Side Hustle Hero

Do you have a twinkle in your eye and a genuine love of Christmas?

Then consider being a seasonal Santa!

Today's guest will unwrap all the details.

He's Mitch Allen, founder and Head Elf at the Santa Claus talent agency hiresanta.com

After landing a deal on Shark Tank, business really ramped up and they've now grown to be the largest Santa for Hire company in the world.

This year alone they've added 1100 Santa's to their database.

Through Mitch being deeply entrenched in the Santa community, he shares valuable insights on the business of being Santa, including;

• the variety of opportunities available,
• the increased diversity of Santa's,
• the costs involved, and
• the earning potential

While Mitch builds his database predominantly from Santa's living in the United States, there are Santa talent agencies in a number of other countries, as well as different versions of Santa represented around the world.

Instead of using an agency, you may choose to fly solo and seek out opportunities on your own.

Be sure to check out the end of episode wrap up where I share some ideas from my own experience about the earning potential of going solo vs. working with an agency.

What You'll Hear:

02:12 Hiresanta.com started as an accidental business

04:17 The vibrant Santa community

04:50 Mitch's Shark Tank experience

07:30 The deal with Barbara Corcoran

08:23 This year's demand for Santas

09:40 Recruiting Santa's is a year-round job

10:21 Melissa Rickard, episode 29 - you'd never know she's female

12:40 The criteria for being a Santa with Mitch

14:40 A growing demand for diversity of Santas

16:42 The process of getting a gig once you're in the hiresanta.com database

18:25 Potential earnings

20:55 Some results from the 1200-Santa survey

21:57 Younger people are Santa's too!

23:05 Start up costs

23:52 A Santa photo shoot at the self-storage facility, and other unique gigs

26:15 Mitch's most unique Santa gig - the waterpark!

27:25 Being Santa is a ton of fun, but it's work - you need to be "on" all the time

29:42 What's next for hiresanta.com? hiremariachis.com!

31:05 Mitch's best tip to start or grow your side hustle

Wrap Up

32:45 Get booked through an agency, or fly solo?

Joan's Online Masterclass to help you achieve your side hustle goals:

Turn Your Thoughts Into Wanted Things:

https://courses.joanposivy.com/p/turn-your-thoughts-into-wanted-things

Shark Tank featuring Mitch Allen's pitch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWhhqlTYLdY

Hire Santa 2023 Santa Survey:

Shoot us a message via our website or by DM on Instagram and we'll get it to you!

Connect with Mitch:

https://www.hiresanta.com/

Connect with Joan:

https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/

https://www.facebook.com/posivy/

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/about/

Be on the show!

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/guests/intake/

Here's a side hustle for all you animal lovers out there…pet sitting!

If you live in an environment where you can't have pets you don't have to let that stop you.

Maybe you live with someone who is allergic or as is the case of today's guest Lucy Slater, you live in a building that doesn't allow pets.

Lucy stays at the pet owner's residence when they're away, so the pet is looked after in their own environment.

It's a double win for Lucy since her full-time work is 100% remote. While she's getting paid to stay in someone else's home to pet sit, she's also getting paid from her regular job. Nice!

Through our conversation, you'll discover,

• once she decides to accept a gig, why she feels relatively secure in overnighting there,
• tips for getting your first pet sitting or dog walking gigs
• what it's like using the platform rover.com, and
• we discuss earnings and the various ways to make money.

Thanks for checking out this episode!

What You'll Hear:

03:49 Why Lucy continues to keep doing and loving this side hustle

04:47 Team Dog or Team Cat?

05:10 Discovering rover.com

06:04 Main frustration with rover.com

06:55 Feels relatively safe due to the background checks that are done

08:00 Lucy's initial pricing strategy and why she's been able to raise her rates

09:08 You can say, no!

10:21 Dog walking, drop-in visits, host dogs in your home, and/or dog boarding

13:00 Pet sitting fees and dog walking - what Lucy charges

13:28 Rover takes 20% and it also adds a fee to the buyer of the services

13:55 Why Lucy landed her first gig within a month - include a lot of detail

14:51 Earnings

17:23 Repeat clients can mean watching the animals grow up

18:43 Let the client know when the pet is not comfortable with you

19:12 Strong communication skills are a must for success

21:00 Just because you like dogs, that isn't qualification enough be a dog sitter/walker

23:05 Best advice if you want to become a dog sitter/walker

23:56 Need more experience? Volunteer at the SPCA or a pet shelter, volunteer to walk neighbour's dogs, take training

26:24 Lucy's best tip for you to start or grow your side hustle

Bonus Tip

28:13 Checking out the top people in your industry for ideas and inspiration

28:50 Word of caution; they likely have teams of people behind them

Joan's Online Masterclass to help you achieve your side hustle goals:

Turn Your Thoughts Into Wanted Things:

https://courses.joanposivy.com/p/turn-your-thoughts-into-wanted-things

Connect with Lucy:

https://www.rover.com/members/lucy-s-your-pets-best-friend/

https://www.instagram.com/lucyyslater/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyslater19/

Connect with Joan:

https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/

https://www.facebook.com/posivy/

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/about/

Be on the show!

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/guests/intake/

Are there places in your local community that you think are fun, intriguing, or interesting for a visitor to discover?

Locals are offering tours to all kinds of their favourite things; from historic sites and museums, to breweries and food outlets, to edible wild plant nature walks.

Ed Moser is leveraging his love of history and politics to run a side hustle business as a tour operator based in Washington DC.

Plus, he's taken his knowledge and vast storehouse of stories about the area, and has written multiple books providing him a nice compliment to the tours while providing additional income streams.

In this episode you'll learn,

• the best ways to market a tour,
• pros and cons of the various platforms (AirBnB, Paypal, Eventbrite, MeetUp) from fees to the marketing opportunities,
• potential earnings and workload,
• how he put a positive spin on things when in the early days few people showed up for his tours, and
• how he's earned a TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Award for 2023

What You'll Hear:

02:21 From an article, to a book, to the guided tours side hustle

05:16 How Ed's tours are different from the rest

06:21 He cross-promotes his books with his tours

08:29 Marketing through MeetUp

09:09 Eventbrite has been the best to receive bookings and prepayment

10:34 AirBnb Experiences also provides bookings and prepayment

11:59 What Ed charges for tours and his earnings

13:24 You can customize tours for the seasons, specific groups, and create speciality tours

18:45 Earnings will really vary depending on number of hours worked, part-time or full-time

21:45 Using the MeetUp platform and dealing with payment

23:44 A discussion of platform fees - AirBnB, PayPal, Eventbrite

25:09 The silver lining of small groups in the early days

26:22 Pros and cons of using Tripadvisor

27:24 Ed has earned a Tripadvisor Travellers Choice Award for 2023

28:16 The rise of scooters, small vans, e-bikes affecting traditional walking tours

30:29 Tips for ranking well and getting noticed on Tripadvisor

31:31 Tips for starting a tour guide business

33:44 One of Ed's most memorable moments during a tour

37:02 Ed's best tip

WrapUp

37:44 Asking customers how they heard of you, how did they find you?

38:14 How did you discover Side Hustle Hero?

Joan's Online Masterclass to help you achieve your side hustle goals:

Turn Your Thoughts Into Wanted Things:

https://courses.joanposivy.com/p/turn-your-thoughts-into-wanted-things

Connect with Ed:

https://www.meetup.com/lafayette-sq-tours-of-scandal-assassination-spies-meetup/

One of Ed's books:

The White House's Unruly Neighborhood

https://amzn.to/40nCbpJ

Connect with Joan:

https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/

https://www.facebook.com/posivy/

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/about/

Be on the show!

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/guests/intake/

Do you have a knack for being organized in your space?

Or in helping others be organized in theirs?

Then maybe becoming a professional organizer is the side hustle for you!

Today's guest Laurie Palau is a pro at this!

In this episode she describes;

• how to get started,
• multiple ways to make money at it,
• start up costs (and they're pretty minimal),
• ways to go about setting your pricing,
• how to expand your customer base by partnering with people in complementary industries,
• creative marketing ideas, and
• best places to find clients

Enjoy this conversation with professional organizer and the author of Hot Mess: A Practical Guide To Getting Organized, Laurie Palau

What You'll Hear:

01:57 Definition of a professional organizer

04:47 From doing a favour for a friend grew a side hustle

07:48 You don't need to know everything about running a business before you start

09:45 Low barrier to entry for becoming a professional organizer

12:04 Ways to make money at this

13:01 "DIY" consulting

14:50 Cautions and alternatives to offering free consultations

16:28 Figuring out what to charge

19:56 Laurie advises when starting out, not to charge less that $50 per hour

22:37 Additional income streams as your experience grows

23:15 Partnering with people in complementary industries to grow any business

26:44 Start up costs that might be overlooked, i.e. why you need business insurance

27:27 What not to spend money on in the beginning

28:50 Getting involved (or not) with affiliate marketing

30:51 Best ways and places to find clients

32:57 Remember your "why" and don't get hung up on the results others are getting

37:13 Laurie's best tip for starting or growing your side hustle

Added Takeaway:

38:06 Examples from Joan's businesses of partnering with people in complementary industries

Connect with Laurie:

https://simplyborganized.com/

https://simplyborganized.com/this-organized-life/

Connect with Joan:

https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/

https://www.facebook.com/posivy/

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/about/

Be on the show!

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/guests/intake/

Do people think you're funny? Do you like to make others laugh?

Maybe there's a side hustle opportunity in there for you.

Today's guest makes a very good living - by being funny.

While Jan McInnis started her side hustle as a stand-up comic, over the years she's expanded her offerings to include being a comedy writer, selling material to everything from The Tonight Show monologues and hundreds of radio stations, to greeting cards, and syndicated cartoon strips.

She also does a lot of corporate work and keynote presentations.

In today's episode,

• Jan describes multiple ways to make money being funny,
• where to find these gigs,
• how to make yourself memorable,
• what advice she would give young Jan if she were starting over today,
• and tips, tricks, and stories from the stage

What You'll Hear:

02:29 In the beginning, her marketing materials were better than her act!

04:45 The open mic night that was an epiphany

05:58 2 ½ years as a side hustle

06:16 Writing her 6-month plan and "throwing your hat over the fence"

08:20 Rocked a gig despite attempts to sabotage her performance

09:27 From stand up to corporate work

10:12 How Jan got her first corporate testimonials

11:20 Income streams to get paid for being funny

14:00 Really keep your eyes and ears open for new opportunities

16:16 Jan now provides "business advice from a comedian" in her corporate presentations

20:37 How about all the competition out there?

23:32 How to find gigs

27:25 Tips for learning the craft

30:19 The hard knocks are hugely beneficial down the road

31:03 In the early days, focus on getting good vs what you're getting paid

32:41 What Jan should have done early on that she didn't

36:46 Opportunities to be paid to be funny: comedy clubs, writing jokes, corporate work, keynotes

37:01 Tips on how to get into writing for others

38:15 Going rates for getting paid to write jokes

39:44 No matter how good you are, you can't compete with a chocolate fondue fountain!

40:23 Advice Jan would give her younger self

41:28 Jan's best tip to start or grow your side hustle

Final thoughts:

43:43 Differentiate yourself by being you, put your spin on it, and be professional

44:53 "A pro is at their best, always"

Connect With Jan:

https://theworklady.com/

https://www.instagram.com/jan.mcinnis/

https://www.facebook.com/ComedianJanMcInnis

https://www.linkedin.com/in/janmcinnis/

Connect with Joan:

https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/

https://www.facebook.com/posivy/

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/about/

Be on the show!

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/guests/intake/

Can you create a side hustle for yourself in the esports industry without being a skilled gamer?

We'll hear about that from Titus Walker in today's episode. He's the creator and CEO of the Ultimate Endgamers League (UEL) and according to Titus, it's a type of league that doesn't exist anywhere else in the gaming world.

He was building up this side hustle, until his then employer gave him an ultimatum - ditch the hustle, or lose your job.

He describes what he's doing for esports, to what the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has done with martial arts and other fighting disciplines.

Titus has taken what was a seed on an idea, and built it out to having 200 active gamers competing for the $100,000 team prize in this season's tournament.

What makes this league unique in the esports industry, is that its success is NOT dependent on any one single game.

What You'll Hear:

02:50 Titus's backstory

05:11 Not fulfilling his purpose, and being in a cyclical industry pushed him to find another income source

07:07 Buying a VR unit was a turning point

07:54 Past failed attempts have provided great learnings for future ventures

08:40 A new concept in the esports industry - focus on the skill set, not a specific game

10:36 Rather than "pigeonhole" himself to one game/developer/fan base, he found a way to speak to all competitive gamers - by creating UEL, the Ultimate Endgamers League

11:21 An Endgamer is "a master in the artform of gaming"

12:20 The five major genres in gaming

12:58 Titus's major inspiration - the UFC

14:34 There are 2.5 billion gamers, providing a much larger audience than any major sport

15:00 Titus explains there is no other league that is doing what the UEL is doing

15:28 A 'spin' of a large roulette-type wheel determines which of the 33 games will be played

16:30 His league doesn't depend on any specific games, and the games on the wheel can and do change

18:36 Titus never wanted to do this online

20:36 Gave up the revenue from doing birthday parties to focus solely on gaming and the UEL

21:42 Current revenue sources: team sales, merchandising, sponsors, advertising, tournament entry fees

24:05 Season 7 provides a $100,000 team prize giving other locations big prize money to market as they run tournaments as qualifiers for the UEL

25:40 From player to pro

26:29 Titus is given ultimatum by employer - shut down the UEL or leave

27:40 That gave him the push to go all in and focus

29:18 Getting interest from ROC Nation (JZ's company), the New Orleans Pelicans, Washington Commanders

30:49 From The Innovator's Dilemma, if Henry Ford had asked customers what they wanted, they would have said, "a faster horse"

31:57 Story of Michelangelo, the little boy, and the Statue of David - "how did you know he was in there?"

34:03 Every bit of money coming in that is not spend on marketing, advertising, is being put back into the players including seeking sponsors

34:27 UEL promotes diversity, especially between "strategy" players and "sports" players who historically don't mix

35:43 The community determines some of the 33 game titles

36:34 Sponsorship can be in the form of dollars for advertising, headsets, controllers, seats, etc

37:00 Age demographic is typically between 25-35, but as young as 12 and as old as 50

37:50 Community consists of over 10,000 on social, 400 gamers, 40-50 helping with productions

38:40 Why the UEL is growing

39:18 Side hustle opportunities in the esports industry

41:16 Titus suggests you can find a local community of gamers, and connect with him to host qualifying tournaments to work towards competing for the UEL grand prize

42:22 Titus describes how this could be a side hustle

43:08 30% of the entry fees would go to the UEL

43:39 Potential revenue sources might include; teaching, training and coaching fees, local qualifying tournament fees

44:58 Best tip from Titus to start or build your side hustle

46:08 His "why" - creating opportunities for others

40:00 For Season 7: 5-10,000 viewers per match, over 200 active gamers competing, and $100,000 prize!

Wrap Up:

47:36 Look outside your industry for ideas and inspiration

48:38 Leverage your "learning experiences" to be smarter, wiser, better prepared to handle challenges, and enjoy the increased confidence

Connect with Titus and the UEL:

https://ultimateendgamersleague.com/

https://www.instagram.com/uelesports/

https://www.tiktok.com/@UELesports

https://www.youtube.com/@UELesports

https://www.facebook.com/UELesports

Connect with Joan:

https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/

https://www.facebook.com/posivy/

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/about/

Be on the show!

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/guests/intake/

Whatever product or service you're offering to the world, you want it to get noticed, to stand out from the rest. That's what this episode is going to help you to do.

Sierra Janisse is a brand, website, and funnel designer.

In this episode, you'll learn more than just how to do your own brand audit!

You'll also discover,

• no-cost DIY tips for polishing your brand,
• making your website more "hospitable" to potential clients,
• leveraging your website through 5 ways to boost client conversion (that DON'T require hiring a designer),
• actionable tips for email marketing and growing your list in the "age of inbox overwhelm,"
• and clear guidance on where to start with all the above!

What You'll Hear:

04:59 "Elementor," a long-time favourite

06:23 Balancing full-time teaching with a growing side hustle

07:43 The decision to leave teaching

08:32 The mistake Sierra made that cost her money

08:49 Offering free services to build your portfolio is fine….to a point

09:43 How to raise your rates

10:36 The feeling of getting paid from the first client

11:05 First contract hires - accountant and lawyer

13:16 The importance of clear, thorough contracts - it avoids "scope creep"

14:38 What "holistic" branding is

15:45 How to do your own "brand audit"

18:35 Overcoming decision fatigue

19:20 5 ways to boost client conversion…that don't require hiring a designer!!!

19:50 Your website should be making you money

20:06 What is your website goal? (yes, you need to have one!)

21:17 Have a call to action - and the best place to put it

22:04 Client/Website hospitality - how not to be annoying

23:33 When and how to use popups on your website

25:40 How and why to use the "3-step marketing method" on your website

27:15 Consider the traffic sources of your website

29:26 Breaking through email overwhelm - building your email list

30:59 What not to do in your emails

31:30 What (and how) to adjust if people are unsubscribing from your list

33:05 The value of storytelling in your emails…and guidance on how to do it

34:49 Where do I start??? It's not on improving your weaknesses

36:30 Sierra's best tip to inspire you to action

Takeaway

38:18 Life is happening now - not when the goal is achieved

39:06 The secret sauce of life

Joan's Online Masterclass to help you achieve your side hustle goals:

Turn Your Thoughts Into Wanted Things:

https://courses.joanposivy.com/p/turn-your-thoughts-into-wanted-things

Connect with Sierra:

https://www.sierralindesign.com/

https://www.instagram.com/sierralindesign/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sierralindesign

Connect with Joan:

https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/

https://www.facebook.com/posivy/

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/about/

Be on the show!

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/guests/intake/

Frustrated by years of not finding work that was a fit and perpetually being short of funds, Mellisa Mills took the $500 she received from selling a painting, and started her side hustle…making and selling dips!

Not being able to afford a car, she began making deliveries by bicycle and even public transit.

Through a lot of hard work, tenacity, and a passion for good food, today Mellisa's company Spread'Em operates out of a 20,000 square foot facility, boasts revenues of over $3 million dollars, and her products are available in over 2,000 stores.

You'll hear honest conversation about,

• what it took to grow the company,
• what she sees as fatal mistakes made by aspiring entrepreneurs,
• what keeps her up at night,
• how she plans to double revenues

You'll learn from,

• her stories of times when things didn't go as planned,
• her experience of dealing with the 3 tiers of grocery store ecosystems you can get into,
• why striving to get your product into the big chain stores may not always be your wisest move

Be sure to catch the end of episode takeaway for inspiration to do the tough stuff you know needs to be done for your side hustle.

What You'll Hear:

05:08 Maybe "cardiac technician" isn't the best career choice for an artist

06:52 The birth of a side hustle

09:26 Melissa's new company drew on her top talents and passions

10:58 One of her paintings sells unexpectedly and funds her new dip venture

12:01 Her product started flying off the shelves

13:25 People have tried but have been unable to recreate her product

14:12 Mellisa is driven by wanting to do good, have fun, and to contribute

14:37 Spend time figuring out what you would truly, deeply, like to do

16:19 First stores were 5 in her neighbourhood

16:55 The reasons they still sell at farmer's markets

18:40 Mellisa didn't know how to start and grow a business, she just took it one step at a time

20:40 Commissary kitchens - how they work

23:22 A discussion of profit margins

26:10 The benefits of starting small and growing as demand grows

26:44 She made their first $1 million while still in the commissary kitchen

27:39 What has kept Mellisa up at night

30:04 How she got her Spread-Em products into Whole Foods (which is now owned by Amazon)

32:04 Fatal mistakes made by aspiring entrepreneurs

36:18 Sometimes what we deem to be a negative event, turns out to be the best thing to happen

36:30 Carrying 50lb bags on the bus to make deliveries - what are you willing to do for the success of your side hustle?

37:42 Ep: 51 Poncho's Tacos is a great example of bootstrapping and not overspending

38:32 Mellisa had 60 stores and was still doing the deliveries herself

39:56 She felt like she had a real product once Save On Foods signed on

40:30 3 tiers in the grocery store ecosystem (independents, small chains, big grocery chains) - differences, pros, and cons

44:34 Advantages and disadvantages of having a distributor (fees 26%-33%)

47:14 Did not hire any help until year 2 or 3

48:09 Growing slow can be the best approach

50:17 Next big growth will come from the USA market

51:04 Dips are now in over 2,000 stores in Canada

53:20 Current revenues are $3 million, with a goal of $6 million in 18 months

53:56 Advice Mellisa would give herself if she could go back to the startup days

Takeaway:

56:02 What are you willing to do to ensure your success?

56:36 "If you do what is easy, life will be hard. But if you're willing to do what is hard, life will eventually be easy."

Connect with Mellisa:

LinkedIn

Instagram

TikTok

Connect with Joan:

https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/

https://www.facebook.com/posivy/

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/about/

Be on the show!

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/guests/intake/

Freaked out about the negative implications of AI on your side hustle?

Or to your side hustle idea? You're not alone.

As a freelance writer and copy editor, Gabrielle Gerbus had huge concerns especially once business started to drop off. But then…

She knew she needed to jump onboard and figure out HOW the proliferation of AI could work to her benefit. Then, her business grew.

Her agency now brings in over $15,000 a month in revenue. While she is paying out subcontractors, the business expenses are particularly low for this digital nomad.

I spoke to her after she had just arrived in Thailand.

In addition to hearing how she started her freelancing side hustle, scaled it, and pivoted to profit in this age of AI, you'll also hear about some unexpected benefits of life as a digital nomad.

It sounds to me like she's found her tribe.

For guidance on how to lead your best life…one that you deem to be wonderful and well-lived, be sure and check out the end of episode Wrap Up!

What You'll Hear:

05:10 Job dissatisfaction led Gabrielle to start her side hustle

07:03 Discovered she doesn't need years of corporate experience to start freelancing

07:35 Being encouraged to put up a seller page on Fiverr

08:11 In 2 months she replaced her corporate salary!

09:50 She was thankful to be told not to quit her day job without a backup plan

12:07 Being obsessed with professional and personal development fueled her success

13:54 Her offerings grew in number organically out of client requests

14:24 Gabrielle was counseled by a mentor to say "yes" to every client request, and then figure out the "how"

14:59 That led to scaling early as she had to hire talent in other disciplines

17:40 In life we have our successes and our "learning experiences"

18:54 Learning the art of delegating and managing others

20:10 Sales dropped when AI became more mainstream

22:10 Why someone using AI to write still needs an editor

23:25 Decided she had to get onboard and figure out how to use AI to her advantage

24:11 Gabrielle is part of Fiverr's "Seller Plus Program"

26:39 She charges double when editing AI as it involves much more work than if it was written by a human

27:17 Her AI editing gig gets 250,000 impressions per month - shows the demand

27:48 Websites like https://www.zerogpt.com/ and https://originality.ai/ can detect AI generated content

29:06 She'll take text that's 80%-100% AI written, edit it, and bring that down to being flagged as 10%-15% AI generated

31:36 How Gabrielle uses AI

32:55 Current revenues $20,000-$30,000 per month including passive income

36:52 One challenge spending half the year in Thailand is the different time zones

37:11 The benefits of connecting with like-minded digital nomads overseas

38:49 Gabrielle's best tips for starting and growing your side hustle

Wrap Up:

40:36 "Consider the consequences of inaction"

40:45 The "Rocking Chair Test"

41:45 Don't play the "what if" game

Joan's Online Masterclass to help you achieve your side hustle goals:

Turn Your Thoughts Into Wanted Things:

https://courses.joanposivy.com/p/turn-your-thoughts-into-wanted-things

Connect With Gabrielle:

https://gabriellegerbus.com/

https://incubixbranding.com/

https://www.instagram.com/incubix_branding/

https://www.instagram.com/gabrielle.g.p/

Connect with Joan:

https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/

https://www.facebook.com/posivy/

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/about/

Be on the show!

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/guests/intake/

The side hustle that started with buying books for $1 and selling them at a big markup on eBay, morphed into a $5 million dollar brand on Amazon.

This happened through the skill and resilience of today's guest, Annalisa DeMarta. While there are 2.7 million sellers on Amazon, her company Ridgeline Insights is in the top 0.0005% of Amazon sellers. If anybody understands selling on Amazon, it's Annalisa.

Soak up her insights, tips, and hard-won wisdom.

In our interview Annalisa reveals,

• what it really takes to be a successful seller on Amazon.
• the sweet spot of how long you should give your product listing a chance
• what are the most important aspects you need to pay attention to, and
• so, so much more.

This content was too good not to share again in this rebroadcast episode.

What You'll Hear:

03:10 Buying books for $1, selling them for $5, $10, $25…

05:48 A lightbulb moment: Shifting to a scalable and dependable model

07:39 BIG lesson learned: Minding cash flow

08:29 From just the two of them, to 25 employees

10:05 If we don't try this, we'll regret it

11:13 Set yourself up for success by being fiscally conservative in your spending

12:08 A shopping trip provides the seed for a winning business idea

14:00 So many things could have gone wrong - The first shipment of boots from China

15:05 Built Lone Cone to a $5 million brand

16:40 Where to start if you want to import products

19:32 "I've literally lost millions of dollars in this business"

20:34 Amazon aggregator picks up Lone Cone

23:30 Ridgeline Insights, an Amazon channel management company

24:47 3 Most common ways to sell on Amazon and pros & cons: arbitrage (a great way to learn Amazon), private labeling/black labeling, contract manufacturing

28:17 Incorrect assumptions people make about selling on Amazon

31:31 Just like MSI's (multiple sources of income), diversification of assets is smart

32:18 A lowball offer - nothing lost if they say "no"

33:22 What it REALLY takes to be successful selling on Amazon

35:42 A "must do" for your top sellers each quarter

36:20 The sweet spot for long you should give a SKU a chance before you give up

40:42 Fear of failure - get over it because you will fail

41:35 Risk a little, learn a lot

42:33 From side hustle to multi-millionaire…you can too!

Key Takeaways:

42:48 Don't play the "what-if" game

44:13 Work towards the first tier of financial success - having your base expenses covered

45:18 You're not losing, you're trading for a future payoff

Joan's Online Masterclass to help you achieve your side hustle goals:

Turn Your Thoughts Into Wanted Things

How to connect with Annalisa & Ridgeline Insights:

https://www.ridgelineinsights.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/annalisad...

https://www.tiktok.com/@annalisademarta

Connect with Joan:

https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/

https://www.facebook.com/posivy/

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/about/

Be on the show!

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/guests/intake/

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