This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
I've got an exciting episode for you today. Thanks for tuning in. This is Chris Guillebeau, your host of Side Hustle School. Always fun to hear from international callers, international side hustlers, who have been able to create some real income, create economic empowerment, often a whole new life in some cases, through the money-making power of a side hustle. And today's feature is within the segment we call your first $1,000.
This is always a popular segment. We like to look at how somebody in fact got going, how did they go from idea to that $1,000, and then often they go well beyond that. Often they go to $10,000, $100,000, sometimes a six figure annual side hustle, sometimes multiple six figures. I mean, just so many cool stories out there, but again, focusing on those first steps of how do you go from not having a side hustle that's making money at least, to one that is bringing in ideally passive income, but if not passive income, then something that is absolutely worth it for you, whatever that looks like. And so with that in mind, today's feature comes from Aman in Mumbai, India.
As I said, we're gonna go international here. Aman has built a bustling business as an online math tutor for high school students in the US. I could have used Aman when I was in high school, but well, that's a whole other story. We won't even get into that. Fortunately, he's around now for people who need it.
So what about his first $1,000? How did he make it happen? What did it feel like? What did he learn? Maybe somebody else out there wants to emulate the story or do something in their own way.
So let's hear it in his own words. I'll come back at the end with a quick wrap up. [Music]
Greetings friends. My name is Aman from the bustling city of Mumbai, India. Now you may be wondering how a guy from Mumbai found himself tutoring high school math students halfway across the globe in the United States.
Well, let me tell you, it's quite a tale with as many twists and turns as a quadratic equation. I've always had an act for mathematics with a degree in applied mathematics from the Indian Institute of Technology. And having taught at a local school for a few years, I found myself yearning for a new challenge. Then I chanced upon an ad seeking online tutors for American students. The timing of the tutoring sessions were a bit tricky due to the time difference, but I saw this as an exciting opportunity to use my skillset while experiencing a different educational culture.
I started with one student. I'll admit the first few sessions felt like solving a puzzle with half the pieces missing. The student was struggling with algebra. A subject I considered my forte, but we were both new to this online setup and the cross-cultural exchange. With some adjustments and plenty of patience, we made progress.
We started understanding the concepts better and his grades began to improve. That was my first win and word spread. Referrals started to come in and before I knew it, I had a small roster of students. To facilitate this growing venture, I set up a page outlining my tutoring services and costs. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was effective.
I charged $20 per hour and considering I was delivering value, the parents didn't hesitate. This was also cheaper than what it cost locally for them. Getting to that first $1,000 mark felt like reaching the summit of a mathematically precise mountain. It took around 50 hours of tutoring spread over a couple of months, but the satisfaction was immense. It wasn't just the monitor again, it was the confirmation that I was making a positive impact on these students' lives.
As for challenges, oh, they were plenty. There was the language barrier, the time difference and the varied curriculum standards, but the biggest one was understanding the diverse learning methods of each student and adapting my teaching approach accordingly. So what's next for me? I want to grow. The goal is to expand my student base and offer specialized group sessions.
I've been researching American curriculums in more detail to better tailor my tutoring approach. I've even considered taking some courses to become certified as an international educator. The journey so far has taught me that teaching is not just about understanding the subject matter, it's about understanding the student. It's about breaking down complex problems into digestible bits and making the learning process engaging. With every new student and every new challenge, I'm not just teaching, I'm learning too.
And I'm excited to see where this journey takes me next. [Music]
Very cool, Iman. Thank you so much for telling us the story. And listeners, I was just thinking about this as I was working on the episode throughout the Side Hustle School Archives, a bunch of different stories about online tutoring of different forms using different platforms, how people have been able to do it, how they have been able to increase their rates to where they're earning a good hourly rate, how they've been able to go from online tutoring to building out a business of selling guides or products, actually creating passive income from something that is not passive, at least in the beginning. So lots of stuff there in the archives for you.
It's always completely free. You can access them all on sidehustleschool.com. You can access many of them in Spotify, Apple Music, wherever you get your podcasts, but they don't always contain the full archives of more than 2,300 stories at this point. So you can get it all free on the website. Of course, if you've got a question or update for us about your hustle, sidehustleschool.com/questions, let me know.
I hope this is a helpful resource to you. I'm excited to bring you a new episode every single day, all completely free. My name is Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to "Side Hustle School." [Music]
- From the Onward Project.
