This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hey friends, what's up? Chris Guillebeau here, excited to be back in the studio, recording some new episodes this week, starting with an episode in our first $1,000 series, first $1,000. This one's specifically about mocktail tours. Now, you may or may not be aware there has been just kind of a renaissance or a resurgence in the idea of not drinking alcohol or drinking less alcohol. This is popular among people of all ages.
And as part of that, mocktails have been kind of having a moment. I'm noticing as I go to different restaurants, now increasingly there is a whole mocktail section or sometimes a separate menu and these are not cheap. So that's also interesting from a business perspective. A lot of these mocktails are just a couple dollars cheaper than the cocktail versions, which sometimes have premium alcohol. So I'm not surprised that restaurants and bars are quite happy about this.
Now today in the first $1,000 segment, we're gonna look at a Washington DC tour guide who specializes in mocktail making and sober curious visits. That would be visits to bars in the area. You don't need to drink alcohol to have a good time and he is intent to make money from it as well. Why not? So his name is Tristan, let's hear about it from him.
I'll come back at the end with a quick wrap up. And by the way, welcome to Side Hustle School. This is Chris Guillebeau, your host, so glad you're here. Let's jump in with a story from Tristan. [Music]
Three years ago, I quit drinking and it was one of the most transformative decisions of my life.
Not only did it improve my health, but it also opened my eyes to the rise of the sober curious movement. I started looking for bars and restaurants in Washington DC that served decent non-alcoholic options. They were few and far between, but they existed. Inspired by the idea, I thought, why not help others explore this sober curious lifestyle while enjoying the vibrant night scene of DC? The first hurdle was doing the research.
I put together a list of all the spots that offered a range of delicious, intricate mocktails. Then I did something very basic. I went to Yelp and Trip Advisor and wrote reviews for them. I mentioned how their place was a great destination for people who are sober or sober curious. Not long after, a few of these establishments reached out to me and we formed partnerships.
And they agreed to host my mocktail making classes and tours. My initial investment went into marketing. I started a Facebook page and upgraded my Yelp presence, but what really drew attention was my presence on Instagram. I took high res photos of mocktails, shared inspirational sobriety stories, and started using local hashtags to gain visibility. For my mocktail making classes, I charged $35 per person.
These were two hour classes where participants learned to make three different mocktails. The guided tours of sober curious bars were priced at $40 per person, including a tasting at each stop. When I hosted my first class, eight people attended. The feeling of making $320 in two hours minus some operating costs was exhilarating. The guided tours kicked off slower, but after two months, I had 16 participants on a single tour.
My first $1,000 was in the bank and it was an incredible validation of my business idea. To be clear though, there were some learning curves along the way. Understanding how to manage time and setting up a reservation system took longer than I expected. I also learned to collect feedback diligently. Some participants provided insights that I hadn't thought of, like recommending non-alcoholic beers for the class, which became a big hit.
If you're considering starting a side hustle like this, know your local scene well. Form strong partnerships with establishments, but also have a clear agreement to avoid misunderstandings. Use social media, not just for marketing, but also for market research. Know your audience's preferences and be prepared to pivot your offerings. The sober curious trend is here to stay, and I'm thrilled to be contributing to this meaningful change.
Here's to the next $1,000 and beyond. [Music]
All right, Tristan, well done. Really appreciate you sharing the story, and congratulations as well on the business, on the sober lifestyle. I do think sober curious is really interesting for a lot of people who are not necessarily wanting to stop drinking entirely, or sometimes they wanna not drink for a year. It's a little bit different or at least evolved from how not drinking has been treated socially in different ways, I guess, until fairly recently.
So I do think it's definitely a good thing, more options for people, and of course, nobody should feel pressured to drink. If you don't wanna drink alcohol, you might as well have something good to drink. So these mocktails are cool. And as I said, of course, there's lots of business opportunities whenever there is any sort of social change, and that's what we're seeing here. So again, good work, Tristan.
Listeners, I hope you found it encouraging. If you have a question and update about your side hustle, sidehustleschool.com/questions. Let me know what's on your mind, and thank you so much for tuning in. I just love making this podcast for you. It comes out every day, of course, less than 10 minutes a day because I respect your time.
So with that, I'm gonna sign off. I'll be back tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
- From the Onward Project.
