Tag: Writing

The $30,000/Month Women’s Fitness Website

What It’s About

An office administrator experiences a huge return on her fitness blog.

Words of Wisdom

Tami offers an important insight to starting a successful affiliate blog, “I created A LOT of content. There was a time that I was writing and posting one article per day to my blog. It was a lot of work, but I think it helped me to build my site up and get traffic. I also tried to cover brand reviews from all angles, writing a lot of comparison style posts that were made to help the searcher make an informed decision.”

Fun Fact

Home gym equipment has been around for years, but 2020 saw the rise of the smart home gym equipment. This niche turned into a billion dollar industry seemingly overnight. What upcoming industries might you be able to capitalize on?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1718
Tami Smith spent seven years working as the office administrator for a physical therapy company. Around half that time was spent working from home, which was a great perk. But even the time saved from commuting wasn’t enough for her to achieve true work life satisfaction. This became clear after the birth of her second child in late 2018.

Tami soon realized that to keep her full time job, she’d have to put both her kids into daycare full-time. It was that, or figure out a way to make money at home while also being a full-time mom.

Around the same time, Tami started writing for a women’s fitness site. The client soon became Tami’s favorite, since she loved the topic and found the writing flowed effortlessly. That’s when an idea came along that gave her a run for her money.

Tami had been writing articles for the site, and earning a one-off fee. They’d take those articles, and continue to make affiliate commissions month after month. She realized she could build her own site, and produce her own content and probably earn a lot more. So without hesitation, on November 2019 she registered the domain FitHealthyMomma.com to do just that.

Tami didn’t take things too seriously in the beginning, posting a few articles over the next few months. However, in April 2020 she really started to sprint. The COVID-19 pandemic hit and a lot of her clients could no longer afford her. With writing skills and a lot of time on her hands, it was time to get to work.

And it worked, her first commission came through … for five dollars. Small, yet meaningful. Tami was ecstatic, and hooked on the concept of using her own blog for affiliate marketing.

She also started a YouTube channel and began cross posting all of her content there in video form. All this output took the site from humble beginnings and five dollar commissions, to over one hundred thousand visits per month and thirty thousand dollars in revenue today. Quite the transformation in one year’s time.

Not surprisingly, Tami wants to focus on growing Fit Healthy Momma even more. She’s since created a private Facebook Group and worked to build a community of like minded people who value her reviews and opinion. Down the line, she may introduce a course or program to help others achieve what she has: one word, one article and one affiliate commission at a time.

 

 

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 created A LOT of content. There was a time that I was writing and posting one article per day to my blog. It was a lot of work, but I think it helped me to build my site up and get traffic."
—Tami Smith #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

Tumultuous Relationship Leads to Togetherness Blog

What It’s About

A couple draws on their relationship experience to help others.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Karolina and Gabriel share some important advice: “When things didn’t go our way, it was always because there was something we didn’t know yet; we were missing knowledge or skills necessary to succeed. Once we developed those skills, we’d try again and we got much better results.”

Fun Fact

If you’ve heard the statistic that 50% of marriages end in divorce and always wondered if it was true, it is! In fact, for second marriages the rate is even higher. That makes relationship advice a huge market to tap into.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1667
Breaking up is hard to do, and no one understood that better than Karolina Bartnik and Gabriel Brenner. During the early period of their relationship they broke up and got back together no less than three times. That sort of emotional back and forth takes its toll and, when they reunited a final time, they vowed to do things differently.

They read relationship books and had plenty of measured conversations until, one by one, they worked through their problems. What emerged from all that hard work were two people committed to each other. Without all the fighting and drama, they had more time to relax, reflect and soon became closer than ever.

It’s a match made in heaven … but this isn’t The Notebook, it’s Side Hustle School.

When sharing their story with other couples they knew, they found they weren’t alone in the conflict. In fact, a lot of couples suffered from almost identical issues Karolina and Gabriel did.

That got them thinking, how could they take the lessons they’d learn about building a loving, caring relationship … and get paid? After all, relationship drama is all too common.

That’s when they learned about how to make money from blogging. Karolina and Gabriel paid for a fifteen dollar hosting package and installed WordPress using a ninety dollar theme.

January 2019 rolled around and they launched their blog, SimplyTogether.co, with ten articles. The process filled them with all the excitement (and nervousness) of a first date. They’d taken a course on blogging that advised them to be selective—so rather than target couples, they focused their content on women who wanted to improve their relationships.

The Amazon commissions climbed slowly, as did both their traffic and conviction. When their visitors were at twenty five thousand per month they were able to register for a display ad network that pays bloggers to display banner ads. Between that and Amazon commissions they were now bringing in a couple hundred dollars per month from the site.

Still, they didn’t stop there and along with the course they began offering coaching services to their customers. This opened up an additional revenue stream which, in case you’ve lost count, takes them up to four different sources. Between their ad revenue, Amazon affiliates, course sales and coaching; SimplyTogether now earns the couple an extra seven hundred dollars per month—and counting!

 

 

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
"When things didn’t go our way, it was always because there was something we didn’t know yet; we were missing knowledge or skills necessary to succeed. Once we developed those skills, we’d try again and we got much better results."
—Karolina and Gabriel #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

Warehouse Manager Sells Twitter-Threads-As-a-Service

What It’s About

A warehouse manager finds a way to tweet for cash. #brilliant

Words of Wisdom

Matthew saw how popular Twitter threads were and simply offered to create these for others. What side hustle idea can you come up with being observant of the world around you?

Fun Fact

Twitter is one of the world’s largest social networks, and arguably the most influential. Reaching over 300 million active users per month there’s a lot of potential selling products and services to those who want to capitalize on its immense popularity.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1662
Matthew Alexander works as a retail warehouse manager by day. When he isn’t thinking about the physical logistics of his job, he’s hanging out online looking for inspiration and ideas. Yet, as an active member of both the IndieHacking and No-code communities, he knows an idea is just the starting point; creating something and marketing it is when the real battle starts.

That was never more evident than when he first dabbled in the side hustling waters. He had the technical know-how to create an offering and build a website. But he fell short on creating an audience to market that offering. That was when Matthew began noticing Twitter threads.

Twitter threads are a series of related tweets that tell a story or elaborate on a topic when one hundred and forty characters aren’t enough. Some people share their best of tweets or connect anything they feel requires the additional text. For example, a thread might include a series of exercise tips for losing weight, or tips to improve your business in a specific way.

In relation to Matthew’s project, he’d seen a lot of Twitter threads go viral and help to significantly boost the posters profile and followers. With that audience, they could monetize their service and products. So, he set about trying it for himself with his accounts and low and behold, things did improve. He didn’t set the world on fire overnight but his followers increased after he started making threads.

Forever business minded, Matthew saw an opportunity here. If Twitter threads worked for others as well as himself, would people be willing to pay for a service that created threads for them? He set about testing the concept.

He purchased the domain name Ttaas.co—Twitter Threads as a Service—and used Carrd, a free website builder, to launch the site quickly. Carrd allowed for easy integration with Stripe, a credit card payment processor. After customers paid, Matthew directed them to a free Google Form where he asked a few questions about their business and objectives.

Matthew was featured in a newsletter that went out to fifteen thousand people, all aspiring entrepreneurs and side hustlers; exactly his target audience. That feature brought an influx of customers and a fair amount of overwhelm along with it. Matthew felt flustered, and unable to handle the volume effectively; especially while juggling his day job as well.

Yet he soon settled into it and managed the overflow just fine by outsourcing some of the work. Right in the nick of time too, because his side hustle kept growing to the point where he’s now generated two thousand dollars per month.

He’s managed to thread the needle between working a day job and balancing a side hustle. Matthew says this isn’t his first and it certainly won’t be his last.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Learn more about Matthew and his service at his website, ttaas.co.
  • Matthew used tools like, Carrd to launch his website and Stripe to collect online payments.

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
"Just start and keep going. This wasn’t my first side hustle attempt and it won’t be my last. The first one most likely won’t workout."
—Matthew Alexander #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

Food Scientist Cooks Up Juicy Profits

What It’s About

A doctoral student get’s paid to write about cake and eat it too.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Bryan urges other freelance writers: “Be willing to charge more. Your time is precious and if you have additional expertise, that’s valuable too … It’s easy to see writing as a commodity, but ultimately you’re offering an expression of your thoughts and words to your client.” Just some food for thought.

Fun Fact

Bryan has eaten chicken feet, coagulated pork blood, and durian, the smelliest fruit in the world. Still, he draws the line at “piftie,” a savory gelatin dish from Romania that’s similar to French aspic. His wife’s family is Romanian, so they convinced him to try it.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1632
Back in 2011, Bryan Quoc Le got accepted to PhD programs in chemistry. But he wasn’t sure if the time was right. His father had passed away the year before, so he needed time to reflect and clear his head. He set out to walk across the country and figure out his next steps.

He ended up walking 2,000 miles from his alma mater, UC Irvine, to New Orleans, Louisiana in about six months. The walk was a sort of social experiment to see how far he could go based on the generosity of others. People would just drive by, leave him money, food, or water, and drive away. Through that experience, he found he liked talking to people from all walks of life, sharing stories with anyone he met, and writing about his journey online.

A few years later, Bryan got married and his wife turned him into a foodie. He also got really interested in how food and science intersect. So, in 2015, he started a PhD program in food science. That’s the study of the science and technology involved in creating food at scale. After an internship, though, he realized that he didn’t want to be an R&D scientist for a company. He also didn’t want to do academic research.

Bryan asked himself: what was the sweet spot between what he was good at, what he liked to do, and what the world needs? It turned out that a new path had been marinating this whole time. He had a friend who worked as a freelance journalist and he liked the idea that writing is portable—it was something he could take anywhere. Plus, he loved to tell stories.

Between 2018 and 2019, Bryan earned about $2,000. He wasn’t exactly rolling in dough, but he’d tasted the fruits of his labors and knew he could grow his earnings even more. After a year of writing, he created a portfolio website using JournoPortfolio to help him keep track of his writing samples. He kept writing for free for the association to position himself as an authority in that industry and eventually moved up to managing their blog, Science Meets Food.

Bryan is now earning $4,500/month consistently and projects that he’ll hit $6,000/month in June if all goes according to plan. In the next year or two, he hopes to earn $10,000/month on a consistent basis by adding subdisciplines with high demand, like food safety consulting and technical documentation for food manufacturers

He also plans to add additional revenue streams such as writing a second book and starting a podcast. One of the limitations of freelance writing is that it’s hard to really scale up earnings, because you’d have to raise your rates or complete more projects and there are only so many hours in a day, so adding those revenue streams is smart.

He’s also in talks with a food startup company to become its spokesperson and chief storyteller.

 

 

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 willing to charge more. Your time is precious and if you have additional expertise, that’s valuable too … It’s easy to see writing as a commodity, but ultimately you’re offering an expression of your thoughts and words to your client."
—Bryan Quoc Le #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

Savvy Couple Grows Finance Blog into Six Figure Business

What It’s About

This couple makes bank teaching other couples how to do the same.

Words of Wisdom

Kelan encourages side hustlers to start now. “The longer you wait the harder it’s going to become. This side hustle has changed a lot over the last few years. I would gather up your passions, experience, and education and pick a profitable niche to own.”

Fun Fact

While paying off their debt, Kelan and Brittany used eBay and Facebook Marketplace to flip items like electronics and sports memorabilia. Their most unusual flip was an antique playset they found by the side of the road and flipped for over $200.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1620
Kelan and Brittany Kline left college with over $40,000 worth of student loan debt. Brittany’s job teaching and Kelan’s job in law enforcement only brought in so much money, so they wanted another way to get ahead financially.

In 2016, they started a blog called The Savvy Couple. The blog’s mission was to help families like them put more money in their pockets so they can spend more time doing the things they love. Sounds good, right? But they weren’t the first to try this, so it took some time to get going.

Initial startup costs were less than $100. They didn’t have children at the time, so they gave up watching TV and spent weekends, weeknights, and holidays working to grow the blog.

Nine months in, they made their first $50 from a sponsored post. Kelan says it was the most impactful money they ever made, because it was a tipping point of knowing the hard work was paying off. (Yes, he’s a little optimistic … so much so, that two weeks later, he told Brittany he needed to quit his job and run the site full-time.)

Jumping in with both feet that quickly isn’t for everyone, but in his case, it paid off. He did have a backup plan to become a home inspector if blogging didn’t work out—but he was determined to make it work. While he scaled up the blog, he also found freelance work teaching English to Chinese students for $20 an hour. Within two months, the blog was making $2,000-$3,000 per month and he was able to focus fully on that.

That year, they grew the site to six figures and paid off their remaining student loans. Once they became debt-free, they had a month where they made over $43,000 because they were hitting on all cylinders and landed a big sponsorship. Forty-three thousand dollars was more than Brittany’s entire year’s salary as a teacher, so it was a clear sign it was time for her to quit teaching and join Kelan full-time.

The Savvy Couple is now one of the most popular family finance blogs reaching millions of readers each year and profiting over $10,000 per month. While these numbers are impressive, they have adjusted their strategy over time to keep up.

In the future, their goal is to grow the blog into a household name in the family finance space and generate seven figures a year. Keep an eye on this savvy couple.

 

 

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
"This side hustle has changed a lot over the last few years. I would gather up your passions, experience, and education and pick a profitable niche to own."
—Kelan Kline #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

TBT: Diabetic Travel Blogger Embraces #VanLife

What It’s About

A travel blogger moves to a new stage of adventure.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1608

Welcome to Throwback Thursday / “Where are they now?” where we take an in-depth look at someone who’s story has evolved considerably since we first featured them.

Last week, we heard from Hannah Fastov in New York City, the founder of Go Dash Dot, which sells handbags and other accessories for active women.

Today, in our latest feature, we’ll hear from an Irish travel blogger with type 1 diabetes. She’s recently moved to YouTube—and into a tiny home on wheels that she and her partner plan to take across Europe and beyond.

We first featured her more than a year ago, and I really liked how she and her partner focused their travel blog on that topic, both from a practical perspective—there are way too many travel bloggers, and they found a speciality—and also from a personal perspective because my dad has type 1 diabetes.

Listen to today’s episode to hear Brad and Cazzy’s updates…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Dream Big, Travel Far: Dream big, travel far, and learn more about this adventurous side hustle over on Brad and Cazzy’s website!

 

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

Lifelong Superfan Gets Paid to Write Disney Blog

What It’s About

Dreams do come true for this Disney superfan who get’s paid to write about “the most magical place on earth“.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

“The key for me has been to figure out what is most important and what I’m best at.” By learning to embrace constraints, Becky’s Disney blog began to bring in consistent revenue.

Fun Fact

You’ve obviously seen Becky writing about Disney on her website, but did you know she first started writing about Disney to herself as a 10 year old? Now that’s passion.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1569
Becky Ginther has always been passionate about Disney. Ever since she took her first trip to Disney World when she was ten, she fell in love with the theme park and started saving money to go back. In fact, she started writing her own personal guide book and itinerary.

She kept returning over the next decade, and even chose Disney World as the location for her honeymoon.

Since so much of her life was connected to this happy place, Becky decided that she would share her passion publicly with the world. Fresh out of grad school, she had just gotten a job as a children’s librarian. The work was ideal, but the pay was fairly low, and she had student loans.

She had already been writing for other websites on all things Disney related, and realized that it would make a lot more sense if she had her own platform that she could control. With these two reasons in mind, Becky started her blog, Disney in Your Day.

For someone who launched her site on a $5/month hosting plan, Becky’s Disney side hustle has now paid off, bringing her at least $500 every month from ads and another $500 or so from tours. And remember, this is a topic and industry that’s close to her heart. It’s not her full-time job, but it’s a very frequent part-time passion.

Without blogging about Disney, she would not have become a Disney travel agent and gotten exclusive access to different VIP events. It’s a dream come true for someone who has loved Disney as a ten year old girl.

Becky’s advice for those who want to build a business while holding down a day job is to embrace constraints. As she puts it, “If I had all the time in the world I could never do anything.” The key has been to figure out what’s important and what she’s good at, and to ignore everyone else giving her well-meaning advice.

 

 

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
"The key for me has been to figure out what is most important and what I’m best at."
—Becky Ginther #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: Budget Savvy Bridal Blog Gets Serious

What It’s About

An update from a budget savvy bridal blogger.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1559

Welcome to Throwback Thursday / “Where are they now?” where we take an in-depth look at someone who’s story has evolved considerably since we first featured them.

Last week, we heard from the founder of Turnkey Translator, who argued that anyone who speaks multiple languages can profit from their skills.

Today, in our latest feature, we’ll hear from the founder of Budget Savvy Bride. She recently said “yes” to serious growth!

What’s happened since we first featured Jessica in Ep. 849, approximately 710 days ago? Let’s hear directly from her. I’ll be back at the end to wrap us up.

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

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • The Budget Savvy Bride: Head on over to Jessica’s blog to learn more or forever hold your peace
  • The Budget Savvy Wedding Planner & Organizer: From planning tools and checklists to worksheets and calendars, Jessica’s book has all of the need-to-know advice to help you navigate the wedding industry traps. Learn more, here!
  • WordPress: Jessica used WordPress to set up The Budget Savvy Bride, and here you can learn how to install your own WordPress site in 5 minutes

 

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

Healthcare Worker Publishes Children’s Book on Epidemiology

What It’s About

Not seeing the diversity representation in children books, a mother writes her own.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Regardless of your side hustle, Valene has some advice about reflection and progress over time. She suggests to “Do a weekly brain flush of everything you want to try in your business, what worked, what didn’t or what to tweak.”

Fun Fact

Racial diversity of main characters and diversity in authors are growing, but slowly. This means there’s still a large gap (and opportunity) to increase representation. [source]

Notes from Chris

Episode 1555
When the first lockdown for COVID-19 hit, Valene [vah-leen] Campbell knew she needed a new plan to make money. Right around then, Valene went on a walk that would change her life.

She was taking her daughter out for a stroll when they noticed a young boy sitting on a porch facing a window and talking to someone. When she took a closer look, she saw that there was another little boy on the other side of the glass. They were playing cards—separated by the glass for the sake of social distancing, but still able to play!

Valene was impressed by how they were making the best out of a bad situation. It also made her wonder about how children were handling the pandemic.

That’s when she had her first big idea: to write a children’s book to explain epidemiology—and she wondered who her main character would be. At first she thought she’d choose an animal, a common technique of children’s books. Would it be a squirrel? A dog? Maybe an insect? Then, she looked down at her daughter and realized that there were no books on her shelf with a main character that looked like her.

I should mention that Valene is Black. As part of her research, she discovered that according to one study, only 23% of children’s books featured non-white characters.

With that insight, she opened her notes app on April 1st, 2020 and started writing The Amazing Zoe Defeats the Germie Gremlins.

The Amazing Zoe was published in May 2020, less than two months after Valene had the idea. She was able to reach her audience through social media, connecting with librarians and elementary school teachers, word of mouth and a newsletter. The best part? None of these options cost money.

At this point, Valene is basking in the story of her success (two stories, actually). She’s earning about $700 a month and is experimenting with Amazon ads to increase sales further. She has two more children’s books in the works and is planning to launch a media house to help other self-published authors. It’s a series of moves in the write direction.

 

 

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
"Do a weekly brain flush of everything you want to try in your business, what worked, what didn’t or what to tweak."
—Valene Campbell #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

Government Lawyer Lands Whale of a Side Gig

What It’s About

An attorney hooks into a second income writing about his passion for fishing.

Words of Wisdom

Pete has some great advice about writing: “I have trust in my process. Every time someone told me that my writing didn’t fit the mold of what was expected, that’s when I’ve gotten attention.

Fun Fact

Pete once fished with Kevin VanDam, the “Michael Jordan” of bass fishing. Over the course of his career, KVD (as he is known) has earned more than $6 million making him the all-time money winner in professional bass fishing.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1550
By day, Pete Robbins is your average government lawyer, toiling away as one of thousands of federal employees in the Washington, DC area. By night, he’s one of the most prolific and well-known writers in the world of professional fishing.

Pete has managed to do what many people dream of doing—he turned a lifelong passion for fishing into a lucrative side hustle. By starting with a simple blog on a well-known fishing website and leveraging the many connections he made through his writing, Pete has been able to earn tens of thousands of dollars in income, gifted fishing gear, and free travel.

It all started way way back in 2004. He’d been writing for free for a friend’s fishing website and was able to get on a boat as a passenger during a fishing competition. From that experience he sold his first article for $400 and realized that writing about fishing could be a money making endeavor.

Pete kept casting out his line and hooking new gigs time after time after time. Eventually, he enlisted the help of his wife and a graphic designer to create his own website, HalfPastFirstCast.com.

It’s still a side hustle, but it now brings in at least $40,000 in annual income, with a high of $63,000 in earnings in 2019. One way Pete has reached that level of earnings is through leveraging as many connections as possible. As he tells it, that $40,000 doesn’t come from one or two clients but from lots of little jobs. For instance he ghost-writes the monthly columns of six different professional anglers for a major website for $150 each, which nets him $10,800 annually.

Besides leveraging his connections, hooking those small fish in order to catch the big ones, Pete learned early on that in order to grow his writing career he needed to stand out from the pack. As he tells it, “The fishing industry is very insular. Most of the writing fits within narrow guardrails. While I’m cautious not to pick unnecessary fights, I’m also not afraid to express my opinion, even if it’s an unpopular one.”

But I’m sure that if you asked Pete what the biggest benefit that has come out of his side hustle, he’d point to his wife. Remember that first article he sold for $400? Well at the time he was dating his girlfriend Hanna, and while he had saved $1200 for an engagement ring so that he could propose to her, he needed a bit more and was struggling under the cost of living expenses in the pricey DC market. That first paycheck for his writing made him realize that he could turn his passion for fishing into real money, which he could then trade for something even more important.

 

 

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

Sponsors & Gratitude

Try ShipStation for 60 Days FREE!

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

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

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

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

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

Keep in Touch

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


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau