This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Hello and welcome. This is Side Hustle School. I am Chris Guillebeau and you are listening to this show because you want to improve your life. And for me, one of the best things I ever did to improve my life had nothing to do with side hustling, at least not directly. It was a choice to live abroad. I spent two years as a child in the Philippines, then
in my mid 20s, about four years living on a hospital ship that was usually deployed to West Africa. And on that ship, we also spent part of the summer in Europe or South Africa. And I loved seeing different places all over the world. Later, I began to travel in Asia and Latin America. And all of that is really what changed my whole life and initiated my desire to visit every country in the world and then everything that came next after that.
So I personally believe one of the most valuable things you can do for yourself or for your children if you have them is to live in a foreign country for at least one year. And the story you'll hear today is from someone who shares that value and has been able to use his unique experience to forge a successful income generating hustle from it. So if you like travel or just culture in general, I think you'll like it. And I'll tell you about it in just a moment. And now our story. Jeff Parker is a technical writer and textbook
author who works at home with two school aged children. I'll tell you where he's based, but it's kind of a long story. Jeff is American by birth and passport, but now lives in Canada. He met his wife while they were both living in South Korea more than 20 years ago. Since then, Jeff and his wife and eventually those two children migrated around the globe to a lot of different spots. They lived in the Czech Republic, back in the US, and they had
some extended work stints in Denmark and Germany. And that's not all. Long ago, Jeff was in the military and had been stationed in the Middle East. All of these experiences gave him a different perspective than a lot of people have, especially people from North America who haven't traveled a lot and also people who haven't traveled together as a family. Jeff believed that while he's had a fortunate, extraordinary experience, really anyone can live overseas, even if you have a young family. And he knows that many people
do want to do that, but they just don't know where to start. They perceive that living abroad or extended travel is primarily for young people or couples without children. If this sounds like the makings of a side hustle, well, of course it is. That's why you're listening to the show. Jeff had the experience and the knowledge. And for a long time, friends
of friends would call or email him to ask questions. Whenever he and his wife were out as a group with other people, the topic would come up and then become the whole focal point of the conversation. How do you move to a different country? How do you navigate the logistics? What's it like for your kids?
He did a number of email exchanges and phone calls, but people had more and more questions. At this point, he was also a little frustrated because he liked to be helpful, but he also had a job of his own and a family. Finally, he realized, "Hey, why don't I keep being helpful wherever possible? I can always give quick answers for free. I can put some info on a website." But for those who are serious about moving overseas, maybe a personal consultation is just what they need.
So he started. He put the word out and built a website with a couple of pages, really simple. And after the first time he charged money for helping a family move overseas, he couldn't stop smiling. It clicked. He realized this is something people are willing to spend money for and he truly can provide valuable advice. So he's helping people, he's getting paid.
And the first time you experience that feeling yourself, you'll notice it feels very different from the paycheck that you get. If you've already had that experience, think back that first time that a client paid you or a customer paid you, you got a notification in your email that you made money, it's really a good feeling. And one of my goals with the show is to help more and more people have that feeling more and more often. One challenge for Jeff was how much to charge for this service because it is kind of unique. So he started at $50 an hour, then went to $75, and now he's at $150 an hour, which he's been at for a couple of years and feels comfortable with. You can communicate a lot of information
in a focused hour-long call. So there's definitely real value for the customer. And at that rate, it's also worthwhile for Jeff. So far, the hustle is bringing in more than $10,000 a year entirely through those phone coaching sessions, which Jeff does on the side from his regular work as a technical writer. His next step is to diversify a bit since he's realized there's only so much time he can devote to coaching sessions. So for that goal,
he's creating a special email series that will provide a ton of specific, helpful information that also doesn't require him to be on the phone for an hour. And depending on their needs and preferences, clients can choose whether they want the written information or Jeff in real life. Jeff is very enthusiastic about this project. In my emails with him, more than once he mentioned how grateful and fortunate he feels to have had the perspective of living abroad. And I also feel very fortunate. That's exactly how I feel as well with all the different experiences
I've had from traveling to every country and from living overseas. And Jeff has done this with a family with two kids. And there are a lot of families who want to do what Jeff's been able to do with his. So this is a great service project that is also an income generating project. And I think that's great because it kind of goes back to my original philosophy with the art of nonconformity, which I started nearly nine years ago now. And that is that
you can do good things for yourself and for others. It's not a false choice. And again, being the world, not just as a tourist, but as an apprentice, as an appreciative traveler is a great way to start with both of those things. Now, Jeff is not a life coach. He's not a business consultant. He's nothing generic, which is also really important. He knows exactly
who he's trying to serve. So if you're a parent getting ready for an overseas move, or just thinking about it, you probably have a lot of questions. If you stumble on his website, you know right away that his work and expertise can be helpful for you. So if you're interested in this subject, I'll include a link to Jeff's website in the show notes, along with a list of some other family travelers who have gone to many countries in many different situations, and to whom I often refer people when they write in and say, Oh, I want to do this too, but I can't because I have a family. So if you're a parent, follow those links at your own risk, because you may end up planning your own, you're abroad. And if you're not
a parent, or if the story just doesn't apply to you in that way, I hope you can still learn from Jeff's example of providing specific knowledge, the expertise that he had from his experience of living abroad to a group of people that had a lot of questions, and then finding a way to serve them while also get paid for it. Remember, inspiration is good, but inspiration combined with action is so much better. I hope you do one thing today to get you closer to your goal of freedom. Head over to sidehustleschool.com to read those show notes. I greatly appreciate your support and spreading the word about the show.
Side hustle school is listener supported. There has never been a big marketing campaign for it yet. So far, it's grown at a very rapid pace. And that is because of you. So I told you in episode one, that I'm committed to supporting you the entire year. And I want
to see you make your hustle a big success. I want to feature it on the show before the end of the year. I'm Chris Guillebeau. This is side hustle school, and I'll see you tomorrow.
