Side Hustle Hero

Welcome to Part 2 of my conversation with Chuck Temple, founder of multiple 7-figure businesses.

In this episode, we focus on his Electric Scooter Guide company.

I love the business model. Connect with a product or service that you're passionate about. Then become the industry source that the community trusts, for real, and honest, reviews. There's no inventory to carry, and your cash flow at least at the beginning, comes from commissions from affiliate links.

Chuck will share that story, as well as give you pointers of a couple of things to look for if you're curious about starting a review website.

He'll also reveal the main indicator you need to look for, that'll be a sign of when you need to stop planning and start executing your plan, for whatever your side hustle or expansion plan might be.

What You'll Hear:

02:16 The inspiration for a new business

04:15 Chuck turned to the community for his first product idea

05:10 Be the trusted person for sorting through the "way too much information" out there

07:30 Curate discount codes and coupons

08:52 If starting a review website, look for a new industry or higher value products

09:55 Committing to doing a "west coast scooter road trip" attracted his first sponsors

10:58 Getting feedback from the community provided some golden ideas!

11:50 Biggest expense for the scooter guide

12:40 Reviews that are overly positive are not as trusted as one's that also point out the negatives

13:50 How you know when to stop planning and start executing

14:45 The learning comes from succeeding and failing - you'll learn so much

16:13 "Smack you in the face therapy"

18:01 Anything that's not good in a company, you can trace back to the owner

20:37 Start Up To Sold

23:04 Chuck's best tip for taking action

Takeaway

24:13 Acting before you have the "perfect" plan

24:55 Go as far as you can see, when you get there, you'll see how to go further

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

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