This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Let's take a trip today to Amsterdam, one of my favorite cities in Europe. We're gonna hear a first $1,000 story. We could call it a first 1,000 Euro story coming from a Dutch side hustler who turns her organizational skills into what else a profitable business by managing Airbnb properties for homeowners. Welcome to Side Hustle School. Welcome to the podcast.
My name's Chris Guillebeau, episode 2,907 with you here. And this is part of our feature that we call your first $1,000. How does somebody get started? How do they go from idea to income? Usually without spending any money, or at least let's say spending very little money 'cause the whole point is not to spend, it is to earn.
I want to help you create financial freedom or economic empowerment, extra money, pay off your debt, achieve independence from your day job, even if you love your day job, that's fine. But wouldn't it be great if you also earned additional money so that you could do more of what's important to you? That is the message of Side Hustle School for 2,900 plus episodes. Today, as noted, we're gonna hear from someone in Amsterdam. Her name is Laura.
I'm gonna hand the microphone over to her so she can tell us this story of how she wanted to do something with real estate, but didn't actually happen to own a bunch of rental homes of her own. So she found a way to create this little business. Let's hear what went well, what was difficult, and how it's going now. I'll be back at the end with a few words of wrap up. [Music]
Hi, I'm Laura from Amsterdam.
A few years ago, I noticed an opportunity in the booming short-term rental market here. Homeowners who invested in properties for Airbnb often found it challenging to manage the day-to-day operations, especially during big tourist seasons. With my organizational skills and experience in hospitality, I decided to start a side hustle as an Airbnb property manager. My first client was a friend of a friend who owned a beautiful apartment in the city center, but lived in a nearby town. They wanted to rent out the apartment during the tourist season, but didn't want to deal with guest communications, cleanings, and maintenance.
So I offered to handle everything for a fee, and they happily agreed. My initial responsibilities included listing the property on Airbnb, taking high-quality photos, writing a description, and setting prices. I also managed guest inquiries, bookings, and the check-ins and checkouts. And my friend paid me a flat fee of 200 euros for the first month, which covered a few bookings and gave me a small start. I quickly realized that to make this hustle sustainable and profitable, I needed to scale up.
So I started networking with other property owners, particularly those who had investment properties, but didn't want the hassle of managing them. And I structured my fees to ensure a fair income while providing value to my clients. For each property, I charged a set-up fee of 150 euros, which included professional photos, listing creation, and initial pricing strategy. For ongoing management, I charged 15% of the rental income per booking. This percentage offered guest communications, coordination of cleanings, maintenance requests, and providing a personalized experience for each guest.
One of the challenges I faced was coordinating the schedules for multiple properties, especially during the busy tourist seasons. So to manage this, I used property management software that helped streamline bookings, automated messaging, and calendar synchronization. This tool significantly reduced the time spent on administrative tasks and minimized double bookings or scheduling conflicts. And within a month of taking on my second property, I reached my first 1,000 euros in earnings. The milestone came from the combination of set-up fees and management commissions.
And this achievement validated my business model and encouraged me to expand further. Today, I manage a portfolio of 11 properties in Amsterdam. The homeowners appreciate the hassle-free income and guests love the well-maintained, thoughtfully managed rentals. Some of my clients even have another home nearby and relocate during busy periods, allowing me to maximize their rental income while they enjoy a quieter stay outside the city. The journey from my first 1,000 euros to managing a growing portfolio has been incredibly rewarding.
My next step is to hire an assistant and see if I can work less on the business, but it still makes money. - Thanks so much to Laura for telling us about her first 1,000 dollars, her first 1,000 euros in this case. Listeners, I hope you found it encouraging. As we are in the holidays, remember to take care of yourself. If you are excited about working on projects, that's great.
If you need to take a little break from projects and regroup in the new year, I completely understand that as well. It's often just an overwhelming season. So remember, if it's difficult, that there's a new year right around the corner. And if you're loving this time now, that's great. But if not, we can make something happen then.
So just hang tough. Of course, new episodes of the show come out every single day, seven days a week. No exceptions, always completely free. The archives are completely free as well. You can listen at sidehustleschool.com and I'll be back again tomorrow.
My name's Chris Guillebeau and you are listening to "Side Hustle School." [Music]
- From the Onward Project. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
