Tag: Coaching

First $1,000: Running Coach Strides to Finish Line

What It’s About

How a running coach took his first steps to a successful training hustle.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1934

Today’s episode is part of a new feature we’re doing in 2022 called ‘Your First $1,000.’ As you might surmise from the title, this is all about how someone made their first $1,000.

How did they get to that point? Not their first $100,000—that’s cool, but it would probably be a long story.

One thing I’ve learned is that once you begin to earn real money, the steps required to go to the next level—whether it’s $1,000 to $2,000, or even to $5,000 or $10,000 are often easier than that first real paycheck.

With that in mind, today’s feature comes from Jason Fitzgerald in Denver, Colorado. We first featured him back on Episode #1347: Dedicated Runner Goes the Distance for Online Training. The business grew to become a full-time career about two years later.

But what about his first $1,000—how did he make that happen, what did it feel like, and what did he learn?

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Thanks to Jason for telling us about his first $1,000. I hope you found it encouraging. Check out his website at StrengthRunning.com or follow him on Twitter at @JasonFitz1.

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

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Don't Do Business Without It

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To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Former Lego Instructor Makes Real Play Money

What It’s About

Building off his experience with corporate workshops, this facilitator gets paid to teach adults the value of play.

Words of Wisdom

Jeff shares this advice: “The more we are willing to experiment, the more we are willing to show up with curiosity, and simply play, the more likely we will figure it out than simply following the advice of others.”

Fun Fact

The movie Big (starring Tom Hanks!) was released in 1988 to critical and commercial acclaim. This story of a young boy who ends up inside the body of a grown man reminded a generation to always stay true to childhood.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1676
Sixteen years ago, Jeff Harry landed what sounds like a dream job, working for a toy company. He’d grown up watching the movie Big and idolized the main character (played by Tom Hanks) who is a literal grown up kid who works as a toy tester.

As the business grew they began offering corporate events. Jeff ran Lego workshops for some of the world’s biggest tech companies, including Facebook, Google, Adobe and PayPal. He noticed that even in these innovative companies, they didn’t allow the time nor space for their staff to take risks and play.

So, for the first time in fifteen years, Jeff started to think about a side hustle. He knew these workplaces could benefit from advocating things he’d been doing for years; having fun at work through play and positive psychology. He just needed a hook and a platform to assess interest.

For that, he came up with a fun workshop with a fellow WDSer, Gary Ware, called “How To Deal With A-Holes At Work Through Play” and launched it at the World Domination Summit.

After receiving an enthusiastic response, Jeff pitched the workshop to some major tech conferences, expecting nothing to come from it. He was wrong: three major conferences including South By SouthWest accepted the workshop into their program. The validation gave him confidence he was on the right track.

Over the course of the next year, Jeff was featured on one hundred and fifty podcasts where he shared his story. This exposed him to business owners and representatives at companies that wanted to work with him.

In addition to this podcast exposure, Jeff started posting short TikTok videos about common HR pain points. Afterwards, he’d repost them to other social media platforms. He also writes posts to Medium and LinkedIn on a regular basis and whenever someone reacts positively he’ll reach out to them to make a new connection.

This relationship building strategy has worked well. It’s enabled Jeff to run workshops throughout the pandemic and even boost his income, earning upwards of five thousand dollars per month so far.

As great as that is, Jeff truly believes in the power of play to improve relationships and well-being. He wants to keep teaching everything he knows and build a worldwide community around play.

 

 

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
"The more we are willing to experiment, the more we are willing to show up with curiosity, and simply play, the more likely we will figure it out than simply following the advice of others."
—Jeff Harry #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.
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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

Monogrammed Blanket Etsy Shop Measures Up

What It’s About

A military spouse gets to work during her husband’s deployment, selling more than 20,000 items on Etsy.

Words of Wisdom

Lauren warns that it’s easy to overcommit. “I suggest having a set number of hours in the day that you commit to your store and growing your business. In your off time, seriously use it as time off.”

Fun Fact

Lauren is a former competitive athlete and says her competitive streak has driven her to seek out new challenges and grow her business.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1613
During her husband’s deployment, Lauren Keplinger wanted to find a way to contribute financially to her family. She started dabbling in embroidery, making baby items like bibs and onesies monogrammed or appliquéd with giraffes, turtles and sailboats. She was especially interested in making baby boy items that weren’t overly masculine, like all the ones that came in camouflage patterns. She also made things for her friends with baby girls.

Once she felt confident in her skills, Lauren opened an Etsy shop called Funky Monkey Children. She kept her startup costs low: about $100 on a garage sale embroidery machine and $10 on cloths from a local store. Her sister-in-law had an Etsy shop at the time and was available to answer questions, but it helped that Etsy is largely self-explanatory in getting set up.

After about eight months in business, Lauren upgraded to a six-needle embroidery machine that cost around $8,000. It was a big, scary step in the business but it helped her get to the next level of professional quality and growth in her sales. She now averages around $160,000 in Etsy sales per year for her physical products. She’s done nearly 20,000 sales and has over three thousand reviews averaging five stars.

How’d she do all that? First, Lauren is huge into using the power of the Etsy search engine to drive traffic. Understanding Etsy SEO and positioning her products with the appropriate tags and titles has helped drive traffic to her shop and capitalize on potential customers who are already on Etsy.

In fact, Lauren is so good at Etsy SEO that she now has a coaching business including a podcast and an online course helping other Etsy sellers.

The family uses her extra income to save for vacations and fund extracurricular activities for their kids. The flexible schedule has allowed her to remain physically present with the kids, too.

Beyond the money and flexibility, Lauren says the best part of the experience has been hitting a stride that allows her to transfer what she’s learned from Etsy into the online course. Not to make a blanket statement, but it seems there’s no limit to her success.

 

 

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
"Have a set number of hours in the day that you commit to your store and growing your business. In your off time, seriously use it as time off."
—Lauren Keplinger #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

Civil Engineer Dismantles “90-Day Fiancé” Visa Problem

What It’s About

An example of how to use a challenging experience to help others (and make money doing so).

Words of Wisdom

Prem stresses the importance of building trust with customers. “If you are honest, upfront, transparent and willing to help your audience before asking for a sale, it fosters immense trust in your business. Always ask yourself first, is this going to help my audience first and foremost or is this meant for my business’ profit? Customers before profit.”

Fun Fact

The production company for TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé contacted Prem multiple times asking if his readers wanted to audition for the show. Prem is protective of his email list and didn’t want to do it at first. But he knew some of his readers watch the show, so he did an email blast and a few of his readers (the production company wouldn’t tell him which ones) even made it to the second round of auditions.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1571
A dozen years ago, Prem Kumar went through the long and frustrating process of filing for a fiancé visa so he could bring his future spouse to the United States. The couple initially hired a lawyer to do it for them, but that turned out to be a disaster. The lawyer was unprofessional, made a number of mistakes on the required forms, and ended up causing months of delays.

At the time, there wasn’t a lot of information freely available online but he read forum posts and watched as many YouTube videos as he could find. Over the next six months, Prem became an expert on this subject and eventually secured the visa they needed.

Ten years later, when he needed extra money for a down payment on a home, he went looking for a side hustle. After reflecting on his skills and interests, he realized that the fiancé visa process was a core expertise. After all, he’d been through that process himself, and he knew it was a big market with lots of people seeking help.

To make things official and above board, Prem made Visa Tutor into an actual business with an LLC, got his bonding paperwork through New York State, and also got himself listed on the Better Business Bureau (BBB). It was more red tape, but once again, it was worth it.

Prem’s first sale came from an ebook priced at $5. When that PayPal notification came in, he screamed to the top of his lungs “Whoa! this works! This works!” That night he was so excited to have made that first sale that he had a hard time sleeping.

It now brings in an average of $2,000 to $5,000 per month depending on the time of year. Business dropped during the pandemic due to the lack of international travel, but he’s never seen a month dip below $1,800.

Last year, Prem hired his first part-time writer and content moderator. In the future, he wants to expand to different visa types and immigration procedures. He’s even thinking of pursuing a joint venture with an immigration attorney, but the verdict is still out on that.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Prem and how he helps people with Visa questions at his website, VisaTutor.com.
  • Prem used an email marketing tool called, Aweber to grow his email list. We also recommend and use Convertkit.
  • To list and manage his online courses, Prem used, Thinkific.com.

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

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

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

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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

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

Quote of the Day
"Always ask yourself first, is this going to help my audience first and foremost or is this meant for my business’ profit? Customers before profit."
—Prem Kumar #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

LinkedIn Lover Helps Jobseekers Connect the Dots

What It’s About

An IT specialist uses his LinkedIn experience to help people find their dream jobs.

Words of Wisdom

When launching a side hustle, it’s good to have a clear timeline and stick to it. For example, during the content creation phase, Gabor used a simple Kanban board to track what he had to do, what he was currently doing, and what he’d already done. It helped him understand where he was, how much he’d accomplished, and how much further he had to go.

Fun Fact

As of December 2020, LinkedIn has over 722 million members in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. If LinkedIn were a country, it would be the third most populous on Earth! Nearly 40 million people use LinkedIn to search for jobs each week and three people are hired on the platform every minute.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1487
Gabor Fogarasi has always had a side hustle in addition to his day job in IT. In college, he fixed and sold laptops. Later on, he imported watches. Then came trading stocks, flipping properties, and more.

More recently, he found support from a great circle of online entrepreneurs. It was here that he got the idea for his next side hustle—creating some kind of course that could bring in more passive income. The challenge, like many people have, was figuring out something he could teach that other people wanted to learn.

He finally had an idea: Throughout his career, it had always been easy for Gabor to find a job. Recruiters called him regularly, and he never struggled for employment offers. As he reflected on what was helping to make him successful, he realized a big part of it was because of the way he manages his LinkedIn profile. And he thought by sharing his knowledge about how to use the platform, maybe he could help other people find jobs too.

He already had a few shy attempts at helping people by offering personalized LinkedIn profile reviews on Fiverr. But doing it right took way too much time to justify the $20 to $40 most people were willing to pay. That’s why he knew an online course would be better.

Gabor launched the course at the end of May 2020—and nothing happened for over a month! He’d tried using Google Ads to get traction but the results didn’t seem too promising. So he switched to Facebook ads in mid-June. Then, on July 3rd, he got a new kind of inbox notification. It wasn’t a subscriber alert, it was an actual sale! Someone had found his course and chosen to sign up. He decided to stick with Facebook ads and now spends around $200 a month on them targeting people aged 21 to 40, who have at least finished high school.

Right now Gabor sells one or two courses a day, for $87 each. After deducting all costs, he nets about $2,000 a month. He loves the fact that he has another revenue stream in the family budget and hopes it stays there for a long time. The best part is feeling that he’s doing something that benefits other people by giving them knowledge that could have a huge impact on their lives.

Given how much he’s helped other people through his LinkedIn skills, taking his own advice should help him land the next job of his dreams.

 

 

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
"Have a clear timeline, and stick to it! If something seems too complicated, get help or find another way!"
—Gabor Fogarasi #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

“Decision Coach” Makes Money By Making Decisions

What It’s About

A writer decides to use her superpower to help others make decisions.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Nell has some great advice for those looking to get involved in the coaching industry. She says, “Coaching is a completely unregulated industry. Taking a coaching course to get “qualified” is pretty much meaningless. Don’t waste time on it. Just figure out what you’re really, really good at, and start doing it.”

Fun Fact

Nell has helped people with all kinds of big decisions, from career direction to moving to a different city, to even topics like leaving relationships and having children!

Notes from Chris

Episode 1394
Nell Wulfhart has always been the person her friends and family have gone to when they need help making decisions. Throughout her life and different circles of acquaintances, she was known as the one who gave the best, most clear and most straightforward advice. Nell says that this ability to make fast, good decisions is responsible for 90% of her success as a freelance writer.

About five years ago, she started to realize that other people outside of her friends and family could benefit from her skills. She made up her mind to start her own coaching business that offered only one service: working with someone on a decision they are stuck on and guiding them to a place where they knew what they should do. Nell knew she was great at giving advice, and she wanted to help people get unstuck from the endless thought loops of indecision.

She called her idea Decide and Move Forward, and launched with a four-page website that was created for free by a friend. The only startup cost she had was paying for Squarespace, which cost about $80 per year.

At first, most of her clients found her from her freelance work. Nell writes a column on a career website about making decisions. This was a great business model for her. She was writing to her target audience for her coaching business and easily transferring the audience from one job to the other. That way, she made money from writing the articles and sometimes even more money from directing them to her service. Not only that, but when potential clients discovered her by finding her as a column writer, Nell also had built-in credibility.

To this day, this success has been without doing any promotion besides writing the column. As it turns out, a lot of people Google the question, “How do I make a decision?” and end up on her website. In just one session Nell can help shake people out of a cycle of indecision, and launch them on a new path forward.

Nell has big plans for Decide and Move Forward, though. She is about to meet a book deadline in February and when that happens, she is planning to spend time trying to grow her service.

 

 

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
"Coaching is a completely unregulated industry. Taking a coaching course to get “qualified” is pretty much meaningless. Don’t waste time on it. Just figure out what you’re really, really good at, and start doing it."
—Nell Wulfhart #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

Former High School Athlete Creates Coaching Subscription

What It’s About

Put me in, coach! A former athlete scores a touchdown with talent to inspire the next generation.

Words of Wisdom

Adam says to prepare to spend a lot of time on your side hustle. ”You better enjoy working and what you’re working on. My evenings, my weekends, etc., are often filled with work time slots to catch up on the side hustle. In addition, 75% of my PTO last year with my company was spent traveling for my side hustle.”

Fun Fact

The first game of American football ever was played on November 6, 1869. The game was between Rutgers and Princeton. With an audience of about 100 people, Rutgers took the win 6-4.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1319
Six years ago, Adam Bradley was asked by his old high school football coach if he would come speak to the next generation of players. While the team had plenty of talent, they lacked leadership skills. Many of them came from challenging home environments and didn’t have many positive role models. The coach believed that if they could grow as leaders, there would be a positive change both on and off the field.

Adam was working as a VP of Sales, and was given little instruction. The coach simply told him that he thought Adam’s energy and character could impact the students. He had 60 minutes a week with the team and he could use it however he saw fit.

It turned out that Adam loved it. Every week, he challenged himself to come up with a new concept or idea to teach the teenagers in a fun, dynamic way. He wanted to make sure that he was engaging the athletes. He hoped that he could get them to view character development and leadership to be as important as improving their football skills.

Over the next year, Adam worked to launch Lead ‘Em Up. It would be a subscription service where coaches could sign up and gain access to a library full of drills, exercises and teaching concepts to share with their teams.

To spread the word, Adam started by reaching out to several friends and acquaintances who were in the position to utilize his services. He also encouraged his followers on social media to share and tag other people who would be interested in the coaching. This helped Adam grow a list of 25-50 potential clients.

By creating this unique curriculum and expanding his presence on social media, Adam has been able to keep the ball rolling and grow Lead ‘Em Up to make upwards of $100,000 annually in just five years.

Although he may transition into full-time subscription hustling at some point, right now he’s enjoying the ability to impact young people, be around sports, and engage his creative side. Not only that, but the extra money from Lead ‘Em Up allowed Adam’s wife to stay home the first few years after their daughters were born.

In the future, he hopes to expand his program to collegiate athletes.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Adam and his coaching at his website, LeadEmUp.com.

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

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

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

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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

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

Quote of the Day
"You better enjoy working and what you’re working on. My evenings, my weekends, etc., are often filled with work time slots to catch up on the side hustle."
—Adam Bradley #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

Google Employee Becomes Career Coach for “Analytically-Minded People”

What It’s About

A Google employee now has clients searching for her career coaching services.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Lindsay says that before you switch to working your business full-time, it’s important to know why you want to do that. It isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay! She also tells people that it’s okay to have a boring job if it works for you, especially if it supports a side hustle that brings them fulfillment.

Fun Fact

When Lindsay isn’t coaching, she’s taking professional baking courses! Just like her approach to coaching, Lindsay decided to take a class about baking to see whether or not she wanted to keep it as a hobby. Her first class was 5 days long, and she says that’s all it took for her to know that she wanted to commit to it as a hobby. In her words, baking will “definitely be [her] next side hustle.”

Notes from Chris

Episode 1179
In 2014, Lindsay Gordon had no idea what a career coach was—but people kept telling her that she should be one. She was working in tech support at Google at the time, and one of her duties was onboarding and training the new hires. She acted as a mentor, and noticed that many of them were incredibly stressed about their careers.

Over and over again, Lindsay was asked how they should talk to their managers and what they could do to make sure they didn’t get trapped in the clutches of the company forever. (Google gives, Google takes…)

As the months went by, she kept hearing that she was good at helping people navigate these issues. She still wasn’t sure how coaching worked, but with some quick searching she found out that career coaches help clients decide what next steps they should take in their jobs, both in the short-term and to build a better future.

Then she stumbled upon an 18-month program offered at the Extension School from San Francisco State University. This program would allow her to learn more to see if it was actually something she was interested in doing.

One weekend in the middle of her program, a friend of her husband’s came to visit. This friend was interested in what she was studying, and immediately asked if she would do a career exercise with him! It was great practice, and Lindsay didn’t think much of it until a week later when she got an email from him, asking “Will you be my coach?”

A part of her wanted to say no, but she ended up agreeing. Due to her lack of experience, Lindsay decided to charge about half as much for her services as most coaches that she found online were charging—still a good rate at $85/hour.

Time went on, and more and more people began asking if she was taking clients. This led to what she calls an “accidental side hustle.”

By investing her time and energy into a skill she knew she was good at, Lindsay was able to quickly find clients who trusted her. Since going full-time in 2016, Lindsay has grown her business to make $8,000 a month.

Her project for this year is to bring her program to companies. Lindsay hopes to help train managers and HR departments to have clear, confident and effective communication about career conversations. She’s also been taking professional baking courses … no doubt cooking up another skillset.

 

 

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
"Make sure you know WHY you’re pursuing a side hustle and whether you want to build it into something full time. It’s not right for everyone to make that switch."
—Lindsay Gordan #SideHustleSchool

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To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Art School Graduate Becomes Pencil King

What It’s About

An artist reigns over three websites, drawing in more six-figures in annual income.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Building a business around SEO is great until it’s not. Search algorithms are constantly changing so it’s important to make sure you’re up to speed with things. Here’s what Mitch had to say about the subject; “I’ve had my business nearly wiped out by algorithm changes. Just one day 70% of revenue disappeared which because it was a side hustle was ok…. but it made me painfully aware that there are risks in this game and that there are ways to plan and minimize that risk.”

Fun Fact

When he was still in college, Mitch made extra money teaching people how to use the internet.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1099

Mitch Bowler knew early on that he was going to stray from the beaten path. After all, when you grow up in a tiny village in Manitoba, Canada, that “beaten path” doesn’t lead to many places. He now teaches people how to draw through online courses, under the moniker “The Pencil King.”

Of course, stories of royalty always begin with “Once Upon a Time.”

When he finished art school in 2002, Mitch didn’t go to his own graduation. Instead, he hopped on a plane to China. He taught English to support himself. But he quickly figured out that instead of giving private lessons, he could teach kids in groups—at a discount to them, but more overall money for him—cutting his workweek down to eight hours. That gave him plenty of time to pursue his other interests: Tai Chi and 3D art.

Improving his art skills in his off-time meant that Mitch soon landed a job as an artist for a Chinese studio that supplied art for big video game companies, such as EA and Activision.

During a holiday trip back to Canada, Mitch asked himself a fateful question: “How can I make money in my sleep?”

Even though he was a paid artist, Mitch was nervous about putting his work out there under his name. To him, there were so many other talented artists all over the internet. Fortunately, he had conditioned himself to create regularly when he had more time with his English-teaching schedule. So, to keep himself accountable in the face of imposter syndrome, he set a goal to make new art every day, and share video lessons with anyone who wanted to watch at his new website DrawingCoach.com.

His setup was barebones. He balanced a tripod between his desk and a window and sat below it, reaching up to draw. Any additional startup costs were simple materials purchased in runs to the art supply store for less than $50-100.

Interestingly, Mitch didn’t charge for these lessons. They were the content that was going to bring advertising money in. That made Google Mitch’s first “customer,” since their ads were the first he tried putting on his website.

Earnings were small at first. Drawing Coach made about $30/month in those early days, but after ranking for keywords and pumping out content consistently, the earnings started to climb.

Off and on, Mitch spent about five years growing Drawing Coach by putting out this consistent quality content and lessons, before quitting his job. By this time, he was making enough money to sustain a digital nomad lifestyle in Southeast Asia.

Plus, he had an idea for his next website: PencilKings.com.

Where Drawing Coach was a website with basic lessons that relied on on-site advertising revenue to make money (and him to create all those lessons regularly), Pencil Kings was an entirely different model.

For Pencil Kings, Mitch teamed up with other artists to offer courses covering topics like anatomy, Photoshop, caricature art, and more. The site charges a flat monthly fee for access to all its courses.

Mitch also used many of the same tactics he’d already learned, focusing on SEO. After growing Pencil Kings, Mitch added a third, called Evolve Artist. Replicating his success converting students from Drawing Coach to Pencil Kings, he uses Evolve Artist as a way to teach the business and fundamentals of art. He partnered with another well-known artist to create the lessons, freeing up time for him to focus on the strategy and marketing.

Instead of focusing on just one site at a time—Mitch keeps all three running for one simple reason: They all generate income.

All together, the sites bring in more six figures in annual income. And while a good chunk of that goes back into the business, it’s enough for Mitch to support himself and save for retirement. Plus, he gets to work with fellow artists every day.

The Pencil King’s reign appears secure, and Mitch is living the dream.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Mitch from his first website, DrawingCoach.com.
  • PencilKings.com: Mitch’s second website that offers online courses.
  • Evolve Artist: Mitch’s third website focuses on helping artists create their own businesses.

 

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
"Find a coach or mentor who has done what you want to do… this sounds so cliche, but it’s true."
—Mitch Bowler #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

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

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Twelve Months of Experiments Leads Coach to Clarity

What It’s About

A former librarian checks out a new hustle as a career coach.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Sami tried to follow the advice of online marketers and brands, focusing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to build her side hustle clientele. Eventually, she trusted her own instincts and found success for her resume and tech personal branding services on LinkedIn.

Fun Fact

There are an estimated 53,300 life coaches across the globe, and nearly 17,500 of those can be found in North America. Ref: Mental Floss

Notes from Chris

Episode 1092

A self-proclaimed mild-mannered librarian, Sami Gardner had a bit of a quarter-life crisis that shook everything up. She went from working in the library to working in a homeless center—after she shaved her head and got really into tarot.

She knew she wanted to keep working with organizations that helped people, so after the library and the homeless center, she shifted to working for an AIDS Foundation.

But she was still feeling restless, and had to do some soul-searching to figure out what was missing. One day, it hit her. As someone who had always dreamed of getting out of her hometown, she had only made it thirty minutes up the highway.

That same day she started looking for an online job that would make a difference in people’s lives, but give her more flexibility to start traveling. Sami ended up working for an online school that offers user experience and web development courses for adults. Her new full-time gig was a Senior Career Specialist, which meant that she got to help students with resumes, portfolios, and networking.

This also allowed her the freedom to hit the road, as long as she was able to email and Skype with her students. Within the first few months of her starting with the company, they asked her to create a course on cover letters and resume writing. It became one of the most popular courses that the school offered, making over a million dollars in revenue over the first six months.

But like so many online gigs, Sami quickly found that she would need to do something else to supplement her monthly income.

And since she already knew she could create an entire course that people would want to buy with her expertise, she wondered “Why am I earning all this money for someone else, and not for myself?”

She started with what she calls the “low-hanging fruit,” reaching out to her network to see if anyone would be interested in hiring her on a freelance basis to help them move their own careers forward.

Most of her initial consulting work was rewriting resumes and helping her clients to navigate professional networks like LinkedIn. Even with this focus, she made a cardinal mistake the first time she tried to scale her freelance career coaching business: she followed what other people told her about building a brand, instead of asking if it really worked for her.

Feeling frustrated while struggling to find leads, she decided to get serious and try some ideas of her own. She invested in an online course and set up a new brand called Career Kickstart Academy. After she had built the website, she created a short guide as an email incentive to grow her list, so that she could start marketing outside her network.

Still unsure what the best method would be for attracting new traffic to the site, she set up a twelve-month challenge for herself. Each month, she would launch something new, to see what reactions and feedback she got. Sami tested a podcast, an online summit, new courses, and any product or media that her competitors had as well. Some things flopped, like her first online course, and other things found traction, like her podcast.

After all that work finding her ideal clients and developing her brand while staying true to herself, Sami made an extra $25,000 during her twelve months of experiments. She still works in her online job with the career school, and has implemented more revenue streams into her business. This way, she always has income coming in the pipeline, and doesn’t panic when there are slow seasons with any of them. She also recently started publishing fiction on Kindle.

Now traveling frequently while helping people kickstart the career of their dreams, she’s definitely brought herself more than thirty minutes up the highway from the life she used to know.

 

 

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
"Follow your strengths, not formulas. Most people already have skills that they can build a hustle around because they are using it on the job."
—Sami Gardner #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

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

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau