Archives: Podcast

Failure Friday: “My D.C. tour business was down 89%…”

What It’s About

A city tour business loses most of its customers for several months.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1609

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 Rob from Washington, DC. We told the successful story of his tour business on Episode #508: “Government Researcher Offers Private Tours of Nation’s Capital. But they had some struggles along the way. Let’s hear from them about one of those struggles… I’ll be back at the end to wrap us up.

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Trip Hacks DC: Did you know that among the many gargoyles adorning the National Cathedral, there’s a sculpture of Darth Vader’s head? I bet Rob knew that one! Learn more about him on his website
  • Don’t forget to follow Rob on Instagram, @triphacksdc

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: Diabetic Travel Blogger Embraces #VanLife

What It’s About

A travel blogger moves to a new stage of adventure.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1608

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 Hannah Fastov in New York City, the founder of Go Dash Dot, which sells handbags and other accessories for active women.

Today, in our latest feature, we’ll hear from an Irish travel blogger with type 1 diabetes. She’s recently moved to YouTube—and into a tiny home on wheels that she and her partner plan to take across Europe and beyond.

We first featured her more than a year ago, and I really liked how she and her partner focused their travel blog on that topic, both from a practical perspective—there are way too many travel bloggers, and they found a speciality—and also from a personal perspective because my dad has type 1 diabetes.

Listen to today’s episode to hear Brad and Cazzy’s updates…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Dream Big, Travel Far: Dream big, travel far, and learn more about this adventurous side hustle over on Brad and Cazzy’s website!

 

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: How to best use a time of unemployment?

What It’s About

A caller wonders how to make the most of their employment transition.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1607

I’ve had a number of questions about employment transitions and what to do when you’re looking for work.

In my book Born for This, I wrote about the concept of perfect vs. imperfect information. A game like Tic-Tac-Toe has perfect information, meaning that nothing is hidden. Chess is like that too—both players have access to all the information in the game.

Poker is not like that—poker has imperfect or hidden information. Careers are much more like poker than tic-tac-toe or chess. There’s a lot you don’t know, and sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know.

“Hey Chris, this is Michael and I’ve been listening to the show for a couple of years now. My company recently did a round of layoffs, and I was in the group that was let go. Don’t feel bad for me—it wasn’t a huge shock, and to be honest I was ready for a change anyway. Since I was laid off instead of quitting, I received a severance package and have at least a month or two before I need to get serious about finding a job. I’d like to use some of this time to focus on creating a new source of income. I’m not expecting to replicate a full salary right away, but I’m thinking if I can get going, I’ll be in a better place to grow the business while I begin a new job. How can I best use this “bonus” free time I’ve been given?”

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

Sports Cards Trading Hobby Becomes Pandemic Payday

What It’s About

A hobbyist hits a home run buying and reselling sports cards.

Words of Wisdom

Brad drops some important advice for those seeking to start a similar hustle, “Have a deep passion and sense of urgency for learning about the niche. Have immense will power and patience when it comes to investing. There are a ton of shiny distractions that are horrible investments. Don’t get trigger happy. Get excited to dive into the research.”

Fun Fact

The most expensive sports trading card ever solid is a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card. It sold for $5.2 million dollars in January 2021.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1606
Brad de Comarmond describes his life as one big side hustle. While he makes his living mainly as a finance coach, he also dabbles in modeling and speaking—two activities that both took a big hit in 2020.

While looking for ways to pass the time in lockdown, he fell back into one of his childhood hobbies: trading collectible sports cards.

Brad had never lost his interest in sports, but the trading cards had sat on the bench since his teenage years. While he knew there were a few rare, vintage cards that were valued in the millions, he thought the hobby for the most part was child’s play—not a way to make a serious income.

Yet, a chance discussion with a childhood friend would soon prove him wrong…

That friend told Brad about COMC.com—the site stands for “check out my collectibles.” It’s a card trading platform that allowed remote sales and storage of trading cards. In other words, you could purchase, store and resell a card with them without it ever leaving their warehouse.

Instantly intrigued by this concept, Brad set himself a thirty day window to learn all there was to know about the world of trading cards. If, after that time was up he felt like it was a home run idea he’d throw himself in. If not, he’d forfeit his free agent rights and move on.

By the time his thirty day limit was up, he had the confidence to give card trading a shot, starting at the budget price of one hundred dollars. Although it wasn’t quite the big leagues, for Brad it was still game on.

Luckily for Brad, he is a sports fanatic and follows the industry closely. That helped him develop a sixth sense for what cards would do well and increase in value. This keen eye for value helped Brad sell over twenty thousand dollars worth of cards over the last twelve months. That’s been enough money to cover his living costs while his other work has been quiet.

But the best part is Brad feels like a kid again, and is actually making money while following his favorite sports teams.

 

 

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
"Have a deep passion and sense of urgency for learning about the niche. Have immense will power and patience when it comes to investing. There are a ton of shiny distractions that are horrible investments. Don’t get trigger happy. Get excited to dive into the research."
—Brad de Comarmond #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: What’s the best way to market a guide to airline lounges?

What It’s About

How can this listener get his airline lounge guide off the ground?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1605

Oh, the days of airline lounges!

Until the past few years, I traveled internationally at least a third of the year, in addition to lots of domestic trips. I spent hundreds of hours working from airline lounges around the world, including (many times) my favorite in Hong Kong that featured cabanas with full-sized bathtubs in the middle of the room.

Three years ago, I began to slow down a bit, and then of course we all slowed down a bit in 2020. Domestic travel is fairly normal now, but international still has a ways to go.

Why am I telling you this? Because of a listener question! Specifically, a listener is thinking of making an airline lounge access guide to help more people experience these magical places. What’s the best approach to creating and marketing this guide?

“As you know, even if you only travel a few times a year, having access to an airline lounge makes a world of difference in comfort. The clubs sell memberships for $500/year, but you don’t need to pay that much! Depending on the lounge, there are usually several other ways to gain admission. For example, instead of paying $500/year for a lounge membership, you can pay $300 for a Priority Pass membership which gets you the same thing—or, even better, you can get a credit card that gives you Priority Pass for free. There are lots of other hacks like that, which you probably know about from all your experiences traveling the world. I want to demystify the process to make travel better for occasional travelers, who don’t necessarily want to read a bunch of forums or follow travel blogs. Any advice? “

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

French Bulldog Blog Fetches Extra Bones

What It’s About

A barkingly fun story of a family blog featuring their beloved French Bulldog.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Kyle has some important words of advice for those seeking to monetize a blog, “growing the site is painfully slow but, if you stick with it, keep publishing good content, it grows over time.”

Fun Fact

French Bulldogs are now the 2nd most popular dog breed in the United States. Kyle only discovered this when he recently checked his Google Alerts, which shows just how much there is to learn about pets.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1604
When website designer Kyle Battis got his French bulldog three years ago, he didn’t expect that it would be the start of a business. His family had long been used to having a furry animal in the house, and so after their beloved pet Noble passed away, they decided to get a new one.

His three kids spent a great deal of time reading up on different dog breeds and watching YouTube videos, eventually deciding on a French bulldog they named Augie.

As you might expect, this was exciting for the family—but also expensive. With food, toys, and pet insurance, the bills quickly add up. Kyle thought that perhaps there was a way they could earn a small income that would cover the costs.

As a designer, it struck him that this would also be a good opportunity to show his kids that it was possible to make money online. How? By creating a website and writing about the family’s experience with the new dog. His kids, then aged 13, 11, and 9, agreed to help out with this new project. That weekend, Kyle built the site on WordPress and got a local photographer friend to come over to shoot some photos of Augie and the kids. Before Monday arrived, their site Frenchie Journey was online.

The site has now grown significantly since it was started in December 2019. With over 130 posts, it currently sees over 32,000 visitors a month, and brings in approximately $750/month in income through a mix of affiliate commissions and advertisements. Beyond paying $13 for the domain name and $7 a month for website hosting, there have been no other costs except for the time it takes to write each article.

This, however, has not been difficult for Kyle since it’s time that he is able to spend with his kids. In fact as he says, the revenue potential on the site isn’t that high so he really focuses on the shared family project and the lessons that he can pass on.

For those who wish to start a lifestyle blog, Kyle warns that growing a site like this can be painfully slow. But if anything, Kyle has learned that success generally depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed, and he thinks that it is doubly true when it comes to a side hustle like this.

 

 

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
"Growing the site is painfully slow but, if you stick with it, keep publishing good content, it grows over time."
—Kyle Battis #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 become an affiliate manager for large launches?

What It’s About

Today’s listener thinks they have a win-win idea to manage affiliates for others.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1603

Some product launches have an “affiliate manager” who coordinates promotion efforts. How can our listener learn to offer this service on a freelance basis?

This is like HR for entrepreneurs. If you’re looking for a contract job that rewards performance, it might be for you …. but it’s also a bit of a niche thing. You usually have to know someone to get into it.

“I’ve noticed that big product launches like B-School have a lot of big-name people who promote them on Instagram and through email, presumably because they’re earning commissions for it. When I looked into it more, I learned that there is often an affiliate manager who handles relations with these people, putting together contests and making sure they have all the info they need to be successful. I’d like to be one of those relationship managers on a freelance basis. I have the people skills and the know-how to learn new tech systems. My thinking is that I’d earn a commission on the commission—but in a way that ultimately makes the product creator a lot more money, so it’s a win-win for everyone. Is this a feasible idea?”

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: “I thought I had the Midas touch…”

What It’s About

Riding a wave of initial success, this marketing consultant wipes out with a new project.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1602

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 Lucas Lee-Tyson from Boston. We told the successful story of how a teenager learned to manage a $50,000/month digital marketing contract on Episode #790. But as he grew, some things worked better than others. Let’s hear from him about one of those struggles… I’ll be back at the end to wrap us up.

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

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

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: Handbags for Active Women Goes Direct to Consumers

What It’s About

You’re totes going to love this update from the owner of a functional bag company.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1601

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.

Recently, we’ve featured handkerchiefs, energy gum, candles, the Sweet Afternoon Bakeshop in Toronto, Canada, and more. Last week, we heard from the co-founder of Bean Goods, which sells dachshund-themed apparel for dogs and humans.

Today, in our latest feature, we’ll hear from Hannah Fastov in New York City, the founder of Go Dash Dot, which sells handbags and other accessories for active women (“Tote-ally Functional Bags for Women on the Go”).

 

What’s happened since? Let’s hear directly from Hannah, and notice how she speaks about her customers—there’s at least one lesson here!

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

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Go Dash Dot: You should tote-ally head on over to Hannah’s website to check out her bags!

 

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: How to create a revenue stream not affected by Google?

What It’s About

Today is episode #1600! Our caller wants to know how to avoid becoming overly dependent on Google.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1600

Episode #1,600! Thank you for being out there! Leave us a quick rating and review.

A listener’s review site is starting well, but every day they see how dependent it is on the whims of Google search results.

Can anything be done?

“Hi, Chris, this is Jay Daniel from Charlotte, North Carolina. I’ve been listening to your podcast for a few years now, and reading The Money Tree inspired me to start a new Side hustle after a few previous attempts failed. I co-founded a product review website and we see a few grand in revenue every month. We would like to continue growing, but every day it becomes more obvious that we are at the mercy of Google algorithm updates and merchant affiliate programs. We are interested in selling our own digital product like a course or a guide, so that we have a little more direct control over our revenue. But we don’t know how to integrate such a product into our existing review site. What is the most efficient way to make a shift like this? Should we start a new site or is there a way to leverage our existing site to develop a revenue stream? We have more control over things for all you do. I look forward to continuing the Side hustle journey with all of your other listeners.”

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

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

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

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To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau