Archives: Podcast

Four Friends Create Conversations, Earn $400,000 in 8 Months

What It’s About

A dreary afternoon in the Netherlands leads to $400,000 in eight months!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Like many other side hustlers we’ve heard from, this crew’s main advice to potential hustlers is to “just do it!” As Lizette put it: “once you share the prototype with people, you can see the reaction you get and it will validate your idea.” Then you can worry about starting to produce it and connecting a story to help sell your product or service.

Fun Fact

One of the most important concepts in Dutch culture is “gezellig.” It doesn’t have a literal translation in English, but if something is gezellig, it is familiar, warm, friendly, and cozy. For example, enjoying a cozy dinner with old friends in one of your favorite little restaurants with some tasty food and wine is gezellig; being in a meeting at work is not gezellig!

Notes from Chris

Episode 437

Winter in the Netherlands means cold days, and long, dark nights. There’s only so much you can do indoors when blistering winds and building snowdrifts drain your motivation to leave a cozy home. But as cabin fever grows, conversation tends to drift into small talk and meaningless platitudes. At least that’s what one entrepreneurially motivated couple noticed on a bleak December afternoon.

The year was drawing to a close and Bart and Lizette were spending lots of time indoors with their family and friends during the winter. But with all this time spent surrounded by people, they began to realize that they didn’t know them any better. The more they thought about the lack of valuable conversation in their lives, the more they realized that they desperately needed it.

In their pursuit of bringing friends and family closer together, the couple set themselves the task of bringing interpersonal connection to life in the form of a card game. After borrowing paper from Lizette’s younger cousin and markers from Bart’s niece, Liz and Bart cleared a spot on the floor and started brainstorming a list of deep questions.

Bart and Lizette wanted their friends and family to go beyond the surface conversations they were used to having. They wanted more.

There’s a Dutch word for that wanting of more. Vertellis, meaning ‘tell us more.’ To Bart and Lizette, this is exactly what they were searching for. They wanted to see their families in a different way and learn, from them, what is important. And it was a sort of parting gift to them before they went away on a trip—a trip where they met their first business partner, Lars.

It was a smashing success, but for the most part, it was something that they kept in the wings since they had careers of their own, but Christmas Eve of 2016 presented a fantastic opportunity. Lars gathered his family and friends, built a fire in the living room, explained their new game, and sat everyone down to play it. Soon, the air was filled with laughter and engaging conversations.

It went so well that everyone wanted to play again the next day. That’s when Lars, Bart, and Lizette knew they had truly stumbled onto something good.

Vertellis grew from hand-cut paper squares to a successful self-run crowdfunded game and $400,000 within the first eight months! Now, its reach has expanded and is being sold in stores throughout the United States, from Oregon, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. They’ve even added both family and relationship-based editions and new languages to expand their customer base! Whatever happens next with Vertellis, it’s sure to be a conversation starter.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Vertellis: Build stronger conversations in your own life—learn more on their website!

SEE ALSO:

 

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

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
"We’re always inspired when we get personal emails from customers who were in tears of laughter after playing the game, and telling us how much fun they had. There is nothing more fulfilling than knowing we made a difference in someone’s home."
—Willem Jagtman #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

It’s Not Vandalism, It’s a $15,000 Yard-Gram Hustle

What It’s About

Flamingos and yard signs bring this sneaky teacher an extra $15,000/annually!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Anthony contributes his slow, steady success to a few things. First of all, his displays are quite noticeable and generate a ton of word-of-mouth buzz. Secondly, he started offering free yard-grams to returning military members and 100th birthdays early on, generating some local press and respect.

Fun Fact

In 1957, Don Featherstone created the iconic plastic pink flamingo that soon became a national yard decorating hit. When he made it to Final Jeopardy years later, the last challenge was: “While working for a plastics company, Don Featherstone created this iconic lawn decor, basing it on photos in National Geographic.”

Of course, he knew the answer.

Notes from Chris

Episode 436

Imagine waking up on your birthday. You walk out of your room and notice something outside as you pass the window. When you look closer, you see HAPPY BIRTHDAY written in big bold letters on your lawn surrounded by a bunch of bright pink plastic flamingos. At first, you think, “What in the world?” … and then you can’t help but smile.

This is the experience that Anthony Arno’s side hustle, Yard-Grams, facilitates over a dozen times a month. Whey send a card when you can decorate the yard? The idea for Yard-Grams came from Anthony’s wife. For one of her birthdays before the two had met, her friends had decorated her yard with pink flamingos and a personalized message board.

Coming from the bustle of New York City, this idea of yard decorating was a new one for Anthony, but he couldn’t get it out of his head. He thought it could be a fun, viable side hustle in their rural region of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

So he set up a basic website, created a Paypal invoice template, and launched Yard-Grams.com a couple weeks after having the idea.

It’s been just over six years now, and Anthony is receiving a steady 10-15 yard-gram orders per month. That means he spends a lot of late evenings at a stranger’s house, but it also means $1,100-1,600 in additional income.

Anthony knows that it’s extremely difficult to scale this kind of business, but he’s not ready to get comfortable just yet. He’s working on his own ebook, podcast, and consulting business that will help others launch their own yard decoration side hustles. If you want to get into the pink flamingo rental business, look no further than the Yard-Grams expert. You could say it’s a sign … maybe a sign of the times … or if you were looking for a sign, this is it.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Yard-Grams: Learn more about this unique side hustle over on Anthony’s website!

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

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
"I never expected the business to take off so quickly. In fact, I had a simple website launched and I booked my first order before even owning a display. I had the displays shipped overnight and that was almost 1000 displays ago."
—Anthony Arno #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

Weekly Recap: What’s Wrong with Network Marketing?

Notes from Chris

Episode 435

LISTENER QUESTIONS:

Today we have a listener voicemail from Janine:

  • Janine has been listening to the show for a while now and has been getting a lot of ideas for a side hustle of her own. Her question—what are my thoughts on network marketing as a side hustle? She’s been doing this for about three years with a company that she used to love, but she’s not having much success.If you’re interested in network marketing and have been wondering about this yourself, listen to the weekly recap!

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!

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. 429 – Urs Camenish wanted to create an app to help him grow his income. But, he’d never owned a smartphone or used an app in his life
  • Ep. 430 – A passionate choir teacher on a limited budget discovers an untapped market
  • Ep. 431 – A product manager uses skills as a crafter to design accessories for people who wear dreadlocks, generating $3,500-4,000/month in product sales
  • Ep. 432 – A call center team lead uses Patreon to support two LGBTQ activism podcasts, earning over $800/month in contributions
  • Ep. 433 – A Mississippi husband-and-wife duo keeps things sweet and make $15,000/year on the side selling homemade cinnamon rolls
  • Ep. 434 – Two enterprising parents see the legalization of marijuana as an opportunity to help people while also helping themselves

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Join me at the World Domination Summit!

Have you heard of the World Domination Summit? This is a gathering of awesome people—an event that I’ve been hosting together with an amazing team in Portland, OR every summer for the past eight years.

WDS 2018 is coming up at the end of June (June 26th-July 2nd), and we’ll be welcoming people from over 30 different countries. With inspiring keynote speakers, a week full of activities and attendee-led meetups, and two incredible parties, you won’t want to miss it!

This is our final wave of main stage tickets so visit our website to get your ticket to this incredible, once a year event! We promise that it’s unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before.

Here’s what’s coming up next…

Each week I’ll feature more stories from people who are starting side hustles without quitting their job. Here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming next week:

  • A school teacher earns an extra $1,000 a month placing pink flamingos in neighbors’ yards. Yes, really!
  • The next time you need a Swarovski-covered crystal bikini for a fitness competition (or just a walk to Starbucks), this engineer has got you covered. Strike a pose!
  • And so much more!

Do you have a side hustle story you’d like to share? Fill out the Side Hustle School submission form and your story may be featured on the show!

Also, 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
"Are you better off being part of someone else’s network marketing plan, or by making something for yourself?"
—#SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Create a Stunning Website With Wordpress

Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Wordpress.com! Whether you’re looking to create a personal blog, business site, or both—you’ll make a big impact, when you build your website on WordPress.com. 💻

Get 15% off when you build your website with Wordpress.com—use promo code PODCAST when you check out.
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

California Moms Get High and Get Well

What It’s About

Two moms tackle the cannabis industry with their “feel good” products.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

No matter your stance on the legalization of cannabis, wherever there is a fast-growing industry like this, there are often ways to profit from it. Keep your eyes open for fast growing industries you can jump on board with!

Fun Fact

The Cordial Organics team are always excited to find new uses for their products. One friend put their lip balm on her bug bite and it went away in just a few hours!

Notes from Chris

Episode 434

In late 2016, Shelly Phegley and Desi Mckinnon predicted a change in California’s political landscape that would open up a whole new world of side hustles. The state was about to vote on cannabis laws which would eventually lead to legal recreational use of marijuana.

It was then that Shelly and Desi noticed a group of people was being highly underserved. At one end of the spectrum, people were marketing marijuana-based products and campaigning for votes from what you might call the “stoner” crowd. And at the other end, the products were being targeted to the medical industry, which, to them, felt a little sterile.

There was an entire group of people, including Moms like Shelly and Desi, who could benefit from the use of the herb but weren’t being included in the conversation. They wanted to use marijuana and its extracts for its everyday benefits—not to cure illness or bring on a sudden craving for Doritos. So, the pair decided they’d create the products they’d like to see in the market.

They invested some cash into their own plants and began to extract the THC—Tetrahydrocannabinol—to make their own tinctures under the banner, Cordial Organics.

These were drops and balms and oils that came with natural health benefits. They then shared their product with people through their network to see if they had a market. The response was positive, especially from other moms, so they decided to proceed.

Shelly and Desi have lots of success stories from their side hustle. They’ve received countless letters from people who’ve seen the benefits. But their favorite, by far, is the thank you note they received from someone who had used their products to successfully manage the side effects from chemotherapy.

Setting up a business like this doesn’t come cheaply, though. Despite generating income of up to $7,000 per month, profit margins are still low. But, thanks to their marketing efforts, they’re expecting that to change in the next few months. This joint operation is not just blowing smoke… it’s high time they got their reward.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Cordial Organics: Learn more about Shelly, Desi, and the benefits of THC and CBD in your health and wellness products
  • Squarespace: The website building platform that Shelly and Desi used to create their website for Cordial Organics
  • WordPress: Shelly and Desi switched to WordPress using Woocommerce to run their shop, 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

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
"We think one of the best questions to start with is, ‘Is this a passion or a hobby or a side hustle?’ If it’s a side hustle, then run some numbers and start putting together a business plan. Getting everything on paper and in spreadsheets has saved us from making a lot of errors."
—Shelly Phegley #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

Southern Couple Rolls Out Sweet Profits With Family Side Hustle

What It’s About

Sweet profits rise from the oven in the form of cinnamon rolls.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Tyson and Christa began in a simple, low-risk way that was good for both them and their family. They simply saw something that they enjoyed doing and started a path to see if others would enjoy the fruit of their labor. They were very patient and that allowed them to see if this was a product that people really liked and would continue to buy, so they were able to grow as people demanded instead starting with a lot of product and needing people to come buy. This also created little to no pressure and that has helped it continue to be something they enjoy.

Fun Fact

Tyson and Christa got inspired to start the business after one old college friend told them Christa’s cinnamon rolls were the best he’d had six years after trying them, and another friend asked if she could get a batch of cinnamon rolls to keep in her freezer. They thought, maybe people would actually buy these rolls, and that instinct has led to some pretty sweet returns.

Notes from Chris

Episode 433

The sweet smell of cinnamon wafts through the air as dough rises in the oven. Three kids race around under her legs as Christa Lee preps another pan of cinnamon rolls. What started out as a love of baking has turned into a way to bring in some extra dough on the side to the tune of $15,000 a year for this family of five.

Christa has always loved baking, but after some high praise from friends who were big fans of her cinnamon rolls, she and her husband Tyson wondered if they might be able to actually sell the rolls to other people out of their home.

To get this cinnamon-venture rolling, they made a Facebook page and an Instagram account and posted that they would be taking orders. Within the first week, they sold 11 pans, and LoveLee Rolls was born. The name is a play on the hashtag they had used at their wedding the year before—a LoveLee Wedding.

Things grew quickly once the word started getting out about LoveLee Rolls. Perhaps a little too quickly for the small kitchen they work out of from home. With only one small oven, one refrigerator and one small freezer, the prep time could get very time-consuming.

Currently, they are working under the Cottage Food Law of Mississippi, which allows them to work out of their kitchen without having to be certified by the health department. But it has a lot of limitations on how they are able to sell the product—capping their sales at $20,000 a year and putting strict guidelines on who they can sell to and how they can advertise.

Despite these limitations, their business still grew through word-of-mouth and community events they attended. But Christa and Tyson did come to a point a few years ago where the Cottage Food Law hindered how they wanted to grow the business.

They decided the next step would be to sell out of a commercial kitchen built in their backyard, where they could have more freedom but still have a home-based business. A local shop in town had recently done a Kickstarter campaign, so the Lee family thought this could be the perfect way to get the funding they needed to build a commercial kitchen in their backyard.

Once that was set, Christa and Tyson put up a campaign on Kickstarter in October of 2016. Within a few months, they surpassed their goal of $35,000.

They’re now just weeks away from finishing everything up and plan to fully launch as the springtime unfolds. Since the kitchen will be certified by the health department, they will finally be able to advertise online and are launching a new website with the ability to order online. Hopefully, they’ll send us a few here at Side Hustle School to test out!

A love-lee story that shows following your passions, especially when it involves delicious cinnamon rolls, can be a great way to cushion your finances.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

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

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

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time. Learn More

Quote of the Day
"The best part for us has been the knowledge we have learned from starting this venture and the relationships we have established with our customers and people in our community. It has also been great to learn and flourish in the things we enjoy."
—Christa & Tyson Lee #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Get Connected Today!

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

Whether you're looking for a new job or looking to hire, you can find the right match at LinkedIn. Visit LinkedIn.com/HUSTLE today to get a $50 credit to post your first job.
Get Connected!

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

Call Center Employee Uses Patreon to Fund LGBTQ Podcasts

What It’s About

A trans woman creates two queer-centric podcasts to serve as a safe space for those without strong family and friend bases.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

When I asked Callie what equipment they use, they said, they are convinced people care so much more about the content of your show than the sound quality. Fancy gear can’t make a boring conversation with a dispassionate host more interesting. Nevertheless, they shared what equipment they use: Apollo Twin High-Resolution Thunderbolt Interface, Electro Voice RE-20 Cardioid Microphone, and the Logic Pro X.

Fun Fact

Callie ended up in Houston on Arian Foster’s podcast, Now What?. He’s a former Houston Texans running back and was one of the more popular players in the NFL before he retired. He sent out a tweet that he wanted to chat with someone from the transgender community and they were recommended. Check out the episode, here!

Notes from Chris

Episode 432

Callie Wright, in their own words, considers themself pretty privileged. Their day job as a team lead in a call center pays well, and no one they works with cares about them being queer or trans. Callie also has a supportive group of friends and family.

But not everyone who is queer and/or trans has the same experience. Callie remembers going to a vigil for a trans girl who was forced into conversion therapy and hearing an LGBTQ affirming minister say some things that made her feel out of place as a non-believer.

Callie decided to create a space not just for LGBTQ activism, but for secular activism as well. They now produces two podcasts, an activist show called The Gaytheist Manifesto and a storytelling show called The Queer side. Their goals with their podcasts are to curate a space where people feel safe, valued, loved, and protected and also to try to change the hearts and minds of people who have negative attitudes towards the LGBTQ community.

Callie’s first show The Gaytheist Manifesto launched in 2015. A little over a year into The Gaytheist Manifesto, they turned to their community and asked them to support it through Patreon. Patreon is a platform that helps creators get paid by running a membership business for their fans. Patrons pledge a monthly contribution, Callie rewards them with premium content, and Patreon delivers that content to their patrons.

In 2017, Callie added their second podcast, a storytelling show called The Queer Side. They immediately started a Patreon when this podcast launched. Between Callie’s two shows, today they receive over $800 each month in contributions. They also had roughly a dozen speaking opportunities as a result of these shows.

 

 

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
"Make your pitch funny, or make your pitch earnest and heartfelt. Giving people laughter is a valuable service. In our niche the news is often grim, and a chance to smile is a welcome change of pace sometimes."
—Callie Wright #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

Crafter’s Shop for Dreadlock Wearers Unlocks $3,500/Month

What It’s About

A woman locks down the market with her unique dreadlock tool.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

When we asked K. what she would tell someone looking to start something similar, she had this to say:

“Do what you can and keep moving forward. You won’t always know the right path and sometimes you may take a wrong turn, but trust that if you keep putting your intention out there, there will be opportunities, people and things that cross your path to point you in the right direction and you will reach your goal.”

Fun Fact

K launched Loccessories™ in September 2012 and shortly thereafter got a unique opportunity to work on a cruise ship sailing amidst the gorgeous Hawaiian islands. She literally built her business hundreds of feet below sea level. She shipped out orders at each port…even as far away as Malta!

Notes from Chris

Episode 431

K Hill is a Product Marketing Manager for a mobile healthcare company based in greater Chicago, Illinois—and she’s also a lifelong crafter and tinkerer. As a kid, she took apart her McDonald’s Happy Meal toys to see how they worked. As an adult, she’s designed and sewn custom bedding, jewelry, and invitations.

Her tinkering and crafting skills came in handy when she started developing her dreadlocks. In case you live on the moon and aren’t familiar with humans, dreadlocks are a hairstyle consisting of rope-like strands of hair formed by matting or braiding. Picture Bob Marley.

There were some popular methods out there when K was getting started locking her hair. One involved a tool, which can damage the integrity of the loc.

The other method, called palm rolling, was a long process. You would twist and retwist the hair until it became a single coil. Then you would wait for the new growth to matte and become a dreadlock. This process could take months depending on the texture of your hair. Not washing your hair makes the matting process happen faster. This was not an option for K. She has to wash her hair at least weekly!

So what does a lifelong crafter and tinkerer do? K made her own tool that locs the hair instantly. That tool, the InstaLoc, solved both her problems. She could rock her desired hairstyle immediately, and her scalp wouldn’t suffer in the process.

Back then there were few products or accessories for people who wore locs. So she decided to build it herself. Her store, Loccessories™, launched in September of 2012, includes hand-crafted and custom-produced items that she makes herself, and items she sources from manufacturers.

Startup costs were less than $150, and included domain registration and hosting, a website template, and initial supplies to make products. Gross sales are roughly $3,500-4,000 per month. The majority of her sales currently come from Amazon.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Loccessories™: If you’re trying to get a loc on your hair, head on over to K.’s website to learn more about her nifty loc tool!
  • Alibaba, AliExpress, & DHgate: A few of the manufacturers that K. reached out to for wholesale purposes

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
"I know that once I release the product it will be copied, but my hope is that I will already have mindshare with my niche market that they will be able to identify the counterfeits and can discern their shortcomings."
—K. Hill #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Get Connected Today!

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

Whether you're looking for a new job or looking to hire, you can find the right match at LinkedIn. Visit LinkedIn.com/HUSTLE today to get a $50 credit to post your first job.
Get Connected!

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

Choir Teacher Turns Music Workbooks Into Noteworthy Hustle

What It’s About

A choir instructor strikes a perfect, passive income chord with her digital choir workbooks and membership site.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

According to Erin, teachers are a wealth of valuable information that can easily be turned into a side hustle. In her words, “Teachers are famous for not valuing their own worth. They don’t realize what they have to offer.” Whether it’s a series of creative math exercises, engaging history lessons, or wacky science experiments, she believes teachers should take their original lessons and try packaging them in some way.

Fun Fact

The Practice Room started as a WordPress site, transitioned into a custom PHP site, and is now about to migrate back to WordPress. According to Erin, WordPress plugins for learning management have simply gotten too powerful and flexible to ignore.

Notes from Chris

Episode 430

If you had music class in first or second grade, you might remember the workbooks that you sight read from. Or you might not remember them because they were boring, unoriginal, and—unknown to most students—strangely expensive.

But Erin Lowell, a school choir teacher in the state of Main, knew how expensive they were—and it was a point of discord for her. The cheap books were $4 a piece, and for a school of 150 students, that meant it would take $600 to give each student their own workbook. Or actually, they loaned them the workbooks and would then collect them for the next year. What music program has $600 per year to spend on workbooks alone?

Erin knew there had to be another way—and she couldn’t stand using those same boring books one more time. So in 2004, she made her own.

Using a musical notation program called Finale and a simple word processor, Erin created her own set of sight reading exercises on her own time. To her surprise, it really wasn’t much treble. Once she had a few dozen lessons for the upcoming year, she pitched an idea to her school.

If they would provide the materials and let her use the binding machine, she would do the work every year before school started to put them together. Her school agreed to give her the $100 needed for the materials, and the following year was a musical success.

The kids were learning faster, they were paying better attention, and other teachers around town were starting to notice. After creating more workbooks and selling them to a handful of teachers each year, one of Erin’s principals suggested that she sell them online as ebooks—and thus, The Practice Room was born!

She had already proven that the workbooks were effective, and she knew that her customers would come back year after year. It seemed like a no-brainer.

Eventually, Erin even decided to transition her ebook series into an online membership model, and the transition really paid off! Erin doesn’t remember exactly when it happened, but within a couple months she was bringing in $500 per month with the membership model. The next year, her monthly average was just over $800 per month with virtually no marketing at all.

For the past several years, Erin has brought in about $20,000 per year through her site, minus about $100 per month on website expenses. It’s been mostly passive, other than answering emails from time to time, but Erin remembers those early days when she spent most of her evenings after school creating sight reading lessons. It was quite the sweet prelude to such a successful side hustle!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • The Practice Room: If expensive choir workbooks have you singing a melancholy tune, head on over to Erin’s website to check out her offerings
  • Wishlist Member: The plugin that Erin used to setup her membership program. Fun Fact: it’s also the same plugin that we’ve used to create the Side Hustle Society!
  • WordPress: Erin used WordPress to setup The Practice Room, and here you can learn how to install your own WordPress site in 5 minutes
  • Finale: The music notation software that Erin used to setup her choir exercises

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 wish more teachers would look at the materials and curriculum they’ve developed over time and realize that has value. Teachers are famous for not valuing their own worth. They don’t realize what they have to offer."
—Erin Lowell #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

Flight Instructor’s App Takes Flight, Earns $30,000

What It’s About

An instructor takes flight into the future by building his first flight app…without ever owning a smart phone.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

If you also feel that you’re a little bit behind the times technologically, Urs says you shouldn’t worry or let it stop you because sometimes what you don’t know can be your biggest asset! He recommends finding someone in your network who can talk you through what apps are, or buy a cheap smartphone to play around with. Then design what you think an app should be like. If you don’t know the rules, you can’t be afraid of breaking them!

Fun Fact

Urs loves apps even though he was late to the party. He’s currently working on an App called 5F, which helps people to find fitness buddies in their local area.

Notes from Chris

Episode 429

For flight instructor Urs Camenisch, it was time to increase his household income. Working 6-7 days a week for a low salary was taking its toll, and Urs wanted a way to make money while he slept. And, without giving up his passion for flying planes.

Despite not being tech savvy—in fact, he didn’t even own a smartphone—he knew an internet business would be the best solution to his problem. However he felt like websites and desktops were a dying breed, and he wanted to future-proof his business as best he could. So, he decided he would create an app.

Through his work as a flight instructor, he spotted a need for Canada’s student pilots. All of them had to take an important exam, the Pre Solo Test about Air Regulations, or PSTAR for short, before being able to fly solo. But, there was little in the way of apps or websites to provide study support. Urs decided he’d take the knowledge he had, and apply it to an easy to access app.

The first step was to find a developer to help him create the app. He found some developers and agencies he wanted to work with, wrote a brief of what he wanted made, and began to ask for quotes. Much to his surprise, they all came back to him with hefty quotes of $30,000 dollars—a whole year’s salary for him. Which was (of course) out of the question.

Not one to be defeated, Urs found a hidden gem in one of the emails a developer sent him. He told Urs that he has to charge so much because he wouldn’t outsource his work. This was a lightbulb moment for him. Why pay so much if he could find the people the developers were outsourcing too and cut out the middleman entirely?

This brought Urs to freelance marketplaces, like Elance and Odesk, which joined forces and is now one company called Upwork.

This time, the quotes came back at a much more affordable rate of $1,000 for the entire app. Urs says he’s a firm believer in hiring locally, but if it’s 30 times the price, someone on a small budget really doesn’t have the luxury of choice.

The final start-up costs for the PSTAR app came in at $3,500. To try and recoup these funds, Urs set the price of his app at affordable prices that would help him earn back the initial investment over the course of the first year or so.

Since launching the app, he’s earned an extra $30,000 through sales. Looking to the future, Urs has started developing another app for fitness lovers. He’s also started to invest in real estate and has found a better job that he loves as a Medevac pilot. All thanks to this one app that eventually took off!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • PSTAR Exam App: If you hail from the Great White North and are looking for your aerial career to take flight, get to studying with Urs’ exam prep app
  • Upwork: The global freelancing platform that helps businesses connect with independent freelancers remotely
  • 5F: If you’re looking for something more mainstream than an app for Canadian flight students, check out Urs’ other app—it’s essentially “Tinder for workout partners!”

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
"Be realistic and prioritize: Hire professionals if you can’t do it yourself. I taught myself a lot but when it came time to code the app, I hired professionals. Remember, you still have a day job to do and that’s what puts food on the table."
—Urs Camenisch #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Get Connected Today!

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

Whether you're looking for a new job or looking to hire, you can find the right match at LinkedIn. Visit LinkedIn.com/HUSTLE today to get a $50 credit to post your first job.
Get Connected!

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: Are You Achieving Your Goals?

Notes from Chris

Episode 428

LISTENER QUESTIONS:

Today we have a listener voicemail from Nick and a listener email from Zach:

  • Nick was recently asked by a client to help them out with SEO for videos that he’s created for them, but he doesn’t have much experience doing something like this specifically for video content. How do you create with SEO in mind for content that may be a bit different?
  • Zach: “I’ve found blogs with Amazon affiliate links similar to what I want to do. But they do not rank very well in google for people searching for what I hope to help with. How do I create content that will rank well so people can find what I create?”

It’s certainly possible to do that and indeed a lot of folks have done so. It’s just harder than something that’s strictly online, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. If it’s right for you and you can handle it, don’t let anyone dissuade you.

If you can be dissuaded or for anyone else out there wondering about this, listen to the Weekly Recap to learn more!

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!

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. 422 – A California-based professional uses her autoimmune disease to learn about healthy performance food, creating two businesses in the process
  • Ep. 423 – When a young woodworker receives a wooden bow tie as a gift, he’s unimpressed. After making his own, he earns $20,000 while going to high school full-time
  • Ep. 424 – A freelance graphic designer turns his work research into a gold mine
  • Ep. 425 – A full-time marketing director and MBA student writes to every single TEDx events in hopes of getting his first gig. He now earns $30,000 year on the side, speaking at events around the world
  • Ep. 426 – After being unimpressed by a lackluster wedding photo booth, a New York couple studies up and enters the market on their own
  • Ep. 427 – A New York-based yoga enthusiast starts a socially-conscious clothing line for kids under six

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Join the Side Hustle Society!

We’ve already launched our first iteration of the Side Hustle Society, and if you missed round one, round two is going on through Tuesday night!

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.

Round two is open and will end this upcoming Tuesday, so visit our Society page if you’re interested in being a part of a strong and supportive side hustle community!

Here’s what’s coming up next…

Each week I’ll feature more stories from people who are starting side hustles without quitting their job. Here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming next week:

  • A passionate choir teacher on a limited budget discovers an untapped market
  • A Mississippi husband-and-wife duo keeps things sweet and make $15,000/year on the side selling homemade cinnamon rolls
  • And so much more!

Do you have a side hustle story you’d like to share? Fill out the Side Hustle School submission form and your story may be featured on the show!

Also, 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
"Deciding that it’s too late to get back on track is an act of self-sabotage. It’s never too late to adjust and make active choices."
—#SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Create a Stunning Website With Wordpress

Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Wordpress.com! Whether you’re looking to create a personal blog, business site, or both—you’ll make a big impact, when you build your website on WordPress.com. 💻

Get 15% off when you build your website with Wordpress.com—use promo code PODCAST when you check out.
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