Archives: Podcast

First $1,000: “I’ll never forget the moment I got paid…”

What It’s About

How a belly dancer wiggled her way to her first $1,000.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1983

Today’s episode is part of a new feature we’re doing in 2022 called ‘Your First $1,000.’ As you might surmise from the title, this is all about how someone made their first $1,000.

How did they get to that point? Not their first $100,000—that’s cool, but it would probably be a long story.

One thing I’ve learned is that once you begin to earn real money, the steps required to go to the next level—whether it’s $1,000 to $2,000, or even to $5,000 or $10,000 are often easier than that first real paycheck.

With that in mind, today’s feature comes from Jennifer Sobel. We first featured her on Episode #1704: The Six-Figure Belly Dancing Course.

The business grew to become a huge success. But what about her first $1,000—how did she make that happen, what did it feel like, and what did they learn?

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Thanks to Jennifer for telling us about her first $1,000—which as you heard, led to six figures in the first year. I hope you found it encouraging. Check out her website jennifersobel.com.

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for many websites. It's cheap, flexible, and offers support 24-7.

Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
Learn More

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Q&A: “Can I tell people where to find fake luxury goods?”

What It’s About

Today’s caller knows where you can find an amazing PRADO bag at an unbelievable discount.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1982

Today’s sponsor is fake Louis Vuitton! Get your designer good for more than half-off. No one will know.

That’s not our real sponsor, but it does relate to our real question of the day. A listener is wondering about knock-off goods. They’re everywhere, most people aren’t bothered by them, but of course they’re not legal—so she’s not thinking of selling them herself, just helping other people find them.

What do we think of this as a business idea?

“Studies show that more than 60% of luxury goods like handbags and watches are designer knockoffs. This means they’re counterfeit or fakes, but most people don’t seem to mind. For example, lots of my friends have Louis Vuitton bags that look just like the real thing. Everyone knows they’re fake but no one cares. And because I live in a big city but my hometown is back in middle America, friends there often ask me to buy something for them. I’m thinking there’s a business opportunity here, and I don’t mean reselling because I know that’s dicey. Instead, I’m thinking of being a concierge or middle-woman of sorts, connecting would-be buyers with the right markets and sellers. I deliberately wouldn’t handle any inventory because I want to stay out of trouble. Still, do you think I should worry about the big brands coming after me?”

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today! Learn More

Sponsors & Gratitude

Learn More With Skillshare!

Supporting the sponsors keeps the show free. Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Skillshare. 📷

Skillshare is giving Side Hustle School listeners 2 months of unlimited access—for $0.99! Join the 2 million students learning everything from street photography to SEO on Skillshare today!
Get Started Here!

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.


Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Q&A: “How much time do people spend on these projects?”

What It’s About

Today’s listener knows time is valuable. So how much time should be allocated to a side hustle?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1981

How much time do people spend on their after-hours projects? How about you? If you have at least one side hustle already, is it the kind of thing is a couple hours a week or taking over your life (hopefully not in a bad way!) or somewhere in between?

Naturally, the answer varies. Today’s caller is wondering about some averages as well as something about time tracking. Let’s get into it!

“Just curious about the average amount of time spent on these projects. It seems that some are quite easy and others time-intensive. Personally my time is very limited so I want to make sure I’m doing the right things. How should this inform my selection process? Also, what’s the best way to keep up with the number of hours spent?”

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today! Learn More

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time. Learn More

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Failure Friday: “We locked ourselves in a room for six months to build…”

What It’s About

A team works hard to try and create a real MVP.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1980

I believe we can learn as much from failure as we can from success, if not more. It’s with this principle in mind that I offer you a weekly segment called Failure Friday: a collection of short stories all about mistakes, missteps, disasters, and of course, failure.

Just like our Throwback Thursday segment, you’ll hear directly from side hustlers who have struggled to get something off the ground. They’ll tell you a short story of something that went very wrong.

The stories will vary, but often it starts with an idea, what they thought would happen and what really happened—and of course, what they learned.

Today’s short story features Jeet Mehta from Toronto (his family is from India and his dad was a professional cricket player). Together with a couple of friends, Jeet co-founded Sportsbookr. The business provides online booking, scheduling, and payment solutions for sports facilities such as baseball stadiums.

It’s a pretty cool idea—Jeet explains that they really felt like they were providing a solution to a problem. But he and his co-founders also spent six months of building something (“grinding it out, locked in a room” as he puts it) only to find … well, you’ll hear the story. It’s both an origin story and a point of learning.

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Thanks to Jeet for sharing this transparent and truthful story. Check out Sportbookr.com …. also, pretty cool that his dad was a professional cricket player. I got to go to a cricket match when I was on book tour in India and it was a lot of fun.

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today! Learn More

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time. Learn More

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

TBT: Voiceover Artist Grows Business With Gusto

What It’s About

A voiceover artist takes her voice to a new level.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1979

Welcome to Throwback Thursday / “Where are they now?” where we take an in-depth look at someone who’s story has evolved considerably since we first featured them.

Last week, we heard from a New Hampshire fabric artist. She’s built a seamless business while working a day job in IT.

Today, in our latest feature, we’ll hear from Carrie Olsen, a now full-time voiceover artist from Kansas City.

What’s happened since we first featured her?

Listen to today’s episode to hear Carrie’s updates…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Thanks to Carrie for sharing their updates with us. Check out her website at carrieolsenvo.com. She has a lot of resources there, including a free voiceover course. As she explained, this is an industry that is new to a lot of people, but if you want to jump in, there’s also a lot to learn.

 

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today! Learn More

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time. Learn More

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Q&A: “Where do I find my first customers?”

What It’s About

Today’s caller needs help landing their first sale. What should they know?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1978

Our caller today is like a lot of listeners—you might be in this situation, or if not, you might have been at some point when you were getting started, or you will be when the time comes to start a project. How do you begin to market and attract your first customers?

It’s so common to have an idea and then feel held back at this phase. But of course it’s critical! Without buyers, your business idea can never become a real business.

Let’s see if we can help out our caller, and by proxy some other people out there…

“This is Stephen from Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, and I have been listening to your show for the past few years and have enjoyed listening to the ideas and stories about the successes of other people who have started prosperous side hustle. I’ve considered and tried starting various side hustle over the years, but always seem to get stuck in the middle. Of initial marketing and getting first customers. My question is, how should one begin to market and land their first customers? What marketing methods do you suggest for people just starting out? For example, social media, word of mouth, freelance, etc. Just about everyone can get a web site put together, but essentially useless unless you get people to it. Should I consider paid advertising or use grassroots? I’m interested to hearing your thoughts. Thank you. And I look forward to hearing other stories and tips from your show.”

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today! Learn More

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time. Learn More

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

This Balloon-Popping Tool Strikes Helium Gold

What It’s About

A graphic designer proves his product idea isn’t full of hot air.

Words of Wisdom

Sam shares an important lesson, “I’ve learned to embrace baby steps. Everything that has been a struggle has taught me something important and I’ve changed and adapted my business to fix those issues.”

Fun Fact

Did you know that as a part of Sam’s training to work with balloons, he had to become a “Certified Balloon Artist.” Becoming certified includes watching a series of training videos and then taking three online tests and one four-hour, practical exam demonstrating balloon skills. Here’s a link that features a silly animation Sam helped illustrate.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1977
Sam Jossie did not intend to work in the balloon business. You could say he floated into it. After training as a graphic designer, for his first real job he was hired by a balloon company.

The thing is—there are a lot of graphic designing jobs in the balloon world. When Sam got hired, the company already had 22 full-time designers on staff. And they always had something to do.

(Side note: what company is this?? Answer: Pioneer Balloon Company.) Sam soon started doing all the photography of everything for the company’s catalogs, social media, balloon education courses, and even week-long photo shoots. Before the pandemic, the company flew in professional balloon artists from all over the world to come in for demonstrations. Sam was their photographer. When there were massive conventions for balloon decorators, Sam was there with his camera.

Listeners, that’s when he noticed something.

After the conventions or the photo shoots, people left the balloons behind with the rest of the trash. Some balloons deflated on the ground. Others soared into the sky, destined to wreak environmental havoc elsewhere. But one way or another, anything left behind needed to be collected and thrown away.

As part of the cleanup effort, most people in charge would go around popping balloons. They used whatever they could find: scissors, box cutters, and another tool that looked like a medieval mace.

To make this tool, they attached a piece of putty to a wooden pencil or stick. Then, on the other end of the putty, was a sphere of small nails. While this caveman tool was effective, it was extremely dangerous due to the sharp, exposed nails. Just think: Game of Thrones but with a bunch of balloons in a ballroom.

After buying his own 3-D printer, redesigning the prototype twice, and going through a period of trial and error, he was ready for business. He created a website and accounts with Facebook and Instagram.

By early 2022, Sam had sold 1,000 Strikers. He made a profit of $12,600 in his first full year, and sales continue to rise. In fact, he’s sold to countries as far away as Tanzania.

Sam has found making Strikers takes a lot of time. Next, he’s looking to outsource the assembly and printing of the tool to someone who has 3-D experience, so he can spend more time with his family. Or, he might invent something else.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for many websites. It's cheap, flexible, and offers support 24-7.

Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
Learn More

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

Quote of the Day
"I’ve learned to embrace baby steps. Everything that has been a struggle has taught me something important and I’ve changed and adapted my business to fix those issues."
—Sam Jossie #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Try ShipStation for 60 Days FREE!

Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by ShipStation, the #1 choice of online sellers. 📦

To get a 30-day trial AND an additional month free, click the microphone at the top of their page and enter the word HUSTLE.
Get it Here

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

First $1,000: “I wasn’t sure what to do, so I started selling sports cards…”

What It’s About

A hobbyist knocks it out of the park reselling sports cards.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1976

Today’s episode is part of a new feature we’re doing in 2022 called ‘Your First $1,000.’ As you might surmise from the title, this is all about how someone made their first $1,000.

How did they get to that point? Not their first $100,000—that’s cool, but it would probably be a long story.

One thing I’ve learned is that once you begin to earn real money, the steps required to go to the next level—whether it’s $1,000 to $2,000, or even to $5,000 or $10,000 are often easier than that first real paycheck.

With that in mind, today’s feature comes from Brad de Comarmond in Los Angeles. As you’ll hear, he’s known as the Comeback Card Investor. When his business was derailed at the beginning of COVID, he also struggled personally (didn’t we all?!) and ended him finding joy and money by buying and reselling sports cards.

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Thanks to Brad for telling us about their first $1,000. I hope you found it encouraging. Check out his YouTube channel youtube.com/thecomebackcardinvestor I watched some videos and I like his focus on helping people identify the small minority of profitable cards.In the world of collectables, this is a key lesson that most people learn the hard way: just because a card supposedly has value doesn’t mean it can be easily resold. So how do you know the difference? Brad tells you!

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for many websites. It's cheap, flexible, and offers support 24-7.

Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
Learn More

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Q&A: “When do I let go of an unprofitable idea?”

What It’s About

Today’s international caller wants to monetize a local game. Can they win with this idea?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1975

Today’s caller is at a crossroads: should she keep pursuing her side hustle idea, even though it hasn’t been profitable?

Almost every person who starts a side hustle or a small business or even a capital-E entrepreneur encounters this challenge, often repeatedly. It’s important to develop the skill of evaluation so you know when to quit and when to keep going.

“A year ago I had what I thought was a great idea, but it just hasn’t worked out very well. It seems no one wants what I have to sell! How do I know if my idea is bad or if I just didn’t develop it properly? I don’t want to chase bad ideas, but I also don’t want to quit if there are just a couple more steps I need to take.”

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today! Learn More

Sponsors & Gratitude

Learn More With Skillshare!

Supporting the sponsors keeps the show free. Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Skillshare. 📷

Skillshare is giving Side Hustle School listeners 2 months of unlimited access—for $0.99! Join the 2 million students learning everything from street photography to SEO on Skillshare today!
Get Started Here!

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.


Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Q&A: “If everyone learns SEO, how can you ever win?”

What It’s About

Today’s listener wonders if they should bother trying to learn SEO.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1974

Today’s caller is wondering about SEO. It’s something mentioned in a lot of our stories. You’ll hear more in the question, but basically they’re wondering: can everyone do this? Or alternatively, if everyone improves SEO, won’t everyone just be at the same level?

Not a bad question at all, but as you’ll hear I do think it’s worth paying attention to SEO, and not just because it’s an arms race.

“Many of the case studies and success stories cover the importance of learning SEO. On the one hand, I get it. But on the other hand, if everyone is always trying to get their site ranked first in search engines, isn’t it a zero-sum game?

Not only that, but I imagine since this can be so lucrative, big companies have people or agencies working on SEO full-time. So why should we even try … do enough people just ignore the whole thing that it’s worth it, or is there some other benefit I’m not seeing?”

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today! Learn More

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time. Learn More

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau