Notes from Chris

Episode 608

Back in 2012, Bryn Connor of Vancouver, B.C. had a mortifying encounter, but instead of letting it get the best of her, she aimed to find a way to fight back. Bryn decided to take a trip to the local Planetarium with her two children in tow and had chosen not to wear her wedding ring. Unbeknownst to her, this would turn into a HUGE issue for a man at the event. He decided that it was his responsibility to attack Bryn for this. He went on and on in front of 20 other families about how her husband had left her… just because she didn’t have her ring on and had two children with her.

Bryn was stunned. She couldn’t believe what had happened to her, and in such a random way!

All night the scene played over and over in her mind. Not only was she embarrassed by what the man said to her, she was also upset that she didn’t put him in his place. He had no right to talk to her, or anyone else, like that, but he didn’t have any consequences for it.

The next two months flew by, but Bryn couldn’t get what happened to her at the Planetarium out of her mind. However, instead of feeling embarrassed, she channeled her frustrations into a new side hustle called “I Should Have Said”—a library resource for people being verbally bullied full of snappy comebacks for all occasions. She knew that so many others experienced the same kind of situations she did. There were even memes about “that moment when you think of the perfect insult two hours too late.” Whomp whomp… She wanted to help get people ready.

To start, Bryn created blog posts for every kind of insult she could think of on her WordPress site. There were comebacks for people of all ages, sexualities, genders, and races. Topics ranged from what to say when someone calls you ugly, to what do when someone is being racist, to how to respond when people point out your grey hair. No matter the situation, Bryn wanted her audience to be able to come back with a snappy retort. She called it I Should Have Said.

Then, Bryn had a new idea. Not only would she suggest a series of comebacks for each scenario, she would also create animations to accompany the blog post. Well… she was planning to… until her child spilled water all over her computer. Her temporary computer didn’t have the capabilities for animation, so she tried creating polls instead.

Now I know what you’re thinking… this IS a Side Hustle School story, so where does the money come into the picture? Having and building a following is one thing, but actually getting paid for it is another. Well, after the first four months of growing her online community, Bryn decided to invest in Google Adsense ads. At this time she was making about $20 a month from her hustle, solely from those ads.

Over time her following began to increase. Of course, she continued writing and sharing her posts, but Bryn credits most of her success to her devotion to learning about SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. This is the study of how to make your website appear at the top of the search page, rather than be lost in the far corners of the internet. The better Bryn got at this, the more people would visit the site, and the more money she’d make off of ads!

Combined with her advanced knowledge of SEO, her research in optimizing ads, and her new products, her profits skyrocketed. She is now making anywhere between $3,000 and $8,000 a month.

Bryn can’t quit her day job just yet, but making thousands of dollars a month from her snappy comeback website is nothing to laugh at.

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• I Should Have Said: Looking to stock your verbal arsenal? Head on over to Bryn's website to stock up!

SEE ALSO:

• Nomadic Designer Profits from Writing About Life in a Bag: When a designer quits his job at Apple to travel the world, he realizes that his nomadic lifestyle hacks are a hot topic—and a profitable one, too
• Immigrate to Canada and Make $500/Month: An American couple takes their biggest struggle of recent years and writes an eBook to help other expatriates forge a new life abroad
• Romance Novel Expert Teaches Proofreading for $2,000/Month: Toronto book lover uses her extensive experience to teach the art of proofreading, bringing in an additional $2,000 a month

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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