Tag: Airbnb

Fishing Charter Marketplace Hooks Clients and Guides

What It’s About

You’ll go overboard for this story.

Words of Wisdom

Jonathan shares some important advice, “You won’t miss your free time nearly as much as you think you will. If you find something you care about, you will dive in headfirst.”

Fun Fact

Before Jonathan and Attison decided to go full time as partners in this venture, they bonded over a two week trip across Texas where all they would do is fish, talk to local anglers, and drink beers at night.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1781
When Jonathan Newar was tasked to put together a fishing trip for his work team in Houston, he realized that he had a problem on his hands. Finding high quality fishing charters was tough, and he hated how tedious the process could be. As he recalls, he spent a lot of time searching outdated websites and playing phone tag with guides while wondering whether he could trust the limited information that he found.

Fast forward a year to 2019, and Jonathan was wondering if he could build a business around connecting would-be fishermen with guides.

He’d left his previous job and was taking some time to figure out what came next when he met his eventual co-founder, Attison Barnes, at a party. Attison had a keen interest in the outdoors, and when he heard Jonathan’s idea for a marketplace of fishing charters, he was hooked.

Any two-sided marketplace requires buyers and sellers, so the new fishing partners knew that they had to get guides on board first. They onboarded the first few guides in Galveston, Texas by meeting them in person at the docks and pitching them on the concept. (You could say they cast their nets upon the waters…)

There they learned that the number one priority for guides was filling up their calendar and booking more trips, which confirmed Jonathan and Attison’s hypothesis that this marketplace was needed. We could call that the supply side. On the demand side, their vision was for white collar workers such as themselves to have an easy way to leave the office and spend more time outdoors.

But as any founder of a marketplace can attest, getting initial traction is the hardest obstacle to overcome. Jonathan could build the site since he had a tech background, but the two had to hustle hard to get their first customer.

Having a business model that takes a cut of the fee paid by customers to fishing guides meant that they needed to keep both the customers and fishing guides happy. This, they accomplished by building trust into the system.

They take deposits from customers, who pay the balance of the trip directly to guides. They also go out of their way to make sure that customers who use their platform have a good time.

They also needed to get to scale quickly with a lot of volume, since they were only getting a percentage. Having said that, the two have come a long way—their boat is far from the shoreline. Captain Experiences now sees upwards of 300 bookings a month which adds up to more than $220,000 in revenue.

These days, they’re looking to hire more team members and expand their operations. By delivering a solid experience and working both the supply and demand side of fishing charters, they’ve managed to fill their nets and reel in the customers.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

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

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

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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

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

Quote of the Day
"You won’t miss your free time nearly as much as you think you will. If you find something you care about, you will dive in headfirst."
—Jonathan Newar #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.
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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.
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To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Nomadic Couple Starts Vintage Camper Rental Biz

What It’s About

A couple takes vintage campers and rents them for new profit.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Thinking about renting your space out? Online platforms are valuable as Brittain points out, “We’ve got to give 100% credit to Airbnb and Outdoorsy for ‘finding’ our customers. Without their platforms, we may not have this hustle or business. Once they bring us the customer, it’s up to us to keep them, earn their trust and keep them coming back.”

Fun Fact

Haven’t heard about Outdoorsy?! Check them out, especially if you own an RV you’d like to rent out. Outdoorsy has over 256,000 users, and says it’s growing by 21,000 users a month!

Notes from Chris

Episode 1751
The spark for Brittain Kovač and Josh Schukman’s side hustle was a Pepto Bismol pink camper van in the backyard of a tiny home outside Nashville. Brittain had taken her mom to a taping of the Dave Ramsey show and was sleeping in the van as part of the Airbnb she’d booked. After getting to know the host who ran the accommodation as a side hustle, was inspired to do the same.

Brittain had always dreamed of owning her own hostel, and the Airbnb business model showed her she was sitting on a golden opportunity to start one. She had a 900-square-foot loft apartment in Kansas City that could sleep up to five people. She bought some more beds and linens and posted her new listing online. The first booking came within a week, and running the place was manageable around her job as a Marketing Event Manager for Harley Davidson.

For the next four years, Brittain ran the hostel together with Josh, who also became her husband. They welcomed over 900 guests and earned more than $40,000. They then set the hostel up to be self-sufficient and went to live out on the road in a 1988 Airstream camper. It was a great experience, but it presented a problem. They missed the community of hostel living, but also weren’t ready to give up their new nomadic lifestyle. That’s when a fortuitous trip to Germany gave them a new idea.

Attending a conference in Bonn, the pair stayed at a hostel in a warehouse filled with trains and camper vans and cars that you could rent out to stay in. It reminded Britt of the Pepto Bismol camper in Nashville years earlier … and it gave her an idea. What if they could combine their love of campers and the open road with their dream of owning and letting out accommodation? She even had a name: they’d call it Out Of Normal Properties.

Brittain and Josh started by renting out a single Airstream trailer on a plot of Brittain’s parents’ land to see if the model would work. They listed it on Airbnb. Once again, in the space of a week they had their first booking. Then another. And another. Until they’d earned $1,400 from these rentals.

They sold the Kansas City apartment-turned-hostel and looked for new opportunities in Montana, where they became managing partners of Flathead Lake Resort, based on the experience they’d been building up since 2014. They also purchased two more Airstream camper vans—an investment of around $37,000 all in—to use on the property.

Brittain and Josh measure the success of their side hustles and businesses based on the ROI. They aim to make a consistent 30% every year. For example, that first Airstream rental brought in $11,000 in one summer. They also recently bought a 2005 Honda Pilot and started renting it out. It brought in more than $5,000 over the past few months.

Looking to the future, the pair have just closed on a half-acre of land with access to the Flathead Lake Resort for tents and camper vans. Their plan is to own a full-on, full-service camper hostel!

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Brittain and Josh and their out of normal properties at their website, OutofNorm.al.

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’ve got to give 100% credit to Airbnb and Outdoorsy for ‘finding’ our customers. Without their platforms, we may not have this hustle or business. Once they bring us the customer, it’s up to us to keep them, earn their trust and keep them coming back."
—Brittain Kovač #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

Remote Airbnb Host Automates Rental Process

What It’s About

An Airbnb host manages his and other people’s properties remotely.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Josh has shares some great thoughts about the value of offering your services, “making money is about offering value, support, and assistance,” Josh says. “You do that and you’ll be solving issues for people that they can’t wait to pay you for.”

Fun Fact

Airbnb has over 5.5 Million listings in over 220+ countries around the world. That’s a lot of listings and a lot of side hustle opportunities. [Source]

Notes from Chris

Episode 1506
Josh Strawczynski didn’t set out to manage Airbnb properties for other people, but he stumbled onto a lucrative side hustle almost by accident. Seven years ago, while he was living in Australia, Josh started renting out a one-bedroom apartment on Airbnb so that he could travel on the weekends. The plan was to have the Airbnb income cover his travel costs, allowing him to explore for free.

It worked, and Josh quickly saw the opportunity to generate higher revenue by using software. For instance, he used a program that actively monitors the demand and supply for short term rentals in his area. It predicts peaks and troughs in demand and allows him to set fancy pricing rules that the Airbnb website can’t do on its own. If he has a 3-day gap between two bookings, for example, it automatically decreases the price of that gap to fill it.

Josh uses a different program to automate communications with guests to ensure that they have all the information they need. It also includes scripted responses to common questions. Before long, he was hooked and began renting out his place all the time. If a lodger booked during the week, he’d sleep at his parents or friends’ houses. Sometimes he’d even rent a cheap motel room and still come out ahead financially.

After the first year, his one-bedroom apartment was generating enough revenue to make it one of the top five earners in his suburb. The only properties earning more were big houses with tennis courts and spa-level baths. Josh’s apartment had none of those amenities, just a smart pricing algorithm that measured demand and made sure he wasn’t leaving money on the table.

Now, Josh manages 5-star Airbnbs all over Australia, all the while living … in the Caribbean. Thanks to his automation, he only has to apply himself for an hour here and there, because he has other people on the ground handling physical tasks. Where did they come from? Well, he had a theory that there were lots of retired people who had decades of cleaning experience and nothing to do with their time. So, he’s hired a network of retirees all over Australia to manage property cleaning, report problems, and help him solve any issues that arise.

With his Airbnb rentals running like a well-oiled machine, Josh has turned his attention to his next venture … growing a marketing agency that can also be managed from anywhere.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • When Josh isn’t managing his rentals, you can find him at his main hustle, Jmarketing.agency.
  • Josh uses several different programs to help him automate his rental management process. One of these is a pricing algorithm called, pricelabs.co. Josh also provided two Google searches that he used to find other programs: 1) Pricing Software and, 2) Automated Messaging.

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
"Making money is about offering value, support, and assistance. You do that and you’ll be solving issues for people that they can’t wait to pay you for."
—Josh Strawczynski #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Learn More With Skillshare!

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

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

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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


Here's How

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Q&A: Does my idea to sell art in Airbnbs make sense?

What It’s About

A listener seeks feedback on an idea to sell art in Airbnbs.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1245

Today’s listener has a really interesting idea that she has thought through quite a bit and she’s looking for feedback. Short version is: “Does my idea to sell art in Airbnbs make sense?”

I’ll let her describe the idea in more detail, and then I’ll go point-by-point in terms of what I think.

So many of our listeners have their thinking hats on lately, and I love it. Keep the ideas coming!

“Hi, Chris. This is Melissa from Portland, Oregon. I love the show and have been in search of the Side hustle since listening for the first time about a year ago. I own an Airbnb in Portland, which has thriving artists in the community, as well as a growing number of Airbnbs. I feel that artists, makers and property owners would benefit from placing local art and handmade items in Airbnbs, which would then be available for guest purchase and take home them. The benefits would be threefold. The property owner could have a rotating gallery of amazing arts.

The artists would show their work to a wider audience and the property owner and I would split the commission for each item sold. I’ve never done anything like this before, so I’m not really sure how payments and commissions would work. But the response from artists have contacted has been very positive so far. Any help or feedback to help get this off the ground is appreciated. Thank you so much.”

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

SEE ALSO:

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

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

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

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

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

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Q&A: How can I rent out my spare bedroom on Airbnb?

What It’s About

What does this listener need to know about listing her spare bedroom on Airbnb?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1231

Airbnb: love them or hate them (and there are plenty of people on both sides)—there’s no doubt they have radically shifted the landscape when it comes to booking accommodation worldwide. Just like everyone (or at least a lot of people) can become a rideshare driver, so too can homeowners and sometimes tenants rent out their space directly to consumers.

Confession: I try to write most of my books in an evergreen manner … this is one of the few things I regret about the SIDE HUSTLE book. Overall, 95% of that book should be relevant for many years to come, but I did say a few things about Airbnb rentals that have already changed … so if you’re interested in renting out your spare bedroom for extra cash, it’s good you’re listening to this episode.

“I have a two-bedroom apartment and work as an attorney. It’s just me, so I’m not home much … I like the idea of earning passive income by renting out one of the bedrooms, but when I think about what’s involved in terms of meeting guests, cleaning up and changing the sheets, following up by email and leaving reviews, etc. I start to think it’s not really passive. What do I need to know about doing this, and is there a way to make it easier?”

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

SEE ALSO:

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

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

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

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

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

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Mochi-Making Empire Produces Profits and Delight

What It’s About

An English teacher cooks up delectable Airbnb Experiences!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Part of what I love about this episode is that we’ve not really focused on Airbnb Experiences before. Lots of people have great ideas for activities, tours, or classes—but don’t have a way to connect with enough customers. This is one of the biggest benefits of partnering with Airbnb or Verlocal!

Interested in starting an Airbnb Experience of your own? Head here to sign up!

Fun Fact

According to the Japan Kagami Mochi Association, mochi is thought to contain the pure spirit of rice and thus be possessed with “Toshigami,” a deity that is said to visit during the New Year’s period, bringing a good harvest and the blessing of ancestors.

Notes from Chris

Episode 976
Growing up, Kaori was surrounded by Japanese cooking. Her mother is Japanese, and her grandmother owned a ramen shop in Japan. Kaori dove deep into these roots and became skilled at making ramen from scratch.

While in college studying to be an English teacher, Kaori started teaching her mad ramen skills at a local cooking school. Soon, she expanded to offer other forms of Asian cuisine. SHE LOVED IT! Even though she wasn’t formally trained, she had a knack for communicating culinary concepts, and her classes were popular. What she learned for her education degree ended up being helpful for her time in cooking classes—so she eventually left her high school teaching career to focus on them.

Here’s where the mochi comes in. Kaori moved to the Bay Area and formally started her business, which she called Kaori’s Kitchen.

She knew her credibility came from her heritage as a “hapa” or half Japanese woman. Her mom had been making mochi for local festivals for many years and taught Kaori. Mochi is from Japan and is made to celebrate the new year. It’s so iconic to Japanese New Year that mochi is likened to the Christmas tree or Star of David in terms of symbolism.

With the success of her ramen classes in mind, Kaori developed a Mochi Making Class. Mochi ice cream was gaining popularity among ice cream lovers, but there wasn’t anyone in the Bay Area teaching it. In her class, Kaori, sometimes along with her mom, teaches how to make mochi five different ways. The class begins with mochi in a traditional soup. Participants then learn to make sweet mochi three ways with many topping options. To finish, everyone gets to fry and glaze a mochi donut.

But of course, she needed a way to get people to her classes. She first found a platform called Verlocal. Verlocal is a booking platform for experiences, such as cooking, hiking, and painting. Kaori focused on team building classes. Word soon got out that her mochi classes were amazing. She started to receive direct booking emails from companies in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Kaori’s Kitchen was taking off!

Within two months, the Saturday mochi classes she offered there were full … and have been ever since. In the beginning, Kaori charged a lowly $35 per person. Experience, reputation, and over 200 positive reviews allowed Kaori to increase her price to $75 per person. Currently, her classes are booked through Airbnb Experiences, Verlocal, and her own website, KaorisKitchen.com.

The business is bringing in a bit more than $90,000 a year in revenue. $24,000 comes in from Airbnb Experiences, making it a key partner. Kaori estimates each class has an average 75% profit margin because her costs are low. She runs most of them out of her home kitchen or she travels to the business hosting a team-building event. Plus, the ingredients are reasonable as the main ingredient in mochi is rice.

She’s now writing a book about starting an experience-based side hustle. She believes everyone is passionate about something, so why not make money doing what you love? A lot of millenials (and others) put a higher value on experiences than things, so the market is ready for experienced-based businesses. Kaori intends to self publish her book this November on Amazon. In addition, a publisher asked her to write a mochi cookbook. That’s in the works and should come out in 2020.

By focusing on her core expertise, and connecting with the right platforms that reach active travelers, she’s building security while sharing her knowledge.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Kaori’s Kitchen: See what’s cooking over on Kaori’s website!
  • Weebly: The platform that Kaori used to create her website for Kaori’s Kitchen
  • Airbnb & Verlocal: The two platfroms that Kaori used to list her mochi and ramen making classes

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
"Many people crave ‘the side hustle life’. They want to make money doing what they love and not have to work all of the time. They want flexibility and joy in what they do, and I believe that Airbnb Experiences and the experience industry allows you to do that."
—Kaori Becker #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

Flight Attendant Touches Down on $50,000 Super Bowl Profit

What It’s About

A flight attendant starts a property rental side hustle for Super Bowl visitors.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Though she now has to compete with the likes of Airbnb, Steffanie says she’s stayed ahead of the game by creating all-inclusive packages for the renters—who get the house, transport to and from the airport and the Super Bowl venue, a concierge to help with entertainment, maid service and private party planning—including arranging private dancers, if requested.

Fun Fact

Steffanie enlisted a celebrity spokesperson in NFL player Toben Opurum, after picking him up as an Uber driver, and she started throwing house parties where homeowners invite their friends over for free food and alcohol while Steffanie explains the benefits of renting out their homes. She also uses her full-time job as a flight attendant to her advantage carrying promotional material for her side hustle to pass on to airports, hotels and other venues.

Notes from Chris

Episode 163

Forty-nine-year-old flight attendant Steffanie Rivers designed and launched her side hustle while facing some unexpected turbulence in her life. In 2010, she was let go from the previous airline she worked for and wasn’t sure what to do next.

But for as long as she can remember—in fact, as early on as her Girl Scout days selling cookies—Steffanie has been a hustler. So, when faced with unemployment, she got on with it.

She made it through the rest of that year working in car sales, and then in 2011 signed up to work with a company that was renting out homes for the Super Bowl being hosted in Dallas. She worked on commission for the company and saw great potential for the business model, but she was disappointed to see that the company treated both the homeowners and the salespeople poorly.

She decided she wanted to take the same idea but do it better. And she set about doing just that, launching her own business ahead of the 2012 Super Bowl.

Her company—TouchdownRentals.com—solves both sides of this equation. She gets homeowners paid, and helps sports fans live a “baller” lifestyle for the weekend. With the business now in its fifth year, Steffanie has landed a healthy profit, bringing in about $50,000 annually for just five to six months of work.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

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

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

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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

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

Quote of the Day
"Tens of thousands of people attend the Super Bowl every year. They spend lots of money having a good time, eating and drinking and renting cars and hotel rooms. Since they’re in the habit of doing that anyway, why not jump in front of that wave and get paid?"
—Steffanie Rivers #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

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Chris Guillebeau

“Airbnb for Dogs”: Woman Hosts Pets at Her Home for $200/Day

What It’s About

Woman creates an Airbnb for dog owners and hosts up to six dogs a day.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

When there are already other businesses in the same field you’re entering, you may want to undertake a little detective work to learn more about how they operate.

In Andrea’s case, she paid close attention to the most popular listings. In addition to learning that average response time was critical, she noticed that successful dog sitters didn’t just board dogs in their homes, they were also available for other services like drop-in visits and walking while their owners were at work. She added those services to her listing on Rover.com and saw a 20% increase in weekly income.

Fun Fact

When Andrea and her husband, Nicky, moved to Austin, they wanted to get a dog but since they had some long travels planned, it would be a while before that was actually possible.

Andrea saw an ad for Rover.com and thought that if it was real, it could be a perfect chance for them to get exactly what they wanted. They would get an opportunity to have dogs around their house while still being able to travel whenever they wanted. And the best part is that they would actually get paid for doing it!

Resources

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Quote of the Day
"Discovering that it’s possible to find work that’s perfect for me is definitely the best part of the experience. "
—Andrea Hajal #SideHustleSchool

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Cook with Blue Apron!

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Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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


Here's How

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau