Archives: Podcast

Aerospace Engineer Becomes Full-Time Rideshare Expert

What It’s About

An engineer takes a starter side hustle to the next level.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Harry’s Advice to listeners: once you find the right project, be consistent. He’s posted an article every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday for over three years and never misses a day—not even for holidays!

He also says that you don’t always have to be the best, sometimes you just have to be determined. According to Harry, there isn’t a single other blogger in his industry that has come close to keeping up with that type of volume so consistently for 3+ years.

Fun Fact

Harry’s ‘classical training’ is as an aerospace engineer and up until 2014, he worked full-time as an aerospace engineer for Boeing. Harry was a structural analyst working on scribe lines on old 757 aircraft.

Fun fact: Scribe lines are microscopic scratches on a plane that happen most often when metal tools are used to remove decals (instead of approved plastic for example) and over thousands of flights, the scratches get bigger and bigger and can cause cracking which is bad.

Notes from Chris

Episode 375

Like some of our featured stories, Harry Campbell’s side hustling life began at an early age. For him, it started in the high school lunchroom. His mom made the best lunches, and the other kids would offer him money for them. So Harry started asking his mom for two bags of chips, two Snapples and sometimes even two sandwiches and he would re-sell the extra items to his classmates for a 100% profit. His best customer was a girl in English class who bought a bag of chips every day.

Later he became an aerospace engineer working for Boeing. The job paid well, and when Harry started driving for Uber and Lyft on the side, some of his friends and co-workers made fun of him. Why did he need to ferry people around?

Well, for Harry, it wasn’t so much about the money he earned for each ride, it was the idea and the opportunity. He also started driving in 2015, when the rideshare companies were desperate to sign up drivers and began awarding a lot of incentives for referrals.

In fact, the incentives were much more lucrative than the actual driving. He first signed up for Lyft, but then earned $500 for joining Uber and completing a single ride. He also hit the motherlode of incentives when Lyft ran a promotion offering new drivers $1,000 for doing one ride, and paid the referring driver $1,000 as well. In other words, they were paying $2,000 to acquire a driver who might only work for them once.

Harry spent three days trying to convince everyone he knew to sign up. People told him it sounded like a scam, but it wasn’t—he ended up referring 34 drivers and earning $34,000.

At first, the The Rideshare Guy site was just another side hustle. Harry made around $25,000 from it that first year which was a lot more than he was expecting. But traffic was growing, he was starting to get more media attention, and he figured that if he went full time on the site, the numbers would only get better.

That’s exactly what happened. In his first year of full-time work, the business made over $100,000 in profit and has only continued to grow.

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • The Rideshare Guy: Get a sneak peek behind how Harry manages to make six-figures through referrals on his blog
  • WordPress: Harry used WordPress to create The Rideshare Guy, and here you can learn how to install your own WordPress site in 5 minutes

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
"I think finding the right side hustle is all about trying lots of different things. It’s important to do your due diligence and research ideas without jumping right in but at a certain point, you need to just start trying a lot of different things."
—Harry Campbell #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

Listener Discovers Astronomical Success in Astrological Gifts

What It’s About

A listener reads the stars to discover her side hustle!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Sasha’s best advice for fellow hustlers is one that echoes from SHS: just start! Sasha’s side hustle started with a single mug and has grown into a line of astrological gift goods that now has her thinking about other expansions. Being able to shift her mindset from “working hourly” to the side hustle concept where you make your product/service/etc. work for you has made all the difference. Her astrological line of gift goods—and her success—was written in the stars.

Fun Fact

When asked if she has had more than one side hustle, Sasha said:

“I cringe slightly at this question! Once in my youth (actually, I wasn’t THAT young) I followed my favorite band, The Cure, around the country. My best friend and I made devotional votive candles of the band members and sold them in the parking lot after each show to cover our gas money!”

Notes from Chris

Episode 374

Sasha Soukup been selling vintage items on Etsy for eight years. It brought in a little money from time to time, but it also had its limitations—mostly that she was never able to replicate when she had a hit. Frustrated and looking to get ahead, Sasha started listening to Side Hustle School aiming to create a side hustle that was low investment and low risk but also replicable.

After a month of listening, Sasha’s thinking started to shift. Her once rigid reasoning began looking at things in new ways. That, she said, has been the greatest gift Side Hustle School has given her—flexibility of thought.

After two months, Sasha was coming up with an idea or two a week. Then, suddenly, it was like a dam burst and she was seeing potential side hustles everywhere.

Looking to combine her skill with physical products with her interest in popular culture, Sasha created a line of astrology-related printed goods. She started with coffee mugs. After coming up with initial designs, she then found an artist to develop those ideas. That artist was actually one of her former Etsy customers who specializes in far-out 1960s-inspired art—it was a perfect match.

She had no idea whether her designs would be successful or not—she figured if it failed at least she would end up with great Christmas presents for her friends. Luckily it was the best case scenario, and not only her friends but also a lot of strangers, are buying her goods for their own gift giving.

Sasha’s now selling coffee mugs, t-shirts and stickers (and she will be adding buttons soon, too) and her sales are growing each week. For now, most of her profits are being reinvested into new designs, and promotions, since she covers her living expenses from her day job.

The additional income has made a big difference in her life—among other things, she can now go to the acupuncturist once a week instead of just in urgent situations without feeling like she is spending her food and basic expense budget.

Being able to shift her mindset from “working hourly” to the side hustle concept where you make your product/service/etc. work for you has made all the difference. It seems her astrological gift goods—and her success—was written in the stars.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Astral Boutique: See what the stars have in store for you over at Sasha’s eclectic Etsy shop!
  • Marmalead: The paid service Sasha used that analyzes the strength of your keywords, titles and tags

SEE ALSO:

  • EXTENDED CUT #6: The Million-Dollar Etsy Shop: Most Etsy shops don’t make money—or if they do, they make a small amount of money. But some make a lot of money. What separates them? This special episode takes a detailed look at the online storefront for a million-dollar Etsy shop whose full story is coming up next week on the show
  • Single Mom Makes $15,000 from Astrology Calendar: After realizing that all of the astrology calendars in the market featured similar designs, a former restaurant owner decides to create her own
  • New Yorker Doubles Her Income with Next-Level Tarot Cards: How a senior designer for a feminist media publication decides to create tarot card decks and ends up making as much with her side hustle as she does at her day job

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
"I’ve been absolutely obsessed with SHS since the first episode. I was amazed at how rigid my thinking has become after, well, a lifetime of looking at things one way, and that’s been the greatest gift that this show has given me, this flexibility of thought."
—Sasha Soukup #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

College Student Hacks Into $40,000/Month Side Hustle

What It’s About

A computer scientist brings hacking over from the Dark Side with his ethical hacking side hustle.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Ethical hacking is a hot topic, but remember that the other stories we featured using this platform are about baking bread and plotting your novel—not exactly high-tech topics. Usefulness is the key! All three of these topics are things that a large group of people want to learn. If you’re the authority to teach them, your skills are valuable.

Fun Fact

Zaid has been able to use the profits from his side hustle to start his own internet security company, iSecur1ty, that serves Arabic speakers.

Notes from Chris

Episode 373

For college student and self-described ethical hacker Zaid Al-Quraishi, everything seemed to be going according to plan. His website teaching Arabic speakers how to ethically hack was making decent money. He was doing well in class and even had some cash left over to buy himself a nice car. But then he encountered a challenge.

Driving to college one morning, the engine of his car blew out and left him with no way to get to college for the coming months. This, topped off with a few other financial commitments, left Zaid in dire need of $4000. Not exactly money a college kid has lying around in their dorm room.

To help solve the problem, a close friend recommend that Zaid take a look at the website Udemy. They had thousands of people looking for courses like Zaid’s, and he could reach many more people than with his current website.

Zaid thought this was a great idea. He’d already created all of the material for his ethical hacking courses and just needed to translate the audio to English. He dubbed over it, kind of like a Hollywood movie, using the free iMovie editor that came preinstalled on his laptop.

I should point out that Zaid doesn’t make his money teaching people to “hack” like the bad-guys you see on the news. Instead, Zaid is teaching something called ethical hacking, which he describes like a martial art.

If you were to learn Kung Fu, you could use it to either defend yourself or to go out and hurt people. “Black hat” hackers would use their Kung Fu skills to steal your identity while you’re using the free wifi at Starbucks. But “white hat” hackers like Zaid use their skills to hack pre-approved security systems and help them improve their online defenses.

Zaid made more courses, now 8 in total on Udemy, which retail between $50 and $200. What does all of this add up? First of all, Zaid has more than 87,000 students—and these are not free students!

To date, he’s averaging around $40,000 per month in total course sales. He’s also stopped selling his Arabic courses and focuses full time on an English speaking audience.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

    • Zaid.com: Learn more about Zaid on his blog, and check out his online ethical hacking courses
    • Udemy: The educational platform that Zaid used to launch his ethical hacking courses
    • iSecur1ty: The internet security company that Zaid launched with the profits from his side hustle to serve the Arabic speaking community

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

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

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

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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

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

Quote of the Day
"Just try everything, you never know what would work, I never thought that doing online courses will go so well, and if I wasn’t in a place where I had no other option I probably wouldn’t have done it."
—Zaid Al-Quraishi #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

Weekly Recap: Set Your Goals for 2018!

Notes from Chris

Episode 372

THEMES & TAKEAWAYS:

As we’re kicking off this new season, I’d like to read some comments to you courtesy of Ryan Grant from Ep. 367—our second day of the new season. Ryan had an incredible story about buying and reselling items from big box stores that allowed him to make hundreds of thousands of dollars which is pretty amazing! He actually did end up quitting his day job, and here’s something he said that I really liked:

“When making the decision to quit my full-time job, the main factors were: I knew I would regret it if I didn’t take the chance, and I wasn’t fully happy at the position I was working. I felt like I was just existing as opposed to being in control of my life. 



So on September 20, 2013, I quit my job as an accountant to pursue selling online full time. I walked out of the office on that day with a big smile on my face, and I’ve never looked back.”

It’s not that you have to quit your job. But you should be in control of your life. No one else should be deciding your future.

However you’ve arrived at this shared space where every day you hear about people taking control of their lives in one way or another, ask yourself “What will you regret if you don’t take the chance?” and if starting a project is part of the answer, well, let’s make it happen this year.

LISTENER CALL-INS:

Today we have listener voicemails from Cameron and Stephen:

  • Cameron is considering starting a reselling side hustle where he would purchase all of these products that are valuable by themselves and resell them together as part of a kit (which he thinks would add value), and he’s wondering what kinds of things it would be important to keep in mind for a side hustle like this.
  • Stephen was looking for a mobile pedicure service for his elderly mother in Florida who lives in a care facility, but he had a really hard time finding one. He ended up using someone that wasn’t necessarily a manicurist by trade who did a good job, but he thinks that there’s a real market for this type of service and would encourage anyone in the area to start it up. 

If you have something you’d like to ask me or an update you’d like to share, I’d love to hear from you! Leave me a voice message on the website or call into the Side Hustle Hotline (Dial 844-9-HUSTLE // 844-948-7853), and your question may be featured on the show!

FUN FACT OF THE WEEK:

You know how in Times Square they drop the ball to commemorate the New Year? Well, in Brasstown, NC, they do something a bit different called the Possum Drop.

And their motto is “Keep your ball, NYC, we’ve got the possum.” The Possum Drop is fairly self-explanatory—it basically involves a live possum being lowered from height at midnight. Why are they doing this? Just because, well, I don’t actually know, but it’s been going for more than 30 years.

By the way, no possums are harmed in this process; it’s more like a possum lowering than a drop. However, to be fair, the possum doesn’t have much say in it.

For next year’s new year’s plans, if NYC is expensive, head to Brasstown, NC for a very different celebration.

EPISODES FROM THIS WEEK:

Here’s what we heard this week on Side Hustle School! Listen to this week’s recap for a more comprehensive highlight reel.

  • Ep. 366 – You need a side hustle, and you can start one without taking a lot of risk or spending much money. We’ll show you how!
  • Ep. 367 – A young accountant learns the art of reselling, purchasing textbooks, dental floss, and Cheerios from retail stores in bulk—then earns hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit by selling it online
  • Ep. 368 – Two immigrants from Laos meet the needs of an underserved community in a $50,000 per year hustle
  • Ep. 369 – After first rejecting Instagram as being “only for selfies,” a Sri Lankan designer starts a popular account that earns steady affiliate commissions
  • Ep. 370 – After struggling with sleeplessness for years, an account executive learns to make herbal remedies—then sells them to other tired people, earning up to $3,000/month on the side
  • Ep. 371 – A no-risk model to earn passive income by uploading t-shirt designs to Amazon.com

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Weekly Update:

Make a plan to start your hustle in 27 days or less!

You need more than one source of income. You need a side hustle. Side Hustle builds on the lessons from the show and presents a step-by-step, 27-day plan to help you create a new source of income without quitting your day job.

The book is out at a bookstore near you (or purchase it online!), and I’m in the middle of my 100-city book tour. I hope to see you on the road! Here’s where I’ll be next:

  • Brisbane, Australia – January 14th
  • Melbourne, Australia – January 15th
  • Sydney, Australia – January 16th

Don’t See Your City? Use the form at the bottom of this page, and let me know where I should go next! I’ll use your input to decide on future book tour stops. If we get enough people together in your city, I’ll be there!

Join the Side Hustle Society!

Throughout 2017, I’ve been saying that the Side Hustle Society is coming, and well…we’re finally getting ready to launch!!

This online training program is designed to take you step by step through starting a side hustle project of your own, and it’s also going to be an online community where you can connect with other side hustlers, make introductions, and get peer feedback.

We’re going to introduce it for a limited time starting on January 9th, and the initial signup is only going to be available for a week.

If you’re interested in joining the Side Hustle Society, visit our Society page to get notified when it goes live!

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
"A new year presents a chance for reflection and change. What will be different for you one year from now?"
—#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

Make Extra Money Using Merch by Amazon

What It’s About

A listener success story featuring the ever popular Merch by Amazon model!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

This is a listener success story—someone who got the idea after listening to the show. If you’re out there trying to figure out what side hustle is best for you before we go on, I want to share part of her advice to you:

Awareness is important, but not to the point of hesitation. Don’t get overwhelmed trying to understand exactly how everyone else is doing it. Do a couple experiments, and then trust yourself.

Fun Fact

Lisa woke up randomly in the middle of the night right as the Donald Trump “Covfefe” tweet was making headlines and immediately emailed a designer to make a funny design on the fly.

As she said, that design contributed to the first organic sale she had. It sold about 17 times before the trend fizzled out, but that was enough to get her out of the 10 design tier and almost out of the next one as well.

Notes from Chris

Episode 371

In Los Angeles, CA, Lisa Sansouci has several day jobs. She’s a promotional model, a stand-in actor for TV shows including NCIS, and a Production Assistant for Live Events etc. She also makes money live streaming on the social network Periscope. Today we’ll talk about how she uses a model called Merch by Amazon to bring in extra cash with minimal work. She does this by designing t-shirts without being a designer—and then selling them without any inventory.

As busy as she is, Lisa realized that even though she was excited about a lot of different ideas, she didn’t really have the time or energy to start something big. She needed something she could work on whenever she had spare time, and hopefully, that something would have the potential to provide passive income.

After hearing a previous episode, she signed up for Merch by Amazon because it sounded fun. She thought, why not? And it took 3 minutes to apply.

Amazon was a little slower—it took them 2 months to get back to her. When they finally accepted her application, the next step was for Lisa to upload her initial designs. The program allows you to upload 10 designs at first. Once you sell 10 shirts, you can upload 25 designs. Then, once you sell 25, you can upload 100, and so on.

Your goal as a seller is to have as many possible designs in the listings as possible, because the more listings, the more sales you’ll have.

Lisa thought of it like a game or puzzle of some kind, and she likes puzzles.

Her first month’s profit was just $84, but the second month was $300, and it continued to rise. Right now she’s trying to sell 500 shirts to get to the next tier of 1,000 designs—where the profit potential is twice as high. Not only that, but Amazon allows sellers to control the price of their shirts. Once Lisa gets the ability to sell 1,000 designs, she’s planning to raise the prices of some of the current shirts to increase her profits further.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Lisa Sansouci: Learn more about Lisa and everything she’s currently doing on her website!
  • Merch by Amazon: The invite-only Amazon marketplace that allows you to start uploading designs without any upfront investments or costs
  • Periscope: The social media platform that Lisa uses to make money livestreaming
  • Fiverr: The freelancing platform that Lisa used to get the first 10 designs for her side hustle
  • Upwork: The freelancing platform that Lisa used to get designs for her shirts after getting her first 10 designs

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
"Don’t get overwhelmed trying to understand exactly how everyone else is doing it. Awareness is important, but not to the point of hesitation. Do a couple experiments, and then trust yourself. That’s one thing I wish I had done more of in the beginning."
—Lisa Sansouci #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

Insomniac Dreams Up Herbal Hustle

What It’s About

Today’s story proves that even for insomniacs, side hustle dreams can come true.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

If the problem you’re experiencing is a common one, especially something that millions of other people struggle with, your search for solutions may end up being a search for a side hustle.

Fun Fact

This isn’t Aycee’s first investment in a side hustle. In past, she has also had a side hustle business sewing costumes for exotic dancers!

Notes from Chris

Episode 370

Aycee Brown has been suffering from insomnia since the age of 15. Afflicted by vivid dreams and nightmares that would leave her terrified to fall asleep, she found herself addicted to over-the-counter sleep remedies just trying to get a few hours shut-eye.

The older she got, the more she found this system of sleepless nights and synthetic solutions to be an unhealthy way to live. She wanted a reliable way of falling to sleep that didn’t involve popping pills. In order to wean herself off medication and improve her sleep naturally, she began to learn about herbal remedies and how fragrances can affect your sleep.

She learned about the herbs, flavors, and smells that promote good sleep, and began to try the different concoctions on herself. After a few months of research and experimentation, she found a handful of mixtures that helped her soothe her insomnia and drift off to sleep.

Having found a medication-free solution for herself, Aycee turned her attention to a larger community. For years, she’d been a part of Facebook groups and message boards for other insomniacs. She became driven by the mission to help these people escape their meds and sleepless nights too.

She decided to package and sell the remedies she’d created, and founded the business Goodnight Darling Co.

The combination of her great products, knowledge of her audience and being able to connect with people from first-hand experience has helped Aycee go on to earn between $2,000 and $3,000 in profits each month. After recently being laid off from her full-time job as a corporate account executive, this has helped make ends meet while she looks for another job.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Goodnight Darling Co.: Catch some z’s using some of the products on Aycee’s website
  • Shopify: Aycee used Shopify to set up her store for Goodnight Darling Co., and they’re offering a 21-day trial and exclusive discount for all Side Hustle School listeners!
  • ShipStation: The app that Aycee used to simplify her shipments. For a limited time, you can get a 30-day trial AND an additional month free! Click the microphone at the top of their page and enter the word HUSTLE

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
"Sometimes we are so afraid to fail or mess up and we never actually do anything. My advice is to just start and keep going. Failure is your friend."
—Aycee Brown #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

Designer Earns Extra $5,000/Month Posting Logos on Instagram

What It’s About

When a designer discovers that Instagram is for more than selfies, he creates a new revenue stream.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

While it wasn’t an overnight success, the specificity and focus entirely on logos is why it’s so popular. I went to look at the account and for each post, he has not only thousands of likes but also lots of designers commenting on what they like and don’t like about each logo. So in an important way, he’s created a community. More than 500k followers!

Fun Fact

The Logo Inspirations Instagram account is how Jonathan has turned curating logos into a side hustle, but Jonathan didn’t always like the social media platform. In fact, he started off hating it because he never liked posting selfies.

Notes from Chris

Episode 369

For 29-year old Sri Lankan native Jonathan Rudolph, design has always been something that he was interested in. As a child, he loved sketching cartoon characters from comics like Batman and X-Men. The love for design was cultivated further as he watched his grandfather make beautiful handmade cards. That would inspire him to create and design beautiful things as he grew up.

For a while, Jonathan thought he could become a full-time freelancer and leave his day job. But the freelance work quickly dried up as he faced increasingly stiff competition. Upwork (back then it was Elance) had grown as a platform, and more designers were competing for a limited number of projects. Jonathan’s lowest point came when he was offered $175 for a logo project, and he accepted. That project would take him three weeks to complete.

Jonathan would get a better break that led to a highly profitable project in 2014. His wife had created an Instagram account under the name ‘The Graphic Illusionist’ and posted up some of his designs. He was initially skeptical. He hated Instagram because his wife usually used it to post couple selfies. However, the account got his attention when it started to gain more likes and followers than either of them had expected.

After exploring the platform more, Jonathan found that there were a number of design curated accounts with huge followings. However, there weren’t any dedicated to finding the best logos on the web. Having collected stamps and paper clippings of exotic cars as a child, Jonathan saw an opportunity. He decided to start curating the best logos by walking the streets and taking photos.

That’s the story behind how his new Instagram account, Logo Inspirations, was born. Posting consistently helped grow his Instagram account quickly. Jonathan would post a couple of logos he saw daily, and he’d maximize the reach of each post by using the appropriate hashtags. He had done his homework and discovered that even in the design space, there were some hashtags that simply had a wider reach than others. Within the first year, Jonathan would gain 100,000 followers.

Despite this large following though, it was only when he changed his tactics that Jonathan would find any real success—and turn his curation into a growing business. He was contacted by a company named LogoCore which offered affiliate commissions for every sale of their logo design program. At that point, the Logo Inspirations Instagram account had grown to 250,000 followers. Within a few days, Jonathan made $250, which blew his mind. With affiliate marketing, he didn’t have to pitch companies at all with affiliate marketing. He realized this was the revenue model he would pursue.

With a working model in place, he began to look more seriously at the project. He scheduled more posts on his Instagram account as well as on his blog. He joined affiliate programs by companies including Skillshare and Book Depository. The income he makes from affiliate marketing has now reached $1,000/week, and shows no sign of stopping as Jonathan continues to grow his platform. By the way, this revenue is close 100% profit, since there are very few expenses in this business.

 

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
"In regards to making a successful side hustle, it’s all about mindset. The only thing that’s holding you back is the way you’re thinking. You have to focus, keep moving forward, and try different things."
—Jonathan Rudolph #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

Immigrant Couple Translates Heritage Into Children’s Flash Cards

What It’s About

A couple honors their culture by teaching new generations a heritage language.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

When you’re telling potential customers about your product or service, you’ll want to be able to tell them what it is and who it’s for within the first 1-2 sentences.

Fun Fact

Mykou and Touger increased their video’s views on Facebook by 1500% by uploading the file directly to Facebook, rather than uploading their video to YouTube and sharing it. And the best part—it didn’t cost a dime.

Notes from Chris

Episode 368

When the communist party took over the Laotian government in 1975, the country became hostile toward the Hmong ethnic group. As allies of the United States in the Vietnam War, the Hmong people were considered risks to communism, and a violent wave of persecution began.

Thousands fled the country and settled in America, including young Mykou and Touger Thao, the side hustlers of this story.

Settled and married in Minnesota, Mykou and Touger had their first child in late-2015. They loved to read to her, but they were constantly disappointed by the lack of language learning tools for the Hmong language. There were no children’s books, no flashcards—nothing.

The couple desperately wanted their daughter to be bilingual speaking both English and Hmong, so they began looking into creating their own Hmong flash cards. A month later, in November of 2016, they hired a designer from Upwork to create 26 images for their animal flashcards and printed them out in their home office.

When it was all said and done, the couple had profited $1,000 from this initial set of cards. Launch #1 wasn’t a major success in terms of sales, but it definitely was a success in terms of conversion rate. One in ten viewers had ordered the cards—and Mykou and Touger knew they were onto something.

In their first year of business, Mykou and Touger generated just over $50,000 in sales through HmongBaby. Not only have they created a way to teach their daughter the language of their heritage, but their business has enabled them both to become self-employed so that they can spend more time at home. They want to create more products and streamline their method to be more effective and efficient. They’ve even received inquiries from people in other immigrant communities who want to replicate their success!

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • HmongBaby: Check out Mykou and Touger’s educational language learning products on their website
  • Upwork: The freelancing platform that they used to hire a designer to create the 26 images for their animal flashcards
  • Shopify: Touger used Shopify to set up their store for HmongBaby, and they’re offering a 21-day trial and exclusive discount for all Side Hustle School listeners!

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
"If you’re struggling with creating a business that actually works, try to create something that ‘scratches your own itch.’ We wanted Hmong language learning products for our own kids, but it didn’t really exist. So we created it ourselves!"
—Touger Thao #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

Accountant Earns $233,751 Reselling Items He Buys at Walmart

What It’s About

An accountant unleashes his creativity in an unlikely place—product flipping.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

If you’re new: It’s not always about quitting your job; it’s about creating options. There are different kinds of freedoms. For Ryan, having that ultimate schedule freedom was a high value. We also feature a lot of people on the show who create some sort of economic freedom—that additional source of income—but stay in their job because they like their job.

The side hustle way is about understanding your goals, then matching your skills with the right hustle in order to discover what works best for you.

Fun Fact

In addition to reselling products from big box stores, Ryan also took to selling a certain flavor of Cheerios for $19.99 per box 
and mentioned that he’s sold products in just about every category you can imagine—from dental floss picks to maximum strength ex-lax. From silverware sets to video game consoles. After a while, he
 was making a salary of $50,960/year reselling when he quit his day job to do it full-time.

Notes from Chris

Episode 367

As an accountant at a large accounting firm in downtown Minneapolis, Ryan Grant’s main responsibility was working on financial statement audits of a variety of clients. At night—or just in his free time—he transitioned to a very different role as an online reseller.

I’ll tell you how it works and how Ryan has been so successful, but first—how did this come to be?

Here’s how it went down. At the close of his first semester of freshman year, he went to the college bookstore to sell back his books. They offered a low price compared to what he initially paid for them. He thought, “I wonder if I can just resell these books myself on Amazon?” Well, he did. And the next semester, he started selling books for friends in return for a percentage of the sale.

They were able to do this for about two semesters, but an ambitious expansion plan caused their premature ruin. Despite being shut down, this experience led to Ryan’s next project, in which he raised the stakes.

With the college textbook hustle behind him, Ryan was eager to experiment further. He graduated from college and began work for an accounting firm, but his focus was elsewhere.

Then he started selling online using the Fulfilled by Amazon program. With the Fulfilled by Amazon program, you are able to ship your inventory to Amazon’s warehouses and then they take care of the rest. You still have to respond to messages, manage pricing, etc, but most of the time that you have to put in work is at your choosing.

For the first 21 months that Ryan worked on this project, he earned more than $230,000 in profit. This averages out to more than $11,131 in profit per month. He didn’t actually pay himself that much; he chose to pay himself a salary of $60,000/year, and invest the rest of the profits back into the project. This was a couple years ago, and the growth hasn’t stopped. This not-so-small project has crossed the million-dollar point in sales and now earns massive amounts of monthly profit!

If you’re interested in doing something similar, Ryan says you should pay attention to Amazon’s rules and properly represent the condition of your items. If you don’t take this seriously it can lead you to the inability to sell on Amazon in the future. 

Additionally, here are some first steps if you want to put your reselling abilities to the test:

1. Sign up for an Amazon seller account if you don’t already have one, and make sure that you sign up for an individual account to start as it doesn’t have a monthly fee.

2. Download & install the Amazon Seller App.

3. Go to a retail store or scan items that you have near your house. A few recommendations include Wal-mart, TRU, Home Depot, Lowes, Meijer, Shopko, Kmart, Target, Big Lots etc.

4. When you get into the store grab a cart, and expect success.

5. Locate the clearance section of the store that you go to. It’s important to note that many stores will have multiple clearance sections throughout them, so make sure you cover all of the clearance sections in the store.

6. Scan 250 or more clearance or sale items with the Amazon Seller App. Scanning an item means pointing the camera on your cell phone at the barcode of any product in the store and reviewing the output on the Amazon Seller App. When deciding what to scan, look for items that are 50% off or more. If in doubt as to whether to scan the item or not, then scan it and see what the app pulls up.

7. Buy items that have a sales rank under 250,000 AND have a 50% return on investment (ROI) or greater. Make sure it says you are eligible to sell the item on the seller app as well.

8. Ship the items that you purchase to Amazon. You can find a detailed guide on how to create your first Amazon FBA Shipment, here.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Online Selling Experiment: Learn more about the art of flipping and reselling items on Ryan’s website!
  • Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): The model that Ryan used that allowed him to pass on the responsibility of keeping stock and shipping out orders to purchasers

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
"My number one goal was to not have anyone else in control of my schedule when I quit my job. Obviously, I wanted to replace my income too, but having the freedom of schedule and really feeling like I’m in control of my life was the main thing that I was looking for. And that freedom has been the best part of the experience."
—Ryan Grant #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

Season II Begins! Create a New Source of Income in 2018

Notes from Chris

Episode 366

Welcome to Side Hustle School, Season II! We are getting underway with an all-new journey! If we haven’t met before, my name is Chris Guillebeau, I’m the host and guide of Side Hustle School.

Every day, 7 days a week, I bring you a different story of someone—perhaps someone like you—who takes action to create more freedom and more options for their life. For new listeners, I wanted to explain a bit more of what it’s about, and for our many longtime listeners, I’ll tell you some new things that are coming up.

The purpose of this show—our singular mission—is to help you create a new source of income without quitting your job. It’s not about having a startup, risking it all, borrowing money or looking for investors—nothing like that. It’s about using the skills you already have and going from idea to income.

Our goal is to help busy people who don’t necessarily want to be entrepreneurs but do like the idea of making money apart from their paycheck do exactly that. And they’re doing that—thousands of people all over the world—by starting a side hustle.

People use this phrase a lot. What do I mean by it? I’m talking about an income-generating project—not a part-time job or driving for Uber!

It’s about making an asset that works for you.

Being able to wake up to money in your bank account. Or to be busy with your job but still earn that extra cash. Let’s make this your year of taking action! I’ll be here every day, and I hope you’ll join me. There’s a new episode every day, so stay tuned.

Here’s to your hustle!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SEE ALSO:

  • How to Subscribe to a Podcast: Here’s a step by step guide to show you how to subscribe in Apple Podcast and Spotify
  • The Art of Non-Conformity: If you enjoy the show and want to check out some of my other projects, my blog is a great place to start
  • The Onward Project: Side Hustle School is part of the Onward Project founded, led, coached by Gretchen Rubin, author of The Four Tendencies and host of the mega popular podcast HAPPIER
  • World Domination Summit: Every summer since 2011, I’ve been putting together a conference like no other in Portland, OR. If you’re interested in learning how to live an unconventional life in a conventional world, I’d love to see you there!

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
"The purpose of this show is to help you create a new source of income without quitting your job. It’s not about having a startup, risking it all, borrowing money or looking for investors—nothing like that. It’s about using the skills you already have and going from idea to income."
—#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