Tag: Writing

Writer-Editor Makes Six-Figure Life Revision

What It’s About

A writer edits his life by editing other people’s writing.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Liam has some helpful advice for anyone looking to do this kind of work; “Join workshop groups (online or in-person) where you can get practice editing and providing feedback. Learn what it feels like to have people criticize your work and how best to handle it. A big part of being a successful editor is knowing how to give honest feedback without insulting or upsetting your client.”

Fun Fact

Self-published titles are having a real moment. Those who used to be dismissed as hobby writers are now, in many cases, achieving mainstream success. One such example is Andy Weir whose book, The Martian, started out as a 99 cent ebook for Kindle and ended up selling millions of copies and being turned into a feature film starring Matt Damon.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1043

Liam Carnahan thought he wanted to be a writer. After finishing high school, he studied for a degree in Writing, Literature, and Publishing.

While at college, he was surprised to discover his love for editing. In lots of ways, he found more joy in reviewing and guiding other writers than he did in writing his own stories.

So, when he graduated he decided to look for a role as an editor. Unfortunately, his hunt began at the height of the global financial crisis. There weren’t many jobs paying a decent wage for an aspiring editor at the time.

Rather than go hungry, he took a position as a writer in what he describes as a “content farm.” This was a low-level agency, all too popular at the time. Rather than craft well thought out, informative pieces; his employer simply paid him to spin out quick and dirty three-hundred word blog posts day after day…

Around the same time, Amazon released the Kindle. With the launch, almost overnight anyone who wanted to could publish their own ebook. Liam found the whole idea fascinating, and started reading several of the ninety-nine cent self-published books available on Amazon.com.

Very quickly he realized, a lot of these authors had great ideas, but wow, some of them really needed the help of an editor!

He thought this was the kind of work he could easily do remotely and in his spare time. After discovering a few businesses that offered editing services, he sent his resume off. Before long, he had landed himself his first freelance gig.

But that’s not all she wrote…

The arrangement didn’t last long as Liam’s side hustle employer—a boss by another name—decided to retire shortly after hiring him. He suggested Liam try his hand at running a business himself. He even offered to link to Liam’s new website, if he built one.

Liam decided to take a crack at writing his own story … a story of independence. He still had a day job, so there was little risk. But, if things worked out, it might be a path to the life of freedom he’d long dreamed of.

He called his service Invisible Ink Editing. His real side hustle was now in its first draft.

It didn’t take long before Liam had his first customer, who arrived via referral from his previous employer’s website. Over the coming months, Liam had a handful of additional clients show up. It gave him the foundation of his first customer base.

As more and more clients came through though, Liam refined that process. He figured out how best to charge, eventually settling on a per word rate.

Within another year, he had more customers than he could handle on his own.

Liam decided he needed help and looked for additional editors he could hire on freelance basis. He would pay them a reasonable rate per job, and keep a percentage for himself.

Add on a couple more years, and both SEO and word of mouth helped Invisible Ink continue to grow. By 2018 he had six part-time editors and he was doing quite well. So much so that in mid-2019, he reached the elusive six-figure mark in yearly profit and took the plunge, leaving his day job.

For over a decade, Liam dreamed of finding work that would allow him the flexibility to travel and set his own hours. He’ll be celebrating the achievement next year by taking off to Asia and living the nomadic lifestyle for a while.

But it’ll be far from a holiday, Liam has already soft launched his next project, a content agency of his own. If it can do half as well as Invisible Ink Editing, it will be a story worth telling.

 

 

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

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
"Write yourself. You can’t be a good editor if you don’t know how to write."
—Liam Carnahan #SideHustleSchool

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

Mom Finds Love As Dating App Ghostwriter

What It’s About

A stay-at-home mom transforms into an online dating fairy godmother.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Meredith has some encouraging words for those who struggle with fear, “I was nervous about doing something new and had common fears like “what if it fails!” but at the end of the day, I knew fear of failure wasn’t a reason not to try. So my advice is to try it. Worst case it doesn’t work out! Better to try than not and have regrets later.”

Fun Fact

According to research conducted by eHarmony, more than 1 in 5 people have had someone help with their online dating profile. It’s clearly working because the same research shows that 20% of all current committed relationships began online.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1024

In 2015, Meredith Golden was a stay at home mom living in New York City. With two young sons to take care of, her life was quite busy—and living in a bustling city didn’t make things any easier.

Meredith’s friends, however, had problems of a different kind—the dating kind. Meredith herself had been married for over ten years so was out of the scene. In fact, smartphones and dating apps weren’t even a thing last time she was single. Even so, she had her own way of communicating and her flirting skills were on point. These were talents her friends loved to tap in to.

They’d often found themselves asking for advice on how to proceed with someone they’d matched with on a dating app. Meredith always seemed to have the right banter or flirty comment at the ready. By following her advice, her friends often found dating success.

After receiving a lot of praise, Meredith wondered if this specialized skill of hers could be useful outside her circle of friends. Luckily, she was about to enter a period of her life where she could test the idea. Her youngest son had just started preschool which freed up a few hours everyday … so she decided to try offering dating app ghostwriting.

On a whim she made a Facebook post about it. Within three days, Meredith felt like the belle of the ball. The response was tremendous! She received eight thousand, seven hundred likes and comments. The post had gone semi-viral and spread well beyond the people she knew. It seemed like a lot of people out there needed help navigating the treacherous world of dating apps.

She launched her service and called it Spoon Meet Spoon. She already had her first client through the viral Facebook post so she started working on what she’d actually do. At first, Meredith would merely try to replicate what she did for her friends. It went a little something like this…

She’d review the client’s dating app profile and offer advice on improving it. That might be by updating their bio or improving the photos. Then, Meredith would take control of the clients dating profile and handle all the back and forth messaging with their matches.

Soon enough, that first client was going on more dates and having a great time.

Word of mouth spread, and before she knew it she had too many clients to handle and was often working up to twelve hours a day. That was awesome at first, until she realized she wasn’t valuing her time enough and charging too little for the time taken.

So, she came up with a system of pricing packages to maximize her time and offer the best possible service. Her top tier clients would be charged two thousand per month for an initial face to face meeting and daily communication about the engagement and success of their profiles.

Meredith has been featured in several media publications like CNBC and The New York Times. This exposure continues to bring in clients on a regular basis. By only taking on ten to twelve clients at any one time, she’s able to remain focused and provide the best possible ghost writing quality.

Meredith is still incredibly busy, sometimes still working all day and into the evening. On the bright side though, this romantic side hustle has proven to be quite lucrative. Merdith is on track to easily clear six figures in revenue this year.

What started as a hobby helping friends has become a moneymaking project she’s fallen in love with.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Spoon Meet Spoon: Need a little help with your online dating game? Learn more about Meredith and her services at her 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

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 knew the fear of failure wasn’t a reason not to try. So my advice is to try it. Worst case it doesn’t work out! Better to try than not and have regrets later."
—Meredith Golden #SideHustleSchool

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

Kids’ Books Prove To Be More Than Child’s Play

What It’s About

A devoted uncle unlocks his gift of storytelling, illustrating a series of award-winning children’s books.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Don’t be afraid to continue working at something you love, even if you aren’t making a lot of money. Dave slogged away at writing for 10 years before he started to earn some real money. While this may seem daunting, it never was – because he loved the process.

Fun Fact

Dave was born with dyslexia, ADD, and Aspergers and was put into special education classes. He was completely illiterate until junior high school. Now… he’s an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1019

David Howard had a difficult life growing up. At a young age, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, ADD, and Asperger syndrome. It was a cocktail of complexes that made conventional learning difficult. Most of his schooling consisted of attending special education classes.

The supportive environment helped, but not quite enough, and David remained illiterate until junior high. As a result, he was often bullied by the other kids and felt alone, ostracized, and scared.

During that time, he found an escape in the form of art and creative writing. By combining words with images, he crafted stories and built his own world. A world where no one could bully or hurt him.

To some extent, it worked! David made it through high school and says now that all those experiences—both positive and negative—shaped him. After graduation, he attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, graduating with an associate’s degree in Visual Communications.

Fast forward a few years, and David received some exciting news. His niece was pregnant, and the family celebrated with a baby shower. David wanted to give her a memorable gift, and thought of a poem he’d written about a dog some years earlier. He thought he could expand the poem to create a children’s story book.

He spent some time illustrating and fleshing out the story then, presented it to his niece. It was an instant hit with all the guests. On top of that, it was the first time he had received such direct praise for his work… and he liked it!

Unfortunately, a few months later David’s family was hit with tragedy. That child passed away shortly after being born, dying of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. As a way of coping with the loss, David decided to rework the book he’d gifted, and dedicate the finished product to his great niece.

The book was titled “Lady’s Day To Play” and David self-published several copies through Lulu, a self-publishing website. He donated a portion of the sales to S.I.D.S research. The process was cathartic for him, and he vowed to continue writing and illustrating.

As time went on, he wrote more and more stories and turned them into books. He continued to sell them to family and friends, but it wasn’t until over a year later that he managed to sell to what he considered real customers. That is, people who weren’t inside his direct network. That first flutter of outside sales came in through word of mouth.

Afterwards, he decided to launch a website to showcase some of his work. He named the site “Uncle Dave’s Books.” Under that label he produced several titles including Mouse In The House, Baby Ben Did It Again, and The Cloud That Couldn’t Cry.

Ever since these books were published, he’s sold around two hundred books per month and generates over two thousand dollars profit. The money is still just a bonus for David. What he enjoys most about the process is that his stories put smiles on children’s faces.

With that amount of revenue, David feels comfortable enough to take the next step. He will soon be opening a brick and mortar store to sell his books in a physical location. The story is far from over…

 

 

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
"I just love helping kids. Just seeing the joy on their faces is payment enough."
—Dave Howard #SideHustleSchool

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

College Student Pays Off Loans With “Fitnancial” Blog

What It’s About

A student climbs out of debt by sharing her personal story of transformation.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Alexis says that she waited so long to start a side hustle because she was afraid of what could go wrong. She encourages others who hope to have a side hustle to consider what could go right. “Think about the positives, the opportunities, and how anything is possible, as cliche as that sounds.”

Fun Fact

Alexis used the extra cash that she made from her blog to take her mom on her dream vacation, an Alaskan cruise. One of their favorite memories from the trip was from the very last night. Along with a few other passengers, they were watching the sunset from the back of the boat when a whale came up over the water.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1008

The year was 2011. The first Thor movie had just come out, Adele’s Rolling in the Deep was at the top of the charts, and Alexis Shroeder had just graduated from high school.

As is the case for many students, those four years were rough. But Alexis had to deal with issues far worse than failed tests and friend drama. She lost her father to cancer, struggled with family issues, and was in an abusive relationship.

As time went on, Alexis developed depression. She turned to alcohol and cigarettes to cope, but ended up feeling even worse than she did before. As a consequence, she ended up gaining a lot of weight.

She hit a tipping point when her family’s house was being foreclosed. Alexis needed something in her life to change for the better. So, she decided to work with a personal trainer. With regular exercise and a change in her diet, she felt much better than she ever had. She had the strength, energy, and dedication to be active. She started to kickbox, hike, rollerblade and go for walks.

Her friends were amazed at the 180-degree change they saw with her health. They soon began encouraging her to start a blog about her journey.

Alexis thought about it for a while, then eventually decided to launch Fitnancials.com in 2013. She didn’t just want to talk about health, she also wanted to talk about managing money. The combination was important.

Over the next few years, Alexis casually posted on Fitnancials a couple of times a month. She only spent an hour or two a month working on it, but she enjoyed the process. It felt like a personal journal, just one that other people could read and draw encouragement from.

Soon, however, something else would change. The blog started to pick up a decent amount of traffic. Companies began to ask if they could advertise on the sidebars of her website—or if she would be willing to do sponsored posts.

As a college student looking to pay the bills, Alexis jumped at the opportunity to make some extra cash from her hobby. At first she earned a few hundred dollars a month from Fitnancials, which went a long way for someone with a low income.

After gaining some traction, she started talking to other bloggers. She made new friends, both offline and virtually. Through this process, Alexis realized that people really could make a living from blogging. Real life examples were all around her!

So in 2017, four years after she first started Fitnancials, Alexis committed to treating her blog like a business. She wanted it to grow, and she knew that only spending a couple of hours on it a month would not get her to the level she hoped for.

It turns out, Alexis’s ideas to improve her blog were right on the money. She began to make $1,000 a month, then $3,000. She even climbed up to making $5,000 a month.

In her first year of committing to her blog, she made $35,000. This was while she was still attending college.

Then, in her second year, between her junior and senior years of college, Alexis made $80,000. This is more money than she ever expected to make in a year in her life. Since then, she’s graduated with a degree in psychology and has been able to pay off all of her student loan debt, buy a car, and start maxing out her retirement accounts.

Her biggest and most important life transformation was for herself, overcoming those major challenges she experienced in adolescence. But her second transformation is helping others make their own positive changes … in both fitness and financials.

 

 

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

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
"Think about the positives, the opportunities, and how anything is possible, as cliche as that sounds."
—Alexis Schroeder #SideHustleSchool

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

Layoff Leads Journalist to Build Kindle eBook Empire

What It’s About

After being laid off, a journalist travels the world self-publishing eBooks.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Kyla has some thoughts regarding whether or not to scale your business, “I spent most of last year trying to scale up and build a massive business around publishing, with a stable of writers and editors to outsource to. I learned from that experience that I don’t like managing people — I’d rather just write it myself! So despite what you hear in the entrepreneurial community, sometimes it’s OK not to scale. I love being a solopreneur, and that’s OK, too.”

Fun Fact

When working on her first book, Kyla found the mere thought of writing a book almost too intimidating to take on. It was only through cutting up the process into bite-size chunks, and refining each one, that she became successful.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1006

We don’t all get into side hustles for the same reason. Some of us want to leave our day jobs, others just want extra income. For Kyla Gardner, it was all about having the freedom and flexibility to go where she wanted, when she wanted.

Kyla earned a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Northern Illinois University, and then snagged a job as a reporter at an online news startup in Chicago. She covered breaking news, local crime, and human-interest features. She was skilled at the work and loved it, but something was missing.

So she made a big change, signing on to a customer service role that involved three months of training in Vietnam, before working as a remote employee. She got the freedom she wanted from that job, and worked there until she was let go.

Good thing she’d already been side hustling for nine months.

It all started with a coworker. When Kyla found out he was making $1,500 a month publishing Kindle ebooks, her interest was piqued.

He lent her a $100 Kindle course he had learned from, and she took the plunge. She admits that most of what the course covered could probably be found on the internet for free, but having it all organized in one package made things easier.

She learned all about finding a profitable niche and optimizing your Amazon listing for keyword rankings. Then she began to experiment, writing short how-to guides in the form of ebooks that she listed for sale on the platform.

It took six months—and her first two ebooks—before she made a total of $60 in royalty payments. Small as the amount was, that was the moment Kyla realized that Kindle Publishing could actually be a viable income.

One of the keys Kyla discovered to publishing on Kindle is the importance of topical research. The market is huge. To make sure her books stand out, she looks for an underserved niche, and then pays attention to the negative reviews for books already written in that field.

This business is extremely low-risk. You might not be profitable from the beginning, but as long as you’ve done the right research, it’s hard to lose money writing for Kindle. Kyla’s first book costs were $100 on custom illustrations, and $10 for a cover design.

What are the results? Kyla now has even more the freedom to travel and live where she likes, while writing about topics that fascinate her. She’s published more than 50 short ebooks since her side hustle became her full-time job in 2017. When she first made the transition, nine months after she started, she was making $350 a month. Now, she makes between $3,500-$7,000 a month in profit.

She’s currently transitioning from the world of how-to and self-help to writing fiction under her own name. She’s already published “Greyhound at the Gravesite”, a cozy murder mystery, and is now working on “Guru,” a suspense novel about digital nomads trying to survive a nightmare in Thailand. If all goes well, they’ll be bestsellers on Kindle.

 

 

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

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
"I loved my journalism job, but I didn’t want to wake up in 40 years and realize I had been doing the same thing in the same city my whole life. There was a whole world out there to see!"
—Kyla Gardner #SideHustleSchool

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

RV Nomads Help Fellow Travelers Get Online

What It’s About

On the road for over 13 years, this nomadic couple teaches others how to start their own adventure.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Really assess what your unique ‘thing’ is. What do you enjoy doing that could be turned into an income earning pursuit? In our case, we had stumbled into a niche – all we needed to do was decide to make it a priority. We tapped into an existing and proven demand out of something we were already doing for free.

Fun Fact

It’s estimated that 1 million Americans now live in RVs and call the highways and byways of the USA home. This number should only grow higher as more people turn their back on conventional society for a more simple life. There will be plenty of opportunities for those wanting to enter this market in the coming years.

This nomadic couple are proof that you never know where the road will take you. If you follow it, you might just end up somewhere great that you never expected.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1001

When Chris Dunphy and Cherie Ve Ard packed up an RV in 2006, they traded their homebound lifestyle for the open road. They both worked remotely, and without ties to a traditional office they figured it could be a fun way to live … at least for a while. It turned out that they were embarking on what would become at least a thirteen year adventure.

They took to the lifestyle right away. Without the constraints of a daily commute or office politics, they found themselves with extra time and headspace … so they decided to start a travel blog. They called it Technomadia and they wrote about their road trippin’ ways across the country while working full time. Much of the content centered around RV specific items like solar power, batteries and accessing the internet while on the go.

Over time, Chris and Cherie built up some solid traffic and with it, an audience. That audience loved to ask questions, especially about that last topic, mobile internet. How to access it? Which plans were best? What did they do when something went wrong? The questions often came in so rapidly that responding to them all was a part-time, unpaid job!

This went on for several years until, in 2013 they received some terrible news. Cherie’s father—and business partner—had passed away. It was a trying time for the couple. Cherie found the best recovery was to keep herself busy, so she took on a side project.

She went through their existing blog posts, as well as all the questions they’d received from their visitors, and compiled them into a guide entitled The Mobile Internet Handbook.

Taken on as a pet project, neither Chris nor Cherie expected much from it. They listed it for sale on their site and continued life as RV nomads on the open road. A few sales rolled in … but then their RV stopped rolling shortly thereafter courtesy of an engine break down.

Interestingly, during that time their book began to take on a life of its own and sales revved up. Simultaneously, the questions they received from readers only increased. Many of the questions were the same—which sometimes felt like driving around in circles.

In response, they opened a Facebook group targeting RV nomads who were interested in mobile internet and working from anywhere. The idea being, with a community behind things, it might take the pressure off them to answer questions. The community as a whole could help each other out. But, this plan turned out to be a dead end. The questions kept coming, even faster than before.

Expressing this dismay with members of the group led one of them to make a suggestion. Their idea was for Cherie and Chris to consider a premium membership. Members could pay in exchange for more content and advice. At least then they’d be getting paid for all their efforts.

It seemed like a ridiculous idea, but they decided to give it a try. By now, the handbook needed updating so they put up a crowdsourcing campaign to fund a rewrite. One of the reward tiers included this premium membership. To their surprise, one hundred people signed up and prepaid for The Mobile Internet Resource Center.

At first, they had a modest goal to make a hundred dollars per day. Three thousand per month would be plenty of cash for them to stay afloat, especially with their frugal lifestyle… but they drove past that goal in two months flat! They kept adding content, and memberships kept increasing.

That resource now pays the couple an equivalent salary to working in a major tech hub like San Francisco or New York—but instead of living in those high cost cities, they’re able to earn it while travelling the country in their RV.

 

 

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

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
"Really assess what your unique ‘thing’ is. What do you enjoy doing that could be turned into an income earning pursuit?"
—Chris Dunphy and Cherie Ve Ard #SideHustleSchool

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

Atlanta Lawyer Walks Into Food Tour Biz

What It’s About

A lawyer guides her passion for storytelling into a six-figure hustle.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Akila has some helpful thoughts about growing a business, “I am constantly thinking about scaling, but scaling has to be balanced with profitability. If I could go back, I would have instituted a “Profit First” system from day #1.”

Fun Fact

Atlanta was originally named Terminus and Marthasville. The city got its current name from railroad engineer J. Edgar Thompson. It’s thought to be a shortened version of “Atlantica-Pacifica” and it’s also known as the “City in a Forest”.

Notes from Chris

Episode 990
Akila McConnell was ready for a change in life. After law school followed by four years at a prestigious firm, she was ready to call it quits. While many lawyers dream of making partner, she dreamed of traveling and seeing the world. So after doing some soul-searching, Akila and her husband decided to take a trip of indefinite length. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do next in terms of work, but knew she needed a change.

After traveling for nearly four years, Akila and her husband learned that they were expecting their first child. As much as they loved travel and experiencing exotic places, they thought it best to come back to the United States to raise their child in their hometown of Atlanta. Akila began doing some legal work for her husband’s software company while still travel writing for magazines and websites.

Again, she found herself in a rut and craving another pursuit. She loved the storytelling aspect of writing, it was difficult to write about travel when she wasn’t doing much of it. What once was a desire soon turned into a dread.

This caused her to think about what she loved so much about writing before. What she discovered is that wasn’t the writing, it was the experiences she had in each location they traveled to and the stories that come from it. She started thinking about more about Atlanta and all of the food and history there. What if she could share her city and its hidden secrets with locals and visitors alike? So that’s exactly what she did. In 2015, Akila cooked up a delicious and unique walking tour called Atlanta Food Walks:.

There are a lot of walking tours available in Atlanta and it takes a lot to stand out. What sets Atlanta Food Walks apart is its unique storytelling approach. This authentic approach has caused Atlanta Food Walks to grow into a larger brand called Unexpected Atlanta: which includes history tours. The tours are led by a group of knowledgeable, home-grown Atlanta natives. It’s become one of the top walking tour companies in Atlanta selling more than 6,000 tickets per year. To give a little perspective, in its first year they sold 700 tickets and made $60,000. This year they’re on track to bringing in than $300,000.

Unexpected Atlanta continues to walk an unexpected and compelling path. Akila now has a full-fledged team and has turned this into her full-time work while the law has become her side hustle. Within the next five years, she hopes to hit seven figures in sales.

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
"Don’t start any company because you saw someone else do it and thought it was neat and looked like they were making money. Do it because you’re passionate about your city or the food or the stories you are telling."
—Akila McConnell #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

Sports Writer Wins Big Gambling On His Own Book

What It’s About

Sports writer takes a gamble on self-publishing and wins big.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Matt says that to come up with a book idea of your own, ask all your friends and acquaintances to join your personal email list. Then, ask them questions similar to the following; What problems have I helped friends, family and coworkers with? What are your biggest accomplishments in life? What do you pay money to learn?

Fun Fact

There are now over one million books self-published in the US every year. With so many books hitting the virtual shelves of stores like Amazon it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. Which is why most sales go to only a small percentage of the books published.

Notes from Chris

Episode 955
Matt Rudnitsky was working as a writer and editor for a sports blog when he first became interested in gambling. He began placing a few bets as a way of making his favorite sporting events more exciting. He never took it too seriously and lived by the old mantra of “never gamble more than you are willing to lose.”

As a writer himself, Matt was shocked to notice there was very little useful content out there on gambling. Nothing that encouraged people to make informed decisions about how to bet. Most of the information was of low quality, and typically written to promote online gambling websites.

Matt was keen to learn more, and not from someone who had a chance to win big at his expense. That meant scouring Twitter and online message boards for winning advice. After months of research, he decided to put his money to the test.

He took one hundred dollars, gifted to him by his grandma for his birthday, and started to play! As he gained more knowledge and experience, he managed to turn one hundred dollars into ten thousand over the course of two years.

Then, he got cocky! He forgot what he learned and became reckless. Within two months, he had lost it all and was back to zero … let this be a reminder to gamble responsibly, which for many of us means not at all.

With his bankroll bruised and broken, Matt realized something else. He hadn’t been following any real system … in fact he’d actually gotten lucky. He’d been playing for table stakes without earning a seat at the table. It was a crushing blow, but, instead of giving up he decided to double down. But not on gambling, on something else entirely.

He thought about his experience over the last two years, the highs and the lows. When recounting the story to friends they all found it highly entertaining. So, he decided to write a book. It would be part memoir, part education, and all fun. In it, he’d chronicle how he’d won big and lost it all, and what he learned along the way so readers wouldn’t make the same mistakes. Sort of like a self-help book dedicated to gamblers.

For a couple of months he chipped away at the book and, in October 2014, Matt published his tell-all as a 114-page ebook on Amazon.

Two months later, Matt received a royalty check for $1,150.06 and was absolutely shocked. He celebrated back in Prague by drinking too much Pilsner at the bar. Worth it! With that success, his life was never the same. He felt like a real, bonafide writer.

Over the next year, his book earned $6,000 and, within three years he’d netted $14,000 in totally passive profits and sold thousands of copies. Totally by accident!

Which, since inception in 2017 have netted him over six figures in revenue with an average of $5,000 per month.

The only downside is that, like gambling itself, the results are mixed. Sometimes Matt will have big wins in the form of very profitable months, other times, huge losses in the form of no revenue at all.

He’s working to solve this problem by creating an online course outlining his whole process. His hope is that it will bring more consistency to his earnings.

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
"Distill your book idea into a catchy ‘hook’ and test it on your audience. Find a few places your ideal audience hangs out online and post it there, too. Repeat until one of your ideas strikes an emotional chord."
—Matt Rudnitsky #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

Paternal Twins Produce Passive Publishing Profits

What It’s About

Twin brothers oversee an Amazon self-publishing factory.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

When finding book ideas, the Mikkelsen twins rely on one thing: market research. As they put it, numbers don’t lie—you need to look for book topics that have high demand and low competition (not enough books on the subject).

To look at demand, they simply go to Amazon and look at the average BSRs (best seller rates) of the books in a particular niche. Then they compare that to how many authors/publishers are selling books on this topic by looking at search results on Amazon and Audible.

Fun Fact

Did you know that eBook sales have more than doubled in 2018? Well, that’s according to some estimates. While exact data is unknown, many experts believe that sales of eBooks in the United States alone have eclipsed 200 million per year.

Notes from Chris

Episode 942
In 2016, the Mikkelsen brothers, Rasmus and Christian, were working their way through college. In addition to being identical twins, they also had identical 4.0 GPAs. To pay the bills while studying, they each worked part-time jobs—Rasmus as a Chinese food delivery driver, and Christian as a receptionist. The jobs weren’t high-paying but gave them the money they needed to live.

If they continued down their current path, they’d graduate with honors and go on to lucrative careers in a few short years. But these two had other plans…

They already knew that the typical path of college to an office job wasn’t for them. They wanted something different, and they hoped to escape the rat race before they even started running. So, they began to explore different online business models in hopes of making some extra money.

Since it was their first foray into making money online, they didn’t quite know where to start. So, they spent a couple of days scouring Google researching as many methods as they could; dropshipping, affiliate marketing, app building, Amazon FBA … and the list goes on.

After that, they decided on a divide and conquer approach. They each chose a business model and would dedicate a few months to trying to make it work. For Rasmus, it was dropshipping; Christian would try his hand at self-publishing ebooks.

Within six months, a clear winner emerged! While Rasmus’s dropshipping experiment yielded some success, it was Christian’s self-publishing that really excited them.

Here’s what happened…

On July 2016, Christian published his first ebook. He wrote about something he knew and titled it “How to Be a 4.0 GPA Student in College, Like Me.” It was a 5,000-word guide that included study tips, hacks, and techniques he used to maintain top grades. It wasn’t exactly a magnum opus, but a useful handbook nonetheless.

He published the book on Amazon and made $6.46 that first month. The next month, they quit school and retired to live a life of leisure … oh wait, not quite. Still, even earning $6 felt validating. After all, you have to start somewhere!

Through a lot of trial and error, by the end of that year, they were making over five thousand dollars per month through their self-publishing business. It was easily enough to live on, perhaps not for two people in the USA, but definitely in Thailand.

So, they embraced the expat lifestyle and moved overseas to lower their expenses, all while continuing to work on the business.

Over the next year, they traveled to over a dozen countries while growing revenue to more than $8,000 per month. And that success led them to something new—to teach what they know. They’ve started a YouTube channel and are working on a self-publishing course.

The story of the Mikkelsen twins is only half complete … but this time, instead of outsourcing, they’re writing it themselves!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • YouTube | Mikkelsen Twins: To learn more about Rasmus, Christian, and their self-publishing hustle, head on over to their YouTube channel!

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
"The amazing and completely unfair advantage of having a twin is that we can split business models. So, to begin with, we started two separate businesses, and whoever would have more success, the other one would just jump over and do that business model too. It’s a foolproof strategy!"
—Rasmus & Christian Mikkelsen #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

Chiropractor Becomes “Smart Luxury” Travel Blogger

What It’s About

A travel blogger takes readers off the beaten track, standing out in a crowded market.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

If you come from a different generation or background than most people in a particular field, there might be a way to use that as an advantage. Instead of thinking about what you need to overcome or compensate for—for example, a lack of technical knowledge—consider what you can offer.

Fun Fact

One of Cacinda’s favorite travel experiences took place on a train in Jordan. While she was watching the beautiful rock formations of the desert roll by, suddenly there were people with guns descending from the dunes on horseback. The passengers were all screaming and yelling, but they came to find out that their guide had actually surprised them with a reenactment of the Arab Revolution of 1916! The train was “captured” and Cacinda was taken to a camp to enjoy a nice glass of champagne.

Notes from Chris

Episode 930

For Dr. Cacinda Maloney, twenty-two years had gone by in a blur. She had been working as a chiropractor, and when she wasn’t at work she was driving her kids to school … then back from school … and then to all of their sporting events. While she loved those kids, the grind was wearing her down. The only thing that kept her sane was a habit she’d followed religiously: every six weeks, she would take a trip.

When Cacinda first started her chiropractic practice, she hired a business manager. He could see how hard she worked, so to help her avoid burnout, he suggested that she implement this habit. He said it would be the “carrot” that dangled in front of her to keep her marching forward.

So Cacinda spent those years traveling all over the world, once every six weeks. Sometimes her husband and kids would join her, and other times she would go solo. Over time, she started to accumulate a lot of Frequent Flyer miles and loyalty program points.

She began to read every blog that she could find on travel hacking and quickly learned the best ways to redeem her points for high-value trips. But even though she was learning to travel more effectively, it wasn’t increasing the amount of travel she could do. She was still dealing with the drudgery of her daily routine.

Cacinda needed to find something fun to do during the workweek. After thinking about it for a while, she realized that she could start blogging about all of the knowledge she had accumulated.

Points & Travel launched in August of 2012, and Cacinda committed to writing every single day. For the first six months, she enjoyed it. But something was still missing. She wanted to write about travel itself, not just the technical aspects of points and miles. After a while, she found that side of things to be boring. She didn’t care about the points, in the end, she cared about the travel and the colorful cultures she experienced because of it.

So, Cacinda started writing about those things instead. She also took another step in her blogging career and began going to conferences for travel bloggers to network.

She found value in the events in an unexpected way. Cacinda made a lot of new travel blogger friends, who shared her passions and interests. And, through those connections, gigs and opportunities for press trips began to crop up. Inadvertently, she was doing some of her best networking.

The majority of her first few jobs were unpaid. At this point, it was 2014, and Cacinda wanted to make travel blogging her full-time career. Even though she wasn’t sure what her money situation would look like, she couldn’t take her 9-5 job anymore, and began to transition out of it.

She rounded off her first year by making roughly $15,000. Not bad for a new blog!

Since then, PointsandTravel.com has continued to grow, and Cacinda now earns anywhere from $6,000-$8,000 a month from her hustle. Most of her income is from doing paid campaigns or press trips with different travel companies. She is attractive to those companies because of her unique experience in the travel industry. Cacinda is over 50 years old, has a family, and is okay with spending a chunk of money for vacations.

Many other travel bloggers are young, 20-somethings who are just looking to be able to travel in the first place—whether that means staying in a tent or a hostel. Cacinda believes in what she calls “smart, luxury travel.” She wants to stay in nice hotels, but she also wants to get the best bang for her buck. For higher-end travel companies, she is the perfect person to represent their brand.

Now, almost eight years after she started her blog, Cacinda has traveled even further all over the world and has no plans to stop. What’s changed is that now she gets paid well for it.

 

  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Points & Travel: Learn more about Cacinda’s luxury travel tips and resources over on her blog!

 

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 I don’t know enough about a subject, I try to take online classes, listen to YouTube videos, go to conferences, and network with fellow bloggers. If I could do one thing differently, I would have changed the name of my blog. Back then, I had no idea it would become my life!"
—Cacinda Maloney #SideHustleSchool

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