This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
In this week's Failure Friday segment, we're gonna hear from an up close and personal intimacy coach for couples. Alas, her quest to become the cupid of the digital age fizzled out. That's right, it did not work out. This is Failure Friday. Welcome to Failure Friday.
Welcome to Side Hustle School. Side Hustle School is the name of the podcast seven days a week. And one day every week, which happens to be on Friday, that's the name, we have a collection of short stories about mistakes, missteps, disasters, all those things that don't go so well. So you get to hear about lots of successes all the other days. Let's talk about the things that go wrong.
And of course you get to hear directly from a side hustler who has struggled in some way. The stories vary, but they often begin with an idea, what they thought would happen, and then of course what really happened. And what they learned, which is the most important part. Now today's short story features Julia. She's a data analyst from Kansas City.
For her side hustle, she tried something very different, becoming an intimacy coach for couples. Naturally, since this is Failure Friday, you probably know it didn't work out so well. But let's hear the story from her. [Music]
Hey there, I'm Julia. By day, I live in the monotonous world of data analytics.
But by night, my mind wanders into the realm of romance and intimacy. Inspired by a podcast on successful relationships, I decided to throw my hat into the ring of online intimacy coaching. Being a romantic at heart and having read a library's worth of self-help books, I thought, why not channel this wisdom into something meaningful? I was eager to help couples rekindle their love and rediscover the spark that initially brought them together. It was a noble endeavor if I do say so myself.
I mean, who wouldn't want to be the cupid of the digital age? I started building a website, couplesthatclick.com, and created several programs aimed at recharging romance, improving communication, and fostering deeper connections. My favorite was the rom-com to real love course. I thought it was clever, blending cinema's fairy tale romance with the reality of love's daily grind. The universe, it seemed, had a different opinion.
On launch day, my excitement was as high as the number of participants was low. I thought I would be dealing with a flood, but instead, I faced a drought. Undeterred, I pushed forward with my first clients, Sarah and Dave, who were looking to add some spice to their decade-long relationship. One of the first sessions got a bit heated when the couple started debating their unevenly divided chores. My suggestion of a soul tree candlelit dinner followed by a friendly chat over dishwashing turned into a food fight, minus the food.
Another unforgettable moment was when I asked a client to express her feelings in a sensational poem. She unleashed her inner Sylvia Plath and wrote a fiery piece. It ended with, "Your snoring is louder than a bear's. "It's my nightly cross to bear." Let's just say, the poem did little to stoke the fires of passion. However, my piece de resistance was when I equated partners to a pair of lacy lingerie.
The idea was to symbolize how much each one compliments the other, providing balance and creating a perfect ensemble. Little did I expect the discussion to veer into a debate about who was the itchy lace and who was the comfy silk. After these debacles, I realized my approach was more sitcom than sexy. My client list began to resemble a deserted island and the office folks got a good laugh out of my lacy love analogy. But amidst the blenders, I learned a great deal.
Real life romance is not a candlelit scene from a Nicholas Sparks novel. It's raw, unpredictable and requires more than just fancy analogies. So here I am, firmly back in the world of data, but with an unforgettable rollercoaster ride into the world of love and romance. My detour into intimacy coaching added laughter, experience and a touch of risque to my life. So even though the sunset arrived a bit early for my rom-com program, I have no regrets.
[Music]
Julia, thanks so much for sharing this story. And I remind you and our listeners that never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. There's always something new you can try. There's always a new project, a new goal. And often it's better to just let go of things that aren't working so that you can focus on something that's gonna be a huge hit.
So Julia, I'm wishing you every success. Listeners, I'm wishing you every success. Let me know how it's going. If you have a question and update for us about your hustle, sidehustleschool.com/questions. This has been episode 2,414.
So you can always find notes for every episode at the episode number, conveniently, sidehustleschool.com/2414. That's all for now. New episode every day, seven days a week. Subscribe, follow wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Chris Guillebeau, this is Side Hustle School.
[Music]
From the Onward Project.
