Words of Wisdom

Do you really need a mentor? Well, you might need to learn some things to get your side hustle up and running, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need a formalized relationship from a guide or guru.

As a resourceful side hustler, Jeff set out to learn about how to make chocolate in the traditional European manner—but at first his quest led only to dead ends. Finally, he came across an online program in Vancouver, Canada known as Ecole Chocolate. This 3-month course exceeded his expectations and gave him the working rules to learn much more on his own.

When getting started, ask yourself this: What do I really need to learn?

Fun Fact

Louisiana and many other states (and some countries!) have what’s known as a Cottage Law where you can sell certain foods that you make in your home until you reach the $20,000 a year revenue level. This made it easy for Jeff to get ChezSlaughter Chocolate started.

Within the very first year, Jeff’s chocolate hustle brought in $6,000-8,000. This is a seasonal project, and his biggest limitation is not having a consistent place to work. He’s hoping to eliminate that limitation by putting in a second kitchen in a home he and his wife are building so that he can produce chocolate whenever he wants—and potentially ramp up the hustle.