Tag: Social Media

Lifelong Girl Scout Earns Her Side Hustle Badge (And $3,500/Month)

What It’s About

Girl Scout troop leader turns the business of badges and cookies into passive income.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Jodi says the secret sauce to running such a successful site in this niche boils down to a few different things: 1) understanding the scout leader’s pain points so that you can sell your products in an empathetic way that doesn’t come off sales-y, 2) automating as much of your process as you can, and 3) building an engaging mailing list.

Fun Fact

Jodi’s mom was her troop leader for a long time, and the family converted her entire basement into a troop headquarters, including decorating the house like the woods and using tree stumps for chairs.

Notes from Chris

Episode 317

For Jodi Carlson, the Girl Scouts had been a huge part of her life for over 25 years. For 12 of those years she’d been a scout, and then 13 as a leader. But, when her son was born in March 2015, Jodi decided it was time to step down from her position and focus the time her young family.

Although she loved the challenge of her new home life, she missed the volunteering and organizing she’d devoted so many years to. She knew she couldn’t commit herself to a schedule with lots of fixed appointments like she’d have to do as a troop leader, but she still wanted a meaningful way to contribute to their community and inspire these young visionaries.

The year before her son was born, Jodi had created a website to share what her local troop, #80671, in a small city in Ohio located along the banks of Lake Erie, had been doing, and to share thoughts and advice with other leaders around the country.

She’d also written a small eBook to sell at $5.00 and was surprised that after six months, people from the other side of the country were still buying and reading it. She felt that this site—if she could expand her products and the information—would be the perfect way to help the community and make a little money to put toward her student loans.

So decided to upgrade, and she called the project Leader Connecting Leaders.

Most of the information on her website is given away for free. There are long-form articles, tutorials and how-to guides giving her readers most of the information they need to run a successful and entertaining Girl Scout group. But Jodi puts a small price of between $3 to $5 on some of the specific resources—like activity booklets, printouts, and games—to solve specific leader problems in just a few clicks and a quick download from her site.

From these products, Jodi is able to generate $3,000 to $3,500 per month. By the halfway point of 2017, Jodi has already made $10,000 and is on-track to double last year’s profits. You could definitely say that Jodi’s earned her Side Hustle badge!

girl-scout
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
"I have tried many different things that have completely failed, but if I had not tried them, I would never have known. Isn’t it better to know for sure than wonder?"
—Jodi Carlson #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

Substitute Teacher Earns $1,500/Month Making Wooden Signs

What It’s About

DIY pallet signs help a teacher bring in an additional $1,300 to $2000/month.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

In recent years, there’s been a rise in the popularity of businesses that offer groups of people a space where they can paint, drink wine, and unwind with their friends. But with so many people doing the same thing, you have to find a way to stand out. Abby’s pallet sign hustle takes a unique spin on this craze, and the opportunities are endless if you’d like to do something similar. Follow trends and look for something that will stick!

Fun Fact

Abby started making signs on a whim. Her friend, Rachel, had noticed someone making wooden signs on Facebook and decided that she could do the same, if not better. Abby was roped in by Rachel and learned how to make the signs from her, eventually turning it into her business.

Notes from Chris

Episode 314

Connecticut native Abby Roccapiore is no stranger to side hustles. After dropping out of college, Abby did all sorts of jobs to make money and support her family. One of the things was an eco-friendly cleaning business. While the business did well, Abby realized that this was too much for her to handle, which led her to selling her share of the business to her sister four years later.

Abby continued to work in various retail jobs as she took night classes, working towards her degree. Once she graduated, she was able to work as a substitute teacher. Working with kids was something that Abby truly enjoyed. She was able to keep doing that as she explored another business idea at the same time.

Here’s how it came about.

Her friend, Rachel, had noticed someone upload an artsy wooden sign she had made on Facebook. This got Rachel thinking that she could get do the same as well, who promptly began researching how to do the same before roping Abby in this venture as well. Rachel figured that they could make a business out of this. Abby had been reluctant, but Rachel was relentless. The materials had been purchased already, and there were clear steps they could take to make the wooden signs. With coaxing from her husband as well, Abby was in.

Abby made her startup money back within 6 weeks. Her first customer was her sister, who was ever so supportive of her side hustles. The next few sales came by selling signs in a local shop and holiday pop-up store in the outlet mall. She also participates in local trade and craft fairs, which really put her on the map. Through word-of-mouth and her Facebook page, Pinot & Pallets, she has been able to increase awareness of her brand.

Her business averages anywhere from $1,300 to $2000 per month, which is a figure Abby never expected when she first started out. Sometimes, the idea for a side hustle comes in all sorts of unexpected ways. The universe may not drop any signs, but you can always do what Abby did and make them yourself.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Pinot & Pallets: Learn more about Abby’s pallet sign hustle on her website!
  • Budweiser: The unofficial currency of the pallet sign world
  • PayPal: The online platform that Abby used to accept payments for Pinot & Pallet

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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

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

RELIABLE WEBHOST FOR $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for my past 5 websites. It's cheap, flexible, and you can get support 24 hours a day.

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

Quote of the Day
"Follow your arrow, wherever it points."
—Abby Roccapiore #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Cook with Blue Apron!

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

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

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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


Here's How

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Travel Blogger Gets Paid via Pinterest and Guidebooks

What It’s About

A French travel blogger zigzags around Europe documenting her travels and selling guidebooks for passive income.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Claire tried to give a lot of information about fewer locations, as opposed to most travel guides that try to give information about hundreds of locations. And she gave very clear directions about how to find the best shot of a particular waterfall, landmark, or landscape.

Her overall objective was to simplify the information being offered on a particular destination so people didn’t have to sift through a lot of extra information to get to the good stuff. She wanted to help with the trip planning overwhelm and lay out the really good options instead of every single option, and this is really good advice for anyone looking to do something similar. Everyone writes general guidebooks—stand out by simplifying your selection and getting specific with your info.

Fun Fact

One of Claire’s customers not only loved her guidebooks but said that it saved her marriage. The customer is also a travel planning addict and generally spends hours trying to find the information for their next trip, which annoys her husband. Thanks to Claire’s guidebook, the customer found all the information she needed, saved a ton of time and didn’t annoy her husband.

Notes from Chris

Episode 293

There are a lot of travel bloggers out there, but the vast majority of them aren’t making any money—at least, not anything to write home about. Today’s story is a bit different though—it’s about a travel enthusiast in France who spends her time road tripping around Europe. The best part? She documents her travels and turns them into guides that earn her an additional $10,000 a year. What a journey!

Today’s side hustle comes from Claire Robinson who is based in France, but travels a lot… so who knows where she is right now. Back in 2013, Claire was a Quality Manager for a medical device company and was lucky enough to travel around the world for her job. Since she was visiting and at times, living, abroad she started blogging about her excursions.

She set up a simple WordPress website and started sharing specific tips and itineraries from the places she would visit. She named her website ZigZag on Earth: because she zigzags around when she has time before zigzagging back home.

By early 2016, Claire decided to put some sort of strategy in place for her guidebooks. She picked Pinterest as her social media and for her efforts made $4500 in 2016. She continued with her free Pinterest marketing and so far in 2017, her revenue has exceeded $10k. She now has over 4,000 followers on Pinterest and over 46k unique monthly visitors to her website.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • ZigZag on Earth: Zigzag your way across Europe with some help from Claire. Check out her website!
  • Selz: The ecommerce platform that Claire used to take care of payments and the delivery of the guide book to the buyer
  • WordPress: Claire used WordPress to create ZigZag on Earth, and here you can learn how to install your own WordPress site in 5 minutes!
  • Canva: The free design platform that Claire used to create images for social media

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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

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

RELIABLE WEBHOST FOR $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for my past 5 websites. It's cheap, flexible, and you can get support 24 hours a day.

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

Quote of the Day
"Don’t go into travel blogging just because you love travel. Know that it will completely change your travel experience. My travel days are really long so that I can cover a lot of ground. I do not stop. I take strange pictures of information boards and entrances signs. It’s definitely changed how I travel."
—Claire Robinson #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

Couple Turn Unwanted Furniture Into $1,000 Per Month

What It’s About

One man’s trash is another man’s side hustle—couple refurbishes unwanted furniture and turn it around for profit!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

If you’re looking to start a similar business, Jamie says there are two practices you’ll need to have:

1) You should never sell a piece at a loss, even though it’s tempting to take lower prices when you’re first starting out. You should keep in mind the time, effort and money to put into the piece and sell it for what it’s worth.

2) You should set up a pricing system for buying pieces should you not be able to find them for free. For example, Lindsay will never pay more than $60 for a dresser, even though she knows she could sell it for a $300-$400 when it’s complete. This helps to regulate the costs and invest in the pieces that are most worth your time.

Fun Fact

Did you know furniture accounts for over 9.8 million tons of household waste in the US each year? If you’re handy and interest in DIY, upcycling these unwanted items could be your next big side hustle [source].

Notes from Chris

Episode 287

Have you ever heard the old saying, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure? Well for furniture upcyclers Lindsay and Jamie Larue in Ottawa, it’s helped form the basis of their side hustle.

The couple have been finding unwanted pieces of wooden furniture in their local Ottawa area and breathing new life into them for close to a decade. Partly as a hobby, partly to help affordably decorate their home with unique pieces of furniture. And with so many years practice under their belts, they began to get pretty good at it.

When it came time for Jamie to reduce his hours at the bank he worked for and “carve” out more time at home with his pre-school aged children, it was the perfect side hustle option. Jamie could work from home during the day while Lindsay was at her day job, and Lindsay could work from home in the evenings when Jamie went back to the bank. This allowed them to increase their household income, save on childcare costs and pick and choose how much work they took on each month.

It was also a cheap side hustle to start. Most of the unwanted furniture they work with can be found for free using classified ads, websites and garage sales, meaning the only real investment the pair would have to make would be around $40 on paint and parts. All of which can be factored into the final price of the piece!

But before they began Casa Azul Ottawa, the business they named after their bright blue family home, they wanted to test their idea to see if it was profitable.

The logistics of working out of a family home can be quite challenging, but they discovered an easy and fun way for them to bring in an additional $500-$1,000/month with Casa Azul Ottawa. It also gave them a chance to connect and work together to build something, and the Larues show no sign of slowing down.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Casa Azul Ottawa: Check out some of the pieces Lindsey and Jamie have flipped in their spare time on their website
  • Kijiji: The online classified advertising service that Lindsey and Jamie used to promote their finished products in order to generate sales

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

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

Quote of the Day
"Take action. If you have an idea, and the start up cost is $0 to minimal, go for it!"
—Lindsay & Jamie Larue #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Cook with Blue Apron!

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

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

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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


Here's How

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

“Dessert Goals” Team Creates Sweet Success

What It’s About

Two experienced New York entrepreneurs tap into the urban sweet tooth with their desserts-only festival.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Having worked in events and seen how challenging it can be to make money, Miraya and Liang tried their best to build a business model that didn’t depend on sponsorships to make a profit since that’s something they weren’t able to control. Instead, they found ways to cut costs and focused on building a strong marketing and advertising campaign on social media to get the word out.

There are plenty of free resources out there that you can use to market your side hustle. Figure out who your audience is, determine which platform will best advertise your message, and focus on building a strong, recognizable brand.

Fun Fact

The sweet tooth wasn’t an invention of Twinkie manufacturers. Many ancient civilizations had forms of dessert, including fruits and nuts candied with honey. Forms of sugar began to be manufactured in the Middle Ages, but the sugar itself and any confections made from it were prohibitively expensive and only favored by nobles and the wealthy. Ice cream, invented by the Chinese perhaps as long ago as 3000 BC (pre-refrigerator!) might be considered the first authentic dessert. Dentists cheered.

Notes from Chris

Episode 284

Here at Side Hustle School, we think goals are a pretty good thing. And when the side hustle goal is dessert—and we mean a boggling array of tasty treats—there’s just one word to describe it: sweet. But Dessert Goals, the dessert-event brainchild of New–York based event entrepreneurs Miraya Berke and Liang Shi, is worth many sugary sentences, not just one word.

Dessert Goals is Miraya and Liang’s production company for periodic dessert festivals in New York and Los Angeles. If you think “festival” is too lofty a word for eating sugary morsels with your friends, you haven’t been to an event produced by Dessert Goals.

The two women shared a delight in finding and eating quality desserts together, and since Miraya is an event planner and Liang is a freelance designer who works on events, it was a candied certainty they’d come up with the concept.

After securing the number of ticket sales they needed, Miraya and Liang cold-pitched vendors on the concept, creating a deck that explained the idea, venue photos, and their bios. After the first festival, vendors saw the success of the event and started reaching out directly to them.

They invested $10,000 in their first event and made $5,000 each in profit with the biggest upfront cost being $5,000 venue deposit. The second event notched them $10,000 profit each, and the next close to $20,000 each, with all events again going viral through Facebook. That word “sweet” comes again to mind.

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Dessert Goals: Satisfy your sweet tooth, and join Miraya and Liang next year at Dessert Goals 2018 in NYC or LA. Visit their website for more information!
  • SquareSpace: The website building platform that Miraya and Liang used to create Dessert Goals
  • Dessert Goals | Vendors: The vendor lineup for this past year at Dessert Goals 2017

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
"Dessert after dinner—heck, even after lunch—is mandatory."
—Miraya Berke & Liang Shi #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Cook with Blue Apron!

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

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

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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


Here's How

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Friends Team Up To Create Student Care Package Hustle

What It’s About

Two students use Facebook to sell their student studying care packages.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Along the way, Craig and Logan discovered that a major weakness of their business model was that sales were cyclical. Demand for StudyBox drops significantly during the semester breaks and increases during the exam season. This comes as a perfect opportunity for the two friends to improve their product and raise awareness and decide if they are going to scale up the business.

It goes to show that it is ultimately you who decides how big your side hustle will be—the business comes secondary to your needs and other commitments.

Fun Fact

Craig and Logan launched StudyBox only a month before finals week. They weren’t just hitting the books themselves, but helping others as well. A lesson in shipping, and not waiting.

Notes from Chris

Episode 273

Remember the days of college and high school when you were swamped with work and curricular activities? All you ever wanted was more time and the ability to focus without watching cat videos on YouTube every 15 minutes. What if you could get everything you needed to study in a box?

That’s what Craig Lamb and Logan Foster set out to do. As students in college with demanding majors, Craig and Logan noticed that it was too easy to get distracted during study sessions. Not having the right stationery, feeling hungry, and being completely exhausted by the rigors of student life were all common reasons for being unable to focus on the task at hand.

StudyBox was Craig and Logan’s answer to the needs of the student. They started by writing down items that would be beneficial to have nearby during study sessions like snacks, energy and sports drinks, highlighters, pens, pencils, post-its, flash cards, and Tylenol for that inevitable late night headache—or for the morning after.

They took a number of trips down to convenience stores to get an idea of the costs of each item. After that, it was just a matter of testing the market, which they did by offering prototypes to students on their campus.

StudyBox is still in its infancy, but so far they’ve received a ton of positive feedback from their customers, and have sold over 133 boxes! This may seem small, but their goal from the beginning has been to help students create a more productive college experience and in turn, achieve greater academic success. Even though their product has only been up and running for a couple months, Craig and Logan said that it feels really great to know that they’ve already made a positive impact!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • StudyBox: Learn more about Craig, Logan, and StudyBox on their Facebook page

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

Quote of the Day
"If you are on the fence about whether to give your idea a shot or not, take the leap of faith. You will never know what could have been if you don’t try and the results may surprise you!"
—Craig Lamb & Logan Foster #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Create a Stunning Website With Wordpress

Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Wordpress.com! Whether you’re looking to create a personal blog, business site, or both—you’ll make a big impact, when you build your website on WordPress.com. 💻

Get 15% off when you build your website with Wordpress.com—use promo code PODCAST when you check out.
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

Rogue Financial Analyst Earns $34,000 from Golf Membership Site

What It’s About

A former financial analyst hits a hole in one with his golf membership side hustle.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Golf is a great niche because it’s a hobby that people have to spend money on. In fact, there’s no way to participate in it without paying money. So just like personal finance is a great blog topic when it comes to monetization, so too is golf for this kind of side business.

Fun Fact

Sean also has a quest, which is closely connected to Breaking Eighty. It’s not just to break eighty—it’s to play the top 100 courses in America and the top 100 in the World. And he’s playing most of them for free!

He’s now played 41 of the top 100 in America and 35 of the Top 100 in the World. He’s currently looking for a way into Pine Valley—the #1 golf course in the world—so that he can mark off two more!

Notes from Chris

Episode 263

Sean Ogle got his start as a financial analyst, but that didn’t last very long. He had a bucket list, a list of goals, objectives, and missions of all the things he wanted to do in life. So he started a blog, Location Rebel, as a means of public accountability.

In another story which I told in some ways long ago in the Art Of Non-Conformity book, six months after starting the blog, Sean ended up quitting his job, moving to Thailand, and then working on Location Rebel and freelancing to pay the bills.

But that’s not what we’ll talk about today; today we’ll talk about his side hustle. Yes, even self-employed people need side hustles, and I really like Sean’s…

His side hustle is called Breaking Eighty, a golf membership club. Sean monetizes it through a community he created within the site called The Eighty Club. It’s an online forum for private golf club members across the world.

Right now they’ve just passed the 150 member mark in about 8 months of being in business. It continues to bring in 1-2 new members a week on average, at a fee of $500 annually. Right now Sean is looking at $35,000 in annual recurring revenue, that’s growing quite a bit since they raised their price from $250 to $500 a couple of months ago.

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Breaking Eighty: Take your game to the next level on Sean’s golf membership website. Fore!
  • Location Rebel: The blog that Sean started as a means of public accountability
  • WordPress: Sean used WordPress to create Breaking Eighty, and here you can learn how to install your own WordPress site in 5 minutes!
  • Discourse: The modern forum software that Sean used to build he forum for The Eighty Club
  • ConvertKit: The email carrier that Sean used for his mailing list, and right now, you can get your first month free!

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 think creating a small niche community is one of the best ways to grow an online business right now.

 Think about what the perfect community would look like for YOUR passions or hobbies. Niche down as far as possible, and then create that."
—Sean Ogle #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

Foodie Friends Blog Their Way to Free Stuff & Real Money

What It’s About

Two friends share food, travel experiences, and a profitable side hustle!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

For months they offered their services for free, reviewing small bakeries, coffee shops and food trucks in the form of reviews and social media campaigns. No brand was too small for them. With this attitude, they were able to feature a lot of different businesses.

As a result, they were also making industry connections and getting experience. It’s important to be open to new ideas and working with smaller start-up brands because everyone starts somewhere. And even smaller brands with limited budgets can still produce quality ideas and products.

Fun Fact

Karen and Alex knew that research was going to be key to their success. They spent time learning everything they could about a brand before making a partnership offer. They’d figure out the brand’s business style, challenges, goals, and history so that their offer could be tailored to the brand’s specific needs.

This level of research also helped Alex and Karen figure out how the brand would work with East Coast Contessas. Their efforts paid off because in spring of 2016 Alex and Karen landed their first paid partnership with a national wine company. Afterwards, they went to Central Park for had a celebratory picnic with cans of wine from their partnership.

Notes from Chris

Episode 256

Today’s story is about two friends who start a side hustle together, taking photos on Instagram to promote local restaurants. I like it because they are able to do this and make real money—I think $30,000 so far working part-time over the past year, and it’s very new so that should increase—without being internet famous. They started when they had just 1,000 followers on Instagram, which is certainly respectable but not huge. In other words, this was something that anyone can do.

By day Alexandra Booze works as an account manager for a PR firm in Washington DC. But on nights and weekend, this foodie and her friend Karen have turned food and lifestyle blogging into a profitable side hustle.

Whenever Alexandra would visit Karen in NYC, they would always go out to eat somewhere new and interesting. It was during one of those nights when they were looking for their next meal that they decided to start an Instagram account to document all their fun foodie adventures.

What started out as just friends and family liking their iPhone photos of food quickly turned into over 1,000 followers. So in September they launched their website East Coast Contessas to complement their Instagram account.

To kick off 2016, Alex and Karen made a list of all the brands they would like to partner with that year and then started reaching out and pitching to each brand personally. Their efforts paid off because in spring of 2016 Alex and Karen landed their first paid partnership with a national wine company.

The formula landed them on the right pricing as they continued to land more partnerships as the year went on. So far in 2017 they’ve brought in $12,000 in revenue and have enough campaigns scheduled out until the end of the year to surpass their 2016 figures.

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • East Coast Contessas: Share in Karen and Alex’s international foodie adventures on their website!
  • WordPress: Alex and Karen used WordPress to create East Coast Contessas, and here you can learn how to install your own WordPress site in 5 minutes!
  • GoDaddy: The platform that Alex and Karen used to get the domain for East Coast Contessas

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
"There’s no complicated business formula or secret to success that hasn’t been implemented or utilized before. If you love what you do and are willing to work hard to grow your business, the world is your oyster."
—Alexandra Booze #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Cook with Blue Apron!

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

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

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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


Here's How

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Man Earns $85,000 Promoting Mexican Avocados on Snapchat

What It’s About

Mexican avocados ripen into an $85,000 Snapchat consulting contract.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Austin had a lot of words of wisdom to impart to our Side Hustle School audience:

“Take massive, imperfect action. Side hustles often boil down to the amount of grit you have; nothing gets built successfully without a bit of hard work and patience. So often, I see my friends pursue an idea and give up before they ever even get started.”

Fun Fact

Launched in 2011, Snapchat is a popular mobile messaging app used to share photos, videos, and text, which is only available for a short time. Shortly after viewing a message (called a snap), it will self-destruct. A geo-filter is a graphic overlay that can be added to a snap to capture where you are or what you are doing.

Notes from Chris

Episode 235

Austin Dixon is a serial hustler. The digital marketing consultant and millennial business coach has a few side projects each with a varying level of involvement, success, and failure.

But the one he calls his “true side hustle”—the one he started to make some extra money outside the 9 to 5—is Filter Haus, a service that works with brands to promote their products/services through custom Snapchat Geofilter campaigns.

It was after Austin made a Snapchat Geofilter for a friend’s birthday party that he and his business partner Shane saw marketing potential. Geofilters were a great tool for marketing an event, so why not try them for marketing brands, too?

In one night, Austin set up a website and within the first week, the duo had made a sale. That first sale was a “this could actually work” moment, said Austin.

Filter Haus’s biggest client to date, Avocados from Mexico, came from a blog post-Austin did about their digital marketing strategy during the Super Bowl.

They were given creative freedom to pitch a campaign that would help create an association amongst millennials between sports and avocados and landed a 12-month, $85,000 contract.

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Filter Haus: Learn more about Austin and Shane’s Snapchat geo-filter on their website
  • WordPress: Austin and Shane used WordPress to create their website, and here you can learn how to install your own WordPress site in 5 minutes!
  • Avocados from Mexico: Filter Haus’s biggest client to date that came from a blog post Austin did about their digital marketing strategy during the Super Bowl

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 think my favorite thing about entrepreneurship is getting to help other business owners with their problems and, in turn, get help from them. When us entrepreneurs are willing to build each other up, it’s amazing the amount of progress that can be made together."
—Austin Dixon #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

Fidget Spinner Cookie Sensation Leads to Sweet Profits

What It’s About

A viral sensation inspires a baker to create an edible fidget spinner cookie.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Jessica kept her cookie creating side hustle simple and easy to manage for years. Through multiple jobs and different states, she took her side hustle with her. Luckily, all the states she’s lived in have cottage food laws, so she’s been able to work right out of her own kitchen.

For best results, find a flexible, low-maintenance side hustle that you can take with you no matter where you go.

Fun Fact

Jessica has made many unique cookies for so many happy customers over the years, but sometimes it’s the mistakes that stand out. A customer ordered chevron cookies for a party. Not knowing that “chevron” was a type of pattern, Jessica proceeded to make Chevron logo cookies.

Since it was a local order she dropped them off in person to a very confused client. While she ended up refunding the client’s money, Jessica still thought it was one of her funniest cookie stories yet!

Notes from Chris

Episode 233

Based in Dallas, Texas, Jessica Grose is currently the Executive Producer of a popular YouTube channel, but her side hustle is totally unrelated to the entertainment business… because she’s also been baking cookies on the side.

When she started ten years ago, she only took orders from friends and family for around $3/cookie and accepted cash or check. She always made custom cookies based on exactly what the client wanted—little dump trucks for a kids birthday party or pink feet for a baby shower.

She slowly started getting even more orders and spending an average of 5-8 hours a week baking, decorating and packing up cookies for customers, for anywhere from $500 to $1,000/month in sales.

For years this is how Jessica’s side hustle has gone—enough to keep her busy and occasionally serve an interesting celebrity customer. But then at the end of May 2017, Jessica made a fidget spinner cookie and it went viral.

All the attention has translated to an average of $2,000/month in new sales the past few months. Not bad for a business that she can run right out of her own kitchen!

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
"If you want to sell a food product, start with your family and friends first. They are your biggest cheerleaders. From there expand out into your different networks and the news will spread from there."
—Jessica Grose #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