Post Shift Shot #76 - Fever-Tree Seminars: Turning Side Hustles into Reality
Side hustles and projects are more important than ever in this current climate of quarantine, but should you always have a side hustle, a passion project or something that can produce some passive income? Turn whatever your passion is into a source of income now and continue it after the lock down is lifted. I will show you the tools to go from A to B without breaking the bank and maximizing a little extra cash in your pocket.
I have always been an entrepreneur; I helped my families landscaping business grow from a small outfit to a large company in a space of 5 years when I was 15 years old. Before getting into the hospitality industry, I owned my own landscaping company at 20; my entrepreneurial spirit is what took Clive’s Classic Lounge from a very average hotel lobby bar making a few thousand in sales a week to one of the world’s best in world making over a million a year in revenue. I have been in the hospitality industry for over 20 years now; regardless of what I am doing right now with projects and companies, I still class myself as a bartender first and foremost and always revel in the nights I get to work the bar.
In the last seven years, I have had the opportunity to open 12 venues across the world, I have also expanded my own business into a many facets of the hospitality industry and I have become somewhat of a serial entrepreneur, focusing on deficiencies in the industry and trying to fill the gap. I am active in about 6 companies all catering to different elements of the hospitality industry. I never saw myself in this position in my career but was brought up with that entrepreneurial spirit so my side hustles, were inevitable I suppose. Entrepreneurship can be in anyone’s DNA; side hustles are a necessity in this world.
The Triangle of Entrepreneurship
The Triangle of Entrepreneurship with three sides being the same length and weight indicating that all elements must be equal and balanced. Passion for the chase, for the hustle is probably the most important element of entrepreneurship because it ties directly in with happiness. Without either, the triangle faulters. Empowerment is the next element of entrepreneurship, everyone wants financial stability, side hustles can give you that. Freedom is the final piece of the puzzle, being self-employed and in control of your own direction in life is one of the most fulfilling elements to entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is a delicate balance between these three things and must be kept level and aligned throughout the process.
The path you will need take to succeed at your side hustle, the passion and the love of the game is paramount with hustle being the mechanism; hustle by definition means innovating, working harder than the next person in line, doing that extra hour every day, every week, every month. But patience is the real key to all of this, it will take time, every overnight success has taken 15 years to be that. During this whole process, you are going to always need to return to some of the original steps to reinvigorate you and push you towards your goal; it won’t always be a linear line but one of constant reevaluation. But during the whole process, happiness is the key to success. Theodore Roosevelt said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means efforts, pain and difficulty”, if you love the game, then happiness follows.
One thing that I love about entrepreneurship, side hustles, projects, life really; is this quote “Anything is possible, impossible just takes a little longer”, if you truly live by this, then you can really achieve anything. Constantly be asking the “How” and “What if” questions to any dilemma. But really, this should be a life mantra not just a business one.
The Three Pillars of the Side Hustle
The three pillars or avenues for the side hustle, I have created them to be able to further break down the what, how and where of each element because each pillar has its own direction to take to turn into a side hustle.
Artistic
I find to be the easiest to turn into a side hustle as many hospitality industry people are already immensely creative so taking A and applying it to B to create C is relatively easy and one that I can really direct anyone trying to take that next step, or someone who doesn’t know how to take the next step.
Hobbies
I find this a fun one, which most people don’t think about the application of the hustle to something that they do to unwind or relax. The connection between doing something that you do to relax, are passionate about and are good at to making it a side hustle is a simple step especially for gamers, or wood turners, or literally anyone that does something with their hands.
Business
The last avenue and one that is for some the easiest, like me; and for some others more difficult. The main thing with going into business for yourself is always to go back to why, really love what you do and lean into happiness hard.
Websites and Domains
Even if you never use it, everyone should have a few domains to their name, including your own name. I own shawnsoole.com along with a myriad of others, even with multiple domain names, you can target those into one site and give your site a better chance of listing on google. This is very important currently to have a few domains and a website, even if it’s parked. Your business name, your handle or brand are perfect starting points, and should reflect your social media as well; which I am going to get into.
There are the three main domain sellers and website builders that I see out on the market, Squarespace, WordPress and Wix. All have their own pros and cons to user interface, connectivity and ease of use; I personally use Squarespace and it’s what I use for all the sites. For the costs involved, the templates that you can utilize and modify, plus the ease of building, it is perfect for the novice builder. If you aren’t tech savvy, there are a ton of resources out there to help you out from google searches to YouTube videos that can help you develop something that represents you and your brand simply and functionally. Your website should be your home base, where everything is shared from.
Storefronts, Ecommerce and Drop shipping
There are several online store fronts, but Shopify is one of the most popular, the one I use predominantly for my online stores and is very intuitive and easy to use. Shopify allows you to list tangible items that you have in your possession or intangible inventory through drop shipping. Drop shipping has come in leaps and bounds in the last 2-5 years, allowing you to pretty much ship anything from anywhere to anyone without ever buying a single piece of inventory.
You can make it visually appealing and reflecting your brand, it is an extension of your website and another facet of online sales that you need to become versed in; again hit up YouTube and Google for pointers, information on these platforms is endless. Shopify can have your tangible inventory - house printed shirts, artwork, hobby items, or can showcase drop shipped inventory or print to order items. Other Ecommerce platforms are like the website builders, they all have their pros and cons and you can research them individually based on your style of goods that you want to sell.
After everything is set and running, you can sell the tangible wares that you create personally, for example paintings, woodwork, crocheted tiger king figurines, really anything or you can dropship; which has become very popular in recent years. Drop shipping opens you up to so much more, more items, broader selection of styles and allows you to have zero inventory, it is all print to order, or ship to order. It is quite liberating. Printify and Printiful are some of the best online drop shippers for shirts, hats, sweaters with your design on it. If you have always wanted to create your own clothing label you can with Printify and Printiful. Art of Where and ArtsAdd are both amazing website that lean into the more artistic application to household wares, canvases, shoes.
And finally, probably my favorite platform, Aliexpress and Dropified. The manufacturing and shipping third party behemoth realized years ago after the last economic downturn realized that doing smaller orders or no MOQs was a smarter play than their traditional model of huge orders of thousands of items. If you want to start a figurine website, or designer shoes and watches, Alibaba and Aliexpress is where 80% of the world sources their goods, the options are endless and it is how sites like Wish came to be and is a now a rival to Amazon.
Music Distribution
Music distribution is an untapped resource for a lot of musicians, everything from jam sessions to studio recordings can be uploaded to these platforms. Authenticity especially during this time is fun and somewhat expected; if you don’t believe me, just check out the huge influx of “live” performances on Facebook and YouTube of bands all over the world. Don’t let perfection stunt your creativity, anyone in the music biz that is scouring the internet for the next big thing isn’t looking for perfection, they are looking for raw talent to be able to mold it.
For most musicians, life is the side hustle to music. Playing in a band or being a soloist is always 1st with regular life being 2nd. But as “struggling’ musicians go, smart business can be a side hustle to the passion of music; using the above ecommerce knowledge, you can create your own band swag store which can generate real income between paid gigs. Marketing your band and building it as a brand is important in the modern era of online presence.
Most bands already have a SoundCloud account, but this account should be embedded into your website for visitors, your website should be your home base for everything that you and your band are doing now and in the future. With the lockdowns right now, a lot of bands are doing online streams of performances, with raw webcam and smart phone footage, just put out content. There is nothing stopping you and your band doing a performance on Zoom streaming live to Facebook. And if you want to get techy, we can even go through Restream and stream to multiple Facebook profiles, twitter and YouTube.
Zoom saves your performance and you can then use it to edit the music and place on SoundCloud, YouTube and so forth. Never think one piece of content can only be used once, a live performance audio on SoundCloud along with saved videos on YouTube and Facebook can be a huge viewership on your music.
Finally, there is a platform that I don’t think anyone really thinks about is Twitch, the gaming streaming service. This is where gamers stream their games while chatting to their viewers, the good gamers get 100’s thousands of viewers per stream, but a lot of them listen to music while they play. Get an account on twitch, research players that listen to your style of music and reach out to them and see if they will play your music while they play. You may be surprised the ROI on this move, it’s all about exposure.
Hobbies
Turning your hobbies into a side hustle is the ideal way to lean into your passion and happiness without the resultant income being the driving force, it’s the process, the steps you take to get to the end game that is where your happiness lies. As hobbyist who create tangible items in their spare time, I am talking about wood turners, crochet, dress makers, furniture makers, the list goes on and one, anything that you do with your hands in your spare time can be move into a passive income model quite easily. We have already covered websites and ecommerce, it’s the application of your hobbies to those platforms to maximize our passive income possibilities.
The art of the flip is another hobby that can be explored, it’s a tangible stock exchange experience; if you collect anything, it can be flipped. In recent years, the rise of StockX has given way to the art of flipping limited edition sneakers, hat and clothing and recently was valued at $1B. There are groups on Facebook dedicated to buying and trading comics and trading cards, so turning your collection is easier than ever before. The final flip is a little bit more difficult now than before but still doable, flipping garage sale goods on eBay or Facebook can turn a weekends garage sale into some serious profit especially if you have an eye for vintage toys or antiques. You can legitimize the flip through having a simple but well-built website and embedding your listing there to maximize your exposure.
Gaming is one we touched on in music distribution, but it is one that if you game at all, you should consider streaming your gaming on Twitch. Those streams also piggyback onto YouTube and Facebook, maximizing your viewership. Once your viewership rises (like YouTubes rules), you can start monetizing through advertisements, Venmo and PayPal. Believe it or not, people will pay to watch you play because the stream breeds a team mentality where people want to see you succeed, the same way they root for their favorite sports team or player and go buy merchandise. If you are curious just how much Twitch players make.
The top Twitch player is worth $20M and the largest ESport prize was last year’s Dota 2 tournament which was$30M, the largest pot in the history of Esports. Gaming and streaming are huge business, while you may be scratching your head about game streaming or flipping sneakers, there is a market for everything and everyone from the weird and wonderful to the crazy. You may be surprised how many people have the same likes and hobbies that you do and how many people support it, this market is your market to take you passion project into a money-making side hustle.
Business
In the hospitality industry, this is usually the side hustles that many industry people start to research and make moves into after a decade or so in the business. Consulting obviously is the first foray into a side hustle that many take, being asked to create a cocktail menu or do some training; it’s a nice feeling to be asked to use your talents for someone else’s venture, influencing their staff and brand while building your own. Making this a slow burn side hustle is very important, consulting is very up and down cycle. Take it slow and small and build it as you go, it will take some time to grow this business and being a part of the industry, your reputation, your personal brand is directly plugged into the work. Knowing the market, you are in is very important, see the deficiencies in the industry to fill the needs that aren’t being met. Define exactly what you do, it should fit on the back of a cocktail napkin, concise and direct, this gives a strong definition for you and the people that you want to approach.
Five Pointers of the Consulting Game
1. Make your hourly rate/ Job rate should be approachable, you want to get 1-3 solid consults with great results under your belt to show your worth. This means going above and beyond or under promising and over delivering. When you start out, you just want to get the experience.
2. I can’t stress this enough, have amazing, in-depth manuals. These give you tangible weight to your voice, as many of us are more audible and training focused.
3. Don’t be afraid to cold call or reach out to people who you think could use your services; be polite and open to rejection. You may be surprised at how many people are willing to use your services.
4. Be patient, focus on your full-time job while always keeping this side hustle in the wings.
5. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice. You can find mentors in the same industry or people who consult in other industries, finding someone to get pointers for the next steps can be very helpful.
Networks
Utilizing your network is easy in the era of the internet, LinkedIn, Facebook pages, face to face events like Chamber of Commerce or DMO events are a perfect way to network, finding clients, mentors or mentees. Don’t underestimate hanging out in a hotel lobby bar and passing your card to people, it can be very valuable. If you head to a networking meeting, make sure you have enough business cards; for every card you receive make sure the next day, you sit down with all of them and email everyone you met and connect with them, follow them on LinkedIn and follow their business on Facebook. Show interest in them and their business and it will be reciprocated.
Social Media
The last step into the HOW. You’ve read about what you are going to do and how you are going to create it, now let’s lean into the how we are going to market it. Social Media continues to be the paramount advertising tool for the startup side hustle. A profile on these platforms are free, you should be posting 2-4 times a day on all platforms, answering all the comments, and creating a dialogue with your followers. You should also try to connect with others in your field, following and commenting on their content.
Boosts and Paid advertising on social media are still extremely cheap for market response. Boosting a post for $5 a day for 3 days can get your reach to 1500-5000 people, giving great exposure for minimal outlay. Always keep in mind that the platforms are consumer facing, how do you get in front of those people? Look for popular profiles, videos and posts that a huge market follows and use that as a demographics; for example, all my spirit videos or bartender centric videos, I use Tipsy Bartender as a demo interest, he has millions of followers and while his style is most likely not your style, his viewers will still have your content pushed in front of them. Be specific but also be open to using big ticket interest demos to your benefit.
I have mentioned a few times that your website is your home base, everything you create in the following point should be shared from your website in the way of blog posts, free information, the more eyes on your website the better. While I believe in business and revenue, you need to balance off your sales and your information as much as possible, where is your value-add proposition when it comes to doing a podcast or video, or an eBook. Does your brand have enough value to charge for an eBook, this is something that is very specific to each person’s business, what works for me may not work for you. It is a personal choice and one that you must make and lean into. Websites are an amazing conduit for information transfer.
Audio and Video
Audio and Video is my favorite marketing tool, I think it opens the eyes of your market to what you do and what you can do for them. It basically feeds the first your social media channels with information. A podcast or YouTube channel should be brand and market specific and this just not for business talk and interviews. It goes back to talking about twitch and game streaming, wood turners videotaping their latest creation pushing people to their website to purchase that piece or something else, I have even seen car restorers record and time lapse a rebuild for their work channel. The key to audio and video is to “document not create”, an authentic story that brings the viewer or listener into what their story and business and converts them into loyal customers.
Content Strategy
This is a relatively simple map on how one piece of video content can be turned into multiple pieces of content on multiple platforms. This is leaning into the style of instructional content that a lot of consultants like myself would put out but can be applied to any venture.
Video to Audio – This is quite easy by just scrapping the audio from your video file and editing that down.
· Upload to Anchor, Podbean, Spreaker, whichever platform fits you best, Anchor is my choice. Once you upload, it streams out to 9 platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts etc.
· Take the audio and find someone who can transcribe and turn it into an article, once you have an edited, transcribed article, you post that onto Medium which then can be shared to LinkedIn and under your podcast on your website.
· You take a static picture of the topic or guest and use Wavve to overlay a minute of audio from your podcast as a teaser for an Instagram post with a written copy that sends people to the Link in Bio to watch or listen.
Video to YouTube – To monetize YouTube, you need to have 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours, so this isn’t a side hustle in the beginning, maybe later.
· You can also format your videos to upload onto IGTV on Instagram to get viewers.
· You post the video on your website, possibly with the transcribed article from underneath.
· The blog then gets shared on all your social media sites that take URL for example, FB, Twitter and LinkedIn.
· Fiverr here is a great tool as well, you can find some to do eye catching thumbnails for the videos, you can also have someone do compilation videos for all your platforms like Facebook, YouTube and IGTV along with one minute snippets for an Instagram post. As you can see, I lead back to a podcast, because you start from the beginning with an audio scrap and podcast episode of the compilation.
All of this really relies on the document instead of create. It can build a great following of loyal customers that translate into sales and this also shows how 1 piece of content can be turned into your days’ worth of content on all platforms.
The When to the Side Hustle
You should start now, start your side hustle to gain financial stability whenever you want, scheduling your time for the day around your paying job and your side hustle. Most people have 6 hours free a day plus 16 hours on their days off to focus on your passion project that could turn into a solid piece of passive income. 82 hours a week to do something that you already love doing and working towards that freedom and empowerment element of entrepreneurship. Downtime and unwind time are necessary for good work life balance, but where does your passion lie, in chasing entrepreneurial goals or binge-watching Netflix.
Patience is important on your quest for entrepreneurship, the old adage of “an overnight success taking 15 years” is not untrue; in this world of internet fame and everything being as quick as possible, it can be hard to be patient and grind it out. But patience and passion are like being in a marathon, are you classed as a winner in the first 5 miles or when you get over the finish line. Never be afraid to go back to zero and revisit your original plan and goals, it’s never a bad thing to go back to “why” you started all this in the first place. We can get caught up in everyday life, your fulltime job or relationships and there is never anything wrong with taking a break, reevaluating, reenergizing and going for it from a different angle. Humility is an important trait for entrepreneurs.
But the when is NOW, don’t over think it. If you have a passion and can think it through and create a plan, then go for it. Jump in feet first, The Wright brothers planned and planned but at the end of the day it’s their tenacity that made them take off.
Post Startup
I have covered the WHY, WHAT, HOW and WHEN, chasing happiness as the primary goal. Obviously extra money in the bank is the result but shouldn’t be the main driver in the process of entrepreneurship. This needs to continue to be the driver during your quest of entrepreneurship, it’s not about the CEO title but about so much more.
We are at the nuts and bolts of the business, without money, you can’t exist, but passion can get you a long way especially when you have a fulltime job that someday may become a side endeavor. For the first 6 months should be focused on covering your initial set up costs and opening operating costs, all the money you make goes back into the business; focus on the documentation of your journey for social media and your followers. They want to be in the journey with you, I have spoken to so many restaurant owners about authentic, raw stories over polished and prim and proper posts, people can get over produced pics in magazines, they want you, that’s what they want to relate to. If you are in any business, you need to make sure you get paid for your goods and services from the get-go. Be transparent with your clients and customers about the terms of your business. This is even heavily more so for consultants, when you are in the intangible business of services and time; it can get tricky.
After the first six months, reinvest in upgrading your website, Shopify store, lean into hiring people to fix SEO, PPC elements to get better exposure. Funnel money into your SMM, you have been working for 6-12 months on building a strong brand, now you can capitalize on it. Explore how to sell your goods and services on other websites, does your product fit with Amazon, ETSY, specific other websites that you may be able to affiliate yourself with. Make sure your business is in good stand, teach yourself accounting or hire a bookkeeper to help you keep everything in check. If you are really moving with the business of your side hustle, chat to your accountant about the next steps, incorporation, sole proprietorship, taxes and claims. This sets you up for success in ways that doesn’t cross people’s minds. And always ask people who know more than your advice, my wife is an accountant and tells me how to do business better.
The next eighteen months, research into expansion and diversification; in the grander macro of business, diversification is key to survival, exploring alternate revenue streams, staff with a different skill set or do what I do and see deficiencies in the industry and then find ways to fill them. One big thing is limiting your personal draw – as you can see, I haven’t said anything about taking money out of the business for personal spending the whole way. Focus on building your business, minimize your personal expenses and funnel every cent into your venture.
After this point, it’s up to you. I wish you all the luck in the world. But if you take anything from this, always be humble enough to ask for advice and help when going through your journey.