431: Fear of Selling, Protecting Ideas, Podcasting and More: 20 Questions with Nick

It’s time 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 20 to talk through in today’s show.

Click here to join Side Hustle Nation for free!

Here are the questions I cover:

1. How do you get over the fear of asking someone to buy your service or product? (1:42)
2. Should I gain a skill to start a side hustle or just jump on some ones that have little barrier to entry? (3:45)
3. How do you combat shiny object syndrome? (5:14)
4. Do you have to have an established site to qualify for affiliate programs? (6:52)
5. I’m thinking of expanding the focus of my website. Should I rebrand? (7:59)
6. Are there tasks too small for virtual assistants? (9:32)
7. What are your thoughts about leaving a side hustle as a “hustle” instead of a business? (10:08)
8. Can you send it to me in French? (10:58)
9. What low startup cost businesses can a 14 year old do? (12:07)
10. Is there a service you would recommend for monetizing newsletters through sponsorships? (13:55)
11. What are the top three things you would do to monetize a (new) podcast? (17:21)
12. What’s the hardest part about hosting a podcast? (18:59)
13. How do block days work if there’s a conflict between your schedule and someone you’re trying to meet with? (20:17)
14. What’s your take on the best length of time for a podcast? (21:26)
15. How do I transition from my full-time career to my side hustle? (22:44)
16. I have a idea that if shared with anyone or investors could be easily stolen. How do I protect it? (25:04)
17. I just made my first $5 in passive income! How can I keep this newfound motivation alive? (27:51)
18. I’m finding it difficult to grow my Facebook page. Any ideas or advice? (29:29)
19. How would you go about getting your first freelance clients? (30:37)
20. What makes a good KPI? (33:02)

Full Show Notes: Fear of Selling, Protecting Ideas, Podcasting and More: 20 Questions with Nick

430: Built to Sell: How to Design a Business to Run Without You

Service businesses can get a bad rap.

After all, there are clients to deal with, and actual labor involved in fulfillment. They’re just not as glamorous as other more “passive” income models.

But you should know that more Side Hustle Show guests started with a service-based business model than any other.

This week’s guest has a unique approach to service businesses — one that doesn’t rely on your skills as the expert.

Tyler Gillespie has built two successful service businesses and had a clean exit from both — the last being just 13 months from startup to sale.

Tune in to hear:

• how Tyler comes up with ideas for productized service businesses
• the processes he implements to put his business in a position to exit
• how he outsources the mechanism of his businesses

Full Show Notes and Free Bonus: Built to Sell: How to Design a Business to Run Without You

429: The Facebook Funnel: A Proven Path from Strangers to Paying Customers

How does the idea of taking your part-time hobby, and turning it into a full-time income sound?

That’s exactly what Carey Adam of RunningMoms.com has done.

Carey has turned her passion for running and fitness into a full-time business by creating paid products and a membership model.

To do this, she tapped into the massive Facebook audience — over 2 billion people — to connect with her target customers.

I’m calling this the Facebook Funnel. It’s a unique and systematic way to make money on Facebook.

Tune in to hear how:

• New prospects enter Carey’s ecosystem
• She provides them with helpful, valuable content and an “experience”
• They ultimately become long-term paying customers

Full Show Notes and Free Bonus: The Facebook Funnel: A Proven Path from Strangers to Paying Customers

428: Hot Tub Cash Machine: Zero to $1000s a Month

You’ve heard of Hot Tub Time Machine, but how does Hot Tub Cash Machine sound?

That’s effectively the business model this week’s guest, Steve Nadramia.

Steve is a high school history and economics teacher in New York, and a listener of the show.

He reached out after our Thanksgiving episode, which touched on renting out attic space and even camper vans and semi-trucks as potential sources of recurring revenue.

His unconventional rental business?

Portable hot tubs!

Steve started a hot tub rental business to replace his summer job income, with the goal of earning $1000 a month. Today, he’s got 25+ tubs in his “fleet,” delivers them with his pickup truck, and is doing thousands of dollars in bookings every month.

Steve explained renting hot tubs is quite common in Europe, but doesn’t have much competition in the US yet.

Tune in to hear:

• how Steve got the idea for this business
• how he’s marketed and grown his business
• the logistics of how it all works

Want more unconventional rental ideas?

Full Show Notes and PDF Highlight Reel: Hot Tub Cash Machine: Zero to $1000s a Month

427: Masterpiece Days: Laying the Groundwork for a Flourishing Life

A masterpiece life starts with masterpiece days stacked on top of masterpiece moments.

Whatever your future looks like, to get there you’re going to need to build masterpiece days.

To help us build more of those masterpiece days and work toward being the best versions of ourselves in our life and work starting today is Brian Johnson.

Brian is a serial entrepreneur who combines ancient wisdom with modern science to help people live their best lives.

You’ll find him at optimize.me, the app version of which has lived on the homescreen of my phone for the past few years, ever since my brother introduced me to his work.

This is an episode about taking a break from chopping down trees to sharpen the saw. This is about the seemingly small actions you can take on a daily basis to get from where you are to where you want to be.

Tune in to hear:

• what it means to have a masterpiece day and where you should start
• the framework Brian uses with his students and coaches
• which virtues he sees having the biggest impact on his students

Full Show Notes and Bonus Habit Tracker: Masterpiece Days: Laying the Groundwork for a Flourishing Life

426: My $550k Side Hustle: An Online Business from Idea to Exit

In October, I sold a website.

It wasn’t a 7-figure, never-work-again type of exit, but when the funds were deposited, it was the largest single amount ever to hit one of my accounts.

Over the course of 9 and a half years of running Virtual Assistant Assistant–including the proceeds from the sale–the site generated over $550,000 in revenue.

This is the story of how I started, grew, and sold a very part-time online business.

I hope it inspires you to start one of your own.

Full Show Notes: My $550k Side Hustle: An Online Business from Idea to Exit

425: Best of 2020: My Top Books, Tools, and Moments of a Wild Year

I know most people are ready to put 2020 behind us for good, but there were some bright spots in the midst of all the craziness.

With that in mind, here were some of mine I’d love to share.

Full Show Notes: Best of 2020: My Top Books, Tools, and Moments of a Wild Year

424: How I Sold 64,000 Pounds of Onions Online: A Creative Drop Shipping Case Study

What comes first, the domain name or the business idea?

For Peter Askew, the author of a viral blog post called “I Sell Onions on the Internet,” the answer is always the domain name.

Peter is fascinated by expiring domain names and how they’re treated like physical assets.

This is how he ended up with VidaliaOnions.com long before he had any plans on starting an e-commerce site shipping onions.

Peter took that domain name, partnered with an award-winning onion farmer, and last season shipped more than 64,000 pounds of onions!

(Prices range from $2.50-$7 per pound so you can estimate the site doing multiple 6-figures in revenue.)

Like the product itself, this is a business with layers worth exploring. From the domain name to the farmer/supplier relationship, to the marketing efforts, and to the logistics and customer support that make it all work.

Tune in to hear:

• why Peter says starting with an expired domain name gives you “a small unfair advantage”
• how he found a supplier and manages the logistics of his business
• his marketing and customer support methods

Full Show Notes: How I Sold 64,000 Pounds of Onions Online: A Creative Drop Shipping Case Study

423: $3500 a Day in Etsy Sales in 6 Months

What started as a 2-week challenge with a friend 6 months ago, has turned into a business processing $3,500 in orders a day!

Luke Emery has a background in design and portrait painting. So, he decided to utilize these skills and his e-commerce experience and start a business selling custom pet portraits.

Van Woof specializes in putting your dog or cat into a Renaissance-style oil painting, looking like they really posed for the portrait.

This isn’t Luke’s first e-commerce business, but it’s taken off like a rocket!

Tune in to hear:

• how Luke markets and sells these paintings on Etsy and his own store
• how the fulfillment logistics work
• the tools and platforms he uses to create a smooth workflow and great customer experience

Full Show Notes: $3500 a Day in Etsy Sales in 6 Months

422: $1000 a Week Cash Flow … from a Semi Truck?

Ever thought about buying a semi truck and renting it out?

Yeah, me neither, until I came across Ericka.

Apparently there’s big money to be made in trucking, but like any other side hustle, there’s some strategy, risk, and nuance to the business.

Ericka Williams owns 12 of these giant 18-wheelers, which can generate thousands of dollars a month in profit.

Ericka has gone from delivering pizzas as a side hustle to owning a painting company, to now managing an investment portfolio that includes both real estate and semi-trucks.

If you’re interested in real estate, there’s a parallel to consider with this business model. Trucks are assets you can acquire with leverage (meaning other people’s money), and essentially rent it out for weekly or monthly cash flow.

Tune in to hear:

• how Ericka came across the idea of buying semi-trucks
• what to look for when buying your first truck
• the math, marketing, and mistakes to avoid in this side hustle

Full Show Notes: $1000 a Week Cash Flow … from a Semi Truck?