What It's About
An ESL teacher brings fun into the classroom with his new approach to teaching phrasal verbs.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
For Phrase It, Alan took the ‘go with what you know’ approach. Rather than trying to understand a new market that he knew nothing about, he looked around at what he was already doing—teaching English to international students. He understood these students’ needs better than anyone, and figured he could come up with a product that added value for them. The result? He created a one of a kind, truly innovative product.
Fun Fact
There are over 1.5 billion English language learners in the world. According to the research you will see in Alex's Phrase It book/cards combo, phrasal verbs are one of the most difficult constructs for English language learners. There are over 5,000 + combinations in the English language. Alex spent time discovering 70 of the most common ones for students to practice.
Notes from Chris
Episode 499
Teaching is one of the most important professions in the world. And taking the knowledge you’ve gained in your own life and passing it on to others is a noble endeavor. But...as many of us know, the salary of a teacher isn’t usually enough to live the high life. There’s an old joke that goes, "Teachers deserve a lot of credit. Of course, if we paid them more they wouldn’t need it." In most cases, the earning potential is limited to the amount of time they’re physically in front of students, and there are only so many hours in a day. So, what do you do when your passion doesn’t align with making a lot of money? You get creative! This is the situation Alex Bricker from Ft. Collins, Colorado found himself in. Alex is an ESL teacher—that’s English as a Second Language—and enjoys his job. More than five years ago, Alex had tried starting a side hustle together with his brother. Their goal was to create an online directory of businesses for sale. The project wasn’t a big success and never made much money, but it did teach Alex a few lessons and gave him the confidence to have a go at something else. So in early 2017, he got interested in starting a project. He went back to the blackboard—after throwing around a few ideas he devised a truly unique concept. One he was fairly certain he could find a market for and make money with. For his second lesson in the entrepreneurial classroom, Alan took the "go with what you know" approach. The result? He created a one of a kind, truly innovative product. Now, before I can explain exactly what the product is, I need to give you a little background. I’ll do that with a quick English lesson of my own. Apologies to all real teachers out there...remember I am a high-school dropout. English is one of the hardest languages to learn, or at least it’s hard to master. Native speakers like myself find that difficult to understand. There are so many little quirks of the language that make it really hard for non-native speakers. One of the hardest things to master are what's known as phrasal verbs, or multi-word verbs. It’s best illustrated by an example. Take the phrase, ‘turn off’—like turn off the light, or turn off the stove. While intuitive to me—and a lot of people listening to this podcast—it’s really difficult to understand for English students. It’s because the word ‘turn’ literally means to turn around, as in go left or right. Not to turn something off or on. Make sense? Alex was confident he could gamify the learning process and make it easy for phrasal verbs to stick in the minds of students. The concept he landed on was a card game: a way to make learning fun by producing random phrasal verbs. The name of the game? Phrase It! While the setup costs were relatively high, the project has more than paid for itself. Currently, Phrase It is generating an average of $1,000/month profit, mostly through Amazon. But that’s not all, the revenue generated from the card game enabled him to launch a new product line. From January of 2018, versions of the game are available in both dice and magnet form. It’s been driving even more revenue and Alex expects things to grow fast. 2018 is already looking very promising with $3,000 worth of sales last month alone. While the money earned so far isn’t quite enough to quit his job, it's a good start. He’s able to supplement his teaching income while essentially teaching more students without being on the clock. Teaching continues to be his passion and he’s excited to see what happens when the new versions of Phrase It. This is a story that deserves more than just a passing grade.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- ESL With Purpose: Are phrasal verbs giving you a headache? Maybe it's time to try a different technique—learn more over on Alex's website!
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): The model that Alex used that allowed him to pass on the responsibility of keeping stock and shipping out orders
- Daily Mail - The Everyday 1990s Objects Millennials Have Never Heard of: Interested in that study I mention at the beginning of the episode? Learn more here!
- Immigrant Couple Translates Heritage Into Children’s Flash Cards: Two immigrants from Laos meet the needs of an underserved community in a $50,000 per year hustle
- Spanish Language Learner Earns $350,000 Helping Fellow Students: After returning to Canada following a stint in Argentina, this eager student creates a language-learning platform that earns $350,000 in year one
- Language Teacher Becomes Fluent In Passive Income: Looking to add more time to her day, an avid language lover and teacher takes what she uses in the classroom to share it with a larger audience, earning $500/month in the process
Download Episodes By Months: Season 8 (2024): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 7 (2023): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 6 (2022): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 5 (2021): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 4 (2020): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 3 (2019): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 2 (2018): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 1 (2017): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |
Resources
WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH
Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for many websites. It's cheap, flexible, and offers support 24-7.
Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL
Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.
I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️
Quote of the Day
Sponsors & Gratitude
Create a Stunning Website With Wordpress
Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Wordpress.com! Whether you’re looking to create a personal blog, business site, or both—you’ll make a big impact, when you build your website on WordPress.com. 💻
Get 15% off when you build your website with Wordpress.com—use promo code PODCAST when you check out.
Get Started Here
Like the Show? Leave a Rating!
Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅
It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Keep in Touch
There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!
To infinity and beyond,