Archives: Podcast

Q&A: Is it too late to change my business name?

What It’s About

Is a business name set in stone?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1145

This week we’re beginning to look at messaging. One of the things I mentioned in the Classroom episode the other day (Ep. #1143) that when it comes to standing out and becoming attractive to customers is “It’s not just what you sell, it’s how you talk about it.”

Today’s question relates precisely to that topic, and it’s from someone who’s trying to solve a problem with her project’s identity—specifically, its name.

This listener has a growing side hustle, but she’s worried she has the wrong name for it. With an active customer base and an upcoming agreement with YouTube, is it too late to change the name?

“Hi, this is Tori from Orem, Utah. And I’ve been listening to this show since the beginning. My side hustle is Pics to Pix a shop that sells shirts and resources for teachers who teach children from China how to speak English. I sell these products from an Etsy shop now, but I would like to transition to my own website once it is finished. My question is, is it too late to change my business name? I originally picked this name Pics to Pix for another business idea. It was chosen because I took pictures of textures and turned them into digital art resources, AKA pixels from pictures to pixels was the idea for the name Pics to Pixs.

Another big reason why I’m considering a name change is because there’s a million and a half ways to spell Pics to Pixs. I have customers, partnerships and even myself on occasion spelling it wrong. On top of that, there are other companies with alternate spelling. I’m worried that my customers will search for my company and become confused when they spell the name wrong and find the wrong company. However, I’m about to enter a written agreement with a YouTube or to market my brand with the name Pics to Pixs. I’m worried that if I change my business name now, my audience will become even more confused. Please help. I can’t wait to hear from you.”

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Spoiler Alert— Tori went ahead and changed her business’s name from “Pics to Pix” to “ESL Gems”. Learn more about Tori and her business at her website, ESLGems.com.
  • Additionally, check out Tori’s Etsy shop and follow her journy on Instagram at @eslgems.

 

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

Designer’s Love Of Color Earns Greenbacks

What It’s About

Facing a dull period, a designer colors her world and embraces a bright future.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Jen shares some important words of encouragement regarding a side hustler’s journey: “Celebrate your successes. I didn’t in the beginning and still need to remember to do it. Celebrate a new product launch, a new client, a new sale. Be grateful every day.”

Fun Fact

Scientists have shown that we can see up to 10 million different colors which are all based on different intensities of red, green and blue. With that many colors to choose from, it’s no wonder there’s room in the market for a color stylist to help you select one.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1144
In 2012, Jen Thoden found herself going through a messy divorce. The night she moved out was one of the hardest of her life: everything felt dark and colorless! She sat alone in the townhouse she’d lived in for years, surrounded by moving boxes and wondering “What am I going to do?”

But, like many strong women before her, it didn’t take long for Jen to start figuring things out and begin building a new life. One of the things she decided to overhaul was her wardrobe.

Because she felt off-color a lot of the time, she investigated ways to make herself feel better—and eventually stumbled upon the world of color styling. It’s a concept that suggests everyone has colors they look especially good in and that can make them feel great.

She decided to start a blog based on color styling. She registered the domain name Outfitideas4u.com and began writing posts on outfit ideas, color analysis, and how other women can go about selecting the perfect colors for themselves. Everything she’d learned so far she put down in black and white on the blog.

From her day job as a User Experience (UX) designer, Jen had experience with both SEO and video production, both of which helped to bring traffic to her site. She soon began acquiring email subscribers, and had over two thousand people signed up a year later. On top of that, she was constantly being emailed for color and outfit advice.

Jen realized this was a golden opportunity.

She noticed a gap in the market she believed she could fill: the market of color fans. The fans would be similar to paint swatches, but all the colors ‘fan’ out, so you can easily compare them. That way, anyone could hold it up to their skin to see what looked good. Jen felt it would be the perfect product for her audience, so she looked into having them printed.

This is where she told her first white lie. (It wasn’t really a lie, but we liked the pun.) The fans weren’t ready or printed yet so Jen sold them through a pre-sale link. What followed came completely out of the blue.

She sold five thousand dollars worth of fans in just two days. The benefit of the sale was more than money—it also gave Jen the green light (sorry) to try and turn her project into a real business.

After two years as OutfitIdeas4U, she rebranded to YourColorStyle.com and compiled her ebooks, blog content, and color fan product into a fresh new design. She wanted to focus more on the transformational power of color. Her goal was to help women everywhere who might be feeling blue to brighten their day and shine with confidence.

All this success has certainly brought in the greenbacks. Your Color Style now turns over a tidy profit of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars per year. A fantastic success by any standard.

Next up, Jen plans to offer a business training program so that stylists from anywhere can learn the science of color and offer that knowledge to their own clients. For her, the experience has led to a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about color styling and get your own fan at Jen’s website, YourColorStyle.com.

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

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

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

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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

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

Quote of the Day
"Celebrate your successes. I didn’t in the beginning and still need to remember to do it. Celebrate a new product launch, a new client, a new sale. Be grateful every day."
—Jen Thoden #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: It’s Not Just What You Say, It’s How You Say It

What It’s About

How you talk about your product and service shouldn’t be an afterthought.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1143

In recent Classroom episodes, we’ve looked at different side hustle ideas—where they come from, categories of different ideas, how to decide between competing ideas, and so on. Last week we began building our Roadmap to Launch: all the things you need to do before you can debut your project.

This episode is called, It’s Not Just What You Say, It’s How You Say It.

Why aren’t we talking about shopping carts? Instagram ads? Or – wait – why aren’t we building out those nuts and bolts we talked about last week.

We’re still all about nuts and bolts, and we’ll get to marketing much more in the second two-thirds of the year, but because branding and messaging are part of product design … it’s critical to think about the message you’ll be presenting.

This shouldn’t be an afterthought; it’s something you consider as you work off that roadmap and as you complete those tasks.

Here’s a key point: we make purchasing decisions based on emotion more than logic, and the way you appeal to emotion is by leading with benefits.

Recent and upcoming stories:

  • – Ep. 1134: Journalist who leads outdoor activities in Maine [get outdoors and try something new with a supportive group]
  • – Ep. 1151: -Two sisters make natural skincare products [improve your skincare without paying commercial price from this family-run business]

Think about something as basic and boring as car suspension systems or shocks (Ep. 1140). His USP was in making the replacement process simple, removing the decision fatigue and discomfort associated with car maintenance.

So from the beginning, you want to think about some of the questions we’ve covered already:

  • * Is it a product or service?
  • * Who is my ideal customer?
  • * How will I go from idea to offer?

But also: what are the core emotional needs that I will meet, and how will I communicate that fact?

Listen to today’s Classroom episode to learn more…

 

 

THIS WEEK’S ASSIGNMENT:

Describe your product or service based on this important quality of benefit-driving messaging.

Here are three quick examples:

1) Ep. 1099: Art School Graduate Becomes Pencil King An artist goes from a small Manitoba village to earning six-figures with educational websites while living in China.

Benefit-driven: Anyone can learn to draw. Even if you never thought it was possible, you too can become an artist.

2) Ep. 1123: Flimsy Notebooks Inspire Crafty Construction Worker When a safety supervisor’s “genuine leather” notebooks keep falling apart, he begins to investigate. He finds his answer—and a side hustle that brings in $8,000 a month.

Benefit-driven: You need a notebook that works as hard as you do. This tool won’t let you down!

3) Ep. 1127: Bellydance Class Gets High-Tech Update Finding a way to offer bellydance classes to an online audience allows this listener to shimy her way to success.

Benefit-driven: Get fit, get sexy, and learn a new skill based on an ancient practice from the comfort and privacy of your home.

 

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

Which comes first: growing a community or selling a product?

What It’s About

Should I prioritize growing an audience or start selling?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1142

The chicken-and-egg question of online marketing and community building is whether you should sell products and services right away or begin developing a community and group of followers first?

The answer is usually “It depends,” but the good news is you can often find the best specific answer for any particular project—and I think that’s the case for today’s caller.

This listener wants to start a community called “Business Mind Hack.” What comes first—a series of paid monthly challenges, or the community itself?

He also has a question about sending his readers and followers to other resources … what’s the best way to do that?

“My Side hustle is called Business Mind Hack and really there are two elements to it. The first is to learn and hack the great minds of business owners and online influencers such as yourself and learn their strategies and business, life, finance, health and self-development and then provide these hacks in a concise, free format on my site.

And the second is to create free and paid short monthly challenges with the community we grow and the business owners in all these fields and then provide accountability and support. My two questions are which aspect of my business should I focus on first? The free blog offering or the pay challenges? Or actually, can I do both? I know you are a big advocate to provide free value and to grow your subscriber list, but it’d be nice to make money in the meantime. My second question is what is the best method to refer my audience to outside resources without copying or infringing on someone else’s content?”

 

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

 

SEE ALSO:

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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

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

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

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

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

Sponsors & Gratitude

Learn More With Skillshare!

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

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

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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


Here's How

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Q&A: Who do I market my educational products to?

What It’s About

A listener looks to create an educational product based on her heritage.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1141

Let’s review some of those critical components of your Roadmap to Launch.

Remember, a business is just:

  • A) a product or service
  • B) a group of people willing to buy
  • C) a way for them to pay for it

As you think about that second requirement—the group of people—the more you learn about them and the more you understand their core needs, the easier it will be for you to eventually persuade them of your message.

All marketing is a persuasion of one kind or another: you have to believe that whatever you buy is going to relieve some pain point or otherwise make you better off than you are now. Today’s caller is going through this process as she seeks to create educational materials for Dominican Americans or children of Dominican immigrants. What does she need to know, and how should she proceed?

“My question is how do I identify the most logical and financially beneficial stakeholder for my business? In other words, who do I market my product to? For some context, I’m interested in creating educational materials for Dominican Americans or children of Dominican immigrants.

During a conversation I had with a friend, I realized that there aren’t that many linguistic or intellectually accessible materials for people who want to learn about the country’s history. I’m still in the brainstorming process of it, but hopefully by the end of 2020 I’ll have some kind of product. Any feedback is welcome.”

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

SEE ALSO:

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

Car Parts Employee Finds Shocking Surplus Suspension

What It’s About

A hustle for replacement car parts becomes a million dollar business.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Is it possible to start a hustle from your passion or hobby? Sean has some great advice, “If you want to go after a niche market, look at your own hobbies and see if there’s any interest in pursuing one of them, or a part of one. There are always opportunities for improvement, whether in product or service.”

Fun Fact

Shock absorbers can last anywhere from 5 – 10 years depending on the driver and the terrain. If you are selling an item with such a long time between purchases try to sell at a high price point as you can’t rely so much on repeat business.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1140

Sean Reyes was in his mid-twenties when he was hired as the director of marketing for a car parts company. It was a hefty title for someone so young—and it caused some issues in his work environment.

He often felt like others at the company didn’t take him seriously. He’d make suggestions that were ignored and devised strategies that weren’t followed. It made him consider looking for another job, or at least another source of income in case he ever felt like quitting.

So he got to thinking…

One type of part the company sold was car suspension systems, otherwise known as shock absorbers: the large springs that sit just behind the tires to help cars drive smoothly. It was a niche product, but one that Sean thought could sell well online. He decided to see if his suspicion was correct.

The plan was to keep things simple, cheap, and efficient. He didn’t want to outlay a bunch of money upfront buying parts, especially when he didn’t know which ones would sell. There are literally thousands of different shocks for every make and model of car, and it wouldn’t be fun he was left holding onto them.

After doing some research, he decided that dropshipping was the way to go. Dropshipping is a method of selling products where you don’t actually store any stock. Instead, after you sell something you pay the supplier to ship it to the customer on your behalf.

To start, he did some research and compiled a list of available shocks, including part numbers and which type of car they go with. From the list, Sean picked a few carefully selected models and created eBay listings for them after he got home from work one day.

What followed was totally shocking…

Within two days, Sean sold his first two shock absorbers. Followed by two more a day later and more than ten by the end of the week. As Sean puts it, he felt like he found a gold mine he’d always suspected was there, but was too lazy to dig.

Within a few months he was spending every spare moment of his evenings listing shocks for sale on eBay, answering customer support, and processing orders. By that time, he was already making around five thousand dollars per month with almost no start-up costs.

He continued down this smooth road for the next few years, quite easily making a very good amount of money outside of his day job. Eventually, Sean started questioning why he was working that job at all. He figured he could easily quit and dedicate a little more time to his shocking side hustle … as well as a lot more time to his hobbies.

So he did just that…

After quitting his job, he began listing more and more shocks for sale on eBay and Amazon. That kept the wheels turning. In his first month full-time, Sean sold thirty five thousand dollars worth of shocks. Six months later, that amount had jumped to eighty thousand. This wasn’t a 100% profit, but the margins were very healthy.

To move things along, he hired a customer support person to help with all the email requests. Then, he chose to build his own website, ShockSurplus.com. Although eBay and Amazon were fruitful, having his own entity would provide legitimacy and another marketing channel. He invested heavily in content and SEO in order to try to find more customers through Google.

Like a coiled suspension being released, that’s when the business really bounced! Over the next few years Sean turned his Shock Surplus from a side hustle into a million dollar business.

After stumbling across a dated industry that hadn’t yet been shaken up by internet marketing, he found innovative—yet simple—ways to market old products. Shock Surplus was able to rev to the limit, avoiding too many bumps in the road.

 

 

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

RELIABLE WEBHOST FOR $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 my past 5 websites. It's cheap, flexible, and you can get support 24 hours a day.

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

Quote of the Day
"If you want to go after a niche market, look at your own hobbies and see if there’s any interest in pursuing one of them, or a part of one. There are always opportunities for improvement, whether in product or service."
—Sean Reyes #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

TBT: “Kindness Kits” Spread Love and Draw Positive Returns

What It’s About

An update from a social experiment that’s also a profitable side hustle.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1139

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.

Recent features have included a guy who runs citywide scavenger hunts all over the country, a Denver woman who leads food tours for up to 700 people a month, and more.

Today, in our latest feature, we’ll hear from someone who had an unusual idea. I remember when we first featured him, I looked at some of the initial notes and wasn’t sure it was a good fit for the show. That’s because I didn’t quite understand the project—it seemed more like a fun thing to do, or a meaningful social experiment, but not necessarily a moneymaking business.

It turned out that it was all of those things.

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

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Check out Jesse’s business and social experiment at his website, Kindnessandco.com.
  • Want to hear more kindness stories? You can subscribe to Jesse’s kindness newsletter at this link.
  • Want to join this kindness revolution? Jesse and his team are giving away Kindness Kits to the first 100 folks that email him at info@kindnessandco.com. To participate, Just provide your name and address.

 

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’re passionate about something, you probably know a lot about it and to a degree, you’re an expert of some sort or a thought leader. From there, you can create some really special content around that subject matter."
—Jesse Weinberg #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: Should I hire a graphic designer?

What It’s About

To hire or not to hire a freelancer, that is the question.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1138

When you need to get something done and you don’t have the skill to do it, what’s the best path forward—is it better to learn that skill (at least to a basic level) or get some help from a professional?

Specifically, today’s caller runs an online health coaching company. Her course content needs detailed illustrations, and she’s not an artist. What should she do?

I’ll answer her question in some detail, and for any other listeners in a similar situation, I’ll also give you a couple options for solving this problem yourself.

“My Side hustle is an online health coaching company called Run Life. I and another coach teach courses on weight loss, race training, weight training and overall wellness. Our course content is developed in-house and we often find the need for custom graphic design. For example, illustrations of the body with certain muscle groups highlighted progress charts, meal plans and worksheets.

The problem is that I am not skilled at graphic design. So my question is should I put in the time and money and learn to design myself or should I contract out my graphic design needs? I want to leverage my current skill set, but my path to income has a huge hurdle when I think of paying someone else to do all my design work.”

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

Polish-American Sisters Cook Up Pierogi Profits

What It’s About

Two sisters use their pierogi-tive to share their beloved Grandfather’s recipe with others.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

When you need help, look for a way to provide value to someone else! When Vanessa and Casey needed to find a kitchen in order to get their retail permit, they helped another small business make a little extra money.

Fun Fact

Paula Newby-Fraser, an Ironman triathlete and duathlete, adopted pierogi as her food of choice during the biking portion of 1989 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon.

Source: Mobile Cuisine: Pierogi Fun Facts

Notes from Chris

Episode 1137
Sisters Casey and Vanessa White grew up in Western Massachusetts, spending the ‘90s working alongside their grandfather to make fresh pierogies for his Polish food store. Pierogies are filled dumplings of Central and Eastern European origin, made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water, or sometimes pan-frying.

When Casey and Vanessa weren’t making the pierogi, the dish was also a staple at their family dinner table.

After the sisters got to college in Boston, they realized they had taken so much for granted. Beantown was pierogi deprived! When their mom would visit, she would hand-deliver amazing, homemade pierogies, much to the envy of their new friends.

The siblings knew that if anyone was going to do something about the “pierogi void” in Boston, it would be them! They began to cook in Vanessa’s kitchen. Those friends became loyal test subjects, who would fill out forms after they tried the dumplings to give the sisters feedback.

After about six months, Casey and Vanessa had perfected their recipe. They decided to start selling their delicious dumplings at local farmers’ markets—but before they did that, they needed to get a retail permit. To do that, they had to find a professional kitchen to cook their pierogies in so they could get approval from a health inspector.

They weren’t sure what to do. The sisters weren’t ready to invest the money into opening up an industrial-style kitchen … so it was time to get creative.

They began to search for a store that had a day or two a week that they weren’t using their kitchen. They figured that they—the aspiring pierogi chefs—could provide another small business with an opportunity to make a little extra money, all while solving their own problem.

So, they contacted a local butcher shop that didn’t use their kitchen on Sundays to see if they could pay to rent it out. Their hunch was right! The butcher shop agreed, and Casey and Vanessa got their license.

With that, the women began to prepare for their first Farmers Market. They rented out the kitchen for $125, then cooked close to 300 pierogies. They froze them, and the following Saturday showed up to the Farmer’s Market with fifty boxes full of six pierogi each.

They set up their booth, which they decided to call “Jaju [jaw-jew] Pierogi” after the phonetic pronunciation of “grandfather” in Polish—and completely sold out all fifty boxes within the first hour, at a price of $8/box.

As time went on, they ended up investing in their own 3,000 sq. foot kitchen. With that, their production skyrocketed. They now make an average of 12,000 pierogies a week, which they sell at over 100 specialty stores around New England.

As for what’s next? The sisters have two words: more pierogies. They plan to keep Jaju Pierogi going for as long as they can.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Casey and Vanessa’s business at their website, JajuPierogi.com.
  • Casey and Vanessa relied on social media to grow their business. Follow Jaju Pierogi on Facebook and Instagram.

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
"Constant learning (ignorance is bliss), carrying on a tradition, and keeping our grandfather’s name alive have been the best part of this hustle."
—Casey and Vanessa #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: Roadmap to Launch (What Lies Ahead)

What It’s About

You’ve settled on a side hustle idea… now what?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1136

In recent Classroom episodes, we’ve looked at different side hustle ideas—where they come from, categories of different ideas, how to decide between competing ideas, and so on.

This episode is called Roadmap to Launch: What Lies Ahead. Let’s preview all that’s to come as we go from your idea phase to the preparation phase to the launch phase.

Benjamin Franklin said: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing for failure.” I don’t want you to fail, so that’s the last time I’ll use that word today.

So let’s assume you believe in the value of planning. Knowing what you need to do in advance will save you so much time as you go along. Often you have limited time and energy to work on your side gig. It greatly helps to be able to refer to a list and remember, “Oh, right – that’s what I need to do now.”

The first thing you should do is:

1. Visualize an outcome.

I don’t mean metaphysically speaking, I mean nuts and bolts. Imagine that your idea works as well as you’d like it to, and maybe even more. What does that look like?

Do you have customers? Clients? Are you selling your product online? Are you interacting with potential customers? Are you trying to grow your following?

Whatever it is, imagine the final outcome of that process. You have the customers, the clients, the followers.

2. Ask: what has to happen for that to occur?

This is meant to be very practical, so let’s keep it grounded. Are customers buying something from you online? Well, then presumably you need a website and a shopping cart. Or maybe you’re selling through a third-party platform—you still need an account there, and of course the product itself.

If it’s a service business, will you have a workflow of how to provide a consultation? (We’ll talk about that later.) Will you need an online calendar for people to schedule appointments?

There could be all kinds of things that you need, and you might not know what all of them are until you’re in the process. Still, if you visualize that outcome, I bet you can at least identify several of the major tasks that you’ll need to tackle in the coming weeks and months.

Focus on what’s essential, not what’s optional. If you try to accomplish all the things you could do, you’ll never get off the ground. What do you really need to reach your objective?

3. Write this down! Document your plan of action.

You need a plan of action. Use a journal or paper notebook, use your favorite digital notetaker, or even dictate your roadmap using a voice memo if you’re on the go and you like that method.

Nothing is set in stone, but this will give you something to come back to as we go along. It will be a checklist, a guidepost, and a to-do list.

Listen to today’s Classroom episode to learn more…

 

 

THIS WEEK’S ASSIGNMENT:

Craft your roadmap to launch! Identify at least four to six tasks you need to complete in order to launch your new product or service.

 

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