375: Rapid Side Hustle Prototyping: A New Income Stream on Your Lunch Break?

Can you build a new income stream on your lunch break?

This week’s guest says yes, and shares how.

In this episode, I’m joined by Mike Zima from ZimaMedia.com — a full-service digital marketing agency that got its start with a single $5 sale on Fiverr.

It’s been a while since we talked about Fiverr, but the way today’s guest has used the platform to start and grow his freelance business is an eye-opener.

Mike’s claim to fame: He’s the only Fiverr seller who’s mentioned in Fiverr’s IPO pitch deck.

But it all started with one $5 order.

He’s now doing thousands of dollars a month, perhaps tens of thousands of dollars a month in Fiverr sales.

Tune in to hear what’s working on Fiverr today, Mike’s “rapid gig prototyping” strategy to test out new offers, and how to wean your reliance off of Fiverr while building your agency.

Full Show Notes: Rapid Side Hustle Prototyping: A New Income Stream on Your Lunch Break?

374: Side Hustle Legal Q&A with Mariam Tsaturyan

Are you operating online fully compliant with GDPR and CCPA regulations?

Do you have the right type of liability insurance to cover you should the worst case happen?

If you’re unsure about any of the legal stuff surrounding you, your business, or side hustle, it should be a lot clearer by the end of this episode.

This is because Mariam Tsaturyan from FreelanceandMarketing.com has graciously agreed to do some legal listener Q&A for us in today’s show.

She’s a licensed and practicing attorney, who helps bloggers and online business owners navigate the often-murky waters of legal regulations and compliance.

Tune in as we tackle some of the big topics like entity selection, GDPR, and liability insurance. Then we’ll dive into some specific questions from the Side Hustle Nation FB group.

Full Show Notes: Side Hustle Legal Q&A with Mariam Tsaturyan

373: The Sweaty Startup: How to Start a Local Service Business

Do you know how much cash flows through your hometown on a monthly basis?

In this episode we explore how to get some of that cash flowing toward you!

I’m joined by Nick Huber, co-founder of Storage Squad and host of The Sweaty Startup podcast.

Storage Squad, a student storage service, has grown to over $3M in sales since starting it as a little part-time project back in 2011.

I invited Nick on The Side Hustle Show to help walk us through his “sweaty startup” framework. That is, how you can start a low-risk, low-overhead, local, service-based business, set it up for success, and let that be the vehicle that drives you away from a lifetime of cubicle slavery.

Tune in to hear Nick’s thoughts on generating service business ideas you could start today, evaluating the market and competition, and scoring your first customers.

That’s why I think this is pretty exciting — it really doesn’t take many customers to begin to make a meaningful income here.

Full Show Notes: The Sweaty Startup: How to Start a Local Service Business

Bonus: My Course Launch Experience and Results

Early last summer I joined Teachable’s “Creator Challenge.”

The premise was to research, create, and launch an online course over the next three months.

On top of that, Teachable provided expert support, a community of fellow instructors, and a little friendly competition.

People have been asking me about creating an online course for years — but since I tend to work better with a deadline, I jumped in on the challenge.

372: 15 Ways to Monetize a Website

Creating your own website can definitely be a great side hustle–if you take the time to monetize it.

But the problem is that many people who create websites have no clue how to actually make money with them.

When this happens, your website becomes a liability. You’re sinking precious time and money into something that isn’t giving you a return.

However, it’s entirely possible to prevent that from happening or to fix the problem if it has already started. You just need to know how to use your website to generate income, and in this article, I’m going to show you how.

Let’s look at 15 great ways you can monetize your website and turn it into a proper revenue-generating machine.

Full Show Notes: 15 Ways to Monetize a Website

371: Decade in Review: My Most Important Moments and Lessons from the 2010s

As we turn the calendar on a new decade, I thought I’d reflect back on the last 10 years.

To paint the picture of where the 2010s started for me, I was:

• coming off a great year in business, and had high hopes for the future
• about to get married
• blogging at nickloper.com, on a bunch of random topics
• $150k underwater in our house, which was a huge source of stress

Let’s see what happened next!

Full Show Notes: Decade in Review: My Most Important Moments and Lessons from the 2010s

370: How to Market a Local Business on YouTube: $40k on the Side

Rob brought in $40k last year hosting tours in of Washington, D.C. — all on the side from his day job, and with no marketing budget.

However, if you Google “Washington, D.C tour guide”, Rob Pitingolo’s TripHacksDC.com is nowhere to be seen.

So what’s secret sauce?

He’s been creating helpful tourist-friendly content on YouTube, and outlet largely ignored by his better-funded competitors.

His channel has had more than 1.4 million views to date, and he’s funneling those viewers to his site where they can sign up for a tour.

In fact, his channel has grown so much that he’s partnered with YouTube and ad revenue from his videos has become another income stream for his business.

Tune in to hear how Rob has grown his business into a fun and cash-flowing side hustle, how he leverages YouTube to reach his target customers rather than traditional tour marketplaces, and how he’s growing the business beyond just himself giving tours.

Full Show Notes: How to Market a Local Business on YouTube: $40k on the Side

369: 7 Key Steps to Start and Grow Side Hustle

How do you start a side hustle?

Well we can talk about side hustle ideas and marketing tactics until we’re blue in the face, but in studying my catalog of past interviews, a few common traits popped up over and over again.

I’ve compiled those into this 7-step guide to starting a side hustle.

Whether you’re an established business owner, or you’re just starting out, I think you’ll find this a helpful framework for your projects. It’ll also help you identify where you have the biggest opportunities for improvement this year.

Full Show Notes: 7 Key Steps to Start and Grow Side Hustle

368: How to Start a Pet Waste Removal Business: $50 an Hour Part-Time

Is there gold in your backyard?

Or, more accurately … dog poop?

Erica Krupin found $1000 a week in hers, with a side hustle that can easily be replicated in your local area.

Erica started Kroopin’s Poopin Scoopin, a pet waste removal business in her spare time, and now has more than 80 recurring weekly customers.

With an average price of $15 per customer per week, that’s over $1,000 a week, picking up dog poop.

Sometimes it’s the simplest businesses that are the fastest to get started and see some results. Erica just left her day job to pursue this full-time, and with the plans she has in place, it looks like her business is set to continue growing.

Tune in to hear how she landed her first customers and markets this business, how she prices the service, and how she delivers on her promises.

Full Show Notes: How to Start a Pet Waste Removal Business: $50 an Hour Part-Time

367: Zero to $20k/Month in a Year: Affiliate Marketing Case Study

Helping people make decisions is a big business!

In fact, these two Side Hustle Show listeners started a website to do just that, and it’s now bringing in $17-20k a month.

Oh, and the project is only a little over a year old.

Alex Goldberg and Healy Jones run a site called FinvsFin.com, which focuses on reviews and comparisons of direct to consumer brands.

They earn money as affiliates — basically earning a commission on sales that are referred through the site.

Full Show Notes and PDF Highlight Reel: Affiliate Marketing Case Study: Zero to $20k/month in a Year

Ready to Start a Site of Your Own? My free video series will help you get online quickly and affordably.

FinvsFin is an example of what I’ll call the modern comparison shopping site — helping readers make decisions and getting paid for it. And since comparison shopping was my original side hustle over a decade ago, this was especially fun to dive into.

The impressive part is that this is still very much a side hustle. Both Alex and Healy have full-time jobs, and their business falls under the “passive income” business model.

Tune in to hear how Alex and Healy prioritize and create their content, what they’re doing to market the site and drive traffic, and how you can borrow some of their same strategies in your own niche.