This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Tomorrow, we have a listener question coming out about a freelancer who's using AI tools, just like so many people are these days. And he's wondering if he needs to disclose that to his clients. And we'll talk about that in some more detail tomorrow. But I was thinking about it because today, today's story, we have a software developer in Colorado who makes a specific tool. It is a browser-based CSV converter, basically takes a spreadsheet files and cleans up exports from a real estate system.
So basically real estate agents use this system and he has found a way to clean it up, make their lives easier, he profits from it. It makes perfect sense, he's solving a problem, he's providing a remedy or a solution to a need. And today, it runs mostly on autopilot. The creator says it now reliably pays his rent each month. So pretty cool story.
This is our Throwback Thursday segment where we take a look at someone whose story has evolved since we first featured them. Last week, we heard how a fitness fan turned flipping gym equipment into a small media business. He now sells setup guides and weekly home gym deals for thousands of subscribers. Today, let's hear about this tiny spreadsheet tool that pays the rent. Be nice if you had something like that that pays your rent.
Maybe it'll give you an idea. Stay tuned for the story. I'll be back at the end with a few words of wrap up. [Music]
Hey, I'm Nate, calling in to share my story. I work full time as a software developer, but my side hustle is fixing CSV files.
Now seriously, it started when a friend of mine, he's a real estate agent, kept complaining about his customer data exports. Every time he downloaded a contact list, the formatting was a mess. Weird spacing, dates in six different styles, merged name fields, extra headers every 20 rows. It was impossible to import cleanly into anything else. I whipped up a quick browser based tool to fix it.
Just drag and drop the CSV, hit clean, and it spits out a corrected file with uniform headers, cleaned cells, and dates in year month day. It ran locally in the browser, so there were no uploads or privacy issues. I named it easy CSV fixer, registered a domain for $12, and built a basic landing page on card. I also added Stripe checkout with Gumroad for good measure. At first it was free, but within a week, three people emailed me asking if there was a premium version or if I could build one for their own CRM exports.
So I added a paywall, $39 per year for full access, unlimited uploads, saved templates, and a batch cleaning option. I also started offering white label licenses, the same tool with custom branding for consultants. That's $199 per year and includes a client facing dashboard. The early traction came mostly from a couple of Facebook groups for real estate marketing pros. I wrote up a blog post titled, How to Fix Real Estate CRM CSV Files Without Going Insane, and shared it in a few newsletters.
From there, it mostly grew on its own. As of now, I have 328 active paid users, and about 60% are consultants or virtual assistants who work with realtors and small teams. I've sold 19 white label versions, and two larger firms reached out to license the tool for internal use. One of them bought a 40 seat bulk license for $1,200. Support is minimal.
Every now and then someone emails about an error message, but most of the time it's someone asking if I can add support for a specific CRM's quirks. If it's a popular one, I'll do it and roll out the update to everyone. Revenue averages $1,500 to $1,800 per month, and it's consistent. I've stopped promoting it actively, but new users trickle in weekly just from organic search, referrals, and a pinned thread in one real estate discord. It basically pays my rent.
The biggest takeaway, you don't need to build some flashy startup. Just solve one specific problem really well, especially if that problem happens over and over again. People will pay to not deal with it. Honestly, it still surprises me. I built this thing in a weekend, and two years later it's still running and still paying the bills.
[Music]
Nate, thank you for sharing the story. I always love simple projects that solve a specific need and are able to be monetized as you have done. So well done. Listeners, let me know what you think, who you'd like to see featured from our archives of thousands of episodes, 3,000 plus, 3,200 plus. In fact, if you have a question or an update, you know where to go, sidehustleschool.com.
Got resources for every episode as well. And of course, new episodes out every day, seven days a week. That's it for now. My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the "Onward Project."
