This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Welcome to a weekly recap on Side Hustle School as we approach the end of the year, end of season two, end of 2018. We have just finished week number 50. Hard to believe, but only two weeks left of the year. Hard to believe, but we're on episode 715 of the program. Now, a lot of our listeners have been with us for a long, long time.
And I'm just so grateful to be on this journey with you. If you have just joined recently, awesome. Glad to have you with us here too. A couple of times recently, I've talked about the annual review that I do every year, just kind of going away and looking back, reflecting on successes and failures and looking ahead to the next year and setting some goals in a variety of categories. I also usually select a theme or word of the year, as well as a short little mission statement.
I have now completed that exercise and I've written a post on my blog that just goes through some of that stuff. If you're curious about my own professional goals, personal goals and lessons of 2018, and not just myself, but if you'd like to see how this process works and perhaps apply it to your own life, of course you can see that as well. That is up on my blog at chrisguillebeau.com. I will include a link to everybody who gets a mailing for the weekly recap. But if you want to take a peek right now, it is chrisgillibo, C-H-R-I-S-G-U-I-L-L-E-B-E-A-U.com.
And yes, I know, I too wish I had a shorter name, but it's too late for that. So in today's recap, a CEO/mom says you can't have it all. We're actually gonna title this episode weekly recap. Sorry, you can't have it all. Some provocative yet also insightful, I think comments from her.
I wanna share some more comments on reselling, something I talked about a couple days ago, episode 713. I just wanted to hit that a little bit more because I have a simple tactic that you can use to make money right away. At least anyone who's interested in reselling can use to make money right away. And of course an audio update from a previous featured case study. So an action packed recap, and let's start with that brief focus on reselling.
[Music]
So in the episode 713, two days ago, about the woman who is basically buying and selling guitars, flipping them essentially, like she has them for herself for a while, but then when she gets tired of them, she resells them for a profit. And I think some she purchases deliberately to quote unquote restore or fix up and then resell. But the thing is, as mentioned in an episode, restoration doesn't have to be something that you are terribly skilled at. If you are obviously very skilled at fixing guitars or whatever the item is, then that's great. But in her case, a lot of the so-called repairs are really basic.
She was like fixing a screw somewhere or doing a new paint job, I believe. Now even I can do that and I can't fix anything. So it reminded me that sometimes if you're buying from online auctions or if you're buying from Craigslist or eBay or Gumtree or any kind of source like that, could be different depending on where you live, even some really good photos can make a big difference in the average selling price. There've been a lot of studies on this and you can actually just, you don't have to have a formal study, you can go and see it for yourself that listings with really good images and strong copywriting are always gonna sell for a higher price than those that have no picture or just have a really bad picture. So it's totally possible in some cases, depending on the item, the category, if you're just trying to jump into this reselling world to go and find something for sale that you feel reasonably confident is actually going to be in good condition and could sell for a decent price.
But for whatever reason, that seller hasn't bothered to take a photo or has taken a really bad photo or has just written a few lines of text when really the item should have a lot more description. It's really possible to purchase that and then turn around and take better photos, write better copy and resell it for a profit. And there are people that do this all the time. This might not be the side hustle that you end up in for the rest of your life, but I think it's a really good skill to have and it can be fun for the first time. If you've never done this kind of stuff before, if you've always worked a job, you can think of this kind of project like a hobby, except it's a hobby you get paid for.
So that's a good kind of hobby. And then finally, not to go on and on about it, but the other benefit is the risk is extremely low. The risk here is that you buy something and you can't actually resell it for a big profit, but presumably you can resell it for the same price you paid or maybe in the worst case scenario, a little bit less. So the stakes are low, the opportunity is high or at least it's medium, let's say, 'cause you might not get rich doing this, but again, there's a lot of opportunity here. So in that story, that woman was making $2,000 a month doing this.
There are other people who make more. Just something perhaps for someone out there to consider. [Music]
Okay, something else I wanted to talk about from a couple episodes ago, episode 7-11. Educator makes playing cards to teach kids about emotions. This featured Suzanne Tucker.
And there was a really great quote that we didn't mention in the episode. Just noticed this looking through the notes and Suzanne is the founder of this business, which is actually really blowing up and growing substantially now. And she's also a mom. And so here's this quote, I'm just gonna read it without context and you can just kind of consider it for yourself, especially any working women out there who are trying to balance various family responsibilities and their job and their side hustle and so on. So here's the quote.
Mostly when I talk about life balance as a CEO/mom, I like to blow up the myth that you can have it all. No, something's got to give. It's just what is going to give, when it's going to give and on what day. I say no to some things all the time so that I can say yes to other things. And I am constantly letting go of the unicorn that is being perfect.
That myth will kill you. So I feel like I probably could add some commentary to that, but I also think it kind of stands on its own. Maybe all I'll add is something that I say from time to time, which is if you're trying to figure out what you wanna do, what you want to become, what you want to have in life, et cetera, you can probably have anything you want within reason, but you probably can't have everything, right? So life is ultimately about choices. It is ultimately about decisions.
And I'm a big fan of what Suzanne says here in terms of saying no to some things that you can say yes to other things. So for the most part, that quote stands on its own. We're just gonna let it kind of stay there in its own little place. And of course, I'm gonna include that in the notes and also in the mailing we sent. So thank you, Suzanne, for that contribution as well.
All right, it is now time for our blast from the past segment. I've really been enjoying bringing you these episodes from people we featured mostly in the first year of the show. I believe this update is from someone featured way back in episode 102. It's always fun to see what people have learned or what they have done or accomplished or changed since we first featured them on the show. And sometimes they have some advice for our listeners as well.
So without further ado, I'm gonna turn it over to her. - Hi, this is Cielo and my side hustle project is teaching people how to make videos with their iPhones. And it was featured in episode 102. Since then, I've created a full course that is actually now on my own platform versus on Skillshare. And I've also been doing some live teaching.
So I've gotten to teach at Stanford. I've taught the Canadian government and I teach at Google. So really, really great opportunities. Since our episode, I've actually learned a lot about sales and marketing. So I'm a creator at Heart and that's kind of something that I was lacking in.
So I've learned a lot about how to sell and market my course. If I were to give any advice for anyone wanting to create an online course, I would say create the course, but also put some time into figuring out how you're going to market it. For me, it was about connecting with people and speaking at conferences. But it can really be worth it to host it on your own platform because I say I make about 10 times more in a month with my own platform versus what I made at Skillshare and having them host my course. What I'm working on now is improving my sales and marketing so I can reach and help more people.
And I'm also going to be creating another course for a slightly different audience. So I'm expanding my course offerings. Other than that, things are going really, really well and I'm really glad that I decided to follow this side hustle of mine. - Yay, thank you so much, Cielo. And if you haven't heard that episode or if you've forgotten it because it was 600 days ago, Cielo took a photo with her iPhone.
Well, she is a photographer first, just to be clear. This didn't happen randomly. But one of the photos she took was used by Apple in their Shot on iPhone campaign, which you may have seen on billboards everywhere. And she kind of used that as a jumping off point or perhaps a catalyst to go and create her own course, which was first hosted on Skillshare. And now as we hear in this episode, she has transitioned to hosting it on her own platform.
There were lots of updates there. I do think it's really amazing that she's doing 10 times more per month on her own platform compared to something like Skillshare. So definitely a lesson there. Now, obviously for a lot of our listeners, if you're wondering like, why would anybody be on another platform to begin with? Well, the promise or at least the benefit or let's say the perceived benefit 'cause it doesn't always actually work out.
But the perceived benefit is that those platforms are going to provide discoverability, help you reach people that you wouldn't otherwise reach and will essentially do your selling for you. Now in reality, it doesn't always work that way. And at least in her case, she's had much more success doing it herself. So good for her. And also just on that comment about marketing, learning much more about sales and marketing and how she was a creator, but had to kind of investigate that world.
This is probably the number one biggest need and request I'm hearing in our community is some help with that, some marketing help. So just so you understand, like I am kind of hearing that feedback. And as we plan 2019, which I mentioned recently, we are continuing 2019, year number three. I hope you will continue to be part of this community as we prepare to relaunch the side of social society. I mean, all that kind of stuff, we are focusing a lot on marketing because I'm hearing that too.
So congratulations, CLO. I'm so glad that things are going well still. And everyone, you can follow along with her at CLOD.com. That is CLOD, C-I-E-L-O-D.com. We will link it up in the notes as well.
[Music]
If you have a question or comments you would like to share, give us a call, let us know, or you can also send us an email. The Hustle hotline is 8449-HUSTLE 844-948-7853. You can also go to the website and leave a voicemail from there, a voicemail, a voice memo, you know, something with your voice. So if you click the about page and scroll down, it says something about, you know, submit your question. Also, if you know somebody we should feature on the show, you can tell us about that there as well.
A lot of our stories are coming from listeners that are referred by listeners in some way. It's wonderful, thank you for that. And then last but not least, you can email podcast@sidehustleschool.com. All right, much more is on the way as we close out the final two weeks of 2018. And then of course, we've got a monster 2019 gonna start really strong in January, but I'll tell you more about that in the next two weeks.
For next week, it looks like, let's see, I've got an episode about bombshell cupcakes. Cupcakes, we're gonna have to start raising the standard just like we did for Etsy to be on the show and have an Etsy store. You gotta do something really fantastic just because we have had previous features before, so I wanna make sure I'm always bringing you, our listeners, really strong value. So cupcakes and Etsy, gotta raise the standard. Something about a sports car seats flipper, sounds like another reselling episode, and something called a middle-class dad blog.
So I actually have no idea what that is about, but I will look forward to reading the notes for that one. Lots of good stuff on the way, and everything that we do is, because of our community, supported by our community, we do this for you. If you're out there listening, which I guess you are, I'm guessing you have headphones on now, or earbuds, or you're in the car, or something, you know. However that shakes out, you are the reason we make this show. For 715 episodes, I've been saying that if you make the commitment to make this part of your routine, then I too commit to supporting you and your quest to create a new source of income.
That is what it's all about. That's what we keep coming back to. A side hustle is not a hobby. A side hustle is a way to make money, to bring you the things that you really want. Because it's not just about money, it's about what that can do for you.
Freedom, options, security, the ability to pursue a different path, or a different creative journey. Like whatever is important to you, whatever your goals are, that's the whole point of the show. So, it's not just me here by the way. I do want to say thank you to our senior producer, A.C. Valdez, content manager, Whitney Karinek, community liaison, Jed Chang, Tina Hart, who has been fact checking the upcoming new book.
Yes, that's right. There will be a new book next year, not for a while. It takes a little while to go through the publishing process, but I believe in June 2019, there will be a new book. And, of course, the official show cat, let me deal about. All of us here are part of the Onward Project that is led by best-selling author Gretchen Rubin.
She's got some fun stuff she's gonna be announcing very, very soon as well. Perhaps somebody new coming onto the Onward Project. I will of course tell you about that too. And some more things for 2019. So, stay tuned for that, or check it out at theonwardproject.com.
And finally, my one request of the week, I try not to hit you over the head with this because I know it can be annoying. So, just short and sweet. If you're enjoying the show, I'd be really grateful if you would leave a quick rating, a little five-star rating and quick review in Apple Podcasts. It just takes a second and it does help other people discover the show. You can also tell your friends, show them how to subscribe, take their phones and show them because a lot of people still do not know how to listen to podcasts.
If you know somebody who needs another source of income, send them to us, we'll take care of them. And yeah, I think that's about it for the week. I wanna respect your time. I want you to see this as an investment in yourself, a very short 10-minute-a-day investment. And I hope you'll join me tomorrow and each day next week.
Our episodes go online at 601 a.m. Eastern time. That is every day, seven days a week. My name is Chris Guillebeau and this is Side Hustle School.
