AI transcript
0:00:02 Starting over, we’re talking podcasting,
0:00:05 newsletters, how to compete in a no-click world,
0:00:06 and lots more.
0:00:07 What’s up, what’s up, Nick?
0:00:10 Oh, over here, welcome to The Side Hustle Show,
0:00:12 because making extra money never goes out of style.
0:00:14 We’re diving into the listener mailbag this week
0:00:16 to answer your burning side hustle questions,
0:00:19 starting with Gary, who asks, starting over,
0:00:21 how would you grow an audience today?
0:00:23 Is it too late to start a podcast,
0:00:25 and how long did it take to start making money from the show?
0:00:27 Well, Gary, starting over, I still think podcasting
0:00:30 is a viable path to building an audience,
0:00:32 and it’s a really valuable one.
0:00:35 There is something to the consistency and convenience
0:00:39 and depth of relationship with it for, as a listener,
0:00:41 I get used to hearing the same voices week after week,
0:00:43 and I can do it while I’m driving,
0:00:44 while I’m walking to pick up the kids,
0:00:45 while I’m working out.
0:00:47 There’s a certain level of intimacy to that,
0:00:49 and while there are certainly more podcasts,
0:00:52 greater competition, and truthfully better competition,
0:00:54 level of production, all that jazz,
0:00:56 than there was 10, 11 years ago,
0:00:58 the world is only as saturated as you make it.
0:01:01 I remember Jonathan Mendenza on the show
0:01:02 from Shusefa High years ago.
0:01:05 He said, look, if you can’t be first, be different, right?
0:01:08 So they weren’t the first personal finance per podcast,
0:01:09 but they were the first, you know,
0:01:12 a personal finance podcast focused on the fire movement.
0:01:14 So you probably can’t be first anymore,
0:01:16 but you can still be different.
0:01:20 This is from episode 436 with John Lee Dumas.
0:01:22 Is there such thing as being too niche?
0:01:25 Like, I’ve seen some successful podcasts
0:01:28 we had a guest on recently who had like a laundromat podcast,
0:01:29 like how to run a laundromat business.
0:01:31 And he was like, it’s done surprisingly well.
0:01:33 And I said, well, why do you say surprisingly?
0:01:36 And he’s like, because it’s a laundromat podcast,
0:01:38 but curious to see anything where it’s like,
0:01:40 I don’t know if that’s a big enough market to try and serve.
0:01:45 – It is impossible, and I mean impossible to be too niche.
0:01:47 People always go the other way, ’cause they’re scared,
0:01:50 they’re fearful, they have their own self-doubts,
0:01:52 and they think, I just need to be able to serve everybody.
0:01:53 I want to resonate with everybody.
0:01:54 I want to just create a podcast
0:01:56 that just inspires other people to inspire other people
0:01:58 to inspire other people.
0:02:02 And that fails, ’cause that is a weak pale imitation
0:02:03 of other successful podcasts that are out there
0:02:05 that are actually doing something specific.
0:02:07 And that’s why people lose.
0:02:09 Why people win is because they say,
0:02:13 I’m gonna create the best solution to a real problem.
0:02:16 I flip in love that laundromat podcast idea,
0:02:17 ’cause guess what?
0:02:21 He is the best laundromat podcast in the world.
0:02:24 He’s also the worst, he’s the only.
0:02:25 And that’s why you win in this world,
0:02:27 because you become the best.
0:02:29 However that is, if that takes you being the only
0:02:32 to be the best, that’s giving you a chance to win,
0:02:36 ’cause people will beat a path to your doorstep.
0:02:38 If you’re number one, if you’re number two,
0:02:41 if you’re number 10, if you’re number 200, you will lose.
0:02:42 – Yeah, where can you be the only?
0:02:45 That was a line that stood out to me from the book.
0:02:47 It was like, hey, when you started EO Fire,
0:02:50 I was the best daily interview podcast for entrepreneurs.
0:02:52 I was the worst daily interview podcast for entrepreneurs.
0:02:55 I was the only, and that’s an interesting place to play.
0:02:57 And you might be thinking, well, shoot,
0:02:59 that’s easy for John to say, he started in 2012,
0:03:02 but I would start with getting really clear
0:03:04 on what niche I’m gonna serve,
0:03:06 who my ideal listener is gonna be,
0:03:08 and what’s the best way to speak to them?
0:03:10 What kind of content are they really gonna value?
0:03:13 Now early on, I set out to create the show
0:03:14 that I wanted to hear.
0:03:16 Look, realistic ways to make money,
0:03:18 ideas you can start in your spare time,
0:03:20 light on the theory, heavy on the tactics.
0:03:23 Now, marketing-wise, it’s still the game,
0:03:24 and whether this is a podcast
0:03:26 or whatever thing you’re building,
0:03:28 it’s still a game of getting in front
0:03:30 of your ideal listeners, readers, viewers,
0:03:33 customers, clients, right, where they already are.
0:03:35 Maybe it’s on Instagram, maybe it’s on other podcasts,
0:03:37 maybe it’s on LinkedIn, maybe it’s on YouTube
0:03:41 because of the friction involved specific to podcasting.
0:03:43 I mean, I gotta go find my podcast app,
0:03:44 I gotta find your show,
0:03:46 I gotta find the specific episode you’re talking about,
0:03:49 and then I gotta find the time to listen to it.
0:03:52 It is a really challenging medium to grow,
0:03:55 but super, super worthwhile and rewarding to do it.
0:03:58 One of the accidental growth tactics that worked for me
0:04:01 was becoming known as the side hustle guy
0:04:03 in the personal finance space.
0:04:05 And I gotta give credit to Philip Paylor,
0:04:08 the founder of FinCon, for pulling me into that world
0:04:10 where everybody was talking about investing
0:04:12 and saving money and paying off debt.
0:04:15 And initially I was like, I don’t know,
0:04:16 I’m talking about entrepreneurship,
0:04:18 I’m not in the personal finance world.
0:04:20 And it took a while to see that,
0:04:23 well, earning extra money is a natural extension
0:04:26 of that more traditional personal finance content,
0:04:29 which led me to guesting on a lot of those types of podcasts
0:04:32 and growing listenership for the side hustle show.
0:04:35 So the question could be, well, what other shows
0:04:38 have an audience that would be receptive to your message
0:04:40 and how can you be of service to those hosts?
0:04:42 And if you’re gonna focus on video first,
0:04:45 you’ve got much better search and discoverability on YouTube
0:04:47 than you do on most podcast apps.
0:04:49 Plus, you have the added benefit of YouTube
0:04:52 as this recommendation engine,
0:04:53 where if people like your content,
0:04:56 the algorithm is likely to show it to other people
0:04:58 that it thinks will like it as well.
0:05:00 So I’m always trying to step up our video game
0:05:03 while staying true to the remote recording lifestyle,
0:05:04 talk to some people at FinCon,
0:05:07 like I know how I almost exclusively record
0:05:09 in studio, in person, in New York.
0:05:11 And it’s like, I just like staying at home.
0:05:12 I mean, that’s great for you,
0:05:14 but that’s just the logistics involved.
0:05:15 It’s, that’s not for me.
0:05:17 Now, within the first year,
0:05:19 you asked about the monetization side of things.
0:05:22 I started selling a private mastermind group
0:05:25 through the podcast and through the modest
0:05:28 700 person email list at that time.
0:05:31 It was the huge, huge price tag of a hundred bucks a month
0:05:32 for three months.
0:05:35 But when those first applications started to come in,
0:05:38 it was a really exciting validation
0:05:39 that this could be a thing,
0:05:42 that people were willing to pay to connect with me
0:05:44 and with their fellow side hustlers.
0:05:47 I don’t think I would have gotten any applications
0:05:49 had it not been for the relationship formed
0:05:51 with those early listeners through the podcast.
0:05:53 And as far as sponsorships,
0:05:57 the show started to attract more serious sponsorship dollars
0:05:59 around year three and has continued to see
0:06:02 pretty strong demand ever since with some sponsors
0:06:04 sticking around for years in some cases,
0:06:06 which is really rewarding to see.
0:06:09 Now, I’ve got to turn down more sponsorship requests
0:06:12 than we can accept because it’s either not a great fit
0:06:14 for the audience or it’s not a brand.
0:06:15 I’ve used or could see myself using.
0:06:17 But Gary, thanks for that question.
0:06:19 That’s a little bit of a brain dump
0:06:21 on how I would think about growing a podcast
0:06:22 starting over today.
0:06:24 Question two came from Kathy who says,
0:06:26 “I don’t have any online presence yet,
0:06:29 “but I’m wondering would it be worthwhile to start
0:06:30 “a blog or YouTube channel,
0:06:32 “for example, personal finance and lifestyle,
0:06:34 “but targeting the Australian audience
0:06:37 “because everything is pretty much written for US readers?
0:06:38 “I’m pretty good with words.
0:06:39 “I just don’t know where to start.
0:06:41 “Overwhelmed with information,
0:06:44 “I’m 50 years old trying to restart my career.”
0:06:45 Well, Kathy, I love this question,
0:06:48 personal finance and lifestyle for an Australian audience
0:06:49 is probably a bit too broad.
0:06:52 Even personal finance for Australian women
0:06:54 is probably a little bit broad, but it could work.
0:06:57 So even better might be helping Australian women over 50
0:07:00 prepare for retirement in the sense
0:07:01 of personal finance and lifestyle.
0:07:04 Like that could check the personal finance
0:07:06 and lifestyle components to really set people up
0:07:09 for a fulfilling retirement or a second act.
0:07:13 Now, building traffic to a blog is more challenging
0:07:15 than ever, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect
0:07:16 having a website.
0:07:17 I still think it’s really important to have that
0:07:20 as a home base, but similar to the first question,
0:07:23 my efforts on building content and connecting
0:07:25 with other people would be on other channels
0:07:26 to start out, right?
0:07:28 Maybe that’s YouTube, maybe that’s LinkedIn
0:07:31 or X or threads or Instagram.
0:07:34 And since you enjoy writing, there are lots of content first
0:07:36 or written first content channels
0:07:38 that are less follower based than ever
0:07:39 and more algorithm based,
0:07:41 which is helpful for new people starting out.
0:07:44 It’s not that you don’t need to have 100,000 subscribers.
0:07:47 If you have a small but engaged following early on,
0:07:49 it means your work can get seen by a lot more people
0:07:52 than just those who follow you if it resonates
0:07:54 and it starts to get picked up by the algorithm.
0:07:58 So I would probably pick one platform, let’s say LinkedIn
0:08:00 and really focus my efforts there,
0:08:03 learn the best practices, start to build a following
0:08:06 and start to have those one-on-one conversations
0:08:08 with those followers on their biggest pain points
0:08:09 and struggles.
0:08:10 Those are gonna guide future content
0:08:13 but also what kind of products or services
0:08:15 that you eventually create to serve them.
0:08:16 This is question three,
0:08:18 Brittany says she’s started a free email newsletter
0:08:20 for artists in Southern California
0:08:23 and in three months I’ve grown it to 4,500 subscribers
0:08:26 with a 65% open rate.
0:08:29 My current obstacle, I wanna start monetizing the newsletter.
0:08:32 My problem is I have no idea what a reasonable price
0:08:35 is to charge sponsors or even how to approach
0:08:36 potential sponsors.
0:08:38 So first off, Brittany, incredible work.
0:08:40 That’s some really positive early traction.
0:08:42 4,500 subscribers in three months,
0:08:44 it took me probably over a year to get that many.
0:08:45 So really cool work
0:08:47 and I really like the local niche angle here.
0:08:51 So newsletter ads typically sold on a CPM basis
0:08:54 as it costs per thousand impressions.
0:08:56 Occasionally on a cost per click basis
0:08:58 and that’s, some platforms will help to do that
0:09:01 but really the rates can really vary depending on your niche.
0:09:05 So you’ve got a newsletter targeting exclusively hedge fund
0:09:08 managers or Fortune 500 C-suite executives,
0:09:10 you probably are gonna command higher rates
0:09:13 than one targeting broke college students
0:09:14 just as one example.
0:09:16 Now you could even begin with experimenting
0:09:19 by including affiliate links to products that you like.
0:09:21 Now here’s how Ryan Stedden described
0:09:24 his advertising options for Naptown Scoop.
0:09:27 This is his local newsletter focused on Annapolis, Maryland.
0:09:30 And this clip is from episode 615 of the Side Hustle Show.
0:09:32 I’m curious how you have it priced today.
0:09:33 I think you mentioned,
0:09:35 we have five different ad slots per day,
0:09:38 I guess probably based on placement and visibility
0:09:39 and structure of those ads.
0:09:42 – Yeah, so three different kinds.
0:09:45 The bottom kind has three each day.
0:09:47 So top one has your logo at the top,
0:09:51 a picture up to 150 words, it’s the first ad.
0:09:53 Unless we have a headline story,
0:09:54 it’s the first thing in the newsletter.
0:09:56 So probably about 60% of the time
0:09:58 it’s the top thing anybody sees.
0:10:01 Then in the middle, we call it a feature ad
0:10:03 and that has a hundred words, a photo
0:10:04 and that’s right in the middle.
0:10:07 And then right near our live music section at the bottom,
0:10:08 which is our most popular thing,
0:10:10 we have three ads we call Baseline,
0:10:14 which are text only, 70 words and headline and a link.
0:10:16 And everybody, all these can be linked.
0:10:17 It’s funny now at the beginning,
0:10:20 those ads I sold that web design guy were headline ads
0:10:23 or what a very early version of those.
0:10:25 And it was $500 for six of them.
0:10:28 Now an individual headline ad,
0:10:31 if anybody wants to buy one is $812.50.
0:10:34 And it goes down with volume.
0:10:37 If you’re gonna buy 12, then that unit cost goes down.
0:10:39 If you’re gonna buy 24, that unit cost goes down.
0:10:41 If you’re gonna go by 48, be crazy
0:10:43 and spread those over the next two years.
0:10:45 So that unit cost will go down
0:10:47 or we have two advertisers that do that every single week.
0:10:48 They just pay a lot of money,
0:10:50 but the prices are very, very different
0:10:52 from when we first started.
0:10:54 Everything is really just pulling out of thin air.
0:10:56 I just, how much does this cost?
0:10:58 $500 for six ads.
0:10:59 Everything was just thrown out.
0:11:03 – Is there a rule of thumb for X price
0:11:05 based on every thousand subscribers
0:11:06 or something like that?
0:11:08 – I heard a rumor back in the day
0:11:10 that Morning Brew was charging $70 per thousand.
0:11:13 And so I kind of roughly based it on that.
0:11:16 And it’s actually still kind of around there, our top ad.
0:11:17 It’s like very loosely based on that.
0:11:20 Or I don’t think it’s loosely based on that anymore.
0:11:21 Maybe it’s just worked out that way
0:11:23 that it’s still on there.
0:11:24 Once it started stabilizing,
0:11:25 I used to change prices every week
0:11:27 ’cause we would be adding hundreds of subscribers
0:11:28 every week.
0:11:30 We’d be like, I just sold an ad to you for 200 bucks
0:11:32 for 800 subscribers and had a really good run
0:11:33 of Facebook ads.
0:11:36 And now we have 1600 and I’m not gonna charge $200 again.
0:11:38 So I would change it every single week.
0:11:40 Then I started changing it, I think like every month
0:11:42 and then it was every couple of months.
0:11:43 And now I just change it every year.
0:11:45 And it’s not on any kind of,
0:11:47 oh, we have this many more subscribers.
0:11:48 It should be this much more.
0:11:52 Now I just, I’m basically up it on inventory.
0:11:53 If we sell out, then,
0:11:55 and it’s like we sell out really easily.
0:11:56 I know it’s too low.
0:11:57 If it’s harder, but we still sell out.
0:11:59 I’m like, okay, we can do a little bump.
0:12:00 If we’re not selling at all,
0:12:01 thankfully this hasn’t happened yet,
0:12:04 then maybe we stay the same or even worse, go lower.
0:12:06 Now it’s not really based on any kind of formula.
0:12:08 It’s just based on feel of,
0:12:12 oh, last year we sold all of these way too easily.
0:12:13 Okay, we’ll double the price.
0:12:15 And then we sold them all out again,
0:12:16 but it took longer.
0:12:17 It was like, okay, cool.
0:12:18 That’s probably a good number.
0:12:19 That was two years ago, we doubled it.
0:12:22 Last year, we just went up by, I think it was 20%.
0:12:24 This year, probably just go up by 10%.
0:12:26 And maybe stabilize somewhere around there
0:12:29 and just upgrade the prices every year by eight to 10%.
0:12:32 – Is it most common to sell like a multi-month package?
0:12:35 Like you’re gonna be featured eight times
0:12:36 over the next three months?
0:12:37 Like is that how it’s typically structured?
0:12:39 – I like to sell long packages.
0:12:42 We have people who sign on to be on there
0:12:43 every other week for two years.
0:12:45 We have people who are on there
0:12:46 every other week for one year.
0:12:49 We have some people who are just pretty seasonal,
0:12:51 but they’re on for the same six months
0:12:54 and they’ll sign two year deals for those six months.
0:12:55 I just like that ’cause it’s easier.
0:12:58 And also it ups your average client value.
0:13:00 There’s a, I can’t say too much about this,
0:13:03 but there’s a website that I wanna buy right now
0:13:05 ’cause I think I can do a lot better.
0:13:07 I think it’s a great opportunity.
0:13:11 And their average, they have way, way more visibility
0:13:14 than I do, way more impressions, way more uniques.
0:13:18 But their average customer value is like one fifth of mine,
0:13:20 which is why I think I can buy it
0:13:21 and do really well with it.
0:13:23 But I’m just always trying to increase that.
0:13:26 I have a dentist client right now who’s on just once a month
0:13:28 and our standard is really twice a month.
0:13:31 So they’re on once a month, but they’ve been killing it.
0:13:32 They’ve been doing really well with it.
0:13:35 So rather than trying to go sell a new client,
0:13:36 it’s way easier to just sell someone
0:13:38 who’s already selling with you
0:13:39 and increase that customer value.
0:13:41 – Increase their frequency.
0:13:42 – Yeah, I went to them and said,
0:13:44 “Hey, do you guys, it’s been working out pretty well
0:13:45 “once a month, gonna juice it
0:13:47 “and you’ll get a better unit rate
0:13:48 “and you’ll be in there more
0:13:50 “and you’ve already made your money back.”
0:13:52 And then a lot because I know you told me
0:13:54 how many clients you got and I’m kind of guessing
0:13:55 what your average customer value is worth
0:13:57 based on industry comparisons.
0:13:59 And I think I’m probably pretty close.
0:14:00 And so it’s just way easier to make those sales
0:14:02 than to go out and cold call a new person
0:14:03 and get a new one.
0:14:07 So I’m always trying to increase customer value.
0:14:09 And one way to do that is just raise prices every year
0:14:14 and nobody has ever canceled because of the increase.
0:14:15 – Now for Ryan, he also mentioned
0:14:19 including a little sponsor, this newsletter link
0:14:20 at the bottom of every edition,
0:14:23 something that would be pretty easy to add
0:14:24 if you don’t have that in there already.
0:14:25 And then aside from that,
0:14:28 a lot of community outbound sales
0:14:29 to try and drive long-term partnerships.
0:14:31 The other thing that he mentioned
0:14:33 that might be worth considering is offering
0:14:35 what he called category exclusivity.
0:14:39 Like we can only accept one real estate agent at a time
0:14:40 and we would love for that to be you.
0:14:42 Again, episode 615 in your archives
0:14:46 all about growing and monetizing a local newsletter.
0:14:47 Really cool episode.
0:14:49 I’m gonna be back with more Q&A on marketing,
0:14:53 monetization and the death of the click right after this.
0:14:57 What if you no longer needed five separate apps
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0:16:19 Being an entrepreneur and being able to work remotely
0:16:21 definitely has its perks.
0:16:24 I’ve recorded podcasts everywhere from Vietnam to Italy,
0:16:26 drafted newsletters from Japan,
0:16:28 hosted mastermind meetings from Spain,
0:16:30 ended up being the middle of the night
0:16:32 to get to US business hours
0:16:34 and outlined courses in Mexico.
0:16:37 The common thread of all of these trips though
0:16:38 is Airbnb.
0:16:41 We love being able to get exactly what we’re looking for
0:16:45 in a place to stay and have a more local experience
0:16:47 than staying in some giant hotel chain.
0:16:48 And you know me, I’m always thinking about
0:16:51 the next side hustle idea, the next income stream, right?
0:16:53 And one that’s at the top of the list
0:16:56 is hosting our place on Airbnb while we’re traveling.
0:16:58 That way the house doesn’t have to sit empty,
0:17:01 we could use the income to help pay for the trip.
0:17:03 And we’ve heard from several successful
0:17:04 Airbnb hosts on the show.
0:17:07 And what’s interesting is a lot of them started
0:17:10 with almost that exact strategy, running their place
0:17:13 or even a spare room while they’re out of town.
0:17:16 Taking inspiration from that, you might have an Airbnb
0:17:17 right under your nose.
0:17:20 In fact, your home might be worth more than you think.
0:17:24 You can find out how much at airbnb.com/host.
0:17:28 That’s airbnb.com/host to find out
0:17:29 how much your home is worth.
0:17:33 Question four is from Dustin who asked,
0:17:35 hey, I’m looking at starting a consulting business.
0:17:36 I want to register a domain
0:17:38 so I can have a professional email.
0:17:40 What’s the best place to do that?
0:17:42 I might make a very simple website in the future,
0:17:43 but no time soon.
0:17:45 Basically looking for a good email service
0:17:48 and something that I can utilize maybe with Gmail
0:17:49 or on my phone.
0:17:51 Well, Dustin, I think this is a pretty small investment
0:17:54 for that little bump up in perceived value.
0:17:55 So you’re on the right track here.
0:17:57 So to better explain what Dustin is talking about,
0:17:59 it would be like having an email address
0:18:03 like Dustin@smartconsultinggroup.com
0:18:06 as opposed to smartconsultinggroup@gmail.com.
0:18:08 It makes you look more legit,
0:18:10 especially if you’re targeting a customer base
0:18:11 who would notice that sort of thing.
0:18:14 And for more quote unquote blue collar operations,
0:18:16 I probably wouldn’t let that be a barrier
0:18:17 to you getting started.
0:18:19 Like Nick’s guttercleaning@gmail.com
0:18:21 would probably work just fine
0:18:23 over nick@nixguttercleaning.com.
0:18:25 Now I still prefer the second one,
0:18:27 but my customers probably don’t care.
0:18:28 They just want their gutters cleaned, right?
0:18:31 So the first step here would be to register the domain.
0:18:35 You can get that through any domain, register and go daddy.
0:18:36 Pork bun is the one I’ve been using lately.
0:18:39 No affiliation there, it’s just, I like the service.
0:18:42 And you can get email service either
0:18:45 as an add on to that domain registration.
0:18:46 Or if you, like I said,
0:18:48 you eventually want to build out that website.
0:18:51 Some hosts are gonna include it in their hosting package.
0:18:54 You can get a free domain with hosting registration
0:18:57 at Bluehost, we’ve got an affiliate link for that.
0:18:58 But if you don’t want to build that website yet,
0:19:01 you can just register the domain, you can add on email.
0:19:04 I think pork bun charges something like 24 bucks a year
0:19:05 for that.
0:19:07 Now the caution is if you email me
0:19:10 from Dustin@smartconsultinggroup.com,
0:19:13 I’m likely to go to smartconsultinggroup.com
0:19:14 just to check out your website.
0:19:18 So even building out that simple placeholder brochure style
0:19:20 website could be beneficial.
0:19:23 But of course, my online behavior might not be
0:19:24 like your target customers.
0:19:25 And then I think there’s,
0:19:27 you can probably do like six bucks a month
0:19:31 for Google business suite to have that domain
0:19:34 or that email inside of the familiar Gmail interface.
0:19:36 Now I just set up my side isolation email
0:19:39 to forward to my personal Gmail inbox early on
0:19:40 and I’ve actually never changed that.
0:19:42 So that’s another option as well.
0:19:44 Question five was from Patricia who asked,
0:19:47 is there anywhere on your site that covers ideas
0:19:49 that disabled people or people with mobility restrictions
0:19:50 can do?
0:19:53 So Patricia, at the moment, there is not,
0:19:56 though it is on our keyword list of future content
0:19:57 to create.
0:19:59 And actually what I kind of want to do is the,
0:20:02 every side hustle ever, like air table database
0:20:05 where you can filter by the time required,
0:20:07 the earnings potential, whether it’s online,
0:20:08 whether it’s in person.
0:20:12 I think that would be a fun project to try and build out.
0:20:14 But like, again, another one that’s kind of daunting
0:20:15 to get off the ground.
0:20:18 But in the meantime, just think about any remote
0:20:20 or online side hustle I think can be done
0:20:22 by somebody with mobility restrictions.
0:20:24 And we do have several resources on those on the site
0:20:26 that I can link up in the show notes.
0:20:29 Just follow the show notes link in the episode description.
0:20:30 It’ll get you right over there.
0:20:33 So ideas might include virtual freelancing,
0:20:36 virtual consulting, anything you can do over the internet,
0:20:38 virtual assistant service, content creation business,
0:20:41 digital products, print on demand, proof reading,
0:20:43 freelance writing, paid market research,
0:20:44 lots of options there.
0:20:47 Now one famous example in the blogging world
0:20:49 or in the online business world is John Morrow.
0:20:52 He runs a site called smartblogger.com
0:20:55 paralyzed from the neck down from birth
0:20:58 with spinal muscular atrophy and still went on
0:21:01 to build a super successful online business
0:21:03 earning $15 million.
0:21:05 According to a recent LinkedIn post of his,
0:21:09 he uses speech dictation, like speech to text,
0:21:10 dragon dictation, I think.
0:21:12 He’s got a special computer mouse
0:21:14 that he operates with his lips.
0:21:16 Really inspiring guy.
0:21:18 Instead of focusing on the things he can’t do,
0:21:20 we focused on what he could do.
0:21:22 And he’s helped a lot of people in the process.
0:21:24 Smartblogger.com is his site
0:21:27 and really inspired by what John has created
0:21:29 and the impact that he’s had.
0:21:30 Question six came in from Ruth who asked,
0:21:34 I’m struggling to launch my small sewing classes for kids.
0:21:35 I run them out of my home.
0:21:38 I’ve advertised on Peach Jar and my local Facebook pages.
0:21:40 Does anyone have any suggestions for me?
0:21:43 Well, Ruth, this sounds like a really cool cute side hustle
0:21:45 and to market it, I think you’re on the right track
0:21:47 with local Facebook pages
0:21:50 and maybe even local parenting pages,
0:21:52 school groups or homeschool groups.
0:21:55 We just did a local workshops episode.
0:21:58 Chloe Wyn Stanley, it’s episode 634.
0:22:01 She was hosting jewelry making workshops.
0:22:03 Definitely worth a listen if you miss that one.
0:22:05 And her business was a little bit different
0:22:06 because she’s targeting adults
0:22:10 and she would go to a community center venue,
0:22:12 not trying to run those out of her home.
0:22:14 But she mentioned having success marketing on Facebook
0:22:16 and how one ticket sale in her case
0:22:18 often led to three or four ticket sales
0:22:21 because people would want to come with their friends.
0:22:23 So maybe testing with a limited ad budget
0:22:24 might be worthwhile.
0:22:27 Now, a few other people in the Side Hustle Nation Facebook
0:22:29 group mentioned targeting homeschool parents,
0:22:30 which I think is a really good fit
0:22:32 and also a tight knit community
0:22:35 where you might start to see some word of mouth benefit.
0:22:36 Now to go a little bit broader,
0:22:38 this reminds me a little
0:22:42 of the after school programs episode we did a few years ago
0:22:44 where my guest May got approved
0:22:45 by her local school district
0:22:49 to host these after school arts and crafts enrichment sessions.
0:22:52 That is episode 289 in your archives,
0:22:53 a little, you know, a long way to scroll
0:22:54 to get down to that one,
0:22:55 but definitely worth a listen
0:22:57 if you’re into that sort of thing.
0:22:59 It was a multi-week class
0:23:03 where the parents would pay, you know, 100, 150 bucks
0:23:05 and she could take 15 to 20 kids at a time.
0:23:09 So the effective hourly rate ended up being really strong.
0:23:11 And if she did Mondays at one school,
0:23:13 she could do Tuesdays at another school,
0:23:14 Wednesdays at another school
0:23:18 and really only have a couple hours a day of work.
0:23:20 So that could be an interesting option for you.
0:23:21 And a lot of these schools already had
0:23:23 an approval process in place
0:23:25 where, you know, they were already hosting
0:23:27 like the Lego after school program
0:23:29 or the Chess after school program.
0:23:31 And so it was, you know, like throwing your name
0:23:34 in the hat there and following their guidelines.
0:23:36 And one final idea, like some people mentioned
0:23:38 in the Facebook group as well
0:23:42 is to take the sewing class and put it up on out school.
0:23:44 This is a platform that specializes
0:23:48 in small safe online group classes for kids.
0:23:49 That’s your target audience, right?
0:23:52 The biggest benefit is you’d open up your market
0:23:53 from just your local area,
0:23:55 I don’t know how big a town that you’re in
0:23:58 to being able to serve kids from all over the world.
0:24:00 This would be the buy buttons strategy
0:24:02 of going where the cash is already flowing
0:24:05 to tap into some existing demand
0:24:07 rather than trying to create it from scratch
0:24:08 in your local area.
0:24:10 Out school has millions of users,
0:24:12 I think it would be perfect for something like this.
0:24:14 I definitely encourage you to check out the episodes
0:24:15 we’ve done on out school,
0:24:19 starting with teacher Jade in episode 442,
0:24:21 but we’ll link all of those up in the show notes for you.
0:24:23 For question seven, Chris says,
0:24:25 “My wife and I have been podcasting since 2018
0:24:27 in the special needs parenting niche.
0:24:30 We’ve built up an audience, but we haven’t made any money.
0:24:32 We’re considering creating an online program
0:24:33 to better serve our listeners.”
0:24:36 Now Chris, I admire the longevity
0:24:38 of sticking with the show that long.
0:24:39 And even if the financial rewards
0:24:42 haven’t been there, I know creating the content
0:24:43 and building connections with listeners
0:24:45 has been really rewarding for you.
0:24:47 The first thing that comes to mind in this case
0:24:49 is to simply bring your listeners
0:24:51 into a supportive community.
0:24:54 Similar to what Megan Champion did for her podcast,
0:24:55 also in the parenting niche,
0:24:57 her show is called On the Hard Days.
0:24:59 And here’s how she described creating
0:25:03 and structuring that membership in episode 524.
0:25:05 – It turns out there is no community
0:25:08 for mothers raising neurodivergent kids out there.
0:25:10 There are specific things,
0:25:12 moms of kids with autism, for example,
0:25:14 there are little niched things,
0:25:16 but just in general,
0:25:18 parents who don’t have a diagnosis for their kids,
0:25:20 but they are really struggling internally
0:25:23 with their child’s behaviors and challenges and struggles,
0:25:27 there is no place for them to gather and meet each other.
0:25:30 And so that’s where my membership community was born,
0:25:32 and it’s called Mothers Together.
0:25:35 And it has completely changed my life
0:25:38 and the trajectory of my business.
0:25:39 – Well, let’s talk about that membership.
0:25:42 That’s great, something that looking out in the world,
0:25:44 that this is the thing that I wish existed.
0:25:47 It doesn’t, so I’m gonna be the one to build it.
0:25:48 And oh, by the way, for the last year,
0:25:50 I’ve been building this, for the last six months,
0:25:52 I’ve been building this network
0:25:54 through one-on-one conversations
0:25:56 and then one-to-many conversations through the podcast.
0:25:59 So you said, “Okay, we’re gonna build this thing,
0:26:00 it’s called Mothers Together.”
0:26:03 And what’s, so what happens, I guess, inside?
0:26:05 What’s the value proposition for a mom saying,
0:26:06 “Yes, I wanna join?”
0:26:07 – Yeah, absolutely.
0:26:10 So in Mothers Together, it is a monthly membership.
0:26:13 It is a support group style membership.
0:26:16 And so they basically get three pieces.
0:26:18 There is a forum, first of all, that I created.
0:26:21 It is off of social media, it’s not on Facebook.
0:26:23 It has its own app, it’s the Mighty Networks company,
0:26:24 and it’s awesome.
0:26:25 It has its own app.
0:26:29 And on this forum, moms can ask questions,
0:26:32 ask for advice, share resources, and it’s by category,
0:26:34 which makes it sort of stand out
0:26:35 from maybe Facebook, for example.
0:26:38 People can search by age of child
0:26:39 to connect with other moms of teenagers
0:26:40 who are neurodivergent.
0:26:42 They can search by location.
0:26:44 If they wanna find moms who might be living near them
0:26:47 that they wouldn’t know about, by diagnosis, by behavior,
0:26:49 by, there’s a million different ways, right?
0:26:50 So they can connect on the forum.
0:26:52 But that’s not my big selling point.
0:26:54 That’s just sort of a little extra.
0:26:57 The main piece of Mothers Together is the support group part.
0:27:00 And so what happens is, when a mom signs up,
0:27:02 I send out a follow-up email with some questions.
0:27:03 Where do you live?
0:27:04 How old is your child?
0:27:07 And most importantly, what do you, the mom,
0:27:08 what do you need?
0:27:09 What are you looking for for support?
0:27:11 What are you not getting right now
0:27:13 that you wish you could have?
0:27:14 And I will take her information
0:27:17 and I will personally match her with other moms
0:27:20 going through a similar experience.
0:27:22 So it’s basically like, I’m personalizing these groups
0:27:24 of moms based on the needs of moms.
0:27:26 Yeah, it is like a support group on the one hand.
0:27:29 You know, we do try to meet on Zoom weekly,
0:27:31 that sort of thing, but it’s way more than a support group.
0:27:33 We found out very early on that the moms
0:27:36 were so over the moon excited to have met each other
0:27:38 and connected on that personal level
0:27:41 that a once a week meeting was not nearly going to cut it.
0:27:44 And so we decided we need something a little different.
0:27:47 We’re using mostly the Marco Polo video messaging app.
0:27:50 There’s text threads and the forum has a chat feature,
0:27:53 but mostly Marco Polo to check in with each other
0:27:55 in our little groups constantly, daily,
0:27:56 sometimes multiple times a day.
0:27:58 How was that doctor’s appointment you had?
0:27:59 Jump on and let us know.
0:28:00 We’re here for you.
0:28:01 We’re thinking of you.
0:28:02 I had a really tough morning.
0:28:03 I need to vent.
0:28:05 What would you guys do in this situation?
0:28:06 It’s personal.
0:28:07 These are friends.
0:28:08 You know, there’s no judgment.
0:28:09 This is a completely safe space
0:28:11 to share what you’re struggling with
0:28:12 because everybody in your group
0:28:13 is going through the same thing.
0:28:15 And so there’s really a magic in that,
0:28:17 and that community piece.
0:28:19 And I have obviously had some success,
0:28:21 which I’m so grateful for,
0:28:24 because the moms are so thrilled to have found each other.
0:28:25 And it’s really awesome.
0:28:28 – Yeah, this is actually kind of an interesting one
0:28:30 because typically a membership business
0:28:33 is going to be, you know, content plus community.
0:28:34 And I haven’t heard you say anything really
0:28:36 about content and advice and lessons.
0:28:39 Like, I don’t want to support about support
0:28:42 and acknowledgement and just, like you said,
0:28:43 venting early on.
0:28:45 I just need somebody to listen
0:28:48 versus preaching from on high.
0:28:49 It’s a little bit different from some
0:28:51 of the other membership guests that we’ve had on.
0:28:53 I was, you know, content plus community, sure.
0:28:54 There’s a forum, but it’s like,
0:28:57 it’s more about access to expert material
0:28:58 and stuff like behind the scenes type of stuff.
0:29:01 And then this personal matching service,
0:29:04 they’re somewhat maybe common in the entrepreneurship space.
0:29:05 Oh, we’re going to form these like little
0:29:08 mini mastermind groups or, you know, so-called
0:29:10 based on interests or location or what, you know,
0:29:11 what business you’re working on.
0:29:12 But kind of similar here, you know,
0:29:15 based on the age of the kids, what you’re struggling with,
0:29:17 maybe where you’re located geographically.
0:29:20 And then it’s kind of, is that, am I understanding
0:29:23 kind of the structure of what happens behind the paywall?
0:29:25 – Yeah, yeah, pretty much.
0:29:27 We do have one additional little bonus
0:29:29 where I do bring on a guest expert once a month
0:29:31 and we do a live Q&A on Zoom.
0:29:34 So there’s that little bit of advice piece, content piece.
0:29:39 Mostly the content on the forum is created by the members, right?
0:29:41 So I am not pushing forward.
0:29:44 Here are some great recipes for picky eaters.
0:29:48 Here are some sensory activities for sensory sensitive kids.
0:29:49 I’m not doing that.
0:29:50 We are doing that.
0:29:52 It’s their membership as much as it is mine.
0:29:55 And so if somebody has a great idea
0:29:57 or something that’s worked in their home,
0:29:59 they will push it, you know, push it out
0:30:02 into the forum in different categories for the other moms.
0:30:05 And so it’s kind of like we’re all building this plane
0:30:06 as we fly it together.
0:30:08 And that togetherness piece
0:30:10 is where I think the magic happens.
0:30:14 – Again, that was Megan Champion from episode 524
0:30:15 of The Side Hustle Show
0:30:17 in the On the Hard Days podcast.
0:30:21 Question eight is how to compete in a no-click world.
0:30:24 So this comes from several listeners dealing
0:30:27 with the fallout of lots of Google updates
0:30:28 over the course of the last 12 months.
0:30:31 And so Rand Fishkin, formerly of Moz, you know,
0:30:34 he posted this really thoughtful article last week,
0:30:38 which he opened by saying surveys, studies, analytics,
0:30:39 they all show the same thing.
0:30:41 Getting traffic on the web is harder than ever
0:30:43 and it’s getting worse much faster
0:30:45 in the last two years than in the decade before.
0:30:47 Site owners are faced with two options.
0:30:49 Compete for the scraps Google
0:30:50 and the other platforms provide
0:30:52 or play the game differently by engaging
0:30:55 in zero-click answers, content and influence.
0:30:58 So what does it mean to become a center of influence?
0:30:59 The downside is it’s obviously more work
0:31:02 than just anonymously cranking out SEO content for Google
0:31:05 and cashing in on ad revenue and affiliate commissions.
0:31:08 It means creating a multi-platform presence
0:31:10 with the goal of owning your topic
0:31:12 wherever somebody might be looking for it,
0:31:14 whether that’s Amazon, whether that’s TikTok,
0:31:16 whether that’s Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, wherever.
0:31:19 Now, I wouldn’t start by trying to be everywhere at once.
0:31:21 I would take Robert Farrington’s advice
0:31:23 from a couple of years ago on the show
0:31:24 where he said, pick two.
0:31:26 One has got to be your website, your email list
0:31:29 as your home base, something that you have control over
0:31:33 and then next, sort with one external platform
0:31:35 where your target customer is
0:31:36 and you can learn to play the game
0:31:38 and build that trust and influence.
0:31:40 Here’s how Kellen Klein from The Savvy Couple
0:31:42 put it in episode 605.
0:31:44 – You have to build a brand,
0:31:45 something that mean you’ve done a really good job of
0:31:48 where people are actually going out and searching our brand
0:31:49 and they’re going into Google
0:31:51 and they’re giving that that signal
0:31:52 that people are searching for our brand.
0:31:54 So I think a lot of the times 80/20 rule,
0:31:56 I think 80% of the sites that have built
0:31:57 a really good brand
0:31:59 and they’re publishing good high quality content
0:32:00 all the time.
0:32:02 I think they are definitely riding the wave
0:32:04 and they’re staying above these updates
0:32:06 and the companies that are more niche sites
0:32:08 and they’re not really building an entire brand
0:32:10 with social media and with an email list
0:32:11 and with a YouTube channel.
0:32:13 I think that those are the ones that really got hit,
0:32:15 specifically ones that were just publishing
0:32:16 a ton of AI content
0:32:19 and not having any expertise or different sharing
0:32:23 their experience or authority or trust within their articles
0:32:25 and making them better than the next one.
0:32:27 I think that’s super important to really understand
0:32:30 the user’s intent when they’re going to search these terms
0:32:32 and solving it the best way possible.
0:32:35 – The drawback I see to a social first approach
0:32:39 is this age old problem of building unborrowed land.
0:32:41 You’re still subject to the whims
0:32:42 of social media algorithm changes.
0:32:45 And yes, you can roll with those and adapt
0:32:46 like we all have to do.
0:32:48 But the real key is to bring people
0:32:50 into something you have more control over,
0:32:52 namely your email list,
0:32:54 which is why you see so many Twitter threads
0:32:57 or LinkedIn posts that end with that call to action, hey?
0:32:59 If you like this, make sure to grab your free bonus.
0:33:00 If you like this, here’s the template
0:33:01 to help you do it on your own.
0:33:03 If you found this helpful, I share a story,
0:33:06 just like it every week on my newsletter, sign up here.
0:33:09 Now, I recently hit 20 years in online business,
0:33:11 which hopefully makes me sound older than I am,
0:33:14 but truthfully over the time, the only constant is change.
0:33:16 Tactics don’t stay the same for long,
0:33:19 but the broader strategies of serving your audience,
0:33:21 of diversifying traffic and income sources,
0:33:24 of building your own email or customer list,
0:33:25 those have stood the test of time
0:33:28 and have to imagine will continue to do so.
0:33:31 I recently had the opportunity to hear from Joe Dacina.
0:33:34 He is the founder of Spartan Race.
0:33:37 He came and we hung out at this recent mastermind event
0:33:38 where he’s like, come by, we’ll do this early morning
0:33:39 workout with Joe.
0:33:41 And he’s the founder of Spartan Race.
0:33:42 That’s all I know going into it.
0:33:45 I’m like, how muddy are we gonna get?
0:33:47 Like, what kind of workout does this guy have
0:33:47 in store for us?
0:33:49 And I was like, well, it was climbing staircases
0:33:50 and doing burpees.
0:33:51 It was not that bad.
0:33:53 But as he was talking to us,
0:33:55 a soundbite that stood out for me was,
0:33:57 if you want to win at marketing today,
0:34:00 you have to be everywhere all at once all the time.
0:34:04 And if you have the time and energy and team and budget
0:34:05 to do that, go for it.
0:34:08 But I think that puts a lot of unnecessary pressure
0:34:09 on new entrepreneurs.
0:34:12 Instead, I think you can pick a lane that suits you
0:34:14 and suits your audience, get it firing,
0:34:16 and then layer on additional channels as you go.
0:34:17 Not all at once.
0:34:20 The soundbite from Joe that I did really like though,
0:34:23 was the couch kills more people than swimming with sharks.
0:34:25 Get started, stay started.
0:34:27 And a quote is not necessarily about the couch
0:34:30 or swimming with sharks, but that one I really did like.
0:34:33 Question nine asks, can you really get paid
0:34:34 to be an online friend?
0:34:35 So a little bit of background.
0:34:37 This question comes from the popularity
0:34:39 of a site called Rent-A-Friend,
0:34:41 which had a viral moment a few years ago,
0:34:44 almost purely from the novelty of it.
0:34:47 Like, wait, you can really be a friend for hire, number one.
0:34:50 And then number two, people are really paying for friends.
0:34:51 So the short answer is yes,
0:34:53 this is something that you can make money doing.
0:34:55 And there are a few sites that facilitate
0:34:57 this type of relationship.
0:34:59 Sometimes online, but more often in person,
0:35:01 like for local travel recommendations
0:35:03 and companionship while you’re in a new city.
0:35:06 The longer answer is your odds of making money
0:35:09 as a general online friend are probably pretty low.
0:35:11 It’s really hard to find success stories
0:35:14 of people actually making money on these sites.
0:35:16 And based on the estimated traffic data
0:35:19 I could find from HREFS and others,
0:35:22 it looks like the supply of available friends,
0:35:23 the people wanting to make money,
0:35:25 far outstrips the demand of people
0:35:27 looking to hire an online friend.
0:35:31 Now that said, we are more connected than ever before,
0:35:33 but there’s also data to suggest we’re lonelier
0:35:35 and more isolated than we’ve ever been as well.
0:35:37 So there’s definitely a need
0:35:38 for connection and companionship.
0:35:40 You just might need to get a little more niche
0:35:43 and a little more creative in how you’re providing it.
0:35:46 Maybe it is teaching English lessons online.
0:35:49 Maybe it is providing customer support online.
0:35:53 One of my favorite examples is Devin Ricks from missdevin.com.
0:35:56 We’ve done a couple episodes on her out-school side hustle
0:35:58 of hanging out and playing video games with kids.
0:36:01 Most recently she was on episode 611.
0:36:03 – I started teaching for outschool.com
0:36:06 and started by teaching English creative writing classes.
0:36:08 But I’ve always loved video games,
0:36:10 so I just put my video game twist on it.
0:36:12 We would do descriptive writing, but Zelda,
0:36:14 or like punctuation, but Pokemon.
0:36:16 And then my students just kept asking me
0:36:18 for more classes on how to play the video games
0:36:20 or help them with places where they were stuck.
0:36:23 And so I started creating social clubs
0:36:24 where kids could come and game
0:36:26 in a safe online space together.
0:36:29 And it just continued to grow and continued to grow.
0:36:31 And when you and I connected, like you said,
0:36:32 I was making around 4,000 a month.
0:36:36 And since then I have hired on 14 teachers to teach with me.
0:36:39 And last year we broke six figures.
0:36:41 – Devin is someone who legitimately is getting paid
0:36:42 to be an online friend.
0:36:44 Super inspiring and fun business.
0:36:46 Again, 611, if you wanna check that one out
0:36:49 and learn more, but a creative example of making money.
0:36:52 And it’s just a little more niche than just offering up
0:36:55 an ear to listen to and a face on a webcam
0:36:57 on some of these other virtual friend type of websites.
0:37:00 Question 10, this came up a bunch of times
0:37:02 on my recent trip to FinCon.
0:37:04 People asked, what keeps you coming back here?
0:37:06 And what’s next, what are you working on?
0:37:08 So super blessed to have a network
0:37:11 of incredible friends and peers and colleagues.
0:37:13 It’s the people that keeps me coming back to FinCon.
0:37:15 This was my ninth year in person
0:37:19 and it is my once a year chance to have a density
0:37:22 of conversations packed into just a few days
0:37:24 that is unlike anything else for the rest of the year.
0:37:26 It’s kind of hard to describe,
0:37:29 but because everyone has the shared experience
0:37:31 of trying to build something online
0:37:33 and spread a positive message online,
0:37:36 you really quickly get beyond the cursory small talk
0:37:39 of work and weather and family
0:37:41 and what new Netflix shows you’re into
0:37:44 and into the world of goals and visions
0:37:46 and challenges and obstacles and big ideas.
0:37:48 And I would challenge you to take stock
0:37:50 of some of your recent friend conversations
0:37:52 and ask whether they’re in category one,
0:37:54 the more cursory small talk category
0:37:57 or category two, the deeper, more meaningful variety.
0:37:58 There’s definitely a place for both,
0:38:00 but the challenge is to surround yourself
0:38:01 with more people with whom you can have
0:38:03 the second type of conversation
0:38:04 and have it not be weird,
0:38:07 but that’s the, but it’s that in the creative energy
0:38:09 that comes from it that keeps me coming back
0:38:10 where people are really open
0:38:13 about sharing what’s working, what’s not working,
0:38:15 what new tools and tactics they’re using.
0:38:17 Now, I always walk away with more ideas
0:38:19 than I truthfully know what to do with.
0:38:21 And to be fair, you might have to try several
0:38:23 different events or groups before you find your people.
0:38:26 I went to a bunch of affiliate conferences early on
0:38:29 and never quite found that same level of connection.
0:38:32 Now, as far as what’s next, what are you working on?
0:38:35 I’m reminded of a line from Joe from Stacking Benjamin’s
0:38:36 and from a talk that he did years ago.
0:38:39 He said, “Look, I’m embarrassed by the work
0:38:40 I did a year ago and a year from now.
0:38:43 I hope to be embarrassed by the work I’m doing today.”
0:38:45 It was this call to keep getting better.
0:38:48 And you can see it, Joe, just talk about a guy
0:38:49 who loves his craft.
0:38:51 I don’t know what they’re at, 1,500, 1,600 episodes
0:38:54 of Stacking Benjamin’s and just an incredible job
0:38:55 with what they’ve done and what they’ve built.
0:38:58 I was at a mastermind event earlier in the year
0:39:00 and my friend, Chandler Bolt,
0:39:02 Chandler runs self-publishing.com.
0:39:04 You always get the question, well, what’s next?
0:39:04 What are you working on?
0:39:07 And he’s like the same, just more and better.
0:39:09 And I was like, that really, really resonated with me.
0:39:10 There’s always this pressure
0:39:13 to be working on the next big thing, but it’s okay.
0:39:15 If the current thing is working
0:39:18 and you’re happy doing it, that’s okay too.
0:39:20 So the same, just more and better.
0:39:22 I mean, this show is where I love spending my time
0:39:25 and the creative constraint that comes
0:39:27 with a publishing deadline of every Thursday
0:39:28 and every other Monday.
0:39:29 Hey, look, we gotta come up
0:39:30 with something compelling to publish.
0:39:33 Now, I left FinCon, I left the event super grateful
0:39:35 to still get to play the game,
0:39:38 to have been going to those things for nine or 10 years,
0:39:40 to be able to get paid to do work.
0:39:42 I love, and I couldn’t do it without your support.
0:39:44 So thank you so much for tuning in,
0:39:47 whether you’re a first-time listener or a long-time listener.
0:39:48 So what’s next?
0:39:50 It’s continuing to do my best to help people
0:39:52 find legit ways to make more money.
0:39:54 It’s falling in love with that problem, right?
0:39:56 So big thanks to everyone who submitted questions this week.
0:39:57 Big thanks to our sponsors
0:39:59 for helping make this content free for everyone.
0:40:02 As always, you can hit up sidehustlenation.com/deals
0:40:05 for all the latest offers from our sponsors in one place.
0:40:07 Thank you for supporting the advertisers
0:40:07 that support the show.
0:40:08 That is it for me.
0:40:10 Thank you so much for tuning in.
0:40:13 Until next time, let’s go out there and make something happen,
0:40:14 and I’ll catch you in the next edition
0:40:15 of The Side Hustle Show.
0:00:05 newsletters, how to compete in a no-click world,
0:00:06 and lots more.
0:00:07 What’s up, what’s up, Nick?
0:00:10 Oh, over here, welcome to The Side Hustle Show,
0:00:12 because making extra money never goes out of style.
0:00:14 We’re diving into the listener mailbag this week
0:00:16 to answer your burning side hustle questions,
0:00:19 starting with Gary, who asks, starting over,
0:00:21 how would you grow an audience today?
0:00:23 Is it too late to start a podcast,
0:00:25 and how long did it take to start making money from the show?
0:00:27 Well, Gary, starting over, I still think podcasting
0:00:30 is a viable path to building an audience,
0:00:32 and it’s a really valuable one.
0:00:35 There is something to the consistency and convenience
0:00:39 and depth of relationship with it for, as a listener,
0:00:41 I get used to hearing the same voices week after week,
0:00:43 and I can do it while I’m driving,
0:00:44 while I’m walking to pick up the kids,
0:00:45 while I’m working out.
0:00:47 There’s a certain level of intimacy to that,
0:00:49 and while there are certainly more podcasts,
0:00:52 greater competition, and truthfully better competition,
0:00:54 level of production, all that jazz,
0:00:56 than there was 10, 11 years ago,
0:00:58 the world is only as saturated as you make it.
0:01:01 I remember Jonathan Mendenza on the show
0:01:02 from Shusefa High years ago.
0:01:05 He said, look, if you can’t be first, be different, right?
0:01:08 So they weren’t the first personal finance per podcast,
0:01:09 but they were the first, you know,
0:01:12 a personal finance podcast focused on the fire movement.
0:01:14 So you probably can’t be first anymore,
0:01:16 but you can still be different.
0:01:20 This is from episode 436 with John Lee Dumas.
0:01:22 Is there such thing as being too niche?
0:01:25 Like, I’ve seen some successful podcasts
0:01:28 we had a guest on recently who had like a laundromat podcast,
0:01:29 like how to run a laundromat business.
0:01:31 And he was like, it’s done surprisingly well.
0:01:33 And I said, well, why do you say surprisingly?
0:01:36 And he’s like, because it’s a laundromat podcast,
0:01:38 but curious to see anything where it’s like,
0:01:40 I don’t know if that’s a big enough market to try and serve.
0:01:45 – It is impossible, and I mean impossible to be too niche.
0:01:47 People always go the other way, ’cause they’re scared,
0:01:50 they’re fearful, they have their own self-doubts,
0:01:52 and they think, I just need to be able to serve everybody.
0:01:53 I want to resonate with everybody.
0:01:54 I want to just create a podcast
0:01:56 that just inspires other people to inspire other people
0:01:58 to inspire other people.
0:02:02 And that fails, ’cause that is a weak pale imitation
0:02:03 of other successful podcasts that are out there
0:02:05 that are actually doing something specific.
0:02:07 And that’s why people lose.
0:02:09 Why people win is because they say,
0:02:13 I’m gonna create the best solution to a real problem.
0:02:16 I flip in love that laundromat podcast idea,
0:02:17 ’cause guess what?
0:02:21 He is the best laundromat podcast in the world.
0:02:24 He’s also the worst, he’s the only.
0:02:25 And that’s why you win in this world,
0:02:27 because you become the best.
0:02:29 However that is, if that takes you being the only
0:02:32 to be the best, that’s giving you a chance to win,
0:02:36 ’cause people will beat a path to your doorstep.
0:02:38 If you’re number one, if you’re number two,
0:02:41 if you’re number 10, if you’re number 200, you will lose.
0:02:42 – Yeah, where can you be the only?
0:02:45 That was a line that stood out to me from the book.
0:02:47 It was like, hey, when you started EO Fire,
0:02:50 I was the best daily interview podcast for entrepreneurs.
0:02:52 I was the worst daily interview podcast for entrepreneurs.
0:02:55 I was the only, and that’s an interesting place to play.
0:02:57 And you might be thinking, well, shoot,
0:02:59 that’s easy for John to say, he started in 2012,
0:03:02 but I would start with getting really clear
0:03:04 on what niche I’m gonna serve,
0:03:06 who my ideal listener is gonna be,
0:03:08 and what’s the best way to speak to them?
0:03:10 What kind of content are they really gonna value?
0:03:13 Now early on, I set out to create the show
0:03:14 that I wanted to hear.
0:03:16 Look, realistic ways to make money,
0:03:18 ideas you can start in your spare time,
0:03:20 light on the theory, heavy on the tactics.
0:03:23 Now, marketing-wise, it’s still the game,
0:03:24 and whether this is a podcast
0:03:26 or whatever thing you’re building,
0:03:28 it’s still a game of getting in front
0:03:30 of your ideal listeners, readers, viewers,
0:03:33 customers, clients, right, where they already are.
0:03:35 Maybe it’s on Instagram, maybe it’s on other podcasts,
0:03:37 maybe it’s on LinkedIn, maybe it’s on YouTube
0:03:41 because of the friction involved specific to podcasting.
0:03:43 I mean, I gotta go find my podcast app,
0:03:44 I gotta find your show,
0:03:46 I gotta find the specific episode you’re talking about,
0:03:49 and then I gotta find the time to listen to it.
0:03:52 It is a really challenging medium to grow,
0:03:55 but super, super worthwhile and rewarding to do it.
0:03:58 One of the accidental growth tactics that worked for me
0:04:01 was becoming known as the side hustle guy
0:04:03 in the personal finance space.
0:04:05 And I gotta give credit to Philip Paylor,
0:04:08 the founder of FinCon, for pulling me into that world
0:04:10 where everybody was talking about investing
0:04:12 and saving money and paying off debt.
0:04:15 And initially I was like, I don’t know,
0:04:16 I’m talking about entrepreneurship,
0:04:18 I’m not in the personal finance world.
0:04:20 And it took a while to see that,
0:04:23 well, earning extra money is a natural extension
0:04:26 of that more traditional personal finance content,
0:04:29 which led me to guesting on a lot of those types of podcasts
0:04:32 and growing listenership for the side hustle show.
0:04:35 So the question could be, well, what other shows
0:04:38 have an audience that would be receptive to your message
0:04:40 and how can you be of service to those hosts?
0:04:42 And if you’re gonna focus on video first,
0:04:45 you’ve got much better search and discoverability on YouTube
0:04:47 than you do on most podcast apps.
0:04:49 Plus, you have the added benefit of YouTube
0:04:52 as this recommendation engine,
0:04:53 where if people like your content,
0:04:56 the algorithm is likely to show it to other people
0:04:58 that it thinks will like it as well.
0:05:00 So I’m always trying to step up our video game
0:05:03 while staying true to the remote recording lifestyle,
0:05:04 talk to some people at FinCon,
0:05:07 like I know how I almost exclusively record
0:05:09 in studio, in person, in New York.
0:05:11 And it’s like, I just like staying at home.
0:05:12 I mean, that’s great for you,
0:05:14 but that’s just the logistics involved.
0:05:15 It’s, that’s not for me.
0:05:17 Now, within the first year,
0:05:19 you asked about the monetization side of things.
0:05:22 I started selling a private mastermind group
0:05:25 through the podcast and through the modest
0:05:28 700 person email list at that time.
0:05:31 It was the huge, huge price tag of a hundred bucks a month
0:05:32 for three months.
0:05:35 But when those first applications started to come in,
0:05:38 it was a really exciting validation
0:05:39 that this could be a thing,
0:05:42 that people were willing to pay to connect with me
0:05:44 and with their fellow side hustlers.
0:05:47 I don’t think I would have gotten any applications
0:05:49 had it not been for the relationship formed
0:05:51 with those early listeners through the podcast.
0:05:53 And as far as sponsorships,
0:05:57 the show started to attract more serious sponsorship dollars
0:05:59 around year three and has continued to see
0:06:02 pretty strong demand ever since with some sponsors
0:06:04 sticking around for years in some cases,
0:06:06 which is really rewarding to see.
0:06:09 Now, I’ve got to turn down more sponsorship requests
0:06:12 than we can accept because it’s either not a great fit
0:06:14 for the audience or it’s not a brand.
0:06:15 I’ve used or could see myself using.
0:06:17 But Gary, thanks for that question.
0:06:19 That’s a little bit of a brain dump
0:06:21 on how I would think about growing a podcast
0:06:22 starting over today.
0:06:24 Question two came from Kathy who says,
0:06:26 “I don’t have any online presence yet,
0:06:29 “but I’m wondering would it be worthwhile to start
0:06:30 “a blog or YouTube channel,
0:06:32 “for example, personal finance and lifestyle,
0:06:34 “but targeting the Australian audience
0:06:37 “because everything is pretty much written for US readers?
0:06:38 “I’m pretty good with words.
0:06:39 “I just don’t know where to start.
0:06:41 “Overwhelmed with information,
0:06:44 “I’m 50 years old trying to restart my career.”
0:06:45 Well, Kathy, I love this question,
0:06:48 personal finance and lifestyle for an Australian audience
0:06:49 is probably a bit too broad.
0:06:52 Even personal finance for Australian women
0:06:54 is probably a little bit broad, but it could work.
0:06:57 So even better might be helping Australian women over 50
0:07:00 prepare for retirement in the sense
0:07:01 of personal finance and lifestyle.
0:07:04 Like that could check the personal finance
0:07:06 and lifestyle components to really set people up
0:07:09 for a fulfilling retirement or a second act.
0:07:13 Now, building traffic to a blog is more challenging
0:07:15 than ever, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect
0:07:16 having a website.
0:07:17 I still think it’s really important to have that
0:07:20 as a home base, but similar to the first question,
0:07:23 my efforts on building content and connecting
0:07:25 with other people would be on other channels
0:07:26 to start out, right?
0:07:28 Maybe that’s YouTube, maybe that’s LinkedIn
0:07:31 or X or threads or Instagram.
0:07:34 And since you enjoy writing, there are lots of content first
0:07:36 or written first content channels
0:07:38 that are less follower based than ever
0:07:39 and more algorithm based,
0:07:41 which is helpful for new people starting out.
0:07:44 It’s not that you don’t need to have 100,000 subscribers.
0:07:47 If you have a small but engaged following early on,
0:07:49 it means your work can get seen by a lot more people
0:07:52 than just those who follow you if it resonates
0:07:54 and it starts to get picked up by the algorithm.
0:07:58 So I would probably pick one platform, let’s say LinkedIn
0:08:00 and really focus my efforts there,
0:08:03 learn the best practices, start to build a following
0:08:06 and start to have those one-on-one conversations
0:08:08 with those followers on their biggest pain points
0:08:09 and struggles.
0:08:10 Those are gonna guide future content
0:08:13 but also what kind of products or services
0:08:15 that you eventually create to serve them.
0:08:16 This is question three,
0:08:18 Brittany says she’s started a free email newsletter
0:08:20 for artists in Southern California
0:08:23 and in three months I’ve grown it to 4,500 subscribers
0:08:26 with a 65% open rate.
0:08:29 My current obstacle, I wanna start monetizing the newsletter.
0:08:32 My problem is I have no idea what a reasonable price
0:08:35 is to charge sponsors or even how to approach
0:08:36 potential sponsors.
0:08:38 So first off, Brittany, incredible work.
0:08:40 That’s some really positive early traction.
0:08:42 4,500 subscribers in three months,
0:08:44 it took me probably over a year to get that many.
0:08:45 So really cool work
0:08:47 and I really like the local niche angle here.
0:08:51 So newsletter ads typically sold on a CPM basis
0:08:54 as it costs per thousand impressions.
0:08:56 Occasionally on a cost per click basis
0:08:58 and that’s, some platforms will help to do that
0:09:01 but really the rates can really vary depending on your niche.
0:09:05 So you’ve got a newsletter targeting exclusively hedge fund
0:09:08 managers or Fortune 500 C-suite executives,
0:09:10 you probably are gonna command higher rates
0:09:13 than one targeting broke college students
0:09:14 just as one example.
0:09:16 Now you could even begin with experimenting
0:09:19 by including affiliate links to products that you like.
0:09:21 Now here’s how Ryan Stedden described
0:09:24 his advertising options for Naptown Scoop.
0:09:27 This is his local newsletter focused on Annapolis, Maryland.
0:09:30 And this clip is from episode 615 of the Side Hustle Show.
0:09:32 I’m curious how you have it priced today.
0:09:33 I think you mentioned,
0:09:35 we have five different ad slots per day,
0:09:38 I guess probably based on placement and visibility
0:09:39 and structure of those ads.
0:09:42 – Yeah, so three different kinds.
0:09:45 The bottom kind has three each day.
0:09:47 So top one has your logo at the top,
0:09:51 a picture up to 150 words, it’s the first ad.
0:09:53 Unless we have a headline story,
0:09:54 it’s the first thing in the newsletter.
0:09:56 So probably about 60% of the time
0:09:58 it’s the top thing anybody sees.
0:10:01 Then in the middle, we call it a feature ad
0:10:03 and that has a hundred words, a photo
0:10:04 and that’s right in the middle.
0:10:07 And then right near our live music section at the bottom,
0:10:08 which is our most popular thing,
0:10:10 we have three ads we call Baseline,
0:10:14 which are text only, 70 words and headline and a link.
0:10:16 And everybody, all these can be linked.
0:10:17 It’s funny now at the beginning,
0:10:20 those ads I sold that web design guy were headline ads
0:10:23 or what a very early version of those.
0:10:25 And it was $500 for six of them.
0:10:28 Now an individual headline ad,
0:10:31 if anybody wants to buy one is $812.50.
0:10:34 And it goes down with volume.
0:10:37 If you’re gonna buy 12, then that unit cost goes down.
0:10:39 If you’re gonna buy 24, that unit cost goes down.
0:10:41 If you’re gonna go by 48, be crazy
0:10:43 and spread those over the next two years.
0:10:45 So that unit cost will go down
0:10:47 or we have two advertisers that do that every single week.
0:10:48 They just pay a lot of money,
0:10:50 but the prices are very, very different
0:10:52 from when we first started.
0:10:54 Everything is really just pulling out of thin air.
0:10:56 I just, how much does this cost?
0:10:58 $500 for six ads.
0:10:59 Everything was just thrown out.
0:11:03 – Is there a rule of thumb for X price
0:11:05 based on every thousand subscribers
0:11:06 or something like that?
0:11:08 – I heard a rumor back in the day
0:11:10 that Morning Brew was charging $70 per thousand.
0:11:13 And so I kind of roughly based it on that.
0:11:16 And it’s actually still kind of around there, our top ad.
0:11:17 It’s like very loosely based on that.
0:11:20 Or I don’t think it’s loosely based on that anymore.
0:11:21 Maybe it’s just worked out that way
0:11:23 that it’s still on there.
0:11:24 Once it started stabilizing,
0:11:25 I used to change prices every week
0:11:27 ’cause we would be adding hundreds of subscribers
0:11:28 every week.
0:11:30 We’d be like, I just sold an ad to you for 200 bucks
0:11:32 for 800 subscribers and had a really good run
0:11:33 of Facebook ads.
0:11:36 And now we have 1600 and I’m not gonna charge $200 again.
0:11:38 So I would change it every single week.
0:11:40 Then I started changing it, I think like every month
0:11:42 and then it was every couple of months.
0:11:43 And now I just change it every year.
0:11:45 And it’s not on any kind of,
0:11:47 oh, we have this many more subscribers.
0:11:48 It should be this much more.
0:11:52 Now I just, I’m basically up it on inventory.
0:11:53 If we sell out, then,
0:11:55 and it’s like we sell out really easily.
0:11:56 I know it’s too low.
0:11:57 If it’s harder, but we still sell out.
0:11:59 I’m like, okay, we can do a little bump.
0:12:00 If we’re not selling at all,
0:12:01 thankfully this hasn’t happened yet,
0:12:04 then maybe we stay the same or even worse, go lower.
0:12:06 Now it’s not really based on any kind of formula.
0:12:08 It’s just based on feel of,
0:12:12 oh, last year we sold all of these way too easily.
0:12:13 Okay, we’ll double the price.
0:12:15 And then we sold them all out again,
0:12:16 but it took longer.
0:12:17 It was like, okay, cool.
0:12:18 That’s probably a good number.
0:12:19 That was two years ago, we doubled it.
0:12:22 Last year, we just went up by, I think it was 20%.
0:12:24 This year, probably just go up by 10%.
0:12:26 And maybe stabilize somewhere around there
0:12:29 and just upgrade the prices every year by eight to 10%.
0:12:32 – Is it most common to sell like a multi-month package?
0:12:35 Like you’re gonna be featured eight times
0:12:36 over the next three months?
0:12:37 Like is that how it’s typically structured?
0:12:39 – I like to sell long packages.
0:12:42 We have people who sign on to be on there
0:12:43 every other week for two years.
0:12:45 We have people who are on there
0:12:46 every other week for one year.
0:12:49 We have some people who are just pretty seasonal,
0:12:51 but they’re on for the same six months
0:12:54 and they’ll sign two year deals for those six months.
0:12:55 I just like that ’cause it’s easier.
0:12:58 And also it ups your average client value.
0:13:00 There’s a, I can’t say too much about this,
0:13:03 but there’s a website that I wanna buy right now
0:13:05 ’cause I think I can do a lot better.
0:13:07 I think it’s a great opportunity.
0:13:11 And their average, they have way, way more visibility
0:13:14 than I do, way more impressions, way more uniques.
0:13:18 But their average customer value is like one fifth of mine,
0:13:20 which is why I think I can buy it
0:13:21 and do really well with it.
0:13:23 But I’m just always trying to increase that.
0:13:26 I have a dentist client right now who’s on just once a month
0:13:28 and our standard is really twice a month.
0:13:31 So they’re on once a month, but they’ve been killing it.
0:13:32 They’ve been doing really well with it.
0:13:35 So rather than trying to go sell a new client,
0:13:36 it’s way easier to just sell someone
0:13:38 who’s already selling with you
0:13:39 and increase that customer value.
0:13:41 – Increase their frequency.
0:13:42 – Yeah, I went to them and said,
0:13:44 “Hey, do you guys, it’s been working out pretty well
0:13:45 “once a month, gonna juice it
0:13:47 “and you’ll get a better unit rate
0:13:48 “and you’ll be in there more
0:13:50 “and you’ve already made your money back.”
0:13:52 And then a lot because I know you told me
0:13:54 how many clients you got and I’m kind of guessing
0:13:55 what your average customer value is worth
0:13:57 based on industry comparisons.
0:13:59 And I think I’m probably pretty close.
0:14:00 And so it’s just way easier to make those sales
0:14:02 than to go out and cold call a new person
0:14:03 and get a new one.
0:14:07 So I’m always trying to increase customer value.
0:14:09 And one way to do that is just raise prices every year
0:14:14 and nobody has ever canceled because of the increase.
0:14:15 – Now for Ryan, he also mentioned
0:14:19 including a little sponsor, this newsletter link
0:14:20 at the bottom of every edition,
0:14:23 something that would be pretty easy to add
0:14:24 if you don’t have that in there already.
0:14:25 And then aside from that,
0:14:28 a lot of community outbound sales
0:14:29 to try and drive long-term partnerships.
0:14:31 The other thing that he mentioned
0:14:33 that might be worth considering is offering
0:14:35 what he called category exclusivity.
0:14:39 Like we can only accept one real estate agent at a time
0:14:40 and we would love for that to be you.
0:14:42 Again, episode 615 in your archives
0:14:46 all about growing and monetizing a local newsletter.
0:14:47 Really cool episode.
0:14:49 I’m gonna be back with more Q&A on marketing,
0:14:53 monetization and the death of the click right after this.
0:14:57 What if you no longer needed five separate apps
0:14:58 for your business bank account,
0:15:01 expense tracking, invoicing, contractor payments
0:15:02 and tax planning?
0:15:04 I’m excited to partner with our new sponsor,
0:15:05 Found for this episode
0:15:08 because Found is business banking designed specifically
0:15:10 for side hustlers, solopreneurs
0:15:12 and small business owners like you.
0:15:15 Under the hood, you’ll find one easy to use app
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0:15:20 invoice clients and even handle your taxes
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0:15:23 like running your business.
0:15:24 There’s no minimum balances,
0:15:26 there’s no account maintenance fees
0:15:29 and there’s no paperwork or credit checks when you sign up.
0:15:32 One cool feature found calls in pockets
0:15:34 lets you allocate income to certain categories
0:15:37 like marketing or taxes or profit,
0:15:39 which is really handy if you wanna practice
0:15:42 the profit first methodology
0:15:43 but you really don’t wanna set up
0:15:45 a bunch of different accounts.
0:15:47 Over 500,000 small business owners
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0:15:53 So stop getting lost in countless finance apps
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0:16:02 Sign up for Found for free today at found.com/sidehustle.
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0:16:17 They also offer an optional paid product, Found Plus.
0:16:19 Being an entrepreneur and being able to work remotely
0:16:21 definitely has its perks.
0:16:24 I’ve recorded podcasts everywhere from Vietnam to Italy,
0:16:26 drafted newsletters from Japan,
0:16:28 hosted mastermind meetings from Spain,
0:16:30 ended up being the middle of the night
0:16:32 to get to US business hours
0:16:34 and outlined courses in Mexico.
0:16:37 The common thread of all of these trips though
0:16:38 is Airbnb.
0:16:41 We love being able to get exactly what we’re looking for
0:16:45 in a place to stay and have a more local experience
0:16:47 than staying in some giant hotel chain.
0:16:48 And you know me, I’m always thinking about
0:16:51 the next side hustle idea, the next income stream, right?
0:16:53 And one that’s at the top of the list
0:16:56 is hosting our place on Airbnb while we’re traveling.
0:16:58 That way the house doesn’t have to sit empty,
0:17:01 we could use the income to help pay for the trip.
0:17:03 And we’ve heard from several successful
0:17:04 Airbnb hosts on the show.
0:17:07 And what’s interesting is a lot of them started
0:17:10 with almost that exact strategy, running their place
0:17:13 or even a spare room while they’re out of town.
0:17:16 Taking inspiration from that, you might have an Airbnb
0:17:17 right under your nose.
0:17:20 In fact, your home might be worth more than you think.
0:17:24 You can find out how much at airbnb.com/host.
0:17:28 That’s airbnb.com/host to find out
0:17:29 how much your home is worth.
0:17:33 Question four is from Dustin who asked,
0:17:35 hey, I’m looking at starting a consulting business.
0:17:36 I want to register a domain
0:17:38 so I can have a professional email.
0:17:40 What’s the best place to do that?
0:17:42 I might make a very simple website in the future,
0:17:43 but no time soon.
0:17:45 Basically looking for a good email service
0:17:48 and something that I can utilize maybe with Gmail
0:17:49 or on my phone.
0:17:51 Well, Dustin, I think this is a pretty small investment
0:17:54 for that little bump up in perceived value.
0:17:55 So you’re on the right track here.
0:17:57 So to better explain what Dustin is talking about,
0:17:59 it would be like having an email address
0:18:03 like Dustin@smartconsultinggroup.com
0:18:06 as opposed to smartconsultinggroup@gmail.com.
0:18:08 It makes you look more legit,
0:18:10 especially if you’re targeting a customer base
0:18:11 who would notice that sort of thing.
0:18:14 And for more quote unquote blue collar operations,
0:18:16 I probably wouldn’t let that be a barrier
0:18:17 to you getting started.
0:18:19 Like Nick’s guttercleaning@gmail.com
0:18:21 would probably work just fine
0:18:23 over nick@nixguttercleaning.com.
0:18:25 Now I still prefer the second one,
0:18:27 but my customers probably don’t care.
0:18:28 They just want their gutters cleaned, right?
0:18:31 So the first step here would be to register the domain.
0:18:35 You can get that through any domain, register and go daddy.
0:18:36 Pork bun is the one I’ve been using lately.
0:18:39 No affiliation there, it’s just, I like the service.
0:18:42 And you can get email service either
0:18:45 as an add on to that domain registration.
0:18:46 Or if you, like I said,
0:18:48 you eventually want to build out that website.
0:18:51 Some hosts are gonna include it in their hosting package.
0:18:54 You can get a free domain with hosting registration
0:18:57 at Bluehost, we’ve got an affiliate link for that.
0:18:58 But if you don’t want to build that website yet,
0:19:01 you can just register the domain, you can add on email.
0:19:04 I think pork bun charges something like 24 bucks a year
0:19:05 for that.
0:19:07 Now the caution is if you email me
0:19:10 from Dustin@smartconsultinggroup.com,
0:19:13 I’m likely to go to smartconsultinggroup.com
0:19:14 just to check out your website.
0:19:18 So even building out that simple placeholder brochure style
0:19:20 website could be beneficial.
0:19:23 But of course, my online behavior might not be
0:19:24 like your target customers.
0:19:25 And then I think there’s,
0:19:27 you can probably do like six bucks a month
0:19:31 for Google business suite to have that domain
0:19:34 or that email inside of the familiar Gmail interface.
0:19:36 Now I just set up my side isolation email
0:19:39 to forward to my personal Gmail inbox early on
0:19:40 and I’ve actually never changed that.
0:19:42 So that’s another option as well.
0:19:44 Question five was from Patricia who asked,
0:19:47 is there anywhere on your site that covers ideas
0:19:49 that disabled people or people with mobility restrictions
0:19:50 can do?
0:19:53 So Patricia, at the moment, there is not,
0:19:56 though it is on our keyword list of future content
0:19:57 to create.
0:19:59 And actually what I kind of want to do is the,
0:20:02 every side hustle ever, like air table database
0:20:05 where you can filter by the time required,
0:20:07 the earnings potential, whether it’s online,
0:20:08 whether it’s in person.
0:20:12 I think that would be a fun project to try and build out.
0:20:14 But like, again, another one that’s kind of daunting
0:20:15 to get off the ground.
0:20:18 But in the meantime, just think about any remote
0:20:20 or online side hustle I think can be done
0:20:22 by somebody with mobility restrictions.
0:20:24 And we do have several resources on those on the site
0:20:26 that I can link up in the show notes.
0:20:29 Just follow the show notes link in the episode description.
0:20:30 It’ll get you right over there.
0:20:33 So ideas might include virtual freelancing,
0:20:36 virtual consulting, anything you can do over the internet,
0:20:38 virtual assistant service, content creation business,
0:20:41 digital products, print on demand, proof reading,
0:20:43 freelance writing, paid market research,
0:20:44 lots of options there.
0:20:47 Now one famous example in the blogging world
0:20:49 or in the online business world is John Morrow.
0:20:52 He runs a site called smartblogger.com
0:20:55 paralyzed from the neck down from birth
0:20:58 with spinal muscular atrophy and still went on
0:21:01 to build a super successful online business
0:21:03 earning $15 million.
0:21:05 According to a recent LinkedIn post of his,
0:21:09 he uses speech dictation, like speech to text,
0:21:10 dragon dictation, I think.
0:21:12 He’s got a special computer mouse
0:21:14 that he operates with his lips.
0:21:16 Really inspiring guy.
0:21:18 Instead of focusing on the things he can’t do,
0:21:20 we focused on what he could do.
0:21:22 And he’s helped a lot of people in the process.
0:21:24 Smartblogger.com is his site
0:21:27 and really inspired by what John has created
0:21:29 and the impact that he’s had.
0:21:30 Question six came in from Ruth who asked,
0:21:34 I’m struggling to launch my small sewing classes for kids.
0:21:35 I run them out of my home.
0:21:38 I’ve advertised on Peach Jar and my local Facebook pages.
0:21:40 Does anyone have any suggestions for me?
0:21:43 Well, Ruth, this sounds like a really cool cute side hustle
0:21:45 and to market it, I think you’re on the right track
0:21:47 with local Facebook pages
0:21:50 and maybe even local parenting pages,
0:21:52 school groups or homeschool groups.
0:21:55 We just did a local workshops episode.
0:21:58 Chloe Wyn Stanley, it’s episode 634.
0:22:01 She was hosting jewelry making workshops.
0:22:03 Definitely worth a listen if you miss that one.
0:22:05 And her business was a little bit different
0:22:06 because she’s targeting adults
0:22:10 and she would go to a community center venue,
0:22:12 not trying to run those out of her home.
0:22:14 But she mentioned having success marketing on Facebook
0:22:16 and how one ticket sale in her case
0:22:18 often led to three or four ticket sales
0:22:21 because people would want to come with their friends.
0:22:23 So maybe testing with a limited ad budget
0:22:24 might be worthwhile.
0:22:27 Now, a few other people in the Side Hustle Nation Facebook
0:22:29 group mentioned targeting homeschool parents,
0:22:30 which I think is a really good fit
0:22:32 and also a tight knit community
0:22:35 where you might start to see some word of mouth benefit.
0:22:36 Now to go a little bit broader,
0:22:38 this reminds me a little
0:22:42 of the after school programs episode we did a few years ago
0:22:44 where my guest May got approved
0:22:45 by her local school district
0:22:49 to host these after school arts and crafts enrichment sessions.
0:22:52 That is episode 289 in your archives,
0:22:53 a little, you know, a long way to scroll
0:22:54 to get down to that one,
0:22:55 but definitely worth a listen
0:22:57 if you’re into that sort of thing.
0:22:59 It was a multi-week class
0:23:03 where the parents would pay, you know, 100, 150 bucks
0:23:05 and she could take 15 to 20 kids at a time.
0:23:09 So the effective hourly rate ended up being really strong.
0:23:11 And if she did Mondays at one school,
0:23:13 she could do Tuesdays at another school,
0:23:14 Wednesdays at another school
0:23:18 and really only have a couple hours a day of work.
0:23:20 So that could be an interesting option for you.
0:23:21 And a lot of these schools already had
0:23:23 an approval process in place
0:23:25 where, you know, they were already hosting
0:23:27 like the Lego after school program
0:23:29 or the Chess after school program.
0:23:31 And so it was, you know, like throwing your name
0:23:34 in the hat there and following their guidelines.
0:23:36 And one final idea, like some people mentioned
0:23:38 in the Facebook group as well
0:23:42 is to take the sewing class and put it up on out school.
0:23:44 This is a platform that specializes
0:23:48 in small safe online group classes for kids.
0:23:49 That’s your target audience, right?
0:23:52 The biggest benefit is you’d open up your market
0:23:53 from just your local area,
0:23:55 I don’t know how big a town that you’re in
0:23:58 to being able to serve kids from all over the world.
0:24:00 This would be the buy buttons strategy
0:24:02 of going where the cash is already flowing
0:24:05 to tap into some existing demand
0:24:07 rather than trying to create it from scratch
0:24:08 in your local area.
0:24:10 Out school has millions of users,
0:24:12 I think it would be perfect for something like this.
0:24:14 I definitely encourage you to check out the episodes
0:24:15 we’ve done on out school,
0:24:19 starting with teacher Jade in episode 442,
0:24:21 but we’ll link all of those up in the show notes for you.
0:24:23 For question seven, Chris says,
0:24:25 “My wife and I have been podcasting since 2018
0:24:27 in the special needs parenting niche.
0:24:30 We’ve built up an audience, but we haven’t made any money.
0:24:32 We’re considering creating an online program
0:24:33 to better serve our listeners.”
0:24:36 Now Chris, I admire the longevity
0:24:38 of sticking with the show that long.
0:24:39 And even if the financial rewards
0:24:42 haven’t been there, I know creating the content
0:24:43 and building connections with listeners
0:24:45 has been really rewarding for you.
0:24:47 The first thing that comes to mind in this case
0:24:49 is to simply bring your listeners
0:24:51 into a supportive community.
0:24:54 Similar to what Megan Champion did for her podcast,
0:24:55 also in the parenting niche,
0:24:57 her show is called On the Hard Days.
0:24:59 And here’s how she described creating
0:25:03 and structuring that membership in episode 524.
0:25:05 – It turns out there is no community
0:25:08 for mothers raising neurodivergent kids out there.
0:25:10 There are specific things,
0:25:12 moms of kids with autism, for example,
0:25:14 there are little niched things,
0:25:16 but just in general,
0:25:18 parents who don’t have a diagnosis for their kids,
0:25:20 but they are really struggling internally
0:25:23 with their child’s behaviors and challenges and struggles,
0:25:27 there is no place for them to gather and meet each other.
0:25:30 And so that’s where my membership community was born,
0:25:32 and it’s called Mothers Together.
0:25:35 And it has completely changed my life
0:25:38 and the trajectory of my business.
0:25:39 – Well, let’s talk about that membership.
0:25:42 That’s great, something that looking out in the world,
0:25:44 that this is the thing that I wish existed.
0:25:47 It doesn’t, so I’m gonna be the one to build it.
0:25:48 And oh, by the way, for the last year,
0:25:50 I’ve been building this, for the last six months,
0:25:52 I’ve been building this network
0:25:54 through one-on-one conversations
0:25:56 and then one-to-many conversations through the podcast.
0:25:59 So you said, “Okay, we’re gonna build this thing,
0:26:00 it’s called Mothers Together.”
0:26:03 And what’s, so what happens, I guess, inside?
0:26:05 What’s the value proposition for a mom saying,
0:26:06 “Yes, I wanna join?”
0:26:07 – Yeah, absolutely.
0:26:10 So in Mothers Together, it is a monthly membership.
0:26:13 It is a support group style membership.
0:26:16 And so they basically get three pieces.
0:26:18 There is a forum, first of all, that I created.
0:26:21 It is off of social media, it’s not on Facebook.
0:26:23 It has its own app, it’s the Mighty Networks company,
0:26:24 and it’s awesome.
0:26:25 It has its own app.
0:26:29 And on this forum, moms can ask questions,
0:26:32 ask for advice, share resources, and it’s by category,
0:26:34 which makes it sort of stand out
0:26:35 from maybe Facebook, for example.
0:26:38 People can search by age of child
0:26:39 to connect with other moms of teenagers
0:26:40 who are neurodivergent.
0:26:42 They can search by location.
0:26:44 If they wanna find moms who might be living near them
0:26:47 that they wouldn’t know about, by diagnosis, by behavior,
0:26:49 by, there’s a million different ways, right?
0:26:50 So they can connect on the forum.
0:26:52 But that’s not my big selling point.
0:26:54 That’s just sort of a little extra.
0:26:57 The main piece of Mothers Together is the support group part.
0:27:00 And so what happens is, when a mom signs up,
0:27:02 I send out a follow-up email with some questions.
0:27:03 Where do you live?
0:27:04 How old is your child?
0:27:07 And most importantly, what do you, the mom,
0:27:08 what do you need?
0:27:09 What are you looking for for support?
0:27:11 What are you not getting right now
0:27:13 that you wish you could have?
0:27:14 And I will take her information
0:27:17 and I will personally match her with other moms
0:27:20 going through a similar experience.
0:27:22 So it’s basically like, I’m personalizing these groups
0:27:24 of moms based on the needs of moms.
0:27:26 Yeah, it is like a support group on the one hand.
0:27:29 You know, we do try to meet on Zoom weekly,
0:27:31 that sort of thing, but it’s way more than a support group.
0:27:33 We found out very early on that the moms
0:27:36 were so over the moon excited to have met each other
0:27:38 and connected on that personal level
0:27:41 that a once a week meeting was not nearly going to cut it.
0:27:44 And so we decided we need something a little different.
0:27:47 We’re using mostly the Marco Polo video messaging app.
0:27:50 There’s text threads and the forum has a chat feature,
0:27:53 but mostly Marco Polo to check in with each other
0:27:55 in our little groups constantly, daily,
0:27:56 sometimes multiple times a day.
0:27:58 How was that doctor’s appointment you had?
0:27:59 Jump on and let us know.
0:28:00 We’re here for you.
0:28:01 We’re thinking of you.
0:28:02 I had a really tough morning.
0:28:03 I need to vent.
0:28:05 What would you guys do in this situation?
0:28:06 It’s personal.
0:28:07 These are friends.
0:28:08 You know, there’s no judgment.
0:28:09 This is a completely safe space
0:28:11 to share what you’re struggling with
0:28:12 because everybody in your group
0:28:13 is going through the same thing.
0:28:15 And so there’s really a magic in that,
0:28:17 and that community piece.
0:28:19 And I have obviously had some success,
0:28:21 which I’m so grateful for,
0:28:24 because the moms are so thrilled to have found each other.
0:28:25 And it’s really awesome.
0:28:28 – Yeah, this is actually kind of an interesting one
0:28:30 because typically a membership business
0:28:33 is going to be, you know, content plus community.
0:28:34 And I haven’t heard you say anything really
0:28:36 about content and advice and lessons.
0:28:39 Like, I don’t want to support about support
0:28:42 and acknowledgement and just, like you said,
0:28:43 venting early on.
0:28:45 I just need somebody to listen
0:28:48 versus preaching from on high.
0:28:49 It’s a little bit different from some
0:28:51 of the other membership guests that we’ve had on.
0:28:53 I was, you know, content plus community, sure.
0:28:54 There’s a forum, but it’s like,
0:28:57 it’s more about access to expert material
0:28:58 and stuff like behind the scenes type of stuff.
0:29:01 And then this personal matching service,
0:29:04 they’re somewhat maybe common in the entrepreneurship space.
0:29:05 Oh, we’re going to form these like little
0:29:08 mini mastermind groups or, you know, so-called
0:29:10 based on interests or location or what, you know,
0:29:11 what business you’re working on.
0:29:12 But kind of similar here, you know,
0:29:15 based on the age of the kids, what you’re struggling with,
0:29:17 maybe where you’re located geographically.
0:29:20 And then it’s kind of, is that, am I understanding
0:29:23 kind of the structure of what happens behind the paywall?
0:29:25 – Yeah, yeah, pretty much.
0:29:27 We do have one additional little bonus
0:29:29 where I do bring on a guest expert once a month
0:29:31 and we do a live Q&A on Zoom.
0:29:34 So there’s that little bit of advice piece, content piece.
0:29:39 Mostly the content on the forum is created by the members, right?
0:29:41 So I am not pushing forward.
0:29:44 Here are some great recipes for picky eaters.
0:29:48 Here are some sensory activities for sensory sensitive kids.
0:29:49 I’m not doing that.
0:29:50 We are doing that.
0:29:52 It’s their membership as much as it is mine.
0:29:55 And so if somebody has a great idea
0:29:57 or something that’s worked in their home,
0:29:59 they will push it, you know, push it out
0:30:02 into the forum in different categories for the other moms.
0:30:05 And so it’s kind of like we’re all building this plane
0:30:06 as we fly it together.
0:30:08 And that togetherness piece
0:30:10 is where I think the magic happens.
0:30:14 – Again, that was Megan Champion from episode 524
0:30:15 of The Side Hustle Show
0:30:17 in the On the Hard Days podcast.
0:30:21 Question eight is how to compete in a no-click world.
0:30:24 So this comes from several listeners dealing
0:30:27 with the fallout of lots of Google updates
0:30:28 over the course of the last 12 months.
0:30:31 And so Rand Fishkin, formerly of Moz, you know,
0:30:34 he posted this really thoughtful article last week,
0:30:38 which he opened by saying surveys, studies, analytics,
0:30:39 they all show the same thing.
0:30:41 Getting traffic on the web is harder than ever
0:30:43 and it’s getting worse much faster
0:30:45 in the last two years than in the decade before.
0:30:47 Site owners are faced with two options.
0:30:49 Compete for the scraps Google
0:30:50 and the other platforms provide
0:30:52 or play the game differently by engaging
0:30:55 in zero-click answers, content and influence.
0:30:58 So what does it mean to become a center of influence?
0:30:59 The downside is it’s obviously more work
0:31:02 than just anonymously cranking out SEO content for Google
0:31:05 and cashing in on ad revenue and affiliate commissions.
0:31:08 It means creating a multi-platform presence
0:31:10 with the goal of owning your topic
0:31:12 wherever somebody might be looking for it,
0:31:14 whether that’s Amazon, whether that’s TikTok,
0:31:16 whether that’s Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, wherever.
0:31:19 Now, I wouldn’t start by trying to be everywhere at once.
0:31:21 I would take Robert Farrington’s advice
0:31:23 from a couple of years ago on the show
0:31:24 where he said, pick two.
0:31:26 One has got to be your website, your email list
0:31:29 as your home base, something that you have control over
0:31:33 and then next, sort with one external platform
0:31:35 where your target customer is
0:31:36 and you can learn to play the game
0:31:38 and build that trust and influence.
0:31:40 Here’s how Kellen Klein from The Savvy Couple
0:31:42 put it in episode 605.
0:31:44 – You have to build a brand,
0:31:45 something that mean you’ve done a really good job of
0:31:48 where people are actually going out and searching our brand
0:31:49 and they’re going into Google
0:31:51 and they’re giving that that signal
0:31:52 that people are searching for our brand.
0:31:54 So I think a lot of the times 80/20 rule,
0:31:56 I think 80% of the sites that have built
0:31:57 a really good brand
0:31:59 and they’re publishing good high quality content
0:32:00 all the time.
0:32:02 I think they are definitely riding the wave
0:32:04 and they’re staying above these updates
0:32:06 and the companies that are more niche sites
0:32:08 and they’re not really building an entire brand
0:32:10 with social media and with an email list
0:32:11 and with a YouTube channel.
0:32:13 I think that those are the ones that really got hit,
0:32:15 specifically ones that were just publishing
0:32:16 a ton of AI content
0:32:19 and not having any expertise or different sharing
0:32:23 their experience or authority or trust within their articles
0:32:25 and making them better than the next one.
0:32:27 I think that’s super important to really understand
0:32:30 the user’s intent when they’re going to search these terms
0:32:32 and solving it the best way possible.
0:32:35 – The drawback I see to a social first approach
0:32:39 is this age old problem of building unborrowed land.
0:32:41 You’re still subject to the whims
0:32:42 of social media algorithm changes.
0:32:45 And yes, you can roll with those and adapt
0:32:46 like we all have to do.
0:32:48 But the real key is to bring people
0:32:50 into something you have more control over,
0:32:52 namely your email list,
0:32:54 which is why you see so many Twitter threads
0:32:57 or LinkedIn posts that end with that call to action, hey?
0:32:59 If you like this, make sure to grab your free bonus.
0:33:00 If you like this, here’s the template
0:33:01 to help you do it on your own.
0:33:03 If you found this helpful, I share a story,
0:33:06 just like it every week on my newsletter, sign up here.
0:33:09 Now, I recently hit 20 years in online business,
0:33:11 which hopefully makes me sound older than I am,
0:33:14 but truthfully over the time, the only constant is change.
0:33:16 Tactics don’t stay the same for long,
0:33:19 but the broader strategies of serving your audience,
0:33:21 of diversifying traffic and income sources,
0:33:24 of building your own email or customer list,
0:33:25 those have stood the test of time
0:33:28 and have to imagine will continue to do so.
0:33:31 I recently had the opportunity to hear from Joe Dacina.
0:33:34 He is the founder of Spartan Race.
0:33:37 He came and we hung out at this recent mastermind event
0:33:38 where he’s like, come by, we’ll do this early morning
0:33:39 workout with Joe.
0:33:41 And he’s the founder of Spartan Race.
0:33:42 That’s all I know going into it.
0:33:45 I’m like, how muddy are we gonna get?
0:33:47 Like, what kind of workout does this guy have
0:33:47 in store for us?
0:33:49 And I was like, well, it was climbing staircases
0:33:50 and doing burpees.
0:33:51 It was not that bad.
0:33:53 But as he was talking to us,
0:33:55 a soundbite that stood out for me was,
0:33:57 if you want to win at marketing today,
0:34:00 you have to be everywhere all at once all the time.
0:34:04 And if you have the time and energy and team and budget
0:34:05 to do that, go for it.
0:34:08 But I think that puts a lot of unnecessary pressure
0:34:09 on new entrepreneurs.
0:34:12 Instead, I think you can pick a lane that suits you
0:34:14 and suits your audience, get it firing,
0:34:16 and then layer on additional channels as you go.
0:34:17 Not all at once.
0:34:20 The soundbite from Joe that I did really like though,
0:34:23 was the couch kills more people than swimming with sharks.
0:34:25 Get started, stay started.
0:34:27 And a quote is not necessarily about the couch
0:34:30 or swimming with sharks, but that one I really did like.
0:34:33 Question nine asks, can you really get paid
0:34:34 to be an online friend?
0:34:35 So a little bit of background.
0:34:37 This question comes from the popularity
0:34:39 of a site called Rent-A-Friend,
0:34:41 which had a viral moment a few years ago,
0:34:44 almost purely from the novelty of it.
0:34:47 Like, wait, you can really be a friend for hire, number one.
0:34:50 And then number two, people are really paying for friends.
0:34:51 So the short answer is yes,
0:34:53 this is something that you can make money doing.
0:34:55 And there are a few sites that facilitate
0:34:57 this type of relationship.
0:34:59 Sometimes online, but more often in person,
0:35:01 like for local travel recommendations
0:35:03 and companionship while you’re in a new city.
0:35:06 The longer answer is your odds of making money
0:35:09 as a general online friend are probably pretty low.
0:35:11 It’s really hard to find success stories
0:35:14 of people actually making money on these sites.
0:35:16 And based on the estimated traffic data
0:35:19 I could find from HREFS and others,
0:35:22 it looks like the supply of available friends,
0:35:23 the people wanting to make money,
0:35:25 far outstrips the demand of people
0:35:27 looking to hire an online friend.
0:35:31 Now that said, we are more connected than ever before,
0:35:33 but there’s also data to suggest we’re lonelier
0:35:35 and more isolated than we’ve ever been as well.
0:35:37 So there’s definitely a need
0:35:38 for connection and companionship.
0:35:40 You just might need to get a little more niche
0:35:43 and a little more creative in how you’re providing it.
0:35:46 Maybe it is teaching English lessons online.
0:35:49 Maybe it is providing customer support online.
0:35:53 One of my favorite examples is Devin Ricks from missdevin.com.
0:35:56 We’ve done a couple episodes on her out-school side hustle
0:35:58 of hanging out and playing video games with kids.
0:36:01 Most recently she was on episode 611.
0:36:03 – I started teaching for outschool.com
0:36:06 and started by teaching English creative writing classes.
0:36:08 But I’ve always loved video games,
0:36:10 so I just put my video game twist on it.
0:36:12 We would do descriptive writing, but Zelda,
0:36:14 or like punctuation, but Pokemon.
0:36:16 And then my students just kept asking me
0:36:18 for more classes on how to play the video games
0:36:20 or help them with places where they were stuck.
0:36:23 And so I started creating social clubs
0:36:24 where kids could come and game
0:36:26 in a safe online space together.
0:36:29 And it just continued to grow and continued to grow.
0:36:31 And when you and I connected, like you said,
0:36:32 I was making around 4,000 a month.
0:36:36 And since then I have hired on 14 teachers to teach with me.
0:36:39 And last year we broke six figures.
0:36:41 – Devin is someone who legitimately is getting paid
0:36:42 to be an online friend.
0:36:44 Super inspiring and fun business.
0:36:46 Again, 611, if you wanna check that one out
0:36:49 and learn more, but a creative example of making money.
0:36:52 And it’s just a little more niche than just offering up
0:36:55 an ear to listen to and a face on a webcam
0:36:57 on some of these other virtual friend type of websites.
0:37:00 Question 10, this came up a bunch of times
0:37:02 on my recent trip to FinCon.
0:37:04 People asked, what keeps you coming back here?
0:37:06 And what’s next, what are you working on?
0:37:08 So super blessed to have a network
0:37:11 of incredible friends and peers and colleagues.
0:37:13 It’s the people that keeps me coming back to FinCon.
0:37:15 This was my ninth year in person
0:37:19 and it is my once a year chance to have a density
0:37:22 of conversations packed into just a few days
0:37:24 that is unlike anything else for the rest of the year.
0:37:26 It’s kind of hard to describe,
0:37:29 but because everyone has the shared experience
0:37:31 of trying to build something online
0:37:33 and spread a positive message online,
0:37:36 you really quickly get beyond the cursory small talk
0:37:39 of work and weather and family
0:37:41 and what new Netflix shows you’re into
0:37:44 and into the world of goals and visions
0:37:46 and challenges and obstacles and big ideas.
0:37:48 And I would challenge you to take stock
0:37:50 of some of your recent friend conversations
0:37:52 and ask whether they’re in category one,
0:37:54 the more cursory small talk category
0:37:57 or category two, the deeper, more meaningful variety.
0:37:58 There’s definitely a place for both,
0:38:00 but the challenge is to surround yourself
0:38:01 with more people with whom you can have
0:38:03 the second type of conversation
0:38:04 and have it not be weird,
0:38:07 but that’s the, but it’s that in the creative energy
0:38:09 that comes from it that keeps me coming back
0:38:10 where people are really open
0:38:13 about sharing what’s working, what’s not working,
0:38:15 what new tools and tactics they’re using.
0:38:17 Now, I always walk away with more ideas
0:38:19 than I truthfully know what to do with.
0:38:21 And to be fair, you might have to try several
0:38:23 different events or groups before you find your people.
0:38:26 I went to a bunch of affiliate conferences early on
0:38:29 and never quite found that same level of connection.
0:38:32 Now, as far as what’s next, what are you working on?
0:38:35 I’m reminded of a line from Joe from Stacking Benjamin’s
0:38:36 and from a talk that he did years ago.
0:38:39 He said, “Look, I’m embarrassed by the work
0:38:40 I did a year ago and a year from now.
0:38:43 I hope to be embarrassed by the work I’m doing today.”
0:38:45 It was this call to keep getting better.
0:38:48 And you can see it, Joe, just talk about a guy
0:38:49 who loves his craft.
0:38:51 I don’t know what they’re at, 1,500, 1,600 episodes
0:38:54 of Stacking Benjamin’s and just an incredible job
0:38:55 with what they’ve done and what they’ve built.
0:38:58 I was at a mastermind event earlier in the year
0:39:00 and my friend, Chandler Bolt,
0:39:02 Chandler runs self-publishing.com.
0:39:04 You always get the question, well, what’s next?
0:39:04 What are you working on?
0:39:07 And he’s like the same, just more and better.
0:39:09 And I was like, that really, really resonated with me.
0:39:10 There’s always this pressure
0:39:13 to be working on the next big thing, but it’s okay.
0:39:15 If the current thing is working
0:39:18 and you’re happy doing it, that’s okay too.
0:39:20 So the same, just more and better.
0:39:22 I mean, this show is where I love spending my time
0:39:25 and the creative constraint that comes
0:39:27 with a publishing deadline of every Thursday
0:39:28 and every other Monday.
0:39:29 Hey, look, we gotta come up
0:39:30 with something compelling to publish.
0:39:33 Now, I left FinCon, I left the event super grateful
0:39:35 to still get to play the game,
0:39:38 to have been going to those things for nine or 10 years,
0:39:40 to be able to get paid to do work.
0:39:42 I love, and I couldn’t do it without your support.
0:39:44 So thank you so much for tuning in,
0:39:47 whether you’re a first-time listener or a long-time listener.
0:39:48 So what’s next?
0:39:50 It’s continuing to do my best to help people
0:39:52 find legit ways to make more money.
0:39:54 It’s falling in love with that problem, right?
0:39:56 So big thanks to everyone who submitted questions this week.
0:39:57 Big thanks to our sponsors
0:39:59 for helping make this content free for everyone.
0:40:02 As always, you can hit up sidehustlenation.com/deals
0:40:05 for all the latest offers from our sponsors in one place.
0:40:07 Thank you for supporting the advertisers
0:40:07 that support the show.
0:40:08 That is it for me.
0:40:10 Thank you so much for tuning in.
0:40:13 Until next time, let’s go out there and make something happen,
0:40:14 and I’ll catch you in the next edition
0:40:15 of The Side Hustle Show.
It’s time once again to dive into the ol’ listener mailbag and answer a few questions in this week’s edition of The Side Hustle Show.
I’ve had quite a few interesting questions come in since the last Q&A episode, and picked 10 to talk through in today’s show.
Click here to join Side Hustle Nation for free!
We’re covering everything from building audiences in today’s digital landscape and even how to compete in what some are calling a “no-click world.
This is the 17th installment of this series, so feel free to check out the older ones:
- 616: Lifestyle Creep, Luck, and Why Every Podcast Guest Has an Online Course: Q&A w/ Nick
- 585: Giving Away Ideas, Getting Great Guests, Growing Your Business, and More: 20 Questions With Nick
- 556: Pricing, Podcasting, Permission to Quit, and More: 20 Questions with Nick
- 498: Profitable Podcasting, Getting Clients, and $50k/mo in Passive Income: 20 Questions with Nick
- 451: Affiliate Marketing, Early Retirement, and Side Hustle Shifts Over 8 Years of Podcasting: 20 Questions with Nick
- 431: Fear of Selling, Protecting Ideas, Podcasting and More
- 412: Side Hustle Ethics, Charging Your Friends, the Side Hustles I’m Most Excited About, and More
- 365: Market Saturation, Mind Mapping, Miracle Mornings, and More
- 346: The Con of the Side Hustle, Beanie Babies, Affiliate Marketing, and More
- 320: Multiplying Money, Morning Routines, and $100k Side Hustles
- 291: Email, Ebooks, Platforms, and Conferences
- 271: Brilliant Blogging, Ruthless Productivity, and Guaranteed Success
- 245: Network Marketing, Imposter Syndrome, My Side Hustle Mistakes, and More
- 219: Growing Traffic, Monetization, List-Building, a Day in the Life, and More
- 198: Blogging, Branding, Book Writing, and Finding the Right Side Hustle for You
- 181: SEO, Affiliate Marketing, Self-Publishing, Udemy, and More
Plus, I’ll share what keeps drawing me back year after year at FinCon.
Let’s dive in!
Full Show Notes: Starting Over? Podcasting, Newsletters, Competing in a “No Click” World, and more (10 Questions with Nick)
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