“Free Prep Course” Site Generates 7-Figure Income

What It’s About

An education executive builds an empire—by giving away his core products for free.

Words of Wisdom

From Dave: “We would not be what we are today without always experimenting. On the flip side, persistence is key. Experimenting can drain you, so it’s important to keep faith that things will work out in the end if you try again.”

Fun Fact

When he worked at GE, Dave worked on developing one of the first online services, GEnie. There he would regularly run into an intern named Sergey Brin, who would later go on to co-found Google.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1865
Having worked in the education industry for more than a decade, Dave Evangelisti was familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of online learning. In particular, he knew how valuable tutoring and test-prep courses were—but many of these services cost nearly as much as college tuition.

It gave Dave an idea that was genuinely rooted in service: he wanted to provide truly free resources for students who couldn’t afford to pay (or who just didn’t want to). Those resources would be based at Test-Guide.com.

He began with the mindset of small, actionable objectives. As I said, his primary goal was to be helpful. Money-wise, he hoped to be able to earn enough to pay for his lunch everyday. Well, just you wait!

This straight-forward model proved to be successful. Quickly, Dave was tasked with wearing a multitude of hats for the site to function.

With a low overhead of just under $100—a domain name and web hosting—the site would live or die based on its ability to gain traffic. Dave would pay for his lunch by ad clicks that amounted to a couple cents from each user.

By targeting an audience of students seeking free resources, the site went from making $5 a day to being on track as the leader in free practice tests, prep-course reviews and study materials all in just under four years. Test-Guide.com now provides more than 100 different practice tests including the MCAT, ACT, SAT, and others all completely free of charge.

Dave hopes to build the brand to the point that people will automatically think of Test-Guide.com the way they think of using regular study material. With a full team of employees, it’s now a 7-figure business.

That’s enough to buy a lot of lunch.

 


 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Looking to get schooled in education test prep materials? Check out Dave’s website, Test-Guide.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.

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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
"We would not be what we are today without always experimenting. On the flip side, persistence is key. Experimenting can drain you, so it’s important to keep faith that things will work out in the end if you try again."
—Dave Evangelisti #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Try ShipStation for 60 Days FREE!

Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by ShipStation, the #1 choice of online sellers. 📦

To get a 30-day trial AND an additional month free, click the microphone at the top of their page and enter the word HUSTLE.
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To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

IT Guy Earns Extra $50,000/Year Restoring Vintage Radios

What It’s About

Gorgeous vintage radios find their second wind!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

With the resurging interest in the phonograph, Allen figured using analog radio or Bluetooth to play MP3/MP4 made sense. He figured out a way to add Bluetooth to make these radios play modern music formats MP3, MP4, Bluetooth or Wifi. For many people, these old radios are just shelf art unless they can listen to their music on iTunes, iPhone, or iPad.

Offering this option opens up his market to a whole new niche of vintage enthusiasts!

Fun Fact

Often for Allen, the satisfaction is in the thrill of the hunt. He remembers one collector who had so many of these old radios in his garage that they were even propping up the falling structure and lying around in piles in his yard! Another collector had so many radios in his attic that there wasn’t enough room for anyone to walk around. He ended up dropping them out of the attic windows while Allen caught them in his driveway below!

Notes from Chris

Episode 535

For IT Professional Allen Chiang, it was a trip to the flea market in 2012 that gave him the inspiration for his side hustle. Despite not being a regular at the flea market, Allen found himself enjoying a leisurely stroll through the stalls looking at the items on offer. He’d been selling random stuff on eBay on the side for years and was hoping he might stumble across something else he could sell.

On one of the tables, he happened across two original, 1950s radios. They looked a little worse for wear and weren’t functional. But they were bright, colorful, and bursting with nostalgia.

If he could restore them, he thought, he might be able to sell them online. For $15 per radio, it wasn’t a massive investment, and he figured he could put his electrical engineering degree to good use trying to fix them.

Allen spent the next few days researching the radios. He looked for answers in blog posts and asked questions in forums, like antiqueradios.com, about anything he couldn’t find a solution to.

Much of the technology in older radios isn’t used today, and there was a steep learning curve. But Allen enjoyed the labor of love, and still to this day says he’d be refurbishing radios even if nobody bought them. Fortunately, that’s not our story—Side Hustle School isn’t about hobbies, it’s about making money!

When he completed work on the first two radios, he listed them on eBay. He looked at the prices of other similar radios that had sold, and he priced his similarly. Much to his delight, the radios sold within a few days, one for $50 and one for $200 to a buyer in the UK. That’s when Allen realized he had a business on his hands, and he decided to look to grow it.

The first step was to find more radios because just like your grandparents told you, radios do not grow on trees. To do this Allen began attending regular flea markets and garage sales, but quickly found this to be too time intensive. He has a 50-60 hour work week and a young family, so he needed to be more efficient in how he spent his time.

So he decided to buy them online, then resell them online on his website, Retro Radio Farm.

Since starting the business, Allen estimates that he’s bought, sold and repaired more than 1,000 radios and $50,000 a year from his side hustle for five to ten hours work a week. He takes 50% of that as his earnings and invests the other 50% back into the business to help it grow.. He’s currently exploring options to sell his radios in a standalone physical store. He also wants to incorporate new technology such as voice activation with these old style radios. Clearly, he’s on the right frequency… tune in to his broadcast to see how it goes!


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Retro Radio Farm: Check out all of the radios in Allen’s well cared for collection over on his website!
  • Shopify: Allen used Shopify to set up his store for Retro Radio Farm, and they’re offering a 21-day trial and exclusive discount for all Side Hustle School listeners!
  • Google AdWords: Google’s online advertising platform that places your ad in the ‘Sponsored Links’ section next to search results to boost website traffic and sales

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
"Each radio repair and restoration project is different and each has a hidden story to tell. When I fix a radio, and it plays again, I feel like I’ve solved a puzzle. And it’s fitting, like from a Stephen King story, when a 50’s song is the first thing that plays after decades of silence."
—Allen Chiang #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

College Bartender Turns Online Shopping Into Accidental Side Hustle

What It’s About

An accidental reselling side hustle helps a college bartender improve her credit score and earn extra cash.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Dana had a couple of strategies that she used to maximize her profits while still passing on the online savings to her coworkers. First, she would only purchase clearance items. And second, she made sure to sell to the people who reliably showed up to work and would make sure to get them their items at the beginning of their shift.

Fun Fact

Dana did zero advertising and put in minimal effort for this accidental hustle. She simply offered to buy things for people if she heard them talking about needing new shoes or new clothes. Other than that, she just let the excitement of showing up with a new box of clothes and shoes speak for itself.

Notes from Chris

Episode 89

In the early days of a new industry, trend, or phenomenon, there are a lot of inefficiencies that allow creative people to make money in a way that might not work years later. This is the normal pattern of technological evolution. Something works really well for a while, but then you have to find something new.

Today’s story probably isn’t something you can replicate in the same way now, but the lesson has other applications. It’s about a college bartender who turns online shopping for friends and co-workers into an unexpected reselling side hustle. This hustle helped to supplement the tips she lost during a recession.

Remember that online shopping is a lot more efficient and common today than it was 15 years ago. This side hustle worked because the market of people Dana was reselling to was “unbanked,” meaning that most of them didn’t have credit cards. That was her competitive advantage.

How can you learn from the past and apply this lesson to the present?

 

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 definitely learned a lot about risk. At first I thought risk was a bad thing, and I avoided it as much as possible. Then I realized that I could take calculated risks and get incremental gains."
—Dana Massaro #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