This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
More than seven years ago, I started this podcast, planned to do it for a year and one year turned into seven. Got a listener question today. Is it easier or harder to start an online business than it was seven years ago? And part of the initial pitch of Side Hustle school was, "Hey, every day I'm going to tell you different stories of real people out there who are able to start a successful side hustle or small business. By successful, I mean profitable by using a skill they already have without spending a lot of money, not going into debt, and doing it pretty quickly." So of course, a lot has changed in the past decade. There
are more tools, platforms, and resources, but also more competition. So what does it look like for someone looking to start a side hustle or similar online business today? I love this question. I'm going to do my best to give you a short action packed answer that is also helpful. So stay tuned for the detailed question and my response. Hey, Chris, I've been thinking about starting an
online project, but I'm curious. Compared to seven years ago, is it easier or harder to start and profit from an online business today? I feel like there are more tools and resources available now, but also a lot more competition. What's your take on this? And what are the most important things to focus on if I want to succeed? Thanks for your time and your answer. I thought this is a really
interesting question. I had to think a lot about it because you could really argue both sides. And to argue the side of that it's easier, well, I would point to all of the different tools and resources and platforms. The cost of entry is lower. Marketing tools, social media, TikTok wasn't really around seven years ago, at least not in the way that it is now. Shopify has greatly
advanced, just to name a couple of things. Even some business models were not around seven years ago, the way that they are now, the whole influencer economy, which can be kind of a weird thing. But there are a lot of people making a living from it, at least making a good income. So there's that. And then the other side is like, okay, but what about all the increased competition and saturation?
And seven years ago, there were still a number of people who didn't shop online. And I mean, that's still the case, but it's a much lower number now. The attention economy, it's harder now to get people's attention than it was a few years ago. Algorithms have made things much more difficult in lots of ways. Paid advertising costs have risen. If you used paid ads seven years ago,
and you're advertising the same thing now, you're probably paying a good bit more. So that's some of the other side. So I tend to think that it's neither easier nor harder. Parts of it are one way or the other. Mostly it is kind of the same, at least there are still lots of opportunities out there. There are lots of people taking advantage of those opportunities. There are still something
that you can do. And the opportunities change over time, the tactics may change, but ultimately, if you are building a personal brand, if you are building a service or a product that can stand on its own, that's not a commodity, it's not something that somebody else can come along and copy, at least not exactly in the same way, then you have just as good odds of success. So the key is being strategic. The key is being adaptable, trying new things, and ultimately just delivering something of value to people. So I think it's still a great time. I think seven years ago were a great time.
I think seven years from now will probably also be a good time, but probably in different ways. So I think you're not too late. If that's what you're worried about, and you're not too early, it's a great time right now. I hope you take steps to get closer to something that's important to you. If you haven't done that this year, well, we've got a new year coming up soon. And it's never too
late, as I said, to jump in. That's my two cents on it. Listeners, let me know if you have a story of your own or an opinion of your own. And of course, much more is coming up. New episode every day. We'll talk about lots of different ways to make money without quitting your job.
But that's all for now. My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. From the Onward Project.
