Archives: Podcast

CLASSROOM: Dealing with Unsupportive Family Members

What It’s About

What to do if the people you love aren’t supportive of your hustle?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1269

Welcome to a new week and a new Classroom episode!

For the first half of the year, this series focused on everything you need to do to build your first income-generating project. Last week I did a recap or summary of what those episodes included. Going forward, we’re going to focus much more on marketing, or getting the word out about this new product or service!

Aside from questions about creating your first project, I hear more questions about marketing than anything else.

However, this week, I have something different for you. I want to talk about the question: What if your family doesn’t support your side hustle?

This is also a common question—not as common as the others, thankfully, but it’s true that not everyone has a supportive network around them all the time. You might be around people who don’t understand why you want to do this, or they think it’s not possible, or they’re just downright negative.

So what do you do?

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

THIS WEEK’S ASSIGNMENT:

Consider if there are any negative or discouraging voices in your life, and then consider what you can do to block them out.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

 

 

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

Sophomores Stitch Together Custom T-Shirts

What It’s About

Two college students discover an untapped market for custom screened t-shirts at their own school.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Rishi’s has some important words about hustling, “It never gets easier. No matter what size your company is, the next stage will always be more difficult, problems are all relative. If you don’t love the grind, this may not be the path for you. Embrace the grind.”

Fun Fact

The t-shirt itself is a fairly new apparel staple dating back only to the 19th century. It began life when laborers would cut the sleeves of their jumpsuit to keep cool during the summer months. Although, it wasn’t until 1920 that the term t-shirt was included in the Oxford English dictionary.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1268
In 2001, Rishi Narayan was a sophomore at University of Michigan. He’d been interested in starting some kind of business, and he was struggling with his Chemical Engineering degree. His childhood friend Ryan Gregg, a Civil Engineering major, felt the same.

After brainstorming ideas, they landed on the concept of building dorm room lofts and managed to nab a couple of builds quite quickly. But they quickly realized this idea had one huge problem. Students only moved into dorms once per year. That meant the business was only really viable for one week, and they needed something to keep them busy the other fifty one.

They scratched that idea and decided to move onto something else. But inspiration for a unique and interesting second business just wasn’t coming, and so they decided to settle on… t-shirt printing. There was no real reason, other than everyone they knew wore t-shirts, so why not?!? Their hook would be custom prints. They would transfer any design that someone came up with onto a shirt.

They decided to call themselves A1 Screen Printing. They figured they’d come up first in the phone book that way—remember, this was 2001 when phone books were still a thing. The best part was, they didn’t have to fork over any money. Their plan was to use a local printer and simply act as the middleman.

They were the only custom t-shirt printing game anywhere on campus, which meant business came quickly. College friends who ran university organizations and often needed t-shirts for members or special events became their first customers.

So far, they’d had great success with their own school and a few others nearby. But, in order to really grow the business, they knew they’d have to branch out. First, they purchased another local t-shirt printing business, this one with an actual warehouse space. That business was called Underground Printing. They liked the name so much, they rebranded their existing operation to match it.

Over the next decade, Underground Printing grew in leaps and bounds. So much so, that what started as a ragtag operation between two childhood friends now has a presence in over a hundred colleges and universities across the country and has transformed into a multi-million dollar business.

They’ve shown that you don’t need to enter the corporate world in suits and ties to make serious money… wearing t-shirts will do.

 

 

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
"It never gets easier. No matter what size your company is, the next stage will always be more difficult, problems are all relative. If you don’t love the grind, this may not be the path for you. Embrace the grind."
—Rishi Narayan #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: Financial independence, retire early (FIRE)—what’s up with that?

What It’s About

A listener asks a hot question about the F.I.R.E. movement.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1267

Financial independence, retire early—it’s called FIRE, and it’s a trend that’s not going away.

A lot of people are interested in this concept of saving a high percentage of their income, being extremely frugal, and retiring early, sometimes at the age of 40 or even 35 or earlier.

A listener wants to know how Side Hustle School fits into this model or vice versa or are they compatible at all. As part of my answer I’ll give you my #1 and #2 tips if you’re interested in FIRE.

“Hi Chris, this is Barry from Milwaukee and I recently found your show and have been enjoying the content. Can you talk briefly about FIRE; financially independent, retire early. How does Side Hustle School fit into that concept? I’ve been reading a lot about the FIRE movement and I love the idea of being able to retire in my late thirties or early forties, and I’ve started saving at least 30% of my income with the goal of making that happen. What do you thing about the FIRE concept, and how does Side Hustle School fit into it … or does it? “

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

Q&A: How can I take my aerial yoga teaching to new heights?

What It’s About

A listener teaching aerial yoga looks to stretch out her business. What should she do?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1266

Today’s caller is doing well teaching aerial yoga classes on the beach. Is there a way to scale this business and perhaps teach online? How can she take this flying-high operation to new heights?

Is aerial yoga the kind of thing that can only be taught in person … or is there a way to digitize it the way we’ve seen with so many other things lately?

Last but not least, what personal branding lessons can we take from this puzzle, and what are you doing now for your personal branding? If that doesn’t sound right to you, I get it—so just think about it as your area of expertise, your area of helpfulness. How can you be more helpful to more people?

“This is Tori from St. Augustine Beach, Florida. I found the show for your 100 Side hustle book and I’ve been listening ever since. My side hustle is teaching aerial yoga classes on the beach. I just started last year and I’ve gotten really positive feedback through almost all five-star reviews on my Airbnb Experiences page.

This has empowered me to raise my prices and look into additional revenue streams. Last year I made about half of my money through teaching in-person classes on the beach and the other half from leading an aerial yoga teacher training course at a yoga studio.”

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Tori and her flexible business at her website, MariposaYoga.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

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: Frozen Yogurt Dog Treats Are No Barking Matter

What It’s About

A howling good update from a business selling frozen dog treats.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1265

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 featured a Washington, DC attorney with a course to help new parents return to the workforce.

Today, in our latest feature, we’ll hear from Matt Meyer, co-founder of a business that provides frozen treats for dogs in the form of healthy (yet delicious, supposedly) ice cream.

A lot has happened since we first featured this canine-loving business back in Ep. 384!

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

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • The Bear & the Rat: See what all the barking is about and learn more about Matt, Meg and their products on their 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

Quote of the Day
"If you find a need and your company or your side hustle is working to address that need, I’d say to target your fix at the space that you are most familiar with and where you have the most personal contacts."
—Lori Mihalich-Levin #SideHustleSchool

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: Could I start a site for crafters to exchange unfinished projects?

What It’s About

A listener seeks feedback for a new site idea help crafters finish their projects.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1264

Here are a couple of questions you need to ask whenever you have a potential side hustle idea:

  • – Who is this for?
  • – Can I explain it in one sentence?
  • – Is there sufficient demand for this? (Another way of saying it: “do people want this?”)
  • – Do they want it enough to pay for it?

That last question is key, because parting with our money often feels painful. Our default mode is to not buy something, so for a marketer (that would be you!) to overcome that, you need a compelling offer.

In today’s story, a listener is wondering about her crafty side hustle idea: is it worth trying? If so, what’s the next step to making it a reality?

“Hi, this is Naty from Sacramento. I just started listening and I love the show. I’m afraid to start a side hustle, but I know I need to start before I’m ready. So here goes my side hustle idea is a user web site for crafters to exchange craft projects. So crafters can finish their unfinished objects in order to move on to other creative projects. I also want to provide a service where master crafters, myself included, can offer to finish, start or fast forward projects for a fee.

My question for Chris is this a good side hustle? How do I monetize? Could I start something like this on WordPress? How do I get users for this site? Let me know, Chris, if I’m barking up the wrong side hustle tree. Thanks. And onward with the revolution.”

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

River Guide Submits Side Hustle Job Application

What It’s About

A software program to navigate the flow of an employment process.

Words of Wisdom

Ian share some great words of advice: “Make sure your message is on point. Know for sure everything that your company is and everything that your company isn’t. It makes the road a lot smoother if you have a clear message from the word go. We knew we were solving a huge problem for our customers, but in the beginning, we sometimes confused them by muddling the message..”

Fun Fact

With the recent COVID-19 pandemic 36 million Americans are out of work with experts predicting the country will enter a deep recession. But there’s a silver lining, some of the most successful tech companies like AirBNB, Dropbox and Uber were started after the recession caused by the 2008 GFC.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1263
Ian McIver is more comfortable wearing sandals than dress shoes. It should come as no surprise then, that he refuses to work a typical office job. Instead, Ian goes with the flow and has built a career for himself as a river guide in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

He’s somewhat of an anomaly in this regard. You see, like many resort towns, the population in Jackson Hole is incredibly transient. Most people come in for a season, work for a while, then return home to start a ‘real career.’ But Ian paddled in his own canoe. He spent the better part of twenty years in the town and became an accomplished guide.

In fact, he became so involved with the company he worked for that he became responsible for hiring those transient workers… and it was a big hassle. Finding, screening, and interviewing candidates was like swimming upstream. Every season he had to repeat the process over again. Over his twenty year career, Ian hired over two thousand people—an average of one hundred per year!

He knew there had to be a way to make the hiring process easier, and in 2016 he came up with an idea of a software platform to simplify everything. It could be used by small businesses to fill out job profiles and publish them on a webpage. Applicants could then apply through the site, the business could vet them, and follow up with the ones they wanted.

At first, Ian hoped to attract an investor. But he soon realized that this goal was a lot like trying to catch water in a net—and he decided that the traditional startup route wasn’t a good fit.

Fortunately, there was another way. River guiding attracts an eclectic bunch of people, including some with a lot of different skills. Ian remembered a guide he used to work with named Daniel Frehner. After his time as a guide, Daniel had gone on to learn programming.

Ian contacted Daniel, explained his idea and offered a partnership. They’d each have a share of the new business. Daniel would build the software, while Ian would be responsible for the marketing side of things. They spent the next couple of years creating a beta version. They called it JobApplix, short for Job Application, a name as streamlined as the product aimed to be.

In the first few months, over seven hundred people applied for a job through their software. That brought them to March 2020, when a waterfall by the name of COVID-19 was fast approaching.

So far, they’ve managed to safely navigate those treacherous waters. None of their customers have canceled and, in fact, Ian sees this as a huge opportunity. When things begin opening up and the economy comes roaring back, businesses will need to streamline their hiring process even more in order to get things moving again quickly.

That’s why he’s decided to offer the software for free for sixty days to any businesses signing up before September 2020. It should take all the risk out of trying it out, while at the same time help them realize the benefits while their business is getting back on its feet.

Remember: if you keep paddling against the current, you’ll eventually hit calm waters.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Job Applix at their website, JobApplix.

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
"Make sure your message is on point. Know for sure everything that your company is and everything that your company isn’t."
—Ian McIver #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

CLASSROOM: Halfway through the year! Let’s review.

What It’s About

A quick look back at what we’ve covered so far, and where we’re headed next.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1262

We’ve made it to the middle of 2020! Let’s review what we’ve covered in the Classroom series so far, and prepare to move to a major focus on marketing for the rest of the year.

We are now halfway through the year, and I thought it would be good to look back at the CR series. I want to make a few changes to it going forward.

On this newly updated Classroom page, you can scroll back and take a look or a listen to anything you might have missed or that seems particularly relevant to you.

I always encourage you to use your time well—if some of these topics are basic, then skip them. We still have two new stories or case studies each week, along with all of the interactive new features such as Q&A and TBT episodes.

People tend to have one of two problems:

1. They don’t have an idea

2. They don’t know how to bring that idea to life.

So a lot of what we looked at in the first two months of the year was about what makes for the right idea (a profitable one) and how can you develop the skill of identifying lots of ideas?

The second two months was mostly about how to get your idea ready – everything you need to do to create that product or service.

As you move from choosing an idea and then developing your product to focusing more on marketing, you’ll want to make sure you’re well-positioned to give people what they really want—not just what they say.

How can you reach the right people? That’s something else we looked at: your ideal customer, the single person out there who best represents many others who are going to line up around the block to buy from you … or crash your website with so many orders … or maybe just buy slowly, but in a way that allows you to grow and do more of what’s important to you.

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

THIS WEEK’S ASSIGNMENT:

Let’s regroup and evaluate! Where are you at, what do you need to do to keep moving forward?

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

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

Military Spouse Starts Subscription Box Mission

What It’s About

A military spouse finds courage to launch a subscription box service.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Becky’s has some advice for those looking to start their own subscription box hustle, “Use your time wisely and batch your tasks! My business runs 100% on task batching, and I’m a firm believer that this is the way to create a sustainable side hustle. Take the time early on to outline your recurring tasks, automate what you can, and batch the rest.”

Fun Fact

According to whitehouse.gov there are 690,000 military spouses in the United States alone. Speaking of alone, the average length of military deployments was 7.7 months—from an average of 4.5 months in the Air Force to an average of 9.4 months in the Army.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1261
When Becky Hoy first got married, life was good. But after her husband was sent on a long deployment as an Active Duty Army soldier, she began to get bored. Her day job as a HR director kept her busy, but it wasn’t enough to occupy all her free time during the months he’d be away.

She also felt lonely. Fortunately, Becky wasn’t one to sit around and mope for too long. She started looking for something to get her fired up. As a fan of self-improvement, she began to see the alone time as an opportunity to better herself.

She started by carefully planning each remaining day until her husband returned—and as she did, she went from cursing the deployment to feeling like it happened for a reason.

Fast forward a few years, and a friend of Becky’s was in a similar situation with her husband recently deployed. To help her out, Becky shared her philosophy and created a care package filled with the same tools and treats that she’d used during those tough months. Things like personal care products, journals, and a few luxuries.

Then she thought: if her concept worked for two people, it’d probably work for military spouses all across the country. With that thought, she initiated a side hustle mission…

Being familiar with subscription boxes, Becky thought it was the perfect model for her idea. She called it Brave Crate and, in just ninety days, she had the concept all mapped out. It was time to put boots on the ground.

She offered people on the list a special ‘founding member’ discount. This was a limited time offer that would never be repeated. This secured Becky thirty-six initial customers, a number she could hardly believe. She celebrated with a happy dance, dinner and mojitos.

To source products for the boxes, Becky looked for handmade goods of the self-care variety, the types of things you’d find on Etsy. Since she expected order volume to be low in the beginning, she felt safe ordering from individual sellers rather than wholesalers.

While that isn’t all profit and not quite enough to quit her day job, Becky has a new mission planned for 2020. That includes more products and services for military spouses, the first of which will be a course to help them launch their own online businesses.

She’s proven you don’t have to be a seasoned veteran to win the side hustle war.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Becky and her subscription box for military spouses at her website, BraveCrates.com.

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

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Quote of the Day
"This has actually been a key benefit of starting a side hustle- you have constant obstacles to overcome, and learn quickly that there’s no reason to fear adversity."
—Becky Hoy #SideHustleSchool

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Q&A: What is the business need that art fulfills?

What It’s About

A listener wrestles with the “why” behind selling her art.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1260

I often talk about finding and focusing on the need that your side hustle or business idea meets. This is easy to understand when it comes to selling something like tires—you have a car, you need to put tires on it.

Or even something like health coaching for Type 1 Diabetics, or architectural models, or lots of other things.

But what about art? Is there a need that artists should consider when making something for sale, or is it enough to just think about art itself?

Today we have a very interesting question from a listener in Connecticut that allows us to explore this topic in some detail.

“Hi, this is Kayleigh from Ansonia, Connecticut, and I’ve been listening to the show for a couple of years now and in time I caught up. I go back and listen to ones I’ve missed. My Side hustle is called Needle Felted Fuzzy’s. I make and sell needle felt that items and I teach needle felted classes. My question is what is the need that I am fulfilling with my art? I love making art, but I can find it a difficult sell. I understand a business needs to fulfill a need. So when I decided to turn my hobby into a business, I started by focusing on one specific item. Foxtatoes which are palm-sized foxes shaped like potatoes.

I sell them as gifts of encouragement that are meant to be given to someone going through something. The classes are like Paint and Sips so they give people something to do and a new skill to learn. But the rest of my art is a tougher sell. I’ve also started making wall art to give beauty to people’s homes. But what is the message I should be using to sell my art? What is the need? My art business is fulfilling. Thanks And I look forward to hearing your thoughts.”

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

 

SEE ALSO:

Yours in the revolution,

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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

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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