This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
What's up, greetings and welcome. My name is Chris Guillebeau. Here we are with the weekly recap. Just finished week number 30 of season three. That makes what, 154 weeks so far?
All these stories of real people out there taking control of their lives, finding extra ways to make money, sometimes with the most unusual of ideas. This week's stories featured a touring ukulele player, a cigar subscription box, and a guy who makes and repairs custom lightsabers. May the force be with you. Or as the Irish blessing put it, may the road rise up to meet you, pay off your debt and increase your bank balances. In real time, we are coming to the month of August, which for some is a slower month.
Nothing wrong with resting and reflecting, nothing wrong with taking time off at all, can be very good and important for you. But it can also sometimes be fun to use downtimes to start a new project, create a product, build a new website, start a podcast, or just collect yourself for everything that's to come in the next busy season. So whatever you're up to this season, use it well, use it intentionally. Today, I'll bring you an audio update from a previously featured side hustler. And first, I wanna expand on something from the other day.
Thinking about this for a couple of days now, just as I have been ruminating, making notes for the show and so on. In episode 935, Meal Prep Company cooks up profits with customized orders. The guy featured there Sandeep told us something pretty incredible. This was in the notes from his survey form. He said, "This company has been a passion project for me.
It's given me a life purpose and I can't imagine what I would be doing without it." I saw that and I was like, "Wow, interesting." So I went to check out his blog. I found this recent post entitled, "How a Disease Gave Me Purpose." I'll just read you a brief selection here from that post. "It felt like the stars aligned the day we started Local Foods. Everything I'd been through all my life culminated in that one moment and I realized that I found my purpose. In that moment, I saw that everything I had been through was so I could use what I had learned professionally and otherwise to build something that would help people become healthier in every way.
After all, if you don't have your health, you don't have anything, so it's a worthy cause. Looking back, I can't imagine where I would be now if I never went through what I did. I'm very passionate about what I do at Local Foods, all the challenges I've been to help me determine what my purpose is today. And if it wasn't for that, I'd probably still be pushing paper somewhere. And pushing paper was this guy's day job before he started his side hustle, which eventually became his full-time project.
But not until it was profitable, not until it was safe for him to leave that job. So I thought that was really interesting. Someone saying, "This company that I started originally, again, on the side, has given me a life purpose and I can't imagine what I'd be doing without it." Comments like that reinforce why I believe in this message so, so much and why I'm talking to you about it every day. Is a side hustle, is an extra income, the answer to everything in life? Of course not.
You need to think about your relationships, your health and overall wellbeing, just like Sandeep mentioned. But I know, because I often hear stories like Sandeep's, that it really can be something deeply meaningful. This kind of project that you start, it's not just about making extra money, even though that's good too. There's nothing wrong with just saying my goal is to make extra money, but it can also be transformative. And as he mentioned, his business is directly connected to his health and overall wellbeing in addition to his relationships.
So for him, it is a win-win-win all around. And I know for some other people out there who are looking for meaning or looking for purpose, maybe just feeling a little bit frustrated or discontented, perhaps you can take some encouragement and inspiration from that today. All right, that was again Sandeep from episode 935. In just a moment, we're gonna move to the audio update. This one features Reena, who has made some big changes since we first featured her on the show.
But first, I wanna give a quick shout out to our sponsor. I appreciate their support of the show and providing valuable offers to listeners. So here's a message on their behalf and then the update from Reena. [Music]
Hey, this is Reena Goodwin from Cleveland, Ohio. My side hustle was DJing and it was featured on episode 313.
A lot has changed since the episode first aired. Life got a little more complex with a new baby, a day job and my two side hustles, one being DJing of course, and the other side hustle growing my marketing and PR business, Factor PR. I began to feel incredibly overwhelmed and just plain burned out. The good news is that with all of that extra hard work, I started to save some money in the bank. Eventually the dollars added up to the point where I could actually quit my day job and sustain my salary with my two side hustles.
And something amazing happened. The more time I devoted to my side hustles, the more they grew, especially my marketing and PR business, which is really where my passions had shifted to. Six months thereafter, I decided to retire from DJing entirely and Factor PR is no longer my side hustle, it's my full-time hustle. One of the most important things I've learned along the way has been to be crystal clear about my priorities. A saying that I love is if it's not a hell yes, it's a no.
These days I'm focused 100% on Factor PR and have no intentions of launching another side hustle at this time. I've hired my first teammates, we're supporting lifestyle clients across the country and their PR and marketing efforts. And to keep things fresh, we are going to be launching our first online workshop called the DIY PR Project, which is a guided online course to help business owners learn how to prep for and procure their own publicity. You can learn more at DIY-PR.com. [Music]
Thank you so much, Rina.
Appreciate that detailed updates and wonderful to hear how you've transitioned. Listen everybody, transition is normal, change is normal. Start a side hustle, do it for a while, let it lead you to something else. If you find that it's distracting you from your main work or if your main work changes, then go and do that. Or maybe it could be the reverse actually for some people, they're doing something like PR and they start a totally different side hustle like DJing.
And it turns out that DJing is not only their passion, but it actually becomes more sustainable. Sometimes it can be easier to stand out doing something a bit less traditional than competing in a world that's a little bit saturated like PR. But obviously Rina has figured it out. And if it is not a hell yes, it's a no. I love that perspective, I've been working on that myself.
I think I always had the first part for a long time. Like if you think about something and it's a little bit scary, you know, should I do that? You know, you ask yourself like how am I gonna feel? And if you start feeling like, oh, actually, you know, this is like a hell yes. Okay, I'm gonna do it, right?
So I had that part down for a long time. And what I had to work on was the second part about how if it wasn't that, then the answer should be no. But I've gotten a bit better over the years. So everyone you can follow along with Rina at factorpr.com. That's F-A-C-T-E-U-R-P-R.com.
We will link it up in the show notes. Now, if you have a question or comment, I'd love to hear from you as well. 8449 Hustle or 8449487853. You can also email at podcast@sidehustleschool.com or give me a shout on social media, especially Instagram, 193 countries, 193 countries, or add me as a connection on LinkedIn. It's just my name, Chris Guillebeau.
And if you can spell Guillebeau, then you win a prize. You don't actually win a prize, but I do recognize that it's a challenge. So thank you for persevering. [Music]
We have a bunch of good stuff coming up on the program soon, including a six-figure art success, self-publishing YouTube channel, and something all about helping companies implement remote work culture. All kinds of things out there.
We try every week to bring you a diverse set of stories, looking at arts and crafts, looking at people doing different kinds of services, looking at people who have created a product, looking at blogs, podcasts, affiliate income, all kinds of different stuff, all with the goal of inspiring you and nudging you and urging you and encouraging you to take action for yourself. I want this to be supportive for you. I want this to be a resource for you. I want this to be practical help so that you hear something and you're like, "That's really cool. And also I have an idea about what to do next." That is my goal every single day on the program.
I do want to say thank you to some other folks here, producer Chuck Reed, content manager, Whitney Karinek, community liaison, Jed Chang, cat herder, Tina Hart, and the official show cat, not connected to Tina, Libby Gillibow. All of us at Team Saadisle School are part of the Onward Project. That is curated, led, founded by best-selling author Gretchen Rubin. Be sure to check out the other shows on the Onward Project. Happier with Gretchen Rubin, happier in Hollywood, and Do the Thing from Melissa Urban.
All these shows are free and listener supported. If you're enjoying this one, I'd be super grateful for your quick rating and review in Apple Podcasts. Those things only take a second, but they do actually help other people learn about the show. You can also tell your friends and show them how to subscribe. If you know somebody out there who needs another source of income, send them to us, we'll take care of them.
I often say inspiration is good, but action is better. And I want to feature your story here. Love to know what you're working on. I hope you will join me tomorrow and every day next week for more stories and ideas. Consider this a short daily investment in yourself.
Our episodes go online at 601 a.m. Eastern time every day. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
- From the Onward Project.
