Tag: Blog

Army Veteran Makes $650,000 Advertising Apps

What It’s About

How a programmer earns a massive passive income advertising apps.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Outside of his full-time gig, Steve had been experimenting with designing mobile apps. He launched his hustle—called One Zero Apps—in 2013. The work primarily involved buying source code, changing the graphics, and re-uploading them to the App store. This is a little bit technical, but the point is that he was able to creatively reposition existing apps, modifying them a bit and calling them his own. This is acceptable to some degree, especially if you modify the app in some significant way.

Fun Fact

Paper company employee Steve Delarwelle struck it rich through mobile app advertising and acting as an ad company affiliate. One example of app advertising is when you are prompted to download another app when you open an app on your phone. If you do, somebody makes money off of that. Somebody also makes money if you connect to an app advertising company through one of their links. And Steve just happened to be one of those somebodies, at least for a year.

Notes from Chris

Episode 156

Steve Delarwelle was working at a paper company when he struck gold—earning an unexpected $650,000 from his side hustle in one year. Born and raised in the small town of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, Steve had served three overseas tours in the Army before returning to his home state, getting married, and getting trained in computer programming.

Steve decided to start a blog to document his attempt to make money from apps, along with his trials and tribulations in the App store. The blog cost him about $20 a month, but apart from that, he had no setup or ongoing costs. He used the blog to publish revenue figures for all of his apps, separated out by publisher so readers knew who he was making the most money with. In ad revenue from his own apps, Steve was generating a steady $600 to $900 per month.

Good story so far, right? But then things got really crazy. One day in 2015, Steve woke up and discovered $13,000 sitting in his PayPal account.

And it didn’t end there. The money just kept rolling in. The next month, from the same source, his payout was $35,0000, then $45,000, then $60,000, and so on. His highest month was over $100,000.

When it was all said and done, Steve had brought in $650,000 for the year. No overhead; all profit.

You could say this was a lucky break, and perhaps it was, but Steve contends that if he hadn’t invested an entire year in consistently publishing for his blog, or had the foresight to become an affiliate, it wouldn’t have happened. So, he worked hard for the returns, and… perhaps he also got a bit lucky.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Steven Delarwelle’s App Page: Some of the apps Steve sells in the Apple App store
  • RemoteJobr: The job aggregate site for Remote Tech positions that Steve now manages
  • Revmob: The ad company that hosted the affiliate program Steve signed up for

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 would advise anybody that wanted to start a side hustle to take a look at yourself, determine what skill you have and leverage that to the max. Learn about anything; watch successful people and emulate them."
—Steve Delarwelle #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

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Sign up by clicking the button below, and you’ll receive their most popular Trial Set—a 13 dollar value—for FREE when you cover the shipping.💈 Get it Here

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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.
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

Immigrate to Canada and Make $500/Month

What It’s About

A lack of useful, one-stop immigration resources leads a couple in Canada to create a handy ebook on the subject for others.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

There’s the old cliche among authors that comes from Carol Shields. It says, “Write the book you want to read; the one you cannot find.”

This is great advice, and there was no other couple in the world that knew a good book on immigration didn’t exist more than Cori and Casey. So, they decided to expand upon their blog post and self-published all of their research as a book.

Fun Fact

Now that they’ve successfully launched a book helping people navigate the Canadian immigration process, they’re working on a follow-up book with information to make it easier for newcomers to settle in Canada covering everything from how to set up retirement accounts and get a mortgage to demystifying Canadian taxes. Even with expert advice, it can be challenging to make sense of all of the little differences even coming from a very culturally similar country!

Notes from Chris

Episode 151
In 2015, Cori Carl and her ex-wife, Casey, were trying to navigate the murky waters of immigration from America to Canada. Thankfully, with a keen eye for detail and a lot of patience, Cori and Casey were able to immigrate relatively unscathed by the process.

After they’d moved and settled in they realized that they had hundreds of hours worth of documented research just sitting there not being used to help anyone. You only move to Canada once, they thought and decided to write up their research and share it on their travel blog, 15 Miles (UPDATE: now Welcome Home Ontario). That post became the most popular one they’d ever published, so they decided to turn it into a book.

Since then their little ebook has gone on to consistently make $500 a month in passive income, and in the near future, they’re looking to create a second book that simplifies the process even more and prepares people for the small cultural differences between life in the USA and a new life in Canada.

 

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
"At first I felt bad charging people for a book, but then people kept telling me how I’d saved them tons of money and headaches. It’s a nice win-win situation."
—Cori Carl #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

Equine Lover Makes $5,000; Stables Business to Change Horses in Midstream

What It’s About

A woman discovers a way to keep her side hustle going while still having the time to dedicate to the things she loves to do.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Print on Demand (P.O.D.) services are a great way to experiment with your designs with little to no risk. If you have three or four designs, and you’re not sure which is better, using a P.O.D. service allows you an opportunity to upload all of your designs and see which one people choose. This process would be much more complicated with screen printing, and you may have to make a decision before you start taking orders.

Fun Fact

Krista started making Horse Junkie Gear after returning to riding in her mid-40’s following a pretty long hiatus. She filled her closet with all of the wonderful performance gear she needed, but what she really wanted were some cute, comfy tees that would look good both in the ring and out. After several fruitless searches, she shook the cobwebs off of her graphics programs and made them herself. After all, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!

Notes from Chris

Episode 131

Krista Fabregas has worked at NASA while building multiple e-commerce sites over the years, including one where sales topped $1M. She now writes for an educational website by day and runs The Horse Junkie on the side.

She’s a horseback rider and a former graphic designer, so it’s a fun creative outlet that matches both her passion and her skills.

She’s tried it two different ways: the first method she used is the more traditional method. She set up her own screen print shop, which is actually affordable—it cost about $2,000. Her first year, she sold $8,000 in t-shirts, and with a high-profit margin, cleared over $5,200 in net income. But this episode isn’t about screen-printing.

What did she do? She switched from screen printing all those Horse Junkie and “Barn Life Is Better” shirts to using a P.O.D. company to do it.

So which is better? Well, Krista thinks this new way will be better in the long-run—or at least she’s willing to experiment and take the chance.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • The Horse Junkie: Learn more about Krista and her horseback riding themed apparel and gifts on her blog!

SEE ALSO:

  • T-Shirts on Amazon Make $17,000 in a Month: A former corporate employee in Ireland runs a merchandising hustle on Amazon.com that brings in as much as $17,000 in profit in a single month. She does this with no inventory, no risk, and no paid traffic
  • Florida Man Earns $100,000 Selling T-Shirts With No Inventory: There’s more than one way to make a lot of money designing and selling t-shirts without actually keeping them on hand. In today’s story, an app designer earns six-figures with a print-on-demand service

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 don’t see this providing the living of my previous e-commerce win, but it’s fun and P.O.D. makes it easy to run. Plus, I now spend my Saturdays riding horses instead of printing, packing, and mailing tees."
—Krista Fabregas #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Get a premium Indochino Suit for just $389!

Side Hustle School is brought to you by Indochino, the company that’s reinventing men’s fashion.

Go to Indochino.com to get any premium Indochino suit for just $389, plus free shipping, when you use promo code HUSTLE at checkout. 🤵 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

Blogger Shifts From Products to Sponsorships, Makes $82,000

What It’s About

A blogger’s adaptability helps him go from under $4,000 to $82,000/annually.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Preston made the switch from blog to business when he was in a tight place financially. He had always done his best to stay ahead of money, have an emergency fund, and be conservative with spending, but this new situation motivated him to start building some flexibility into his income.

It was then that he realized that, at a day job, you get paid the same amount whether you hustle extra or not. But when you own a business, the more you hustle, the more revenue you can generate. It was extremely liberating—knowing that he could build the revenue he needed despite his employer’s inability to give him a raise or a bonus. Suddenly, he was in control of his own destiny.

Fun Fact

After graduation, he applied for jobs and got one that required him to travel about 40 minutes by train twice a day. He also became a new dad, and all of a sudden, time was much more limited. All he had were those train rides.

He used his train time to write, and he focused on only delivering content that really made a difference. It also forced him to focus on product creation in a small amount of time which allowed him to further narrow his subject matter to promote sales of his first product: an ebook.

Notes from Chris

Episode 125

What worked before doesn’t necessarily work now, especially in the fast-moving world of online business. That’s why being adaptable is one of the most important skills you can develop, no matter what industry you’re in.

Preston Lee was doing well, with a day job, family, and successful hustle in the form of a blog called Millo. His hustle was earning $50,000 in net income—pretty great for something he did two hours a day. But he also noticed that the business model he had chosen was starting to shift. What he was doing before wasn’t working nearly as much.

He recognized that the previous products weren’t working anymore, so he decided to explore the world of sponsorship, where his business would partner with companies to create content they wanted to pay for. In 2016, Millo booked around $75,000 from sponsorships.

The year ended with around $82,000 in net income from the revamped blog and focus. Preston now has a full year’s worth of salary saved up thanks to income from his side hustle. He says if he got fired tomorrow (which he won’t, he’s a very good employee), he wouldn’t be worried for a second.

As you’re going through your day, think about how you can adapt, grow, and ultimately change for the better. It’s not just about keeping up with something—it’s about being cognizant about how you can best serve people, and how you can be the most successful in whatever side hustle you start.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Millo: Learn more about Preston and his highly-profitable hustle
  • FreshBooks: The company Preston signed a deal with that said he would create a podcast that they would then sponsor.

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
"At a day job, you get paid the same amount whether you hustle extra or not, but when you own a business, the more you hustle, the more revenue you can generate."
—Preston Lee #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

Graphic Designer Turns Side Hustle into $80k Project

What It’s About

A graphic designer teaches others how to harness the power of breathwork for healthier lives.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

After teaching a virtual workshop for her friend, Michelle realized that she could do something similar under her own name. In 2016, she launched a series of virtual workshops as well as a self-led course that people can go through at their own pace.

That was the point she realized that this was something she could do full-time because the self-led courses are scalable—she made the course once and can continue to market it—and the virtual workshops can take taken by anyone around the world.

Fun Fact

Michelle had another side hustle selling dog bandanas that she designed and marketed. She sold via etsy, got into some retail stores and also sold at some craft fairs in Los Angeles.

She realized it was time to stop that side hustle when instead of talking to people at the craft fairs about the dog products, she was talking to people about Pushing Beauty, her new website.

Notes from Chris

Episode 115

What does it mean to be authentic? In the most general sense, it means to not be false and do no harm, but then, beyond that, it also means something more positive…to tell your story.

Before her side hustle turned into her main job, Michelle D’Avella was working as a graphic designer in Los Angeles by day and writing on her website, Pushing Beauty, on the side. It started organically toward the end of 2012, and she began by writing about what felt most important to her.

She didn’t do much research as to what would do well or get the most traffic to the website that she created; she just surrendered to the process, trusted her intuition and wrote. Her intuition led her to start by write about things she was curious about and things she’s learned along the way that have shaped her life.

Michelle described it by saying, “It felt like it was something I had to do. It was more about satisfying this deep longing to express something, rather than creating an idea in my head.”

Three years later, Michelle is now bringing in around $80,000 annually and has been able to quit her day job in order to dedicate herself to Pushing Beauty and the power of breathwork full-time. This work feels more fulfilling and authentic to Michelle, and it all started because she felt the need to express herself and share her journey with others.

What message do you have to share?

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
"You don’t need to have a grand vision. Pushing Beauty was never grand. It was a seed I kept nurturing, and it has grown into one of the most important things in my life."
—Michelle D’Avella #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Cook with Blue Apron!

Supporting the sponsors keeps the show free. Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Blue Apron. 👩‍🍳

Check out this week’s menu and get your first three meals FREE, with free shipping. Get ready to say mmmmmm.
Get Yours 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

Organic Chemist Earns Six Figures Blogging for Pre-Med Students

What It’s About

After hitting a number of career dead ends during the economic recession, a chemist charts a new course offering online chemistry tutoring.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Lots of people want a business that makes money while they sleep, but in order to get there, James had to put in thousands of hours getting good at teaching people 1-on-1.

It was during that period that he got great at his craft and could also reflect on what was missing from the market. He then started building those products and sold them.

Fun Fact

One of the things James’ students had a hard time with was keeping all the “reagents” straight in organic chemistry, so his first product was a book called The Reagent Guide. The first version was a pretty basic, 68 page PDF created with a program called ChemDraw and fulfilled through Shopify, but he ended up making ten sales after emailing his 100 subscribers about it.

Notes from Chris

Episode 111

If you went to college or university or graduate school, sooner or later you had to declare a major. I originally thought that I’d be good at accounting, but that ended in disaster. Eventually I discovered sociology, and that stuck with me as something I was good at and enjoyed.

Today’s story is about an organic chemist who goes down a lot of different paths before he discovers his true calling tutoring pre-med students in organic chemistry and building a popular blog that serves millions of readers.

With a Ph.D in Organic Chemistry and a postdoc from MIT under his belt, James Ashenhurst was well on track to get a position in industry or academia. Unfortunately, the 2008 economic recession was also well on its way, and his job applications went nowhere fast.

Frustrated and uncertain of what to do next, he spent a lot of his free time in the local library “writing through” organic chemistry problems in his many notebooks. Despite how easily this subject came to him, he knew that there were a lot of students headed towards grad school who struggled with it, and that’s when decided to start tutoring. Better yet, he’d extend his reach by taking his services online. This was back in 2010, and almost nobody was doing it at the time in his field.

Over the next few years, he earned a good living doing online tutoring, but in his spare time, he worked on a related project: a free WordPress blog on organic chemistry he’d created. He wrote articles and then used the articles to get organic search traffic.

Seven years later, his website continues to grow. Last month the site was the #10 most visited chemistry website in the world with 780k visits and around 1.2 million page views, and revenue is on pace for about 10% yearly growth. It’s a healthy six-figure source of income—and yes, much of that income arrives while he sleeps.

The best part? He gets to write and think about a subject he loves, and he doesn’t have to answer to anyone except his readers.

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
"One of the most important decisions I ever made was to take 2-3 months and move to a new city, live like a hermit, get “bored” and watch what I would do to entertain myself. I learned a lot about what I wanted, and it was very useful experimental data. "
—James Ashenhurst #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

Quick Research Leads to Meal Planning Subscription Service

What It’s About

A health-conscious SEO expert capitalizes on the meal prepping trend by building a subscription site.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

In addition to writing blog posts, Remi worked with influencers on Instagram to promote his business and helped him gain around 5,000 followers. He says that influencers are great to work with because their followers are engaged, and their CPM is cheaper than Adwords, Facebook ads, and Instagram ads.

Fun Fact

After visiting Tokyo and being inspired by B-Side Label, a popular sticker brand in Japan, Remi used the profits from Sunday Meal Prepper to start Blank Tag Co., a sticker company with a similar style in the U.S.

Notes from Chris

Episode 109

Remi Silva has always been a health-conscious person and noticed that meal prep was getting more popular on Instagram. He then used two tools to do some quick research. First, he looked up a few phrases on Google Trends and noticed that it had been gaining traction on Google over the years.

He then looked at Keyword Planner, another free tool from Google, and found that the phrase “meal prep” had been exponentially growing year after year, yet nobody had monetized it through good content. The phrase “meal prep for weight loss” had a tremendous opportunity to become a side hustle, so he started a subscription-based website selling people healthy, meal prep recipes.

Because his site now ranks for a lot of long-tail keywords around meal prep, he gets around 20 to 25 new email subscribers a day, and the goal is to convert at least 10% of them to a paid subscription plan.

The Keyword Planner tool can help you figure out what people are searching for. As you’ll hear in today’s story, you don’t always know what people are searching for or which searches lead to best conversions.

At the very least, using this tool can help you determine whether you’re on the right track, or if you need to think differently about your topic.

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Sunday Meal Prepper: Learn more about Remi and his meal planning subscription service
  • Keyword Planner: This tool helps you reach the right customers with the right keywords and helps you to better build your SEO and ad campaigns
  • WordPress: Remi used WordPress for his meal prepping website because it would help him learn html and it was highly customizable. 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
"Having a side hustle that generates money is really great, but I get even more excited knowing that I’m making a difference in the lives of people I’ve never met before."
—Remi Silva #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

Data Scientist Starts Science Fiction Magazine

What It’s About

A scientist in Colorado starts a fact-based science fiction magazine and creates a steady, reoccurring income along the way.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Joe started by reading every page of the 200 submissions he received for each issue. Over time, he realized he could tell within the first few pages if a story was a good fit or not.

Fun Fact

He got many of his sponsorships through cold emailing and reaching out via LinkedIn. Through this cold calling approach, he says he had around a 20% success rate getting sponsorships!

Notes from Chris

Episode 103

What do you like to read? Whether fiction or non-fiction, wherever people are avid consumers of something, there’s an opportunity to create products and services for them.

In today’s story, we feature a Colorado data scientist who starts a bi-monthly science fiction magazine and builds it to a sustainable income source of about $1,800/month, funded largely by his readers. Just like yesterday’s, it’s another example of someone making money doing something they love.

Yes, this is really possible.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Compelling Science Fiction: Learn more about Joe and his science fiction magazine
  • Patreon: A service that allows artists and creators of all kinds to receive monthly financial support from the people who appreciate their work
  • Hacker News: The popular online publication that Joe used to bring on a number of prospective authors, as well as a list of people who wanted to subscribe

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

Chris Guillebeau

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 started Compelling Science Fiction because I wanted to support authors, and I wanted more of the kinds of stories that I like to read."
—Joe Stech #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Get a premium Indochino Suit for just $389!

Side Hustle School is brought to you by Indochino, the company that’s reinventing men’s fashion.

Go to Indochino.com to get any premium Indochino suit for just $389, plus free shipping, when you use promo code HUSTLE at checkout. 🤵 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

School Administrator Creates Digital Magazine for Goaltenders

What It’s About

A Canadian with a passion for hockey creates a digital magazine for goaltenders.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

David’s website is built on WordPress and is now hosted through Synthesis, but they got there after a lot of trial and error. When he published a mask with Chuck Norris on it and Yahoo’s front page linked to them, they learned a hard lesson about having a reliable web host.

Fun Fact

David’s entrepreneurial journey began in the late 70s as a hockey loving 6th grader selling pictures of NHL goalie masks to classmates. That early experience inspired a side hustle 30 years later when he created InGoal Magazine, the most-read website and digital magazine for hockey goaltenders. Not bad, eh?

Notes from Chris

Episode 84

Almost a decade after starting, David’s digital magazine is the most read website for hockey goaltending, and a large part of his success is due to his focus on a specific aspect of hockey rather than trying to cover everything in that field. Even 5-10 years ago, there were a ton of blogs and resources about hockey in general, but none of them focused exclusively on goaltenders and goaltending.

Do you have an interest you’d like to turn into a side hustle? It’s not too late! You can still create a side hustle that will stand out, but here’s what helps:

1. Write down your interest and draw a circle around it.

2. Start drawing lines off to the side with related, more specific topics.

For example, if you chose video games, you might branch out by writing: classic video games, arcade games, modern mobile games, online multiplayer games, and so on.

You can also start looking at categories: sports games, role-playing games, games from a certain studio, under-appreciated games, etc.

3. Then, try combining two or three of these topics.

Example: Under-appreciated RPGs from the early 90s—Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2, I’m looking at you!

4. Become what’s known as an authority site and focus on delivering quality content.

5. Soak up all the glory! (Oh, and also set up revenue sources as you go along.)

If you’re not familiar with gaming, the point is this: there are a lot of ways to stand out by focusing on something interesting and relevant to a certain community.

You might think that such a thing is impossible these days, but it’s definitely not too late.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • InGoal Magazine: Learn more “aboot” David and hockey goaltending on his blog
  • Synthesis: David decided to use a hosting company that specializes in WordPress sites

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

Chris Guillebeau

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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

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

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

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

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

Quote of the Day
"It’s fun to know that we’ve created something that has brought joy to others. From the kid who gets his first set of custom gear thanks to a giveaway to the photographer who gets an opportunity to shoot an NHL game, we’ve given so many people experiences they would never have had."
—David Hutchison #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

Worm Composting Empire Brings in $400/Month

What It’s About

When looking for ways to compost food scraps, a man in Texas discovers worm composting and a new idea for a side hustle!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

In order to reach more people, Henry created a website dedicated to teaching people how to worm compost at home. He didn’t really expect to make money from this endeavor, but he set up a few potential income streams just in case: Adsense, Amazon Affiliate Program, and an ebook. This was a smart move, because it now brings in over $400/month of passive income.

Fun Fact

Five years ago, Henry co-founded a nonprofit project in Charlotte growing food at community gardens that they would give to the local meal on wheels program. Along with establishing the gardens and growing food for the meals on wheels program, they composted all the food scraps that came out of the industrial-size kitchen, run by another organization called Friendship Trays, and Henry’s red wigglers help compost all of the scraps.

Notes from Chris

Episode 79

Side hustles are everywhere and you really can make money doing just about anything. Today’s story is truly a testament to that! Henry wasn’t looking for a side hustle when he stumbled upon worm composting—he was looking for a more efficient composting method for his non-profit community garden. But when he saw that worm composting was not a widespread practice, he recognized that he could use the knowledge he had acquired to educate others, and maybe even make extra money for himself.

A key theme of starting a side hustle is bridging the gap between your skills and interests and a problem or need that someone else has (See Ep. 34 & Ep. 66). Henry needed a more efficient composting method, and he knew that there were likely others out there who could benefit from the knowledge he had acquired. By starting his informative blog, Worm Composting Headquarters, he could impact his community in a positive way while creating a new source of income for himself.

Is there a gap that you could bridge at your day job that could lead to a new source of income?

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Nature Discovery Center: When he’s not sharing his worm composting experience with the masses, Henry is the Executive Director for the Nature Discovery Center in Houston, Texas
  • Friendship Gardens: The community garden program that utilized Henry’s worm composting method and gives to the local Meals on Wheels program.
  • Worm Composting Headquarters: Learn everything there is to know about worm composting on Henry’s blog!

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

Chris Guillebeau

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 got over 2,500 people on my worm composting email list! People from Australia and Germany have the same questions about worm composting as people from Houston."
—Henry Owen #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