This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
In today's episode, we're going to connect with a high school senior from Denver, a young entrepreneur who's at the exciting crossroads of education. And well, I guess that would be entrepreneurship. And by the way, when I say entrepreneurship, I don't want to put anybody off. When I first started this podcast, I made it really clear that it's for people with jobs, people with busy lives who don't necessarily want to be a startup or have a capital E entrepreneurship business. It's just for regular people who want to make extra money. And maybe you want to own your own business and go full time, but whether you
do or don't, you can still start a project that makes money without quitting your job using a skill that you already have. And without going into debt, that is our mission. That's our core value. We've got a listener here who is mindful of challenges and limitations. Again, I make the show for busy people. And in this case, balancing it with impending
college plans and limited resources. So let's see if I can offer some guidance to help young people like this. Perhaps some of our listeners as well, or perhaps someone our listener knows, if you know somebody who's in this situation or is coming out of college or in college, high school could be younger than that. We've got all kinds of people out there. What can they do? You know, how can they navigate the early stages of a journey like this? Let's
talk about it. High school senior ready to hustle. That's today's episode coming right up. Hi there, Chris and team. I'm Alex, a high school senior from Denver. I've been listening
to Side Hustle School for a couple of months, and it's really opened my eyes to the world of entrepreneurship. I'm eager to start my first side hustle, but feel a bit overwhelmed by the challenges ahead, especially as a young entrepreneur. What advice can you offer to help young people like me successfully launch and manage a side hustle? I don't have a lot of resources and I also have to think about my college plans. Alex, it's great to start your entrepreneurial journey early. And I also love the constraint
of not having a lot of resources. You know, that's why we make this podcast every day. Our listeners don't have a lot of resources. And I don't just mean money. In fact, mostly I mean time. Like you have to think about the college plans, as mentioned. Our listeners
have families, they have jobs, they have all kinds of stuff that they're doing that takes their time. So you need to be intentional. But also I think as a young person, you need to experiment, which I don't think that advice is in conflict. Like I think you have to take some time to figure out what you're good at, what you like to do. How do you use your skills to the best of your ability? How do you choose which skills to develop further? Like you're
not going to have all the answers right away. And I think it's wrong to pressure people to have those answers. So don't worry if the first project is not hugely successful. That's totally okay. In fact, I would expect you to do a bunch of different things along the way. But I will give you a couple of ideas since you ask. So number one, digital freelancing.
Research a skill in an area like writing, graphic design, social media management, platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, there are others. Those are ideal for beginners. They also require minimal upfront investment, often an investment of zero dollars, actually assuming you already have a computer and whatever software you need. Number two, tutoring or some other form of educational content. Okay, so use your academic strengths by tutoring younger students or creating content on YouTube or TikTok or Twitch, another service. This not only earns
you money, but also builds a brand of sorts, build some authority for you, helps you begin building a platform if you're not doing that already. And then the third idea is e-commerce with a twist. Alright, so start a small online business could be fulfilled by Amazon. A lot of people are doing that now. It could be anything else from handmade crafts on Etsy to drop shipping products on Shopify, also really big right now. But pick a niche market
that aligns with your interests. Don't spend a ton of money. You probably have to spend some money with e-commerce, but don't go in too hard. Just go in and try different stuff. And I think it's a wonderful thing. I got started hustling and running little businesses
when I was 19. And it was just such a great time in my life that was very formative and allowed me to do so many different things later. So I am a fan of this approach. Alex, best wishes. Let us know how it goes. Listeners, I'm cheering you on every single day. I really
want to help you succeed in 2024 and beyond, but specifically 2024 because that's where we are now. Let me know if I can help, sidehustleschool.com/questions on social media every day. And of course, more to come here on the podcast every single day. That's all for now though. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
the Onward Project.
