Tag: Wine

Tech Employee Gets Paid to Visit Napa Wineries

What It’s About

A wine lover connects the gap between beginners and experts.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

We have looked at the role of personality in a side hustle a few different times. Especially when it comes to mediums like blogging or platforms like Instagram, people want to know about you. It’s true that the world of wine can be overwhelming or intimidating, but there are lots of ways they can learn about it. Kristen’s readers are interested in her perspective and her experiences, not just the knowledge itself.

Fun Fact

Although grapes grown in Napa Valley only represent 4% of the total grapes grown in California, the Napa Valley wine industry yields $50 billion dollars to the US economy. 95% of the wineries located in Napa Valley are family run, and 67% of these wineries produce fewer than 5,000 cases a year.

Notes from Chris

Episode 662
When Kristen Dussel first set her eyes upon Napa Valley’s lush vineyards, it was love at first sight. She couldn’t believe how beautiful it was—not to mention how delicious the wine could be—and dreamed of one day moving there after graduating from university.

And that’s what she did. She earned a degree in marketing and moved from Minnesota to San Francisco to work for a tech company. She loved the job. And she loved being so close to wine country.

She began visiting wineries on the weekends and soaking up all the knowledge she could. She was a fascinated learner, but sometimes it was just downright intimidating. The people she was interacting with at these wineries were seasoned sommeliers. The disconnect between the casual and enthusiast wine lover was clear—sometimes painfully clear.

Kristen wanted to close the gap, not only for herself but for other millennials who weren’t sure how—and just last fall, she realized the way to do it: a wine lifestyle blog.

In December 2017, Kristen launched her site, Wine Country Chick, and published her first blog: a review of Mumm Winery in Napa.

She published several more posts that month, making sure to stay active on social media. It quickly became clear that Instagram would have the most engagement for her brand since the market was so visual, so she focused on that.

She followed big names in the fashion and food world so that she could learn from their style. They posted frequently, favored certain kinds of photography, and published lots of Instagram Stories. So, naturally, she started doing it too. By early 2018, Kristen had amassed a small following of 3,000 people—and it was growing faster and faster.

In March, a local wine brand messaged Kristen and asked about the possibility of a sponsored post on Instagram. She couldn’t believe it. Someone already wanted to pay her for exposure! She quickly and excitedly agreed, celebrated with a glass of wine, and a couple weeks later, she had made $175 for something she would have done for free.

This opened up a whole new world for Kristen. The blog was just a creative project at first. But from now on, she wouldn’t just get to write about great wineries, she might actually get paid to do so.

Brands kept reaching out, and for the most part, partnerships went off without a hitch. Winecountrychick.com had its first $500 in June, and then in July the brand broke $1,000 and acquired her 10,000th follower.

These days, Wine Country Chick generates anywhere from $500 to $2,000 per month, depending on her full-time job commitments. Kristen’s 16,000 Instagram followers are highly engaged, and she reciprocates with constant engagement back. She’s thrilled that she’s built a profitable hustle in less than a year starting from scratch, and she loves that she’s helping others explore their passion along the way. Kristen is living the Napa dream.

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

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
"Put yourself out there. People want to see the face behind the camera and the business. You will be surprised by how many people will respond positively and feel connected to you and your brand."
—Kristen Dussel #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

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To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Minnesotan Earns $70,000/Year Teaching Wine Classes

What It’s About

A chance encounter leads to a new side hustle opportunity—and eventually, a full-time business.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Going from $1,000 to $5,000 is not 5x as hard—it’s more like 2x because you already have something that’s working. You have a proven model, so you don’t have to reinvent an all-new model. What you have to do is exactly what Jason did: reach more people, segment your audience so you have different options at different prices, become more efficient with the right tools and resources, and create extensions—like the wine tour, or then the wine tour referral extension, and now the training extension for wholesalers.

Fun Fact

Before Jason started offering wine classes, he was going to school to become a high school history and geography teacher. But after some time in the classroom, he became disenchanted with the idea. When he ended up teaching adults about the history of wine instead of kids about geography he still ended up using his teaching skills.

Notes from Chris

Episode 297

Today’s hustler is Jason Kallsen from Minnesota, whose side hustle came directly from his day job, though in a very unexpected way. Back in 1997, Jason was working for a wine shop when a guy came running in, saying that he was in a huge hurry but needed lots of wine to share with a bunch of fellow lawyers for a party he was hosting at his house. He pointed to his cart and said “Fill it up!” So Jason filled up the cart.

He thought nothing of it until a week later when he saw the same BMW raced into the parking lot, and the same lawyer running into the store again. Jason thought he hated the wine, so he actively hid in the store. The guy eventually found Jason and pointed at him accusingly while asking, “You picked out all those wines, right?! They were incredible but so obscure nobody knew what they were. So fill my cart up again with the same wines and come to my house next week and teach us about them! My friends really want to hear from you!” That was Jason’s lightbulb moment.

He filled up that guy’s cart again, went to his house, did the wine tasting, presented maps, talked about history and geography, and got paid for it. While that first time he only charged $50, most of which went towards pizza on the way home, it was the start of something.

The very next week he began a side hustle educating people about wine under the name Twin Cities Wine. Before long, he found so much success with this new side hustle and the projects that sprang from it, he ended up leaving his wine selling position in 2015.

At this point, Jason estimates that he’s taught over 10,000 people in his Intro to Wine class alone. Thinking about how many people he’s taught helps prevent the inevitable burnout of being a full-time entrepreneur, as do regular breaks from both wine and teaching. As he shared, “I constantly think about how lucky I am. I drink some of the best wines in the world for a living and get to teach people about them. It’s far more work than most would think, but I love my life.” Cheers to that!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Twin Cities Wine: Did you know that the shape of the glass you use to drink wine has a strong effect on how the wine presents itself both on the nose and on the palate? Check out Jason’s website to learn more!
  • MailChimp: The email service Jason uses to send out his newsletter
  • Eventbrite: The event sales platform that Jason used to schedule and ticket his events

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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

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

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

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

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

Quote of the Day
"If you want to start a side hustle, set a target goal every month of something you want to buy or pay off with the money you earn. If you can pay your car or student loans off with a Side Hustle then you feel the value far more than just buying pizza and video games. That will keep you motivated to keep hustling."
—Jason Kallsen #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

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


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To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Busy Marketing Professional Fills Niche with Biking Wine Tours

What It’s About

A Canadian wine tour on bikes!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Erin took action on her idea because she believed that if she didn’t launch something, someone else would.

As she put it, “If your idea keeps you up at night because you know you’ll be annoyed if someone else does it before you, it’s a good sign that you should pursue it.”

Fun Fact

Erin’s favorite tour so far was a private tour with her friends and family. While she was expecting a fun weekend with her friends, her boyfriend had other plans in mind and proposed at the last stop. Needless to say, both the bubbly and the excitement were plentiful.

Notes from Chris

Episode 208

Erin Bury didn’t think she had time for a side hustle. As Managing Director and a partner in a creative communications agency, she had a lot on her plate. But there was also an idea that wouldn’t go away.

Erin grew up visiting Prince Edward County, an up and coming wine region about two hours outside of Toronto. As she got older and of drinking age, her dad moved there and she would visit every summer with friends. They all loved touring the wineries but noticed that while there were limo tours available, unlike other wine regions there were no bicycle tours available. Erin knew this was a popular activity offered elsewhere.

She also believed that if she didn’t launch something, someone else would. As she put it, “If your idea keeps you up at night because you know you’ll be annoyed if someone else does it before you, it’s a good sign that you should pursue it.”

After a lot of planning on weekends and evenings, The County Wine Tours launched in May of this year. Their website is built on WordPress so they can easily maintain it, with online scheduling and payments processed by Checkfront. The tours are priced at $95 per person and so far they’ve been completely booked up on weekend days with anywhere from 2 to 10 people on a tour.

With anywhere from 5 to 10 inquiries coming in daily, Erin and her co-founders are excited that their great idea has gotten so much traction, so quickly. Their biggest problem at this point is managing demand on popular days. With the framework in place for public tours, they’ve also created private tours so people can book for a birthday party or bachelorette party, as well as corporate tours that companies can use as part of a retreat.

While it’s clear that there’s lots of room for expansion, they plan to ride out this season with their current bikes and then decide how many to add for next season.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • The County Wine Tours: Learn more about Erin’s niche bike tour side hustle on her website!
  • Giant Bicycles: The bicycle manufacturer that Erin worked with to select a fun cruiser bike with custom accessories for her bike tours
  • Keyword Planner: This tool helps you reach the right customers with the right keywords and helps you to better build your SEO and ad campaigns
  • TripAdvisor: Setting up their TripAdvisor profile helped The County Wine Tours capture those “word of mouth” recommendations online
  • Checkfront: The online booking system and reservation software that Erin used

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
"It’s impossible to do it all yourself. I work on the business during the evenings and on Sundays, and I’ve outsourced functions like customer service, marketing coordination and accounting so I can focus on the high-level stuff."
—Erin Bury #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

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

Stressed-Out Mom Gives Up TV to Launch Her Hustle

What It’s About

How a San Diego accountant who was coping with the struggles of new motherhood launched her own private label wine hustle.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

With this kind of hustle it’s usually best to make one thing work well and then expand slowly. Alternatively, you could try a lot of private labeled items at once, but you should probably drop whatever doesn’t work fairly quickly. You’ll establish more loyalty to the brand by being targeted and specific.

Heather started out selling wine which seemed like an easy product to associate with the Stressed Mommy brand. After she spent some time developing that as part of the brand, she began to think of what else a “stressed mommy” would need after a long day. Stressed Mommy spa products were a fantastic next step!

Questions to ask a private label vendor:

  • Does the vendor want you to provide a label mockup?
  • Are they sending the products to you to add your label or do they do it?
  • Which country or countries do they source from?
  • What is their minimum order quantity?
  • Will the supplier send a sample so you can judge quality before you buy?

Fun Fact

Like Jake Posko in Ep. 23, Heather is a new parent with a busy schedule and full-time job. Finding the time to start her side hustle wasn’t easy, but she figured out a way to do it anyways. In Heather’s instance, she decided to cut tv from her life and use the time she would have spent watching other people’s lives investing in her own.

Now that she’s gotten into a good rhythm, she’s working to help others achieve their own financial freedom by offering consultation services in addition to selling products for stressed out parents.

Questions to ask yourself:

  • Do you have room to store the products, or do you need a warehouse?
  • Do the products have an expiration date?
  • Do you want to invest in advertising?
  • If not, how will you grow your brand?
  • If the first product line takes off, what will you sell next?

Resources

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Quote of the Day
"Just start taking action. A side hustle is not going to grow crazy overnight so just do what you can everyday, and eventually, it will add up to something big."
—Heather Christian #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. 👩‍🍳

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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