Archives: Podcast

Q&A: Can you get paid for views on a popular social post?

What It’s About

Today’s caller wants to know how to monetize viral social media posts.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1670

A listener has written a viral Facebook post that went on to get millions of views. After the fact, they’re thinking about what they could have done—or what they could do now—to capitalize on all the attention.

It’s a very interesting question that reminds of a story. After you hear their question in more detail, I’ll share the story and my answer about capitalizing on viral post fame.

“A few years ago, I wrote a post on Facebook that ended up going viral. I didn’t have a business account, but all of a sudden I had tens of thousands of people viewing, sharing, and commenting on the post. It took weeks for the attention to die down. I’ve thought about this experience ever since. Was there some way to monetize all this attention that I just didn’t see at the time? Do some social networks pay people based on the number of views their posts receive? Unfortunately I haven’t been able to replicate those results since then, but I wonder if there’s a key or lesson I can apply in some other way.”

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

Seattle Couple Creates New “Income LiveStream”

What It’s About

With weddings on lockdown, one couple rides the wave of live-streaming events.

Words of Wisdom

Dale shares some important encouragement, “sometimes you can have an amazing idea, but the market isn’t ready yet or the stars haven’t aligned in such a way that your idea is immediately accepted. But by investing into your side hustle you put yourself in the position to capitalize on an opportunity and realize your dream.”

Fun Fact

By the end of the year, Live streaming is going to be a $70.5 billion industry by 2021 [source]

Notes from Chris

Episode 1669
When Dale and Lydia Wilson were planning their wedding in 2016, they ran into a familiar problem: not everybody they wanted to invite was able to attend. Some people lived far away, including older relatives with health issues who just couldn’t make the trip. Dale and Lydia wanted a way for everyone to feel part of their special day, no matter their location.

This led them to explore the option of live streaming: having someone with a camera broadcast their wedding through social media so their friends and family could just log on and tune in. But the only affordable way to live stream was through a mobile phone and the thought of having people watch on a fuzzy screen was less than appealing. Ultimately, they abandoned the idea … but a short while later, Dale and Lydia found themselves on the other side of the problem.

Unable to attend a relative’s wedding, they watched through a Facebook live stream. It was fun, but they couldn’t help wishing that the quality was better. It was hard to see and hear what was going on from the back row through a smartphone camera. This got them thinking: “Is there a service that provides high-quality live streams for weddings?”. The answer, after much Googling, was a resounding no. That’s how they found their idea for what they called Married Livestream.

The result of their hard work was … more than a little disheartening. They were only able to book a few weddings for the coming season and it seemed like the optimistic response from their friends and family hadn’t translated into live streaming demand. Dale had to venture back into his old career to supplement their income, and Lydia took extra hours as a nanny to make ends meet. It felt like Married Livestream had been a resounding failure. And, then, COVID-19 struck.

Dale and Lydia had hoped it would be the turning point for their business. It was the problem they’d faced at their own wedding but on a global scale. Almost nobody could travel anywhere. But, despite the rest of the world turning to online video for entertainment and connection, they somehow ended up with fewer bookings. There were cancellations and re-schedulings and it seemed like all hope was lost.

But, as the lockdown restrictions eased in the summer, the bookings started to flood in. Suddenly, they found themselves with forty weddings booked for the next few months. Their income skyrocketed in the space of a few weeks, and they were able to leave the work they’d taken on to make ends meet behind.

Dale and Lydia are now on track to earn over $100,000 in income from their business this year. They’ve already surpassed what they made last year in the first half of 2021.

Looking to the future, Dale and Lydia are focused on expansion. They’d like to go into online teaching by creating courses that will help others learn how to live stream weddings and events. They’re also looking to hire someone to do the live streaming for them, so they can focus on sales and marketing, all while spending more time with their daughter.

 

 

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
"Sometimes you can have an amazing idea, but the market isn’t ready yet or the stars haven’t aligned in such a way that your idea is immediately accepted. But by investing into your side hustle you put yourself in the position to capitalize on an opportunity and realize your dream."
—Dale Wilson #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

Q&A: Should I use a website template?

What It’s About

Today’s listener needs a website. Should they use a template or hire help?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1668

Welcome to a new week!

I always enjoy hearing what you’re up to. If we’re not connected online, follow me on Twitter (@chrisguillebeau) or connect on LinkedIn. I have several LinkedIn Learning courses that are totally free if you have a Premium account there, and I should be releasing some new ones soon.

Today’s listener is wondering about using a website template to build his new ecommerce site. It looks cheap, quick, and easy—is there any downside?

“Hey Chris, this is Kevin and I’ve registered a domain and want to build a website without coding. It looks like there are a bunch of templates and plug-ins out there that make this easy, either for free or sometimes a low cost of $100 or less. Is there anything wrong with using one of these tools? I worry that it might look unprofessional—but I also don’t have a lot of money to spend on design, and I don’t think I’ll turn into a programmer overnight. What do you think I should do? Thanks.”

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

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

Tumultuous Relationship Leads to Togetherness Blog

What It’s About

A couple draws on their relationship experience to help others.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Karolina and Gabriel share some important advice: “When things didn’t go our way, it was always because there was something we didn’t know yet; we were missing knowledge or skills necessary to succeed. Once we developed those skills, we’d try again and we got much better results.”

Fun Fact

If you’ve heard the statistic that 50% of marriages end in divorce and always wondered if it was true, it is! In fact, for second marriages the rate is even higher. That makes relationship advice a huge market to tap into.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1667
Breaking up is hard to do, and no one understood that better than Karolina Bartnik and Gabriel Brenner. During the early period of their relationship they broke up and got back together no less than three times. That sort of emotional back and forth takes its toll and, when they reunited a final time, they vowed to do things differently.

They read relationship books and had plenty of measured conversations until, one by one, they worked through their problems. What emerged from all that hard work were two people committed to each other. Without all the fighting and drama, they had more time to relax, reflect and soon became closer than ever.

It’s a match made in heaven … but this isn’t The Notebook, it’s Side Hustle School.

When sharing their story with other couples they knew, they found they weren’t alone in the conflict. In fact, a lot of couples suffered from almost identical issues Karolina and Gabriel did.

That got them thinking, how could they take the lessons they’d learn about building a loving, caring relationship … and get paid? After all, relationship drama is all too common.

That’s when they learned about how to make money from blogging. Karolina and Gabriel paid for a fifteen dollar hosting package and installed WordPress using a ninety dollar theme.

January 2019 rolled around and they launched their blog, SimplyTogether.co, with ten articles. The process filled them with all the excitement (and nervousness) of a first date. They’d taken a course on blogging that advised them to be selective—so rather than target couples, they focused their content on women who wanted to improve their relationships.

The Amazon commissions climbed slowly, as did both their traffic and conviction. When their visitors were at twenty five thousand per month they were able to register for a display ad network that pays bloggers to display banner ads. Between that and Amazon commissions they were now bringing in a couple hundred dollars per month from the site.

Still, they didn’t stop there and along with the course they began offering coaching services to their customers. This opened up an additional revenue stream which, in case you’ve lost count, takes them up to four different sources. Between their ad revenue, Amazon affiliates, course sales and coaching; SimplyTogether now earns the couple an extra seven hundred dollars per month—and counting!

 

 

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

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

Quote of the Day
"When things didn’t go our way, it was always because there was something we didn’t know yet; we were missing knowledge or skills necessary to succeed. Once we developed those skills, we’d try again and we got much better results."
—Karolina and Gabriel #SideHustleSchool

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 to break out of a sales slump?

What It’s About

Today’s caller feels stuck. What can they do to boost sales?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1666

Today’s caller from California started her side hustle last year, and it was going well! Recently, however, business has taken a turn for the worse. How can she get out of the sales slump?

Naturally, she’s trying to figure out the answer to that question—but I have at least one more that I think might be even more helpful to consider.

“This is Elizabeth from La Habra, California. I’ve been a fan of yours since 2018 and was finally able to work on my side hustle in 2020 thanks to being able to work from home. By the end of the year. Early this year, I was experiencing some pretty decent growth. I was going to regular pop up events to get my name out. My social media following was growing and I was even getting the occasional order online, either through Etsy or through my website.”

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: Tea Supply Chain Meets Its Matcha

What It’s About

A story steeped with valuable lessons.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1665

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 we’re starting 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.

I applaud their courage! I’ll share some of my failure stories along the way as well.

Today’s short story features Luciana Torous from Auburn, New York. We told the successful story of 3 Leaf Tea on Episode #914. But when her longtime supplier from Japan threatens to disappear just as the global pandemic was starting to disrupt supply chains worldwide, Luciana gets worried.

Don’t chai this at home! Let’s hear the story from her, and I’ll be back at the end to wrap us up.

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • I’m really grateful to Luciana for helping us with this segment. Check out her website at threeleaftea.com or follow her on social at @3leaftea.

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: Adjunct Professor Grows Interview Prep Site to 20,000 Users

What It’s About

After reworking his business, a data scientist and adjunct professor finds a winning formula.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1664

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 freelance romance novel editor who’s gone full-time. Before that, a hydroponic indoor gardening system, a sex-positive blogger who reviews adult toys, and the co-inventor of a device that allows public restroom users to open the door with their foot. (All in a month’s work!)

Today, in our latest feature, we’ll hear from Nathan Rosidi. First featured back in Ep. 991, Nathan is an adjunct professor and data scientist who developed a product called Stratascratch. It helps other data scientists prepare for interviews at tech companies.

What’s happened since?

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

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • I’m really grateful to Nathan for helping us with this segment. Check out his website at stratascratch.com and follow him on YouTube.

 

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: Does the “funnel process” really work?

What It’s About

Today’s listener has questions about finding customers and converting sales.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1663

Today’s listener is thinking about funnels! No, not funnel cake that you get from the fairgrounds … but the classic marketing funnel where you’re trying to bring people into your empire selling something.

Typically there’s an entry-level product, a medium-priced product, then an expensive one—there are lots of variations, but this is the classic “funnel” process that marketers teach. Does it really work? (Also, why don’t *I* have a funnel??)

All good questions! Let’s talk it out in this episode.

“Every marketer I know talks about the importance of having a funnel, where you have a free incentive on the bottom to get people interested, then a low-priced product, then a medium-priced product, and then some type of high-end product or personalized consulting. It seems very effective … but also, if everyone is doing it this way, does it really work? And do you have a funnel? From what I can tell, you don’t really sell anything at all besides books.”

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

Warehouse Manager Sells Twitter-Threads-As-a-Service

What It’s About

A warehouse manager finds a way to tweet for cash. #brilliant

Words of Wisdom

Matthew saw how popular Twitter threads were and simply offered to create these for others. What side hustle idea can you come up with being observant of the world around you?

Fun Fact

Twitter is one of the world’s largest social networks, and arguably the most influential. Reaching over 300 million active users per month there’s a lot of potential selling products and services to those who want to capitalize on its immense popularity.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1662
Matthew Alexander works as a retail warehouse manager by day. When he isn’t thinking about the physical logistics of his job, he’s hanging out online looking for inspiration and ideas. Yet, as an active member of both the IndieHacking and No-code communities, he knows an idea is just the starting point; creating something and marketing it is when the real battle starts.

That was never more evident than when he first dabbled in the side hustling waters. He had the technical know-how to create an offering and build a website. But he fell short on creating an audience to market that offering. That was when Matthew began noticing Twitter threads.

Twitter threads are a series of related tweets that tell a story or elaborate on a topic when one hundred and forty characters aren’t enough. Some people share their best of tweets or connect anything they feel requires the additional text. For example, a thread might include a series of exercise tips for losing weight, or tips to improve your business in a specific way.

In relation to Matthew’s project, he’d seen a lot of Twitter threads go viral and help to significantly boost the posters profile and followers. With that audience, they could monetize their service and products. So, he set about trying it for himself with his accounts and low and behold, things did improve. He didn’t set the world on fire overnight but his followers increased after he started making threads.

Forever business minded, Matthew saw an opportunity here. If Twitter threads worked for others as well as himself, would people be willing to pay for a service that created threads for them? He set about testing the concept.

He purchased the domain name Ttaas.co—Twitter Threads as a Service—and used Carrd, a free website builder, to launch the site quickly. Carrd allowed for easy integration with Stripe, a credit card payment processor. After customers paid, Matthew directed them to a free Google Form where he asked a few questions about their business and objectives.

Matthew was featured in a newsletter that went out to fifteen thousand people, all aspiring entrepreneurs and side hustlers; exactly his target audience. That feature brought an influx of customers and a fair amount of overwhelm along with it. Matthew felt flustered, and unable to handle the volume effectively; especially while juggling his day job as well.

Yet he soon settled into it and managed the overflow just fine by outsourcing some of the work. Right in the nick of time too, because his side hustle kept growing to the point where he’s now generated two thousand dollars per month.

He’s managed to thread the needle between working a day job and balancing a side hustle. Matthew says this isn’t his first and it certainly won’t be his last.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Matthew and his service at his website, ttaas.co.
  • Matthew used tools like, Carrd to launch his website and Stripe to collect online payments.

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
"Just start and keep going. This wasn’t my first side hustle attempt and it won’t be my last. The first one most likely won’t workout."
—Matthew Alexander #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

Q&A: Creators of the internet, unite!

What It’s About

Today’s caller wants to bring the internet together. No big deal, right?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1661

This listener has an ambitious plan to unite creators (including podcasters and YouTubers) in an informal network to gain an advantage in negotiating for sponsors and other deals. They believe there’s strength in numbers and that independent creators should effectively unionize—at least on a small scale—to increase their leverage.

He’s wondering how to make this ambitious effort have the best odds of success.

Collective action campaigns from Redditors taking on hedge funds to massive crowdfunding efforts. So I too agree there’s strength in numbers, but how do you make something like this work?

“Hey Chris, this is Landon and I started listening to the show after a friend recommended it last year. As you know, there’s strength in numbers! I want to bring together a number of creators, including podcasters, bloggers, influencers, and TikTok stars. My thinking is that being able to negotiate as a group will give us more power in attracting the attention of advertisers and other partners. How do I go about doing this? I’m trying to decide how to structure the group, legally speaking, as well as how to recruit the right people. Thanks!”

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

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