Tag: Service

Government Employee Shows Vending Makes Cents

What It’s About

Seeing the coins drop, a government employee starts her own vending machine hustle.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Lakinya has some important advice about seeking help, “When I first started I struggled with finding a location for my vending machines. If I could change anything, I would have found someone to mentor me to guide me down the right path.”

Fun Fact

There are over two million vending machines in the USA but with a population of over 320 million, there’s also plenty of room for growth.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1485
Lakinya Francis works a government job in what she describes as a fairly serious environment. That seriousness was a big part of why she began looking for something different.

Lakinya noticed the ‘vending machine guy’ who came around twice a week to restock the machines. With that amount of regularity, she thought, he must be making fairly good money. So she began researching exactly how the business worked.

So here’s an important fact: it turns out that many vending machines are privately owned by individuals rather than large companies. Lakinya was ready to be one of those individuals. She put her coin in the slot, and waited for it to drop.

She also knew from reading that a good location had regular foot traffic and a high turnover of people. Of course, finding a location and having the business owner agree to host her machines there are two different things. Many businesses she approached said no to her offer, which went like this…

Lakinya would stock the machine with products, as well as install and maintain it for free. In exchange, she’d keep whatever profit she made on top of the original purchase prices.

At first she struggled with the rejection. In her mind, it was a no brainer for the business. To convince them of this she added a few more key points to her pitch.

She sold them on the benefits to their customers and employees, stressing that they’d have to do literally nothing to maintain the machine. Furthermore, Lakinya would include them in the product selection process so businesses could be certain the vending products would fit their demographic. She sold the whole concept behind the business name, iKrave Vending.

She’d taken herself from novice to expert and felt confident she could teach others to do the same. Using the iKrave name, she created an Instagram account and began posting helpful tips for those interested in vending, by tagging them as business-related posts. (You can follow her if you’d like @iKravevending.)

She also interacted with many business-related accounts and eventually built up a small following of her own. By pitching to that audience, Lakinya now makes almost as much from her consulting as she does from her vending machines, which still generate her twenty-five hundred dollars per month.

Not one to let things fizzle out, Lakinya is expanding into different types of vending machines. First, beauty products which have a much higher average purchase price. Then, the launch of a new live bait vending machine in Key West, the first of its kind. From soda fizz to fish, Lakinya shows vending machines make so much cents.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Lakiya and consider starting your own vending hustle from her website, iKravevending.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
"If I could change anything, I would have found someone to mentor me to guide me down the right path."
—Lakinya Francis #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

TBT: Texas Marimba Rentals Hit Noteworthy Demand!

What It’s About

An update from a marimba rental biz that hits all the right notes.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1468

I have a great throwback for you today: Texas Marimba Rentals Hit Noteworthy Demand! This is one of those classic Side Hustle School stories along with blogging about fish tanks or the woman who gets paid to make decisions for people. I continue to mention it because it’s so smart and so simple.

In his update, you’ll hear a synopsis of how the guy got started. If you’d like to hear more, just go to SideHustleSchool.com/752.

Since we first featured him, demand for his marimba rentals has struck a chord, hitting a high, harmonious note.

Listen to today’s episode to hear Cassidy’s updates…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • DFW Marimba Rentals: If today’s episode struck a chord, head on over to Cassidy’s website to learn more!

 

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

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

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

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

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

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

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

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Cooped Up Nomads Start Online Cooking School

What It’s About

When people aren’t able to travel to Italy for cooking classes, these digital nomads bring Italian cooking classes to the people.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Michelle has some great advice about forming partnerships, especially with family or friends; “be really clear upfront about your roles and responsibilities. Having this delineated and keeping communication open when making decisions has been key.”

Fun Fact

Online cooking classes have grown exponentially during the pandemic, from individual chefs and bloggers offering virtual tutorials to large companies like Cozymeal transitioning from in-person events to Zoom lessons.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1464
Jedd and Michelle Chang spend much of their time traveling and living in different places—or at least they used to. And they will again! But when the pandemic upended their wanderlust lifestyle and threatened the livelihood of a good friend, they cooked up a delicious new project.

Back in 2017, Jedd and Michelle met Chicca Maione when they stayed at her restored 18th-century farmhouse on the coast of Tuscany. During the day, the pair did their online work. At night they assisted Chicca with the cooking classes she taught in her kitchen. They clicked so well with her that they returned for another stay in 2019.

When the pandemic hit and Italy went into lockdown, Chicca’s in-person classes ground to a halt. Meanwhile, Jedd and Michelle’s other side hustle, a website focused on intentional travel, also took a revenue hit. So they offered to co-host a virtual cooking class with Chicca last spring. As soon as the class ended, donations to Chicca started pouring in via PayPal. That was a promising sign, and Michelle realized that maybe they could cook up something bigger than one or two donation-based classes!

Chicca’s Cooking Club came to life with Chicca providing the culinary inspiration and know-how, and Jedd and Michelle handling the structural details. For their first season, they made a little over $1,000 a month each. Their second season grossed over $11,000, leaving both the Changs and Chicca with around $2,000 a month after expenses.

This culinary pandemic pivot has worked out so well that Chicca actually prefers the virtual cooking school to in-person classes now. They’ve been fielding requests for private cooking classes from various organizations and are bringing on another couple to manage those. There are also plans for culinary tours of Italy when we all can safely travel again, and Michelle hopes that some of the online cooking club members will be able to join them in person for a tasty tour of Tuscany.

In short, Chicca’s Cooking Club has provided some much-needed income during an uncertain time.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Free Italian cooking lesson! Learn how to make Gnocchi with Jedd, Michelle, and Chicca at their next free class. Learn more and register here: –> CookingInTuscany.cc/hustle.
  • For more information about Chicca’s Cooking Club visit their website at, CookingInTuscany.cc/club.
  • During non-pandemic times, Jedd and Michelle write and share resources on how to travel and work full-time at their blog, IntentionalTravelers.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
"When partnering with others, be really clear up front about your roles and responsibilities. Having this delineated and keeping communication open when making decisions has been key."
—Jedd and Michelle #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

Steady Grind Leads to Sustainable Side Income

What It’s About

A transport engineer puts wheels in motion for his profitable web projects.

Words of Wisdom

John has two key pieces of advice for those who want to follow in his footsteps: “1) Keep putting in the time. I find that putting in at least one hour a day goes a long way. Have patience and trust that the time investment will eventually pay off. 2) Showcase your work, even those projects you know aren’t perfect yet.”

Fun Fact

In the United States, there were an estimated 12.1 billion app downloads in 2018. By 2023, the annual amount of downloads is expected to increase to 15.2 billion. [source]

Notes from Chris

Episode 1459
John MacAdam is a self-described “nerd at heart.” That’s why he’s been making websites for more than a decade, initially just for fun.

Back then, he was simply curious. He wanted to develop his development skills, so he began to make websites for himself, his friends, family members and local churches—all for free. At that point, he says that money was not a motivating factor for him.

Instead, every new project helped him learn something new, and that was valuable. Soon, he began to expand further than just building websites. He started to create his first products, which were simple web applications.

John spent much of his free time working on these projects, never earning a dime from them. But again, he was learning … and he identified two very important things he was learning. One was the portfolio of technical skills that still help him to this day. The other was the notion of what John calls “putting in the work.”

By 2015, John was making about $5,000 a year from his hustle. Then, someone reached out to him for a potential project, and his world changed. A tech recruiter emailed him, hoping to recruit him for a project.

John agreed to work with the tech recruiter and successfully helped the company deliver a mobile app for their client. The company was happy with his work and work ethic and has kept him on as a subcontractor ever since then.

This was great for John, both financially and emotionally. His profits increased substantially, and now he earns about $40,000 a year just from his side hustle. By working with the larger team, he’s been able to work with more prestigious clients and being able to impact more people. Not only that but working with the larger business has helped polish his skills even further.

At this point, John has no idea what is next for him. Right now, he enjoys both his side hustle and his full-time job as a transportation engineer. Oh, and the extra $40,000 a year on the side isn’t bad, either!

 

 

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
"Keep putting in the time. I find that putting in at least one hour a day goes a long way."
—John MacAdam #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

GOALLL! Corporate Filmmaker Moonlights as Soccer Ref

What It’s About

A filmmaker kicks and nets his goal of becoming a profitable soccer referee.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Trevor sees payoffs for being a ref outside of earning extra income; “The best part of the experience has been me becoming a better referee and leader. I have been so nervous about some games but it has made me have the ability to tackle anything.”

Fun Fact

According to FIFA, the world governing body on soccer, nearly 4% of the entire world’s population play soccer in some capacity. This popularity has built a huge business around the sport and top players like Ronaldo and Messi earn millions of dollars per year.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1457
By his own admission, Trevor Rappleye wasn’t the most athletic kid. Some seventeen years ago, when he was just thirteen, his struggles with footwork presented a problem when he signed up to his local soccer club.

The difficulty in playing was killing his enjoyment of the sport. He still wanted to be a part of it, but wasn’t quite sure how to go about it. Eventually, though, the idea hit him like a head butt. Instead of playing on the field, he’d get the ball rolling on something else.

That’s when Trevor set his sights on becoming a referee. It would allow him to use his soccer knowledge in a productive way. Although he was still young at the time, only fifteen at this point, he started the process to become an accredited soccer referee for the state of California.

After his training, which involved some theory but mostly in-person courses, Trevor felt ready. He was young—and still unathletic—but the training gave him new confidence and he wasn’t about to blow the momentum.

Since he was already involved with his local soccer community, his first few games were easy enough to come by. He’d ref the lower level matches played by his local club. For Trevor, the size of the game didn’t matter much. With every whistle blow, he felt his confidence not only as a referee but as a person.

As he approached his twentieth birthday an opportunity presented itself to attend the U.S. nationals. There was one thing he’d seen about the referees that got lots of games in different tournaments: they made sure they were noticed. They did so by attending some of the larger competitions, even paying their own hotel, food, and travel costs. All with the goal of building a profile within the community.

So, Trevor spent eight hundred dollars assembling his own referee gear and equipment and headed off to the week-long nationals, which was certain to be a net loss. But Trevor wasn’t concerned, he viewed it as an investment and, at worst case, he’d have a lot of fun. At best he’d make valuable connections in the refereeing world.

From there, he went from strength to strength. He continued refereeing higher profile matches and competitions. As the caliber of the game grew so did his paycheck and he can now command over five hundred dollars for a single game. Trevor, who now works in corporate film production, never became a full-time referee—but that was never the goal. Instead, he uses his refereeing funds for fun money. With extra earnings of nearly ten thousand per year, it’s something he still gets a kick out of.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Trevor and his main hustle when he’s not refereeing games at his website, CorporateFilming.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
"The best part of the experience has been me becoming a better referee and leader. I have been so nervous about some games but it has made me have the ability to tackle anything."
—Trevor Rappleye #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

Reddit Post Inspires Airbnb Cleaning Service

What It’s About

A fresh and clean hustle, inspired by a Reddit post.

Words of Wisdom

Neel says if he could go back and do anything differently, he would “not be afraid to spend money and invest in myself. I went extra frugal at the beginning and extra scrappy to be conservative. In hindsight, I would have accelerated faster if I was willing to re-invest my earnings back into the business in the beginning stages instead of cashing out.”

Fun Fact

When Neel was pursuing his side hustle while working full-time at a corporate job, he earned the nickname “drug dealer” because his coworkers would see him walking around during lunchbreaks and talking on his phone constantly, coordinating cleanings and building MaidThis.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1452
For Neel Parek, the decision to start a side business wasn’t just so he could quit his day job and travel the world while still having an income—although that was part of it. It was also a decision guided by his desire to provide for his parents.

He took a number of paths as he tried different side hustles—creating an eCommerce site, blogging about pet hair vacuums and more—before stumbling across a post on Reddit from someone who started a cleaning company. In the post, the author laid out the detailed steps he’d taken to get going. After reading through the post carefully, Neel decided to give it a try himself.

In early 2013, he established MaidThis in Los Angeles, a cleaning service that specializes in Airbnb and residential cleanings. Neel’s first step in doing so was creating a website—a tall task as he had no technical background. He bought a template for about $100, researched how to host a website and published what he says was initially “a crappy looking website.”

Overall, it took Neel two months to get up and running. To find his customers, Neel focused on digital marketing. He says local marketing is a hidden gem because you’re competing against local businesses only, not the entire world, so it’s a bit easier to manage. His first customer was in July 2013, which he remembers because he snuck outside at his full-time job and started dancing.

He operated the business as a part-time gig for two years. By 2015, the business was doing around $30,000 in monthly sales at a 20 percent margin ($6,000 in monthly profit). With this success, Neel quit his full-time job and booked a one-way flight to Colombia. The business doubled that year, and he’s since traveled to more than 35 countries to backpack while scaling what was once his side hustle.

Looking to the future, Neel hopes the franchise arm of the business takes off. He’s aiming to be the “millennial franchise,” disrupting the old-school cleaning franchise industry.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Neel’s business at his website, MaidThis.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
"In hindsight, I would have accelerated faster if I was willing to re-invest my earnings back into the business in the beginning stages instead of cashing out."
—Neel Parek #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

Recruiter Gives Pink Slip to Boring Resumes

What It’s About

A technical recruiter levels-up traditional resumes and earns over $3000/month.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Chelsey cautions side hustlers not to accept advice from everyone. “Some people will discourage your idea because they’ve never started anything on their own. They’re not successful, so they don’t think you will be. They might have good intentions, but keep them at arm’s length when it comes to business advice.”

Fun Fact

Chelsey listens to a certain Nicki Minaj song before job interviews, annual reviews, speaking engagements, or any situation that scares her. Listening to that song makes you feel like, well … you can fill in the blank if you know the song.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1450
As a technical recruiter for the past five years, Chelsey Opare-Addo was the go-to resume writer for friends and relatives on the job hunt. After all, smart and successful people AREN’T always great writers. But they still need a strong resume to put their best foot forward.

Chelsey had plenty of experience reviewing job applications for her work. She knew what makes a resume stand out. So during Thanksgiving week in 2019, she decided to use her expertise to launch, Not Your Mother’s Resume. The name was inspired by Chelsey’s modern, eye-catching approach to resumes. These were NOT the formal, traditional resumes from days of old.

Chelsey had the idea on a Friday. By Monday, she was already accepting clients. To launch quickly and inexpensively, she didn’t create an LLC, write a business plan, or spend money on a website. Instead, she started an Instagram account called @notyourmothersresume, where she shares resume and job search tips. After all, necessity IS the mother of all invention.

Just over one year later, Chelsey is averaging around $3,000 per month. Best of all, she’s helped her clients build confidence in their job searches, change industries, even DOUBLE their salaries. And she’s done all that without any paid marketing.

Chelsey celebrated the first anniversary of Not Your Mother’s Resume on November 25 and says she’s confident it will continue to grow. After all, everyone and their mother needs a professional resume in this economy.

 

 

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
"Be careful of who you accept advice from. Some people will discourage your idea because they’ve never started anything on their own."
—Chelsey Opare-Addo #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

Financial Planner Moonlights as Trivia Host

What It’s About

A new financial planner gets paid to ask questions.

Words of Wisdom

Todd still believes that someone can follow his shoes to launch a similar hustle, “now is going to be a challenging time to walk this path as bars/restaurants are closing or restricted with what they can do. However, these types of weekly trivia shows happen at bars/restaurants all across the US, so I would highly encourage someone to check it out for themselves!”

Fun Fact

Trivia nights in bars and restaurants originated in the United Kingdom during the 1970s, and what started as a fun way to bring in customers on slow nights, quickly became a sensation.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1445
In 2008 Todd Bryant was 22, fresh out of college and just starting a career in financial planning. It was a terrible time to get into finance. The Global Financial Crisis had just hit and people were being ultra frugal—looking to tighten their purse strings, not open them.

Todd had a friend, a successful financial planner, he often turned to for advice. One night, while chatting, this friend abruptly ended the conversation and said he had to run. Turns out, this successful business owner was moonlighting as a trivia host in a local bar.

Puzzled, Todd asked why, if he was already successful, would he bother working an extra job. His friend’s response was that it was fun, it paid well and was a great source of new business leads. Todd was intrigued, and followed his friend to the pub, asking questions along the way.

Turns out there are large national trivia companies who franchise their model to local hosts. Todd asked for a referral, got it, and within a few weeks had his first gig. He was in hot trivial pursuit of extra income.

The company provided all the equipment, materials and questions. All Todd had to do was show up at the bar and run the event. In exchange he’d receive one hundred dollars cash for his efforts. Todd was hooked! Besides being a good-paying gig for a couple of hours, it was a load of fun.

That is, until COVID-19 hit and bars, clubs and venues everywhere shut down. That put Todd’s revenue at a standstill earlier in 2020. However, in the last few months things have started turning around. Several venues are opening up in COVID safe ways and Todd’s trivia business has returned to the same levels as before.

Sometimes all you have to do is ask the right questions.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • When Todd’s not coordinating trivia hosts, you can find him at his main hustle as a financial planner.

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
"Start small, prove your concept first."
—Richard Bexon #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Try ShipStation for 60 Days FREE!

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

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

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Graphic Designer Documents Remote Earnings

What It’s About

A graphic designer draws up a full-time nomadic lifestyle doing freelance work.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Kassandra shares the importance of ratings for freelance work, “Just with a single UpWork rating, I managed to go from applying for 50 jobs a week and getting no bites to applying for 50 jobs and getting one or two jobs from it.”

Fun Fact

UpWork has 12 million registered freelancers but perhaps more importantly, over five million employers looking for workers. It’s a great way to get your feet wet in the world of freelancing.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1443
Kassandra Marsh spent years studying graphic design in Australia. She enjoyed it and was excited to get out into the world, assuming she’d start a high flying job the moment she graduated. But, unbeknownst to her, there was no job waiting. Not for another long, arduous twelve months.

Until a job ad in the local newspaper caught her eye.

The ad described a job for someone with experience working with kids, along with an ability to design business documents. Kassandra, thinking it was such a curious mix of the two skills, applied straight away. After all, she was the ideal candidate!

Turns out, the job posting was an accident—the company erroneously placed a single ad for two jobs, instead of two ads for single jobs. Even so, Kassandra’s mix of skills surprised them and they agreed to hire her on a freelance basis. Her job would be to take their dull business documents, and redesign them so they were off the charts!

It wasn’t sustainable relying on only one client, so she set out to find more. To do that, she posted a profile on oDesk—which is now called UpWork—and promptly received … very little attention. Like zero divided by zero attention.

Kassandra modified the one variable she could: her prices. She gradually dropped her rate until she had someone employ her at the going price. It would mean working for peanuts but hopefully scoring a few prized reviews after nailing the job.

Eventually, she found an equilibrium, where she could charge the maximum amount possible yet still receive responses to her bids. Kassandra would often use a trick to ‘lever’ her pricing and schedule. When really busy, she’d price herself highly, to justify taking on additional work. When things were a little slower, she would drop her prices to drum up interest.

Between the website and her UpWork client stream there’s no shortage of gigs available to Kassandra. She now earns over twenty-six thousand US dollars per year, all while living remotely.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Kassandra and her business from her website, Lakazdi.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
"I am really glad to have got to learn through mistakes and build a nice business for myself."
—Kassandra Marsh #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

Cyclist Puts Wheels in Motion on Bike Box Biz

What It’s About

A cyclist pedals a solution for transporting bicycles around the world.

Words of Wisdom

When it comes to starting a business, you might think that you have to go big or go home. But one of Richard’s most valuable lessons is that it’s better to start small to prove your concept. Also, while you might want to build something from scratch, he believes it’s more valuable to use existing platforms like (Shopify, Weebly, or Wix for online sales) instead of creating your own.

Fun Fact

Nobody knows for sure how many bikes there are in the world, but estimates put the number at around one billion, almost half of which are in China. It’s also estimated that four bikes are made every second and one bike is sold every two seconds!

Notes from Chris

Episode 1438
In his day job, Richard Bexon is the Chief Operating Officer of Namu Travel Group. The company specializes in personalized, boutique experiences in Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua. But getting people and items from one place to another isn’t just his job. It’s also his passion and his side hustle, too.

Richard is part of a triathlon and cycling club of around 200 people. They train together and travel to competitions all over the world—or at least they used to. One day, after looking for a new road bike, he found one he liked in the UK, which happens to be where he’s from. But he didn’t know how to get it to Costa Rica, which is where he’s been living for the last sixteen years. So he did some research, and ended up buying a solid plastic bike box.

After the bike arrived, a friend asked to rent the box. Richard didn’t have any use for it so he let his friend have it for free. But then he discovered that this was a common need. He started to wonder if there might be more of a market for these bike boxes. He spent two weeks putting together a Shopify website. He connected it with an availability and calendar app, and was good to go.

Richard’s upfront costs were $150 to buy a box and another $30 a month on Shopify. After just two days, he made his first ‘sale’ to a Canadian guy who rented a road bike for two weeks. Richard was over the moon. He’d done a lot of work to get the business started and that first sale proved to him that he was on to something. You might say the wheels were turning.

Richard soon acquired fourteen boxes. Customers make bookings online, get a confirmation text message, and then collect the bike boxes from his business partner’s house. He typically brings in around $800 a month, about $700 of which is all profit. Most of the process is automated, so it only takes him about two hours a week.

Right now Richard’s biggest struggle is the same one a lot of entrepreneurs are facing: COVID-19. With the travel industry shut down because of the pandemic, people aren’t renting as many boxes to take their bikes all over the world. Richard knows that the travel rebound will be slow. But he also knows that things will bounce back eventually, so he’s sold a few of his bike boxes. He knows he can buy more boxes when things get better.

Whatever happens next, he’s happy to keep pedaling.

 

 

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
"Start small, prove your concept first."
—Richard Bexon #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