This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Turning Central Park picnics into profits. Welcome, friends. Welcome to Side Hustle School. In this week, this week's episode, well, actually just today. In fact, I was going to say in this week's first thousand dollar segment. That is what's happening. We're going to hear from a
New York City event planner who starts a pop-up picnic service in the city's parks. Say that three times fast or don't just listen. You're going to hear how she marketed her picnics and reached her first thousand dollars. Now, this is, of course, part of that segment, your first thousand dollars. How did somebody get to that point? How did they go from idea to developing that idea,
putting it out in the marketplace, getting their first customers or clients? What did they learn from the experience? And my hope is that this will be a point of inspiration or motivation for you. Motivation, inspiration, or could be a practical tip depending on the business model. There's lots of different kinds of side hustles and businesses you could start. So which one is best for you?
Well, listen to some different ideas and see how they land. Consider what your skills and experience and knowledge, like what that all adds up to something that you're also excited about, just to be clear, because it's your side hustle. This is not your day job. You should be excited about it. I mean, it's good to be excited about your day job as well. But in particular, for any
side projects with your limited time, it should be something that you are like, yes, I get to spend time on this. Not I have to spend time on it, but I get to. So that's my goal is to help all of our listeners be able to do more of what's important to them, whatever that looks like. So with that in mind, we're going to hear from this New York City event planner all about her pop up picnic service, learn how she marketed the picnics reached her first $1,000 little story from Emily. I'll be back at the end with a few words of wrap up. Hey, my name is Emily and I'm a part time event
planner in New York City. I started my pop up picnic business in Central Park as a creative, low cost way to bring people together outdoors, especially when indoor events were limited during the pandemic. People loved the idea of elaborate themed picnics set against NYC scenic backdrops. And I quickly realized I'd tapped into something unique. My first event was a friends party where I set up a cozy spread with blankets, flowers and a charcuterie board. She posted pictures of the
event and immediately people started asking if I could create similar setups for them. To keep things simple, I made two packages, the classic picnic with blankets, pillows, charcuterie board, and simple decor for $250 and the luxury picnic featuring upgraded decor, flower arrangements, and personalized details for $400. My goal was to sell five packages to reach $1,000. So I calculated my costs carefully, aiming to keep each setup under $100 in expenses. To make this work financially, I partnered with local vendors for food and flowers, securing discounted rates in exchange for tagging their businesses on Instagram. This let me keep my material and food costs low,
usually around $80 for the classic and $120 for the luxury. My first booking was a birthday picnic for four, where I made a profit of $170 after expenses. The setup was simple, but visually appealing, and it didn't take long for me to recreate it each time. Since picnics are seasonal in New York, I knew I had to plan for fluctuations. I started in late spring, which was ideal, but I wanted to make sure I could extend the business into the fall and possibly beyond. To market the
picnics, I created an Instagram page and used it as my main platform, in addition to becoming a super user of Yelp. I posted high-quality photos from each event and tagged locations and vendors, which led to local re-shares. Most clients agreed to share photos of their picnic, which amplified my reach. Once fall arrived, I announced an autumn picnic package, complete with blankets, thermos mugs of warm cider, and pumpkin decor. I raised the price by $50 for the added touches and found it still attracted customers. However, bookings naturally started
slowing down by November, and I began offering indoor options. For these, I worked with small indoor venues and apartment rooftop spaces. While indoor events weren't as popular, they helped me keep my business going through the colder months. It only took a few weeks to hit my first $1,000. I completed five bookings, two of which were luxury packages and three of which were classic. With profit margins averaging $150 to $250 per event, I reached my income target in
time to adjust for winter. By then, I was experimenting with indoor pop-ups for holiday gatherings and birthdays. For winter-themed events, I added cozy decor like faux fur blankets and LED candles, raising prices by another $50. Today, my business is earning around $3,000 monthly in the spring and summer, and $500 to $800 during the off-season months. The mix of seasonal themes, year-round indoor options, and creative add-ons has helped me keep the business going, even through New York's unpredictable weather.
Awesome, Emily. Thank you so much for sharing this story. Listeners, thank you for listening to the story. Hey, we're all in it together. Okay, we've got a story from Emily. I'm your
host. We've got you out there listening. I'm just so excited to keep making the podcast for you 2,942 days in approximately that time ago. Well, exactly that time ago, 2,942 days ago, we began on January 1, 2017. We have not missed a day since, and it is my privilege to bring you these stories. So let me know how we can do better. I always want to improve, especially this year. I
feel like it's going to be a big year for a lot of people, and maybe you as well. So if you commit to listening every single day, I commit that there's going to be a show for you. And I hope it is helpful to you in your quest to better your life, increase your financial freedom, whatever your goals are. We're here for you. I'm going to sign off for now, but of course, the new episode's coming up tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to Side Hustle
School. From the Onward Project.
