This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Let's talk about one of my favorite things in the world, cats and cat videos specifically. Now listen, I'll just be honest with you here. If I could add up all the time in my life that I have spent watching cat videos, well, I think I'd be surprised it wasn't more and it's time well spent. Very happy of all the time I've spent watching cat videos. But back to our show because that's why you're here.
You want to learn something about small business, about starting a side hustle, making extra money. Our show today features a listener question. Can you monetize cat videos? Well, it made me think, I wonder if I could monetize watching cat videos, not making them, just watching them like over and over. That's the real dream I think.
But since that's not feasible in any way that I know, let's go to the original question. Does anyone make money from cat videos? And if so, how can I get in on that? All right, detailed question coming up in just 30 seconds. Quick shout out to our sponsor.
Thanks sponsor and thank you listeners. [Music]
Hi there. This might sound like a weird question, but there's a point to it. Does anyone make money on cat videos? I tried Googling for the answer, but all I found was more cat videos.
I spent almost an hour watching them, which brings me back to the original question. With so many talented cats out there and every owner with a smartphone, who's monetizing this? Or is it really just for entertainment? Keep up the good work over there. I listen every day and really appreciate the show.
[Music]
Well, unfortunately, got some breaking news here. It really is mostly for entertainment. That's actually, you know, like, there's not a secret money-making scheme behind it, at least not one that I have discovered. The few exceptions would be celebrity cats. You know, celebrity cats like Grumpy Cat, there's a few others, whose owners slash managers have turned into brands.
They've got books, they've got appearance fees. I'm not making that up. There are cat conventions where these cats get paid. I guess the owners probably get most of the money. Exploitative, what can you say?
But, you know, that's like the 0.0001%, you know, compared to your average content creator, who's posting on cats of Instagram, or one of the many subreddits that feature cats. Late at night, I go through Reddit and mostly look at cat subreddits. So, yeah, that's the thing. Like, there's no secret path there. Those cats are just into that Hakuna Matata lifestyle.
And, you know, some things are just for fun. So if you figure out a way that I have not discovered, let me know and I can pass it on to our listeners. Otherwise, those cat videos really are just for entertainment. All right, I always appreciate unusual questions. If you've got an unusual question, or one that you think might be different, and something that we have featured in more than 2,000 episodes, let me know.
sidehustleschool.com/questions. We'll continue to feature them every week, along with some business ideas that might actually be more helpful than just making cat videos. Don't let that stop you. That's all for today. My name's Chris Guillebeau.
This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
