Side Hustle Hero

Today's guest Chuck Temple takes us through his journey from always broke college student to starting a business while living on a couch, and growing it into one of the largest media transfer companies. By the time he sold, they had 4 stores in 2 states with 27 full-time employees. Not bad for a guy who didn't have a clue about starting, growing, and running a business. He'll share his methodology for unlocking what he describes as he one key advantage that was responsible for his company's growth, and it's one that any of us can apply. You'll want to take notes when he shares a cheap way to do massive market research and testing, and the challenges of exponential growth. What You'll Hear: 02:00 Broke, struggling, and juggling side gigs with going to college 05:15 The first order was a couple of thousand slides 06:10 Living on a futon - the beginnings of DVD Your Memories 10:02 Drumming up businesses at coffee shops and farmers markets 11:20 List of services offered expanded based on what customers asked for 12:30 Deciding on the company name 13:24 Using google ads to split test company names 15:40 Initial goal was to make as much as money as his parents 17:00 Getting inspiration from Think & Grow Rich 17:40 How to get to the people who need his product? 18:38 Split testing ads for best USP 20:27 Find the #1 thing important to the customer and promoting that 21:54 San Diego fires also drove growth 22:43 Having "ridiculously too much business" is worse than having no business - here's why 24:20 Chuck realized he needed to work "on" the business rather than just "in" the business 25:29 Going on vacation for 2 weeks provided valuable insight 25:15 The decision to open the second location 26:23 Reflecting on the stages of growth from side hustle to multiple locations 27:17 Why Chuck decided to sell 30:28 You've got stop planning, and start executing 30:46 In part 2: the main indicator that'll tell you it's time to take action, and we'll focus on his company "Electric Scooter Guide" that became the industry leader in 1 year Connect with Chuck: https://www.startuptosold.com https://www.chucktemple.com Connect with Joan: https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/ https://www.facebook.com/posivy/ https://www.joanposivy.com/ Be on the show! https://www.joanposivy.com/be-our-guest.html

I thought today's episode was going to be about making it as a songwriter and rapper. It is. But… Mike Burton does talk about what has made the difference for him, why he is successful, and his tips for anyone wanting to make a living as a rapper. But the life lessons sprinkled throughout our conversation, and the tips and advice Mike shares can be applied to any industry you're involved in. Since starting to offer his services on Fiverr he has made half a million dollars through the platform, he currently earns over $80,000 a year, and the demand for his services continues to grow. His drive to continually improve and his work ethic, are inspiring and contagious! If you could benefit from doubling down on your persistence, be sure to check out the end of episode takeaway! What You'll Hear: 02:20 Mike's had over 20 jobs, but always doing music 04:20 You can't be an artist on Fiverr! Or can you? 05:50 Inspired by Prince to write a song a day 06:27 That first Monday after not having "a job" 08:30 First client request: Make a song about how it's okay to listen to Eminem 09:46 Moving from your comfort to your panic zone - that's called growth 12:05 Bought his first home and paid for his wedding from Fiverr earnings 13:00 Why Mike is successful on the platform…it's more than talent 13:35 Treat your side hustle as you would a full time job 14:47 Committed to trying everything to make sure he can keep doing this 15:50 Find out who you are and go at it 100% 16:02 Feeling the love from Norway 18:15 How Mike prices his gigs 19:12 "Every order is helping me live my life." 19:50 Mike's songwriting process 22:25 Dealing with writer's block 23:15 Lessons from Quincy Jones 24:42 What it takes to make it as a rap artist 26:28 Origins of "Keybeaux" 27:29 Lyrics in Too Much - "…until I turn the vision to the physical" 29:21 What do you love to do so much that you'd do it for free or even pay to do it? 30:23 Lyrics in On Point - "...the limit is the sky, open my third eye." 33:28 Branching out into teaching others how to rap 34:50 Be yourself! 36:10 Get experience and content from offering your course at a local community college 37:14 The hardest part is believing you can do it, and ignoring the naysayers 38:54 Mike's best advice for taking action Takeaway 39:55 Mike, Gina Scarpa, and Milt Campbell examples of persistence How to Connect with Mike: On Fiverr Instagram Youtube Connect with Joan: https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/ https://www.facebook.com/posivy/ https://www.joanposivy.com/ Be on the show! https://www.joanposivy.com/be-our-guest.html

What started out for Luke Herbert as a fun project to create a unique portrait of his dog, quickly evolved to a side hustle as people saw what he had created. Handling 12,000 sales over the past 3 years has been a tremendous amount of work as Luke continues to juggle the demands of growing his business, Unique Pet Portraits, with his full-time work at a print shop. So if it's the early days of your side hustle and you're putting in a lot of hours…you're not alone. In today's episode you'll hear how Luke now has a full-time employee handling the orders, challenges he's had along the way, how he's grown Unique Pet Prints from startup, to an annual profit of 80,000 pounds, and how he's now expanding. What You'll Hear: 03:10 The unintentional start of a business 03:41 A sale the first night (and why) 06:30 Bringing on a full-time employee 07:51 Juggling a full-time job with growing the business 10:06 Over 12,000 sales in 3 years, worldwide 13:00 Why and when Luke introduced a website in addition to the Etsy shop 14:55 Expanding the product line, then scaling back 17:17 Biggest challenge of juggling full time work with the side hustle 18:15 Having a business plan can show you how/when you can bring in help 19:30 Set an intention of where you want the business to be 20:02 Launching Contaps 22:10 Luke's best tip for taking action 22:54 Don't play the "what if" game Connect with Luke: https://uniquepetprints.com/ https://www.instagram.com/uniquepetprints/ https://contaps.co.uk/ Connect with Joan: https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/ https://www.facebook.com/posivy/ https://www.joanposivy.com/ Be on the show! https://www.joanposivy.com/be-our-guest.html

Welcome to today's episode with serial entrepreneur, Rob Kessler. We covered a lot of ground. For example, have you ever thought of an idea that would revolutionize a product? Have you ever wondered about the time and cost of getting a patent? How about running a boat charter service? Or a screen printing business? We talked about all that and so much more. You'll also hear tips and hacks, as Rob journeys with us through his multiple businesses, both past and present like NEWD Clothing, Bella Boating, Million Dollar Collar and goTieless. Be sure to catch the end of episode takeaway where I focus on using the "six degrees of separation" concept to help you solve your next big problem. What You'll Hear: 02:38 Seeing a need, inventing a solution 06:09 Why Rob ruined 100 shirts in the process 08:35 Classic example of "I want to do this in spite of not knowing how" 08:56 Costs and time involved for getting a patent 09:50 Annual fees are required to keep your patent 11:07 Using YouTube influencers to promote the product 11:47 Why 200,000 - 250,000 followers or less is the sweet spot for Rob choosing influencers 12:45 Half million units of Million Dollar Collar sold, in 130 countries 13:23 Landing a spot on Billion Dollar Idea 16:06 GoTieless can add logos to the inside of collars and cuffs 18:48 VIP service added as an offering 19:17 Capital gains situation prompted buying a boat and the start of a new business 20:50 BellaBoating - a boat charter business 22:13 Is there money to be made in the boat business? 23:05 A list of boat charter expenses 24:10 40% - 50% profit margin, in part because Rob was doing a lot of the maintenance himself 25:57 NEWD Clothing - Nothing else will do! 27:17 The birth of a screen printing business 31:05 Rob's best tip for taking action 32:25 Why you don't use your name in the business name Takeaway 33:08 "Six Degrees of Separation" - leverage this to solve your next big problem 34:36 Connecting with a future mentor in the self storage industry Connect With Rob: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robkessleriii/ https://www.instagram.com/milliondollarcollar/ https://milliondollarcollar.com/ https://gotieless.com/ https://www.mycharterbusiness.com/ Connect With Joan: https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/ https://www.facebook.com/posivy/ https://www.joanposivy.com/

Today's guest didn't wait until she felt totally prepared, totally self-assured and that everything was perfect prior to uploading her first digital product. Instead, Rachel Jimenez went ahead and launched her Esty shop. Then as she increased her offerings and started to analyze the data on what was working and what wasn't, she was able to quit her full time job after 9 months, went on to make $160,000 that year, and she hasn't looked back. While you will gain a better understanding of what it takes to launch and run a successful Etsy shop, the insights she shares about mindset, her perspective on what people call failures, and the big "why" that drives her actions, can be applied to increase revenue in any side hustle, in any industry. You may also be inspired to see a way to retire earlier than you ever thought possible. If you're finding it hard to carve out time for your side hustle, you're going to love what I'm calling her "5-minute strategy" It's smart. It's simple. And it works. What You'll Hear: 03:01 Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) movement 05:06 Rich Dad Poor Dad 05:28 Mr. Money Mustache - The Shockingly Simple Math To Early Retirement 06:09 When you get a raise, or receive extra cash, be conscious of what you to with the increase 07:53 "Budget" can be a good thing! 10:05 Dog-sitting side hustle did well rover.com 11:30 Using a platform provides you a place where your customers already are 13:38 Doubling down on Etsy 14:11 Etsy income really ramped up once Rachel focused 15:25 Adopt the mindset of, "There is a solution" 16:51 Digital projects are her specialty with Etsy 17:22 The reasons why Rachel is successful 19:33 Think like a scientist - analyze your data 20:26 Libraries (including college ones) are a very underutilized resource 21:15 Where and how Rachel found the time to work on her side hustles 22:18 The "5-minute" strategy - a path to higher productivity 24:23 What to do when you get scared of taking the next step 25:01 There's no such thing as "failure" - it's just data 26:01 You've got to be willing to fail…in public 27:10 "If you're not embarrassed by your beta version, you launched too late!" 28:00 Beware of comparing yourself to people who have been in the industry for a long time 30:03 How to get your product noticed on Etsy 33:15 Expanding her digital product offerings from her own site 35:41 The effect on her business of studying positive psychology 36:22 Optimize Your Life Academy 38:19 Breakdown of Rachel's 9-5 schedule 39:14 The blur between work and play 42:00 How to get paid to write your own story for media 43:35 Rachel's best tip for taking action Takeaway 45:04 Comparing other people's results against your own Connect With Rachel: https://moneyhackingmama.com/ Passive income checklist: https://pages.moneyhackingmama.com/checklist 3 Secret Strategies to Optimize Your Life For Success and Happiness: http://moneyhackingmama.com/webinar Connect with Joan: https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/ https://www.facebook.com/posivy/ https://www.joanposivy.com/ Be on the show! https://www.joanposivy.com/be-our-guest.html

How do you reach your people who will fall in love with your product or service? How do they find their way to you? It's not enough to have an awesome looking website and great content. You need to get the attention of the search engines. That's where today's guest, Matt Hepburn, SEO expert is going to help us out. He's been taking a deep dive in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), for the past 13 years. He currently works for John Hancock managing the SEO for Manulife for all of Canada. Matt shares practical, clear steps we can take to help push our rankings higher in the search engines, including what we should be doing, how to do it, and what we absolutely need to avoid. What You'll Hear: 05:54 What does Google want? 06:24 Our goal as business owners is to niche down in our industry 09:06 The importance of relevant links back to your website 09:39 First step to improve google ranking if you're targeting geographically local buyers - Google Business Profile 12:15 It's a different strategy if you're an online business 13:10 Matt recommends having one niche per website 15:07 Get clear on what you are offering 16:18 Links are seen as "votes" by google 17:02 But the links have to be relevant to your content 18:40 ahrefs.com or semrush.com to see how competitive your chosen keywords are to rank 19:50 Links within your own site may helpful, provided they're topically relevant 22:10 Think like your customer when planning your website; what would you be looking for? 22:50 It's not just about the keywords! 25:42 Here's what google does want to see 26:50 H1, H2, H3 tags 28:50 Avoid keyword stuffing 33:15 Since SEO is in constant change and flux, focus your content on the value to the user 34:15 Provide your content in different ways, ie audio, video, written, etc 35:40 SEO for podcasting 38:01 Applying SEO for blogging 40:24 The EMJ Podcast - The Entrepreneur's Marketing Journey 41:07 Matt's new podcast: Focus Visibility 41:40 A smart SEO step to take when you are going to be interviewed 43:18 Matt's best tips for taking action Takeaway 44:57 Take a course! Udemy.com 45:15 Google's free tool for keyword research 43:35 MOZbar is a free google extension that will expand your research How to Connect with Matt Hepburn: https://emjpodcast.com/ Links mentioned in this episode: https://sparktoro.com/ https://ahrefs.com/ https://www.semrush.com/ https://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/ MOZbar free google extension Connect with Joan: https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/ https://www.facebook.com/posivy/ https://www.joanposivy.com/ Be on the show! https://www.joanposivy.com/be-our-guest.html

If you love to read, here's a way you can get paid to do it. When today's guest Roxanne Burkey isn't working her full time job at Zoom, chances are, you'll find her either writing or reading. She has a number of writing credits to her name including being the co-author of the 12-book Enigma Series. She also gets paid to write reviews for authors. Maybe doing book reviews is a perfect fit for you, but if not, use this episode as a launching point to get you thinking about how you can bring in a bit of income by doing something around one of your passions. What You'll Hear: 04:45 Where Roxanne's reviews are published 06:35 The criterion that determine how much she charges 07:28 Don't ask her to guarantee you a 5-star review 08:18 Reviews are extremely important to get pushed to the top of recommendations 09:30 Length of reviews 250-300 words 10:01 Multiple ways an author could use the review 12:17 Currently earning a couple of hundred dollars a month 12:55 Where Roxanne is finding clients 14:25 "Enigma Tracer" - Book 1 of a brand new book series launching this year 17:07 Juggles full-time employment at Zoom, plus 2 side hustles 18:03 Where to find your first clients 20:45 Roxanne's best tip for taking action on your side hustle Connect with Roxanne: https://www.enigmabookseries.com/ https://roxburkey.com/ Connect with Joan: https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/ https://www.facebook.com/posivy/ https://www.joanposivy.com/ Be on the show! https://www.joanposivy.com/be-our-guest.html

With so many people offering bookkeeping and accounting services, how do you start or grow your side hustle in the industry? How do you differentiate yourself? By becoming an expert in one of the top small business accounting software platforms. That's what today's guest, Sam Hallburn did! Sam is a QuickBooks Pro Advisor. Together with her team of five, she generates an annual revenue of $500,000 by serving clients across the United States. In today's episode you'll hear; Crucial information about starting and growing a bookkeeping or accounting service as a side hustle, How much it costs to become a QuickBooks Pro Advisor (spoiler alert: it's free!), The biggest challenge you'll face, The best source of new clients, Why and how you must change your pricing 6 months before you need to hire a team member, How to price when you're starting and how that strategy changes over time, Hacks, strategies, and tips for running and expanding any business, The single best decision Sam made while growing her business. Be sure to catch today's end of episode takeaway for a quick tip on living life - the way YOU want to. What You'll Hear: 06:15 From a few clients in her mountain town, to serving clients across the country 07:17 How Sam grew the business 07:49 What she discovered to be the best source of new clients 09:26 Her steady sweet spot of $500,000 annually 11:13 Having lousy bosses showed her how not to be an employer 14:52 What you can expect to earn starting out 17:00 A brilliant marketing idea - from "bookkeeper" to Quick Books Pro Advisor 18:17 What's involved in becoming a Quick Books Pro Advisor 19:21 When starting out consider your long-term vision now, to make wiser choices 20:05 Are you the bottleneck that's stopping your company's growth? 22:40 How to price when you're starting and how that strategy changes over time 23:53 Changing your pricing 6 months before you need to hire a team member 24:25 Hourly rates - $50 - $95 per hour 24:58 The biggest challenge you face getting into the industry 25:19 What to consider when wanting to transition from side hustle to full-time business 27:22 Getting in front of audiences to gain clients 31:25 How and why knowing your numbers can make or break your business 32:44 Insider tip: how often to do your books and why 37:03 Sam's best advice to take action on your side hustle 38:28 Trying to make everyone else happy Takeaway 39:14 Is there someone trying to tell you how to live your life? Here's an idea! How To Connect With Sam: https://www.pbsaccountingandtax.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sam.inc.services/ Connect with Joan: https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/ https://www.facebook.com/posivy/ https://www.joanposivy.com/ Be on the show! https://www.joanposivy.com/be-our-guest.html

The belief that you need to have a "great voice" is just one of the myths that today's guest dispels about the voiceover industry. Last year, Gina Scarpa voiced over 250 different projects as a professional voiceover actor. Having worked in the industry for the past 9 years, her track record of happy clients include VistaPrint, Burger King, Xfinity, and L'Oreal. One of Gina's superpowers is helping aspiring voiceover actors discover what genres would be the best fit for their voice and personality. You would be amazed at the variety and sheer number of genres available in the industry, beyond the ones most people think of, like commercials and animation. In today's episode, you'll learn from Gina, How much it costs to get started as a voiceover actor and, what you should do BEFORE spending any money, Insider tips for setting up an at-home recording studio space, What you can expect to earn, and what resources you can check out to understand what you should be charging in each genre, The best places to find agents to represent you, The biggest mistakes aspiring voiceover actors make that cause them to quit or not get booked, and so much more. Be sure to catch the end of episode takeaway to discover who you will absolutely not want to share your side hustle goals with. This tip helped me become a bank manager by the age of 22 and will help you move forward towards any goal you set. What You'll Hear: 04:30 The beginnings of her voiceover career - Fiverr and Upwork 08:03 A plethora of opportunities for voice actors 09:29 Get used to "uncertainty" 10:55 Do you need to have a performance or broadcasting background, and a "great" voice? 13:20 Gina's superpower - helping people determine their niche in voiceover 14:40 What it 'really' takes to make it in the industry 16:26 What to expect for your start up costs - about $750 for your home studio 19:11 Next level expenses - clips, demos, website 20:25 Entry level demos - around $1,000+ but you can start with clips 22:00 What you can expect to earn 22:31 Two resources to learn industry-standard rates 23:00 Your first year - $10,000, $50,000…it really depends…and it takes hustle! 23:50 Marketing, networking, promotion, never stops 25:42 When to get an agent and what percentage they take and how to find them 27:40 What a manager does and what they charge 31:30 Here's how one agent weeded out many of the 1200 submissions she received (and it had nothing to do with the person's voice!) 32:42 Getting work and making connections through workshops 34:25 For success in the industry, people need to get to know who you are 35:40 A better way to keep in touch with people…without being annoying 37:04 The biggest mistakes made by aspiring voice actors 37:45 Gina's awesome way of reframing "rejection" 38:54 The creation of Positive Voices Studio 42:18 Free and paid voiceover communities available for support 44:14 Gina's best tip for taking action Takeaway 46:00 The value of someone in your life who can see more in you than you see in yourself 46:50 Why you want to be very selective about who you share your "big' dreams and goals with 48:51 The connection between your thoughts and your results Connect with Gina: https://ginascarpa.com/ https://positivevoicesct.com/ https://twitter.com/ginascarpa https://www.linkedin.com/in/gina-scarpa-874baa22/ Connect with Joan: https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/ https://www.facebook.com/posivy/ https://www.joanposivy.com/ Be on the show! https://www.joanposivy.com/be-our-guest.html

Welcome to Part 2 of my conversation with real estate investor and founder of Cashflow Diary - J. Massey. We open Part 2 of Make Money In The Sharing Economy with J's perspective on ordinances and bylaws that dictate where short term rentals (STR's) are allowed, where they're not, and why he's actually a fan of these rules. J also reveals; often overlooked segments of the population that need extended stay accommodation, opportunities to rent out your house or condo for day use ; for example – to content creators, other ways you can earn money in the shared economy, the most common oversights and mistakes made by people entering the STR business, and he walks us through the numbers of what it takes to net $1,000 and $2,000 per month from your STR Like Part 1, this episode is ripe with light bulb moments to inspire your side hustle journey. What You'll Hear: 03:35 The ordinances are forcing you into a more profitable part of the business 04:20 All these groups in the "extended stay" category need places to stay 06:25 Government organizations can be a worthwhile source of guests 08:01 J walks us through the numbers to net $1000 and $2000 per month 09:37 Biggest expense is the lease (or mortgage), then labour-related issues 09:57 Start your projections with a revenue number being double what you're paying for the lease 10:28 Worse case you should expect is a net income of 30% of revenues 11:35 "Tent pole" or "Compression" events coming to town drive up nightly rates 13:09 "Damage fee waiver" vs "security deposit" 14:18 Only 60% of J's gross revenues are from the nightly rates, 40% are the "add-ons" 14:30 Other "add-on" ideas to receive revenue from guests 16:00 Opportunities in "day-use" property rentals 17:50 Expenses that are sometimes overlooked in budgets 18:06 You need to pay attention to "screening, safety, and security," to avoid liability, a lot of problems, and increased labour costs 22:11 Where to look for your first short term rental property 25:15 Other rental opportunities from assets you now own 26:43 J's best tip for taking action 27:52 Focus on being "prepared" rather than waiting to be "ready" Wrap Up: 29:01 Fail fast, fail forward, fail frequently and start before you're ready 29:25 A confidence-building mindset to adopt - What would I do differently next time? What went right? Connect with J Massey: https://cashflowdiary.com/ https://www.instagram.com/cashflowdiary/ J's Short-Term Rental Blueprint Course https://cashflowdiary.com/blueprint/ Connect with Joan: https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/ https://www.facebook.com/posivy/ https://www.joanposivy.com/ Be on the show! https://www.joanposivy.com/be-our-guest.html