Tag: Service

Accountant Shifts Gears To Renting Out Cars

What It’s About

An account uses the Airbnb model to rent out his fleet of cars.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Kisean shares advice on time management, “take a fast from social media, Netflix, etc. whatever is taking up your time. Check your screen time on your phone and think about how much time you waste a day. You would have a full degree in whatever area you want to specialize in.”

Fun Fact

Getaround has been in business for over 11 years and, as of 2019, was reported to have five million users and approximately 20,000 connected cars worldwide.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1618
Kisean Smith graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016 with a degree in accounting. While studying, he had low expenses and paid minimal student rent. But after graduating and landing his first job, he soon realized student life is not real life.

In his home city of Atlanta, rent for even a modest place was four times what he was used to. Being an accountant, Kisean started to crunch some numbers. He figured he could buy a modest home, rent out the spare rooms on AirBnB, and make a profit on top of his monthly payments. To make a long story short, it worked—and that was what led to his next adventure.

The sharing economy has become a huge industry. AirBnB is now a household name but there’s plenty of other services in the space—and Kisean set about exploring them. He soon discovered Getaround, a platform that enables car owners to rent their cars to others for an hourly or daily rate. After a good experience as a renter, Kisean decided he wanted in on the action.

He settled on a 2015 white SmartCar: cheap, small and fit for utility. He purchased the car for one thousand dollars down with monthly payments of one hundred and seventy six dollars.

Kisean received bookings almost instantly. By the end of the first month, he’d earned seven hundred dollars in rentals. After the car payment, insurance, and commission he was still left with well over two hundred dollars profit. The best part though, was that it took almost no work. Getaround provided the marketing channel, their app took care of the logistics, and all he had to do was sit and wait for the money to hit his bank account.

Kisean was excited! That first month’s results were enough to go all in on this side hustle. Almost immediately, he purchased a second car, same as the first and under the same financial terms. It too became a successful rental on Getaround. So, he did it again and by now was the proud owner of three Smart Cars all zipping from A to B around Atlanta earning him money every month.

Being an accountant, Kisean kept a close eye on the numbers over the following months. He learned that on average his cars were rented for nineteen days a month resulting in up to nine hundred dollars of rental income. After subtracting the expenses he was still left with an average of three hundred dollars profit per car, per month.

With those figures, it was time to hit the gas.

Kisean switched from a financing to purchasing model and began using his own funds to purchase additional cars in cash. He’d buy from private sellers, not dealerships, that enabled him to find better deals. Over the next two years, his personal fleet grew to thirteen vehicles and encompassed not just Smart Cars, but Fords, Nissans, and Kias as well. With that many cars, Kisean earns well over three thousand dollars profit per month. The best part though, is that he does it all remotely and in less than one hour a day.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Thinking about replicating Kisean’s hustle? Learn more about how people rent out their vehicles at, getaround.com or Turo.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

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
"Take a fast from social media, Netflix, etc. whatever is taking up your time. Check your screen time on your phone and think about how much time you waste a day. You would have a full degree in whatever area you want to specialize in"
—Kisean Smith #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

Social Worker Finds Calm, Makes Cash with Business Course

What It’s About

A therapist helps others start their own private practice.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Ariana encourages fellow side hustlers to get support from their community. “Let people love and encourage you along the way.”

Fun Fact

Ariana is a single mom, and her kids interrupt many sessions with clients or other therapists. She’s had to pull some hilarious moves to make it look like it’s the camera freezing, and not really her kids trying to kill each other in the background. Still, after 2020, she thinks a lot of people can relate.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1590
Ariana Lloyd is a psychiatric social worker at a VA hospital, and a clinical supervisor for therapists. Many therapists don’t know how to run a business, but she’s that rare person who loves both therapy and business and wanted to help professionals improve in each area.

When two of her colleagues came to her for help setting up their own practices, it sparked an idea. Ariana realized it was deeply satisfying to be a part of their work and to know how many people they could reach. Plus, with all of the increased awareness about racism in 2020, she wanted to create something where therapists build a better model altogether.

Ariana’s new project, Lloyd Collective, has two parts. One is an eight-week program where therapists learn how to set up their own liberation-focused private practice. The program includes videos, worksheets, and resources. Therapists do the work on their own time, then join her each week for two-hour online sessions along with a few of their peers. They can also submit questions to her during the week.

The other part of Lloyd Collective is a monthly workshop and fundraiser. It’s a free, one-hour online workshop each month where Ariana and a clinician teach on topics related to therapeutic practice and business development. They pause in the middle of the workshop and do a collective community donation to a chosen organization. Lloyd Collective then matches the donations.

Lloyd Collective launched in October 2020. To get started, Ariana spent $1,500 on a business coaching course that helped her conceptualize her program, and around $200 on filing an LLC. So far, it’s brought in more than $10,000.

Ariana’s clinical supervision private practice started as a side hustle, too. After going through a divorce, she wanted to create something that allowed her to spend more time with her two kids. That eventually became her main source of income and helped her realize that starting and running a business can be just as much a vehicle for healing as therapy can.

Going forward, Ariana is excited to settle into the business, slow down, and get a dog. She also has a new low-pressure side hustle selling things on Facebook Marketplace.

 

 

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
"put something into the world that you feel genuinely passionate about and proud of. If you are not passionate about what you are contributing to the world, you can’t reasonably expect that others will buy into it either."
—Nico Millado #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

The Man Who Paints Parking Lot Stripes

What It’s About

Where people only see parking lots and lines, one estimator sees major profits.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Dan share’s some advice on how to start striping lots; “I say start small. Look for the pizza shop that opens at 4PM, has 14 stripes and a handicap stencil. Look for the truck dock that has 20 lines or the beauty salon that has 6. One nice thing about striping is that it’s all the same. Once you’ve striped a few jobs, you’ve striped them all.”

Fun Fact

Dan was offered a $3000 loan from his mom to start the business. Around the same time he received a $700 bonus from his day job. The cost to purchase a striping machine was exactly $3700. If that’s not a sign to get started, we don’t know what is.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1576
It was the early nineties when Dan Zurcher first thought about starting a side business. He was an estimator in the asphalt industry, making pretty average money in Columbus, Ohio. On top of that, the industry ground to a halt every winter leaving him jobless for several months.

He felt like the job was going nowhere—but it was his mom who put him on the path of the straight and narrow. (And yes, I do mean that literally.)

One day, Dan was describing his work to her on the phone. He explained how they were finishing a few large parking lots he’d estimated for and all that was left was striping and stenciling the white lines and shapes on the asphalt.

“Why aren’t you doing the striping?” his mother asked.

“We don’t do that, asphalting companies contract that work out to someone else,” he replied.

“No, no, why aren’t YOU doing the striping?” She asked again, and by YOU she meant Dan himself.

That question, phrased in that way, changed the way Dan thought about work. He was looking for a side business, and here was one staring him right in the face.

He made a few calls and received quotes for striping machines that cost around three thousand seven hundred dollars all inclusive. He’d just received a seven hundred dollar bonus at work, and his mom agreed to loan him the remaining three thousand dollars. Soon, he had everything he needed to become a professional striper… it was time to earn his stripes!

Working after hours and in between other commitments became the norm for Dan. He still worked his full time job and was married with a young family. He had to take the side hustle time wherever he could get it. And, by the end of his first year operating he’d found time to generate four thousand dollars from his venture. Enough to pay back his mom and put a little money aside.

It was then that he decided to quit his job and take his striping business full time, where he was able to grow his income to one hundred and sixty five thousand dollars per year in the next few years. A figure which remained the same as he maintained his business over the next decade. And he didn’t stop there.

Dan branched out into creating a website, American Striping, where he manufactures and sells stencils for others doing exactly what he does. On top of that, he’s distilled his knowledge into a book teaching others to do the same. He shows anyone that if they put the work in, they can earn their side hustle stripes.

 

 

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 nice thing about striping is that it’s all the same. Once you’ve striped a few jobs, you’ve striped them all."
—Dan Zurcher #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

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

RV Renter Revs Up Recurring Revenue

What It’s About

A new RV owner pays off her RV (and makes a little extra) by renting it out.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Darlene share’s some important advice about standing out from your competition; “If you want to stand out from other people offering a similar product or service, you have to find something that sets you apart beyond the functional basics of having everything work.

Fun Fact

According to a study by the RV Industry Association, the RV industry had an overall economic impact to the US economy of $114 billion, supporting nearly 600 000 jobs, contributing more than $32 billion in wages, and paying over $12 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. RV shipments in 2020 totalled 430 412 units, up 6% from 2019 and on par with the third best annual shipment total on record.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1562
Growing up, Darlene Miller loved camping—especially since she didn’t have to do much for it. After her family arrived at a campsite, she’d hop on her bike and go exploring. When she got back, everything was already set up. Once Darlene grew up and had her own children, she took them camping so they could enjoy the same experience. That’s when she found out camping is a lot of work!

The idea of buying an RV of her own was attractive, but she was worried about the expense. It just seemed like the kind of luxury she couldn’t afford. But, as she learned more about side hustles, she realized that she could rent out the RV to earn extra money when she wasn’t using it—which was most of the time.

To get started, Darlene did her research. She called other RV renters to see what models were most popular. Then she read through countless ads from all over the country to figure out a fair price. To further ease her concerns, she watched the price for around six months to make sure she understood the market. Eventually, in June 2020, she found a great deal on a second-hand RV at half the price it was going for as a brand new one a year earlier. The wheels were in motion.

Darlene used her RV over the July 4th holiday. Then she placed an ad to rent it out on RV Share, where she targeted people like her who wanted camping to be easy. Before she went to bed that night, it was already rented! That was amazing, except the renters wanted to pick it up in two days. Darlene panicked because she wasn’t ready. She still needed to buy new bedding, stock it with dishes, and much more.

Speaking of money, the wheels are turning on this side hustle! She paid a 10% deposit on the RV and took out a loan for the rest. She now pays $550 a month towards the loan and insurance, and grossed almost $20,000 from rentals in the first six months. That’s not pure profit, because RV Share takes a 25% fee on each booking and she had a few repairs along the way.

Still, she’s making good money, and she’s doing it herself. Darlene has never before had money added to her checking account without it being from an employer—and it feels great. Unlike many other RV owners who see their initial investment rapidly decline, hers has produced a highly positive return.

Darlene says if she had more time, she’d create her own website to handle rentals herself, and have the renters provide proof in writing showing that their auto insurance covers them. This could save them a lot of money and would allow Darlene to keep the full rental fee. But she still considers RV Share a nice service to have in case something does go wrong.

All told, the process has been more successful and more fun than she expected. Next up, she hopes to buy a piece of land in a desirable vacation spot, and place a trailer on it to rent as an Airbnb—and maybe even another RV as well. She’s happy to go where the road takes her.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about the possibility of listing your own RV or book your own RV rental through Darlene’s listing.

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
"If you want to stand out from other people offering a similar product or service, you have to find something that sets you apart beyond the functional basics of having everything work."
—Darlene Miller #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

Catering Chef Cooks Up Private Meals

What It’s About

A catering chef serves up a tasty side dish.

Words of Wisdom

Chris has some great advice for anyone interested in a similar hustle; “Ask any of your friends and family who wants to have a dinner in their home. Go try it out, see if you like it, and see how feasible it is for you to do. Again, there is almost no overhead, or capital expenses. Do it one time and see if you like it.”

Fun Fact

One of my craziest experiences was having to cook a dinner for two on a boat. They had told me they had rented a boat to take a sunset cruise on the Potomac, overlooking the monuments in Washington, DC. We planned a multi-course menu for their dinner. When I got there, there was a propane grill, that was maybe 10 inches, and had a tiny camping style propane tank. I had brought a portable electric stoves, but the captain said there wasn’t enough power for it, so I had to leave it in my car.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1557
Chris Spear always wanted to be a chef. He grew up with an interest in cooking and at sixteen began working in kitchens. From there, he went to college and earned a degree in culinary arts. After graduation, he entered the industry, working as a chef for a catering company.

To say that Chris loves cooking would be an understatement… but that’s only the appetizer to his side hustle story.

The main event is that Chris was a hard working, diligent employee who took great pride in the food he prepared for customers. And yet, several years into his career, he started looking for something more. Something to make a little extra money that was hopefully food related.

Turns out it was the job itself that would lead to this possibility.

You see, his company catered large events for dozens or hundreds of people. Sometimes, though, they were contacted for smaller private functions of only a few people. Often in the customers’ own home.

Instead of turning down the business, which wasn’t in their wheelhouse, they offered Chris the opportunity to take on these morsels… and he loved it. Preparing a meal for someone, for a special occasion, in their home tapped into his love of food in a profound way.

That’s when he decided to go from the frying pan into the fire. He began by calling and emailing everyone he knew to let them know his plan. Soon, he had a bite—also known as his first customer.

He also whipped up a brand name, Perfect Little Bites.

He’d been working a full time job and building his side hustle for over five years. It was time for him to quit that day job and go all in. He knew that Perfect Little Bites might rise like a cake or fall like a souffle. But either way, he had to take the chance.

And it worked. With more free time to pay attention to his business, business grew. There have been some down periods but Chris propped them up with lucrative months. On average, he takes home around sixty thousand dollars per year in what is now his full-time hustle. He also has plenty of time to actually take off.

For dessert, Chris is now working on a consulting business he calls Chefs Without Restaurants where he aims to coach hopeful chefs in how to start their own private cooking business. He’s already earning an additional five hundred dollars per month with that, so it might not be long before it becomes a permanent addition to the menu.

 

 

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
"Go try it out, see if you like it, and see how feasible it is for you to do. Again, there is almost no overhead, or capital expenses. Do it one time and see if you like it."
—Chris Spear #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

To Find Freelance Work, Look at Full-Time Job Listings

What It’s About

A social media strategist finds success promoting his work through social networks.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Damion shares an important piece of advice about pricing your services, “If I could go back, I think I would have started off charging more in order to better communicate the value of the expertise I was offering.”

Fun Fact

When it comes to online retail, Amazon is king and ships over 45 million products around the world. According to Investopedia, other options for the company’s name included “Cadabra” (as in “Abracadabra”) and “Relentless”. His lawyer convinced founder and CEO Jeff Bezos that “Cadabra” sounded too much like “cadaver”. And although “Relentless” didn’t make the cut, Bezos bought the domain name relentless.com, which now redirects to the Amazon homepage.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1527
Damion Taylor began his social media career after joining a startup that was one of the first YouTube multi-channel networks. He was responsible for tracking data and setting strategies across YouTube and other channels to grow the company’s audience.

But unfortunately, the company shifted its strategic direction … and he was let go. Damion took on freelance contract work in the meantime while looking for a new job. As it so happened, he was quickly hired by another startup but something had changed—now he wanted to make sure he wouldn’t worry if he ever lost his job again.

In 2019, a post on the Next Door app caught Damion’s eye. A local business was looking for someone to manage their Instagram and Facebook pages. This was right up his alley and it turned out that all they required was for someone to post content they already had.

Damion applied for the gig, and he received a reply almost immediately. For $500 a month, he would manage the business’ social accounts. It was shaping up to be a standard freelance contract until Damion blurted out that he would offer her a $100 discount/month for every client referral she sent his way. He doesn’t remember why he made such an offer then since he didn’t need to, but it turned out to be a career-changing offer.

The client was so impressed with his first month of work that she immediately spread the word to her friends, earning her several referral discounts. By the third month of their arrangement, she had sent Damion two clients his way, bringing his earnings from his side gig to $1,200/month. This was quite a sum of money considering that he didn’t have to dedicate much time to the effort.

Word of mouth and LinkedIn outreach sounds simple, but in Damion’s case, it worked to perfection. Within 9 months, he had gained enough clients that he had crossed the $10k/month milestone that he’d been striving for. This was enough for him to go full-time since it not only covered his expenses, but also allowed him to grow his savings.

Of course, you’d also have to keep up with the latest developments since social media is an evolving space—Damion has had to pick up TikTok and Pinterest lately even though he started out only with just Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. But the reward is worth it, because now he can’t be fired.

 

 

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
"If I could go back, I think I would have started off charging more in order to better communicate the value of the expertise I was offering."
—Damion Taylor #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!
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To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Dorm Room Side Hustle Grows Into Full Agency

What It’s About

A six-figure side hustle started live from a college dorm room.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Trevor shares some important nuggets, “Take action each and every single day. I applied to freelancing jobs like my life depended on it. This allowed me to figure out what I liked to do and didn’t.”

Fun Fact

A market research company valued the global podcasting industry at $9.28 billion in 2019 and said they expect it to grow at an annual rate of 27.5% between now and 2027.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1513
You know those cartoons where the character is running down a hill while what started as a tiny snowball rolls after him, growing bigger and bigger as it picks up steam? The snowball grows of its own accord, helped along only by gravity. Now, leaving aside the part at the end where the character ends up smooshed inside the giant snowball, arms and legs akimbo, a lot of side hustles have a similar trajectory. What starts as a small snowball can take on a life of its own, becoming less “side” hustle and more of, well, a main hustle.

Trevor Oldham’s story is just like that. Born of a desire for a job in college that allowed him to be his own boss, Trevor’s side hustle, Podcasting You, graduated to become his full-time job. He rolled that snowball down a hill and found himself at the bottom, owner of a small business that books podcast guests and brings in upwards of $15,000 a month.

One day he came across a listing on Upwork from a real estate investor in Los Angeles who was looking for help getting booked as a guest on podcasts as a way to promote her services. Trevor had booked guests for his own podcast, so he figured he could easily do the reverse.

He began to find more clients who needed help getting booked on podcasts, fielding calls in his dorm room in between classes (his clients at the time may not have realized how young Trevor actually was). Pretty quickly he realized that booking guests was more lucrative and less time consuming than the editing work he’d been doing. Podcasting You was born.

Trevor’s initial investment in his company was less expensive than a dorm room meal of instant ramen. He had no website, no inventory, no employees. Other than the time it took him to look for clients on Upwork, he spent exactly $0 getting started. Today Podcasting You brings in between $12,000 and $15,000 in revenue each month.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Josh and his company’s services at their website, Podcasting You .

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
"Take action each and every single day. I applied to freelancing jobs like my life depended on it. This allowed me to figure out what I liked to do and didn’t."
—Trevor Oldham #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Learn More With Skillshare!

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

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

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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


Here's How

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Remote Airbnb Host Automates Rental Process

What It’s About

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

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

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

Fun Fact

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

Notes from Chris

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

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

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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

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

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

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

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

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

Sponsors & Gratitude

Learn More With Skillshare!

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

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

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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


Here's How

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Polyglot Conjugates Verbs for Hundreds of Clients

What It’s About

A project manager monetizes her language-learning superpower.

Words of Wisdom

Eva has some important words for anyone considering a side hustle, “Venture out, learn what makes you uncomfortable and repeat. What I learned about myself in 15 years I could never have learned just from reading books or hearing others tell their stories.”

Fun Fact

Eva’s mother has always been her number one supporter and dubbed her with the nickname “terremoto,” meaning “earthquake,” because of her intense hustler mentality.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1494
When Eva Rosales graduated from Columbia University in 2009 with a master’s degree in international affairs, she entered the job market during a recession. Graduating from an Ivy League school was a big accomplishment for Eva, who is originally from Peru, and says she wanted to make her dad proud.

At the time, she’d already lived in eight countries, spread across four continents, and spoke five languages. It got her thinking—maybe she could start a business with these skills … somehow.

When Eva got home from a trip, she created a Google Doc and brainstormed services she could offer, then researched how to fine-tune them. For example, she learned that it’s extremely beneficial to get accredited in order to be an interpreter in medicine. It’s not enough to speak the language well—the certification (at least in this case) matters.

After figuring out what certifications she would need, Eva set up a LinkedIn premium account so that her profile would have more visibility.

And, of course, she had to come up with a name for her business. On the same napkin she had used to write down her favorite topics, Eva had also jotted down words that described her: hyper, polyglot, nomad, polylingual, and fluent, to name a few. She looked at the napkin one morning and two words stood out: hyper and fluent. Eva decided to combine the two to create HyperFluent.

Soon after, she narrowed down the services she would offer, including personalized one-on-one language courses, cooking sessions in different languages, translating and interpreting, and more.

Since she started Hyperfluent in 2011, Eva has had about 650 clients. She currently profits up to $50,000 annually from the side hustle—and yes, this is still a side hustle! Her full-time job is as a project manager for the International Centers for Precision Oncology.

Eva says that some of her favorite memories have been through her business: since starting she’s learned four more languages, worked and cooked with refugees in Berlin, and visited more than 65 countries.

 

 

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

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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
"Venture out, learn what makes you uncomfortable and repeat. What I learned about myself in 15 years I could never have learned just from reading books or hearing others tell their stories."
—Eva Rosales #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