What It's About
Two financially savvy guys help millennials keep their minds on their money and their money on their minds.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
When they first started, they invested a lot of man hours digging deeper into SEO best practices and getting their brand out there. Their lesson? “You have to provide the best value for your readers and compete with the websites that are in the top five positions of the Google search engine. You have to look at these higher ranking articles and ask yourself, 'How can I provide more value than this is already providing?'”
Fun Fact
Think carefully before you get that paper (money). In 2002, a study found that about 94% of the world’s paper money is covered in bacteria. That’s fine, normally, but about 7% of that bacteria is hazardous to your health. Maybe pull out your debit card, next time.
Notes from Chris
Episode 670
Ben Huber, a registered nurse from Virginia, was worried about money. And, like most millennials, he wasn’t the only one. So to ease the worries, he began to invest money into stocks and poured over everything he could learn about assets, liquidity, and other related investment terms in between shifts at the hospital. It helped that he had friends in high places to help him along the way. More specifically, one friend, Jeff, who also happened to be a private wealth manager. They were always worried about money and knew they weren’t alone. But, contrary to what some opinionated individuals may tell you, it wasn’t just because they liked having avocado toast for breakfast. As a wise man once said, they knew they needed to keep their mind on their money, and their money on their mind. What’s the best way to share information about stocks? A blog, of course. So, Ben and Jeff took it upon themselves to create DollarSprout, a blog that gave them a platform to share their analysis and perspective on the stock market in a more accessible way. They wanted to experiment with monetizing their content, so they set it up as a membership site that readers could pay a monthly fee to access and learn more about specific stocks, stock market commentary, and anything else they decided to put on their website. Ben realized, pretty quickly, that their site was very niche… which also meant that not a lot of people would pay to access it. They also realized how competitive their chosen space was. They found themselves competing with large banks and advisory services with bigger budgets, so it wasn’t exactly feasible for them to present themselves as competition in the long term. The duo knew they could offer value to their readers, but it would be a real uphill battle to get their side hustle off the ground. Soon, they began churning out content that appealed to millennials, with posts like “10 ways to make extra money” and “20 ways to save money,” and soon started seeing a consistent, monthly 5-figure traffic count rolling into their website. Ben and Jeff only started making money in August of 2016, but by the end of the year, they’d made about $4,000. Their breakout month happened in January 2017, conveniently a great time for people to think about their own finances, and they generated $7,000 in revenue that month alone. By the next year, they eclipsed $12,000 in monthly revenue. In September 2018, they made over $36,000 in monthly revenue. And they’re only stacking up paper from there. Ben says that the key to their success, especially since it took them years, was avoiding “shiny objects” syndrome, which posits that people look for what makes them the most money, rather than looking for something that allows them the luxury of time to scale and reflect on their next steps. They held out for consistency as they put in work to watch their status escalate and make their side hustle a success. They’re cashing in on that consistency, especially as they’ve both turned their side hustle into their full-time job, and they’re hiring full-time employees to help them keep up with demand. They’ve got to fill an office now, after all. Money trees might be the perfect place for shade, but Ben and Jeff prove that investing time and hard work into a side hustle could be the second best place.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- DollarSprout: Learn more about this financial success over on Ben's website!
SEE ALSO:
- JP Morgan Employee Starts “Money Therapy” for Millennials: She leaves her job to join a startup, then starts a business of her own—and then starts a side hustle to fund the business. Did you get all that? If not, just listen to hear how she earns $250/hour on the side
- Indian Personal Finance Blogger Rings Up $4,000/Month: Writing about money-saving hacks and passive income for readers in India yields big money for a software company employee
- Queer Punk Artist Starts Personal Finance Workshop: A manager for a non-profit organization who describes herself as a queer punk artist creates a series of personal finance classes
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Resources
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