This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Greetings, everyone. I hope you have been enjoying your summer if you're in the Northern Hemisphere. Of course, we got lots of listeners all over the world, so it's different seasons, different places, but for me, at least, it is summer. I have been getting ready for a trip to Croatia. If all goes well, I will be there very soon.
I might say more about that in a future episode, but hopefully that works out for me, and I hope that you've had a chance to maybe do some travels as well. Whatever it is you're up to in the world, I'm always cheering you on. I hope that you are taking positive steps, moving forward with your side hustle, your small business, whatever it is that's important to you, and of course, I'll be here every single day with a new episode. Try to keep it concise and on point as well. And with that, let's now segue into the episode, Failure Friday.
This is a fun one. On-demand haiku poet shows restraint. Okay, so in this Failure Friday segment, we're gonna hear from an aspiring poet. Well, I guess she's more than an aspiring poet. She is a poet, but she is aspiring to get paid for it.
That's the aspirational point. She's a poet who wants to get paid for on-demand haiku at public events. Unfortunately, I'm just gonna tell you right now, this idea is a bust, and hopefully that's not a super spoiler because it is Failure Friday, which is a collection of short stories about failures. Also mistakes, missteps, disasters, stuff that comes your way that is either predictable or unpredictable, but whatever it is, it's not the outcome you were hoping for. And what do you do with that?
How do you move forward? So this story features Riley from Durham, North Carolina, her idea as mentioned to become an on-demand haiku poet. And in fact here, I'm seeing in my notes, I don't know what I've been saying about failure because this was actually a huge success going on to earn $75,000 in the first month. No, wait a second. Those are notes for some other episode.
Okay, okay, nevermind. The story did in fact, sadly fail. The brevity and clarity of her haiku wasn't enough to overcome the fact that it just wasn't a great business idea. So that's the reality. But hey, there's always something we can learn.
Let's hear the story from her. [Music]
Hi, my name is Riley Campbell, and I've always been captivated by the beauty and simplicity of haiku poetry. When I stumbled upon the idea of becoming an on-demand haiku poet, I was instantly drawn to it. I imagined myself penning bespoke verses for clients seeking a unique and thoughtful gift or a memorable social media post. How hard could it be?
I set up an online shop complete with an elegant logo and a minimalist design reflecting the essence of haiku. I invested hours in perfecting my craft, creating sample haikus to showcase my talent. I even developed different packages from personalized haikus for special occasions to bulk orders for corporate events. Soon, I received my first order, a haiku to be used as a birthday greeting on Instagram. My heart swelled with pride as I crafted a 17-syllable verse capturing the essence of friendship and celebration.
But as the days turned into weeks and weeks into months, the orders remained far and few between. It became clear that the demand for on-demand haiku poetry was as limited as the verses themselves. In my quest to drum up business, I tried various marketing tactics, targeted social media ads, sending lots of emails, and even handing out haiku-laden flyers at the park. But despite my best efforts, the world simply wasn't ready to embrace the beauty of on-demand haiku poetry. As the realization sunk in, I couldn't help but feel disappointed.
The dream of turning my passion for haiku into a thriving business had vanished like the cherry blossoms in the wind. Yet in the midst of my failed venture, I discovered a silver lining. My time spent honing my haiku skills had rekindled my love for creative writing and helped me rediscover the joy of crafting words into art. I closed down my online shop and returned to writing poetry for the sheer pleasure of it, no longer weighed down by the pressure of turning my passion into profit. And as I penned my final haiku for a dear friend's wedding, I did so with a sense of gratitude.
My foray into the world of on-demand haiku poetry taught me the importance of staying true to my passion and finding joy in the creative process, regardless of the monetary success. So while my dreams of becoming a renowned on-demand haiku poet may have withered like those cherry blossoms, I carry with me the lessons I've learned and the renewed appreciation for the art of poetry. From a next side hustle, I'm hoping to have some of that monetary success as well. [Music]
Thanks so much to Riley for sharing this story. I appreciate that.
And Riley, I remind you and all of our listeners, never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. There is something else out there for you, no doubt. No doubt. And this is gonna be a great story one day. Well, it already is a great story, okay?
But just in your own entrepreneurial history, when you look back, you're gonna be like, "Oh, I did all these things. And here's one thing I did that didn't work at all." But then it led me to something better. And that I think is the goal. That's the goal for Riley. That's the goal for all of us.
I've tried lots of projects that haven't worked. So you gotta keep getting up and doing something different, but also learn from your mistake. So thanks to Riley. Listeners, if you've got a question and update for us about your hustle, you know where to go, sidehustleschool.com/questions. This has been episode 2,365.
We've got a new one coming up. New one's coming out tomorrow. I'll be traveling a bit, but episodes continue to roll out. And I hope you take care of yourself out there. My name's Chris Guillebeau.
This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the "Onward Project."
