This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hey listeners, hey friends. What's up, welcome to Side Hustle School. Thanks for tuning in wherever you are out there. I know we've got people all across the United States and Canada, lots of other countries as well. I think the last time I looked at the analytics, there are people listening for more than 80 countries on a pretty consistent basis, which is just so awesome.
So thanks for being such a big part of the community. You are awesome. And of course I wanna get on with the program because I know your time is important and you're busy. So this segment is in our Failure Friday collection. That collection is in fact short stories about mistakes, missteps, disasters, and of course failure.
All of the non successes, let's say, 'cause I'm always telling you success stories and we're always hearing from people who are getting their business up and running and sometimes making a lot of money and that's great. But no business is without challenge, no venture, nothing worth doing is ever easy. At least it's not always consistently easy. So it's interesting to see how people can kind of work through a difficulty, what they learn along the way and usually how they end up bouncing back in some fashion. Today's short story features Billy from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Long ago I mentioned a story about a guy in Japan who had found great success renting himself out to strangers. Not for anything weird, I know it sounds weird, but he was just doing it for casual hangouts. If you wanted to hang out with this guy, you could go and book some time. He was just a regular person, he wasn't like an influencer or anything. And Billy thought, "Let's bring this to Oklahoma." And everyone in Oklahoma thought, "Let's not." Okay, so that's the short version, but of course it's all about the details.
Let's hear the story from Billy over to him. [Music]
So there I was, a small town factory manager in Tulsa, Oklahoma, scrolling through the internet when I stumbled upon this intriguing story about a guy in Japan who was making a fortune by renting himself out to strangers. I thought to myself, this is pure genius. Introverts and friend seekers unite. This could be the next big thing in Tulsa.
With a surge of excitement and a little bit of naivety, I set to work launching my very own Rent a Friend business. My unique selling point, I would market my services to introverts and anyone who wanted to make friends, but didn't know how. I was convinced that I'd soon be rolling in cash, helping people navigate the tricky waters of friendship in a world that seemed to have forgotten how to make real connections. I invested time and money in designing the perfect website, complete with a catchy tagline. Don't be shy, give Rent a Friend a try.
I even printed out snazzy business cards and created social media accounts to help spread the word. I was ready to become Tulsa's very own friend for hire, catering to the lonely hearts and social butterflies alike. Unfortunately, the world had other plans for me. From the get-go, it seemed like my unique business idea was destined to be more of a punchline than a profitable venture. My first client, a sweet elderly lady, hired me for an afternoon of companionship.
However, she seemed more interested in teaching me how to knit, and this was not a talent I had. I left her house with a half-finished scarf and the feeling that maybe my Rent a Friend business wasn't quite the goldmine I'd imagined. Things did get much better from there. I spent a Saturday afternoon playing board games with a conspiracy theorist who insisted that the earth was flat and that my business was secretly funded by lizard people. I spent three hours in mostly silence, contemplating the life choices that led me to this moment.
As the weeks went by, it became increasingly clear that demand for my Rent a Friend services was virtually non-existent. The introverts I'd hoped to help were, unsurprisingly, not exactly clamoring to pay a stranger for companionship. My clientele mainly consisted of eccentric individuals who seemed more interested in testing the limits of my patience than in making genuine connections. With a heavy heart and a lighter wallet, I eventually accepted the inevitable and closed down my Rent a Friend business. My dream of becoming Tulsa's premier friend for hire had fizzled out like a poorly planned high schooler reunion.
But as they say, laughter is the best medicine, and looking back on my Rent a Friend misadventures, I'm strangely proud of it. I may not have made a fortune, but I certainly gained a collection of bizarre and unforgettable experiences. My ill-fated attempt at renting out my friendship taught me that it's okay to admit defeat and move on. In the end, my failure became a lesson in resilience. I may not have revolutionized the world of friendship in Oklahoma, but at least I tried something new and dared to think outside the box.
And who knows, maybe one day I'll stumble upon the perfect side hustle and hit the jackpot, all while reminiscing about the days when I tried to rent myself out as a friend. [Music]
Billy and everyone never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. That's the theme of Failure Friday. I love the story. I also appreciate the humor and the humility as well.
So listeners, if you have a question or an update for us about your hustle, or perhaps a contribution to Failure Friday or Throwback Thursday, any of our other segments, sidehustleschool.com/questions. Today's notes, sidehustleschool.com/2337. Once again, thanks for being awesome. New episode coming out tomorrow. My name's Chris Guillebeau.
This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
- From the Onward Project.
