This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hello, hello, what's up? Welcome to Side Hustle School. My name is Chris Guillebeau. We have just finished week number 12 of season three. This week featured the Rosary Bead Hustle, 50 Shades of Editing romance novels, a series of pizza parlor tours in Chicago, and more.
As usual, a broad array, a cornucopia, you could say, a diverse set of case studies, just lots of stuff in the mix. As always, there are so many different ways you can make money. That's what I hope to highlight every day on this show through a different story, a different true story of somebody like you who has a day job, yet finds a way to create a bit more freedom and opportunity for themselves through the form of an income generating project. Oh, and by the way, not just by working harder, but by working smarter, not going into debt and using the skills they already have. Now this episode, the weekly recap, comes to you live from Thailand.
And actually the next few days will also be live from Thailand as well. I'm working on location here for the rest of the week. I'm always very thankful that I have the kind of working career that I can do from anywhere. And so sometimes people say like, oh, doesn't it suck that you're like in Thailand and you have to work? I'm like, no, not at all.
First of all, I get to work because I love what I do. I'm really fortunate to be able to produce the show and write books and do all the other stuff that I do. But second of all, I'm able to take off and go to Thailand for five days because I have this kind of work and because I have built this sort of career. So to me, it's not at all something that I resent. It's very much something that is integrated throughout my whole life.
So live from Thailand, say hi on Instagram, 193 countries, 193 countries. And in this update, I'm gonna bring you two audio updates from previously featured case studies. We're gonna do a double header. Both of them are from people who experienced major changes in their side hustle. One of them in the form of a partnership ending and the other whose hustle actually just needs to close.
I thought there was a lot we could take away from these two stories, especially in tandem. So those are coming up in just a moment. But first, a bit more about the email landing page challenge that I briefly mentioned a couple of episodes ago. [Music]
So I didn't explain this fully the other day. I'll give you a short version, too long, don't listen.
And then I'll tell you a little bit more about it. Short version is if you would like to learn to build a landing page that will help you grow your email list. A landing page is just any page on a website where visitors stumble upon and there's some pitch to join the email list to learn about whatever topic. And a landing page is a big way that people grow their email list, which is critical for growing your business. So short version is our partners at ConvertKit, the same email service that I use, are doing a free 30-day challenge where you can learn a bit more about this whole process.
And as part of that, they're gonna have $5,000 worth of prizes for 18 people who create a landing page and grow their email list during the month of April. And you can sign up for free at sidehustleschool.com/challenge. Again, sidehustleschool.com/challenge. And for the medium-length version, just to tell you a bit more about it, if you have never created a landing page or you're interested in learning how to optimize the landing page, make it more effective, and then understand the process of selling something through one of those pages, ConvertKit is going to host five live trainings throughout the month of April to help you out. Now, of course, they hope that you'll become a customer at the end of the month-long challenge.
And by the way, I'm a customer myself. I pay them a bill every month. They don't give me a free account. But even though they hope you'll become a customer, there's no obligation, and you can learn a lot from the free training. I mean, you really can learn a lot from this, even if you already have an account with another email list company and have no interest whatsoever in signing up eventually, you can do this challenge and still learn something to apply elsewhere.
That's why I think it's valuable and something I'm happy to recommend to our community. So if you've got an idea for a new product, you just wanna build some trust and authority with your audience. Or if you're ready to commit to some kind of newsletter, join this challenge. You'll learn how to do it. You'll get some accountability and you might even win prizes, including Amazon gift cards and up to $1,000 in cash.
So the challenge starts April 1st. Again, completely free. Sign up today at sidehustleschool.com/challenge. All right, onto those audio updates. Now, as promised, I'm gonna play you two of them, back to back, and then I'll have some commentary.
So the first is from Maria and the second from Shahan. - Hi, I'm Maria Burke from the Bay Area. I'm the founder of Dessert Goals, which was featured on episode 284. A quick update. Since then, my co-founder, Liang Shi, has actually stepped aside from Dessert Goals to focus on a new business and I've taken over.
It's now less than my side hustle and turned into my main focus. 2018 was a big year for Dessert Goals. We hosted three festivals and expanded the New York event to two back-to-back weekends with over 5,000 people per festival. I've learned a lot about building a business as a partner and then splitting ways, all the paperwork and refiling involved. They say going into business is like marriage and it's really true.
Liang and I have stayed friends, so it was a mutual and kind divorce. Next up this year, I'm looking to reimagine the Dessert Goals experience in New York and beyond with more festivals and partner pop-up events. You can follow along on our Instagram @OMGdessertgoals and on our website dessertgoals.com and let us know what city we should come to next. [Music]
Hey there. My name's Shahan Fanczy from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
My side hustle was Chevalet, which was featured on episode 277. Since then, a lot of interesting things have happened. We've managed to grow sales month over month and connect with new people looking for a new shave routine, trying to fight irritation and save money. One interesting thing that has happened is we are now closed. Yes, what has happened is my main hustle has offered me a full-time transfer into a new city.
Since our business model was mostly focused on mobile delivery, it wasn't feasible to continue that business in the new city that we're now living in of Calgary, Alberta. That being said, we learned a lot of valuable lessons, one of which is plan ahead, but not too far ahead. You wanna build your business to scale or for succession, but you wanna make sure that you're not holding too much inventory. That being said, when we figured out we were gonna have to close and we were moving and we made that wonderful decision to do so, we had to make a decision and get rid of all of our inventory. Since we were holding a pretty significant inventory position, took a lot of work and determination to get rid of most of it, but we're very grateful for all of our loyal clients that helped us clear it out, not to mention get a better deal on product.
So that's my lesson to side hustlers. Look ahead, but not too far ahead. Remember, you wanna drive looking out your windshield and not your rear view mirror. So that's my advice. Have a great day and best of luck with your side hustle.
[Music]
All right, thanks so much to Maria and Shahan. Really appreciate them sharing those updates, especially in this case, since the updates are kind of personal and not like, oh, we're making millions of dollars, but we're actually going through some changes, which is normal and something that I don't think people talk about often enough. I always try in the features to look at what's difficult, what's challenging, where someone might've made a mistake or had a failure even, or just had to encounter some sort of obstacle or unexpected change or transition, which is exactly what you hear about in these two updates. A side hustle partnership, and particularly with Maria's story, a side hustle partnership is like a marriage, like she said. So if you're going to separate, it can be done well, but it will require working cooperation.
And that's why I often say, if you don't have a reason to go into a partnership, don't do it. All kinds of people can help you in your side hustle. You can help them. You can get advice, et cetera. You don't necessarily have to have a formal partnership unless it is the truly joint dream of both of you to run this business.
And as for Shahan, his advice was to plan for sale or succession, just in case something major changes and you have to move like he did in his case. I would just add that it's also okay to plan for something that just otherwise ends. You don't necessarily have to sell your business or create a succession plan, depending on how far along you are, that could be a viable option. But for a lot of people out there that are just kind of getting going, or their hustle is making $1,000 a month or $2,000 a month or whatever, you don't necessarily have to figure out that kind of formal ending. It's also okay to just move on with your life, enter a new season, and then start something different in your new situation.
So again, big thanks to Maria and Shahan. Maria's episode was number 284. Dessert Goals team creates sweet success, and Shahan's was 277. Marketing Pro earns money teaching people how to shave. [Music]
Much more is coming up on the program soon.
We're gonna go from the rosary bead hustle to cocktail lovers next week who earn liquid profits from boozy pins. Also, oh, this is a fun story. I don't know how else to describe this except to tell you the title. It's gonna come out, I think, the day after tomorrow. The title is Personal Problem Leads to Profitable Project.
If that sounds a little bit generic, I assure you that the project itself is anything but generic. A very interesting thing that I have never heard of before, a unique product for women. And I'll tell you all about that, I think, in episode 815, along with many others as we close out the month of March and spring forward into April and beyond. Before I sign off for the week, I wanna say thank you to everybody who makes this show possible. I really appreciate our crew.
That includes producer Chuck Reed, content manager at Whitney Karinek, editorial review James Johnson, community liaison Jed Chang, who's recently returned to the US from several months in Vietnam, cat herder Tina Hart, and the official show cat, not herded by Tina, just the official show cat Libby Gillibow. Now all of us on Team Side Hustle School are part of the Onward Project that is curated by best-selling author Greshen Rubin. It's a collection of podcasts full of concrete, actionable ideas for how to make your life happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. You can check that out at theonwardproject.com. And of course, all of the shows are available in Apple Podcasts and wherever you listen to podcasts.
Speaking of that, this is a free, listener-supported show. If you're enjoying it, I'm always really grateful for your quick rating and review in Apple Podcasts, as well as just telling your friends about it. All of our growth has been completely organic, no big marketing plan, no paid advertising, just lots of people around the world, tens of thousands, who are all interested in this goal of creating freedom through an income-generating project. Last but not least, the very last thing of the week, if you're listening, which you are, you are the reason we make the show. I said in the first episode more than 800 days ago, if you make the commitment to make this part of your routine, I too commit to supporting you fully in your quest to create that new source of income, that side hustle that you have thought about, but perhaps have not turned into reality until now.
And of course, I know that now we have lots and lots of listeners who already have that project and are trying to grow it. So that is fantastic too. And I wanna do everything that we can to help you grow and go to the next level. So do let me know what you're up to, let me know your updates and how we can best serve you. I hope you'll join me again tomorrow and every day next week for more stories and actionable ideas.
Consider this a short daily investment in yourself. Episodes go online at 601 a.m. Eastern time. My name is Chris Guillebeau, and this is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the "Onward Project."
