This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hello and welcome. This is Side Hustle School. I'm your host, Chris Guillebeau, bringing you the weekly recap today, episode 288. That means we have just finished week number 41 on the show. I'm heading up to Vancouver, Canada tomorrow, and then on to Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto.
I always love visiting my friends in Canada. If you're around, I would love to see you. I was excited to hear that the Side Hustle book has been a Globe and Mail bestseller for two weeks in a row now, and I look forward to going to some of my favorite cities in the world. Whether you're in Canada or not, you can check out all my tour stops at sidehustleschool.com/tour. We've actually added four more stops since I spoke to you last about this.
You can see where they are and sign up to come out at that website, sidehustleschool.com/tour. And if you don't see your city, you can also put your name down so that we can see where there is a side hustling demand for future stops. By the way, one more quick note about that. If you want to help, if you represent a group or an organization or a venue that would love to host a Side Hustle stop, we are still rolling along and I'd love to hear from you. Send me a quick note, podcast@sidehustleschool.com.
Let us know what you can do and what you have in mind. We'll get that to our tour coordinator and see what we can figure out. Also, one more quick announcement. Have you registered your book yet? If you have a copy of Side Hustle in any format, I encourage you to register on the site, sidehustleschool.com/register or just go to the homepage, you can't miss it.
In addition to adding new tour stops, we are adding new resources and bonuses. So some of you may recall before the book came out, there was a pre-order campaign where I encourage you to pre-order and you'd get a special bonus. Well, the book has been out for three weeks now, but we're going to continue to add resources for those who purchased the book and sign up. And if you purchased the book a month ago, of course you're still eligible for this, but if you haven't got it yet or if you just haven't registered yet, be sure to do that because we've got a bunch more fun stuff coming out, including a Side Hustle task tracker, which is something that a lot of people have asked for. Now let's jump into the recap for this week.
I've got two listener voicemails. I've got an email from a listener in Australia. Of course, we have a look back on the episodes of the week, a quick little preview and a word of encouragement. First up, here's that update from Melissa in Australia. She wrote in or called several months ago to tell us about her Side Hustle idea of doing Side Hustle-focused accounting and tax advice.
I thought that was interesting. We talked about it a bit on the show and here's what she writes in to say, "Hey, Chris, I thought I would touch base regarding my idea I had earlier in the year. I went ahead with setting up a website for my accounting practice and simply named it Side Hustle Accounting, providing Australian tax advice and encouragement for Side Hustlers and entrepreneurs here in Australia. Since officially launching in July, I have averaged one new client per week. The clients have been a mix of full-time employees and full-time stay-at-home moms who have started a Side Hustle.
They either have no idea where to begin from a tax perspective or they've tried talking to their previous accountant about it and have been met with blank stares when talking about a Side Hustle. I know that's shocking. The best part of me has been able to encourage others in their hustling endeavors. Thank you for the encouragement to move forward with my idea. I'm also excited to see Brisbane on your list of stops for the book tour.
Thanks again for the podcast, "Regards Melissa Smith." Awesome, thank you, Melissa. I'm glad you decided to move forward with that idea. I think there's gonna be all kinds of opportunities, just like what you're doing, to serve people in the Side Hustle ecosystem. Like people who are starting Side Hustles, they need tax advice. Their previous accountant has no idea what to say.
Like you said, they might need legal forms or documentation, which perhaps relates to our first call-in, at least our first one of the week. So good work, Melissa. And now let's hear from Jessica in Idaho. After Jessica, I believe we have Sam from St. Louis.
- Hi, Chris, this is Jessica from Boise. I've been listening to the show since January and I absolutely love it. My question for you is, if a person is looking to sell professional documents or forms or professional document preparation services, what platform do you think would be best? You spoke a lot about Etsy and Shopify and those platforms seem to be more of your creative goods and other services. But for something as possibly as bland as professional documents or forms, which platform do you think is best suited for those types of goods?
Thank you so much and I look forward to possibly seeing some of the tour come true. Boise really would appreciate that. Thank you so much, bye. - Hey, Jessica, thank you so much for the question. I have not been in Boise in a long time.
I went there something like seven years ago. I've been trying to get back for a while. I have a good friend there named Nathan Berry who runs ConvertKit. So hopefully we will be able to add that stop up at some point. Now for your question.
I think this idea has some real potential because as you probably have thought about, a lot of people need these services. They need these forms. They need to know how to fill them out. They need to know where to submit them, how to file, all that kind of stuff. I actually wouldn't write off Etsy because Etsy is creative or arts and craftsy like you said, but it sounds like a lot of creatives need what you're offering.
So it almost seems like going where they already are is a good idea. You also might want to check out creativemarket.com which is a marketplace for designers. Again, even though legal documents might not sound that exciting, it's something that a lot of people doing online businesses or otherwise exploring the world of side hustling would need. So I would try those two for sure. Shopify isn't really a network.
It's more of a platform or a system for hosting your own website and your own e-commerce store. So you might want to look at that as well, but it doesn't really compare to the other two. And my last point is the cost of experimenting with these kinds of things is really low. So I think what do you have to lose in trying both of those platforms that I mentioned and any others that you can find as well. So it may or may not work there, but you would get that information in a pretty quick period of time.
Anyway, good luck and I do hope to make it to Boise. - Hey Chris, I love your show. Quick question about a concept I have. I don't know if it's feasible or not. I just want to run it past you and see what you think.
My idea is basically an Airbnb for musicians. This idea came from the fact that I don't have a place to play drums whenever I want to. 'Cause I live in an apartment and for multiple reasons I can't play, obviously because of space and the noise factor. But I know other musicians that have practice spaces and I think it'd be a really cool idea to have an app or a website where people can go on and book somebody else's practice space. Let me know what you think of it.
Thanks again, my name is Sam. - Hey Sam, thanks for the call. Definitely an interesting idea. It's probably been done in some way already, which as I've said a couple of times is not a bad thing at all. There are definitely a lot of musicians in all kinds of cities with this need.
And as you said, other people have practice spaces or studios that aren't being used all the time. So wouldn't it be great if there's some kind of peer-to-peer sharing platform like you described? So I definitely think the need is there. I guess my only question is what is your side hustle goal? 'Cause this almost sounds like a much bigger entrepreneurial project.
Like to truly create the Airbnb for X, like whatever X is, it's definitely gonna require a lot of scale and funding. Not gonna be a simple thing because obviously to do it well you don't want to just do it in your city. You want to do it nationwide and then around the world. Because then you get the benefits of scale and reaching more people and being able to fund the app development and everything else. But for the most part that's not what we talk about on side hustle school because we're trying to help people get started quickly without making a lot of investment.
So I suppose it would be possible to do this in a smaller form like just in your own city. That could be cool too. Like you said, there could be all kinds of extensions that come from it, a whole world of possibilities. But I would just ask you to consider like what are you trying to accomplish with this? Are you trying to make extra money?
Is this a life mission? Is this just something fun? But the idea certainly is solid and interesting. So I wish you the best whatever you decide to do next. [Music]
All right, let's do a little look back on the week.
Episode 282, a corporate employee who makes $350,000 selling mosquito wristbands. This is a classic example of following a problem, not following a passion. Dude is probably not passionate about mosquitoes, but through his travels he is frequently annoyed by them. I like to highlight these stories of people making six figures, multiple six figures from their side hustle so that whenever you meet somebody who's like, "Oh, you're doing a little project." Maybe he'll make some money from it. You can say, "Well, I'm not necessarily trying to get rich.
Like there's all kinds of reasons why I'm doing this for myself." But some people actually do very well in this world. They end up creating all kinds of freedom for themselves and making a lot more than you make in just about any job. Also to restate, just because you're not the first person to think of something doesn't mean you shouldn't proceed. I feel like I need to put this in my email signature because it keeps coming up. So I'm just gonna keep repeating it.
If somebody else has your idea, it's not necessarily a bad thing. It may actually be very positive. Episode 283, a designer who turns bad parking into $25,000 a year. This was a novelty gift item, a collection of magnets that also addresses a common problem. Everybody's annoyed by mosquitoes and everyone is annoyed by bad parking.
Episode 284, two women who team up to create a series of dessert goals festivals. Naturally, it's a sweet success. And it also shows that you can make money producing an event from the ground up. I believe it was last week or very recently, we had an episode about another woman who starts restaurant week in Long Beach, California. Also turns it into a profitable project.
However, I would also say just like making an app or doing anything that's high technology, you might not want to do this unless you have existing skills as an event planner. Event planning is a world of its own and industry of its own. I kind of learned it trial by fire, just like most people do for myself over the past 10 years hosting various events, producing events. So there is a bit of a learning curve to it. Remember, before you go out and get a bunch of new skills or think you have to learn something new, be sure you first look at yourself and take an inventory of your life, your experience, because there might actually be something a lot simpler for you.
And in fact, easier than learning a new skill. Something else I'll put in my email signature. Episode 285, a museum educator creates improvised side hustle from her day job, pursuing a hybrid approach that allows this person who has a liberal arts education to make an extra 800 to $1,000 a month, which of course is significant. And my only advice to her in that episode was to consider pricing higher. Her workshops weren't cheap, but I also think they could be a bit more, especially if she begins to explore corporate team building, which is something she was thinking about at the end.
Episode 286, a young marketing analyst turns college debt into a $100,000 profit. This guy actually did make an app and it's turned out very well. His pricing model is also recurring revenue, which means that people are paying each month. I'm planning a whole extended episode to talk to you about why this is so important and why you might want to consider as you develop your product or service, creating some kind of recurring revenue component to it. So congrats to him.
That was obviously a big success and continues to grow. And then lastly, episode 287, a Canadian couple turns unwanted furniture into $1,000 a month. To close it out, and just before I fly to Canada myself, this couple was doing something that they would have done for free, but they found a way to get paid for it. Also a good thing, they are doing upcycling, which is basically fixing up unwanted furniture. And this is a good idea for those of you who are into DIY stuff.
This idea is definitely not for me since I can't fix or repair or renovate or upcycle anything at all. But it's fun to hear about other people who can do that stuff. All I know how to do is travel and set dessert calls. And I don't even get paid for either of those things. If only there was a podcast I could listen to that would tell me how to take my skills and turn them into extra income.
Let me know if you hear of something like that. [Music]
All right, looking ahead to next week, the show continues every day from the land of Tim Hortons for me. We've got a great episode coming up about a sneaker fan who flips shoes for $5,000 in extra income. There are a lot of folks in our community who are really interested in reselling, which is how I got my start more than 20 years ago, buying low, selling high, trying to figure out how the wholesale world works or distributorships work, or if that sounds complicated, just being able to buy something from one price and selling it for a different one. Anyway, this guy does it with sneakers.
Another big success story of someone making more than $100,000 their first year of side hustling. They tried to start two previous projects, which didn't work out, but they didn't let that get to them. They tried a third project and it turned into a tremendous success. There's probably a lesson in that for somebody out there as well. Now also, there's an episode coming up about Beatles and taxidermy that you'll just have to hear to believe.
We haven't had a crazy animal or insect story in quite a while. My inbox is full of complaints of people who haven't heard about drop shipping crickets or selling lizards or chicken saddles or all the other stuff that we featured throughout the year. So when I heard about this one, I was like, "Oh my God." My wonder assistant, Whitney Corinna, who works on the show, sent me the notes for this story and I was like, "Are we really gonna feature flesh eating beetles? Like, do I wanna tell people they should do that?" And she was like, "Well, you always say it's not about telling people to do exactly what you hear in the examples, but to learn from the examples and to understand that there are problems and needs everywhere and all kinds of ways to make money." I'm like, "Okay, well, flesh eating beetles, taxidermy coming right up only on side hustle school." Also much more about the 27 day plan from idea to income that's featured in the book. I've got a bunch of folks out there going through it in real time.
If that's you, feel free to write in and let me know how it's going. You're not alone, especially as the side hustle book continues to go out around the world. Lots of people are starting this process and working through it to start their project. That is what it's all about. I want you to be able to create freedom for yourself, more options, security, creativity, a backup plan, something you look forward to in your day.
We all have things that we have to do. This is supposed to be about something that you want to do and you look forward to doing. And before I say farewell to you for the week, I wanna say thanks to several folks who make the show possible, do a little quick run through of the credits. Side hustle school is recorded on location each day as I'm traveling. It is then produced in Brooklyn, New York and Washington DC at the Panoply Studios with production led by AC Valdez, also featuring Odelia Rubin, show notes and host wrangling by Whitney Karinek.
My cat, Liberia Gillibo, got to hang out with her this week. She's like, "Dad, where have you been?" I'm like, "I'm sorry, I've been on the road." She's like, "It's okay, but just so you know how much I missed you, I'm gonna wake you up at three o'clock in the morning every day. And then when you get back to sleep, I'm gonna wake you up at four. And finally, you're just gonna get up and go to work so that you can pay for the cat food." I'm like, "Yes, Libby, that's what it's all about." Words of advice this week from Tupac Shakur, "Life is a wheel of fortune and it's my turn to spin it. Is it your turn to spin the wheel of fortune?
Better get to work." Side Hustle School is part of the Onward Project led by Gretchen Rubin. Gretchen's new book, The Four Tendencies, is still going strong. She's also the host of the mega popular podcast, Happier. [Music]
Hey, before you go away, I wanna say thank you to you, the listener. That's right, you.
You are the reason I make this show. Last summer I had this crazy idea. I was like, "I'm gonna make a podcast. I'm gonna do it every single day." And it's gonna be different from every other podcast. And I'm gonna speak directly to people who need this.
People who are busy, don't have a lot of time, who may have been disappointed in some of the things that they've heard before about starting a business. We're gonna create a whole movement and community for these people. Well, if you've been around for a while, you've been a huge part of making this happen. I promise you the best is yet to come. And if you're new, if you've just joined, welcome.
Every day on the show, I'm trying to encourage you and cheer you on, but also give you some real practical advice. Tell you true stories of people just like you who are doing this in different ways. And I could not be happier to do this. I feel like I've got the best job in the world. More on that another time.
Speaking of gratitude, if you're enjoying the show, I'm really grateful for people who take a moment to leave a quick rating or review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. It just takes a second. You can do it on your phone and it really does help a lot. If you have read the new side hustle book, I'd also be very grateful for your quick review on amazon.com. I don't want to take a lot of your time, but just like with the podcast, those reviews help other people discover it.
And it's your ratings and reviews and your referrals and telling friends about this show that have really helped us grow so much over the year. It's not any sophisticated marketing campaign. We are getting some press now, which is great, but all of that is a reflection of what the community has done. All of the folks out there that are starting side hustles. It's not anything manufactured.
It's what's happening in response to reality. In every episode, I always say inspiration is good, but action is better. I want you to take action. I want to feature your story on the show. As part of this journey, I hope you'll join me tomorrow and every day next week.
Consider it an investment in yourself that takes less than 10 minutes a day. Those episodes go online at 601 a.m. Eastern time each morning, and I can't wait to tell you more. This is Chris Guillebeau signing off this week for Side Hustle School.
