then you have to be an expert in a certain itinerary or destination, at least these days, if you want to be a successful travel agent. So the same is true with festivals. Like how can you establish that authority and then decide on your marketing from there, I think, as opposed to the other way around.
Now, as I said, listeners, think about how this might apply to you. You might not be into Coachella or South by Southwest, but there's some experience you've had that is valuable, something that you have skill or knowledge in. There is a way to adapt it. There's a way to transform it. And the path there is kind of thinking, how could this become a product or a service?
What is the offer that I could make? How could I take the skill or knowledge and allow other people to experience it and help them save time or save money or experience some other major benefit, maybe have an experience that they couldn't otherwise have? Now, these are the questions you ask as you're exploring these kinds of things. And inevitably, at least like if you spend a little bit of time on it, you're gonna find several options. And then from there, of course, we can narrow it down.
But first step is thinking about those skills and that knowledge you have 'cause you do have unique experience. All right, I'll stop for now. Hopefully you get the point. If not, we've got more episodes coming up, new episode every day. In fact, I want to continue this conversation, hopefully make it helpful to you, inspiring, but not just inspiring, also kind of nudge you towards taking action.
That's the goal. I'll be back again tomorrow with a new episode. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
