This week’s guest, Scott Keller, left his high-paying but not super satisfying career in insurance to run a bird blog full-time.
Scott started BirdWatchingHQ.com as a side hustle back in 2016 and has since turned it into a full-time income with half a million monthly pageviews and more than 1 million monthly YouTube views.
But like all businesses, it’s been an evolution to get to that point.
Scott started out chasing high-ticket affiliate commissions but pivoted into creating one of the best bird watching resources online with multiple revenue streams.
Tune in to The Side Hustle Show interview to hear:

what’s driving traffic for Scott today

the creative ways Scott has grown his email list to over 50,000 subscribers

how you can borrow some of the same tactics for your business

Full Show Notes: The 6-Figure Bird Watching Blog
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510: The 6-Figure Bird Watching Blog

The entrepreneurship podcast you can actually apply! The award-winning small business show covers creative ways to make money online and offline, including blogging, online business, freelancing, marketing, sales funnels, investing, and much more. Join 100,000+ listeners and get the business ideas and passive income strategies straight to your earbuds. No BS, just actionable tips on how to start and grow your side hustle. Hosted by Nick Loper of Side Hustle Nation.

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Before we begin, I should note that the single BEST way to make your side hustle feel official is to get paid.
As soon as you’ve got your side hustle idea, go sell something.
Seriously.
That first income — no matter how small — is an empowering moment.
In fact, I did a whole episode describing how I got my first sale in 6 different businesses, and later another 25 members of Side Hustle Nation shared their story in this fun round-up episode.
But I also understand that many people — myself include — often want some level of “establishment” before they feel comfortable saying they’re open for business.
I opened my first LLC while I was still in college and really had no idea what I needed it for. But it felt good, and if I’m being honest, made me feel smart and important too.
And later I got plenty of use out of it.
And that’s what this post is about. Even though in the early days of your side hustle, you’re better off focusing on getting customers, sometimes you need a little foundation before you’re mentally ready to focus on getting customers.
My only caution is not to use this list as fodder for procrastination, but to use it as a checklist to build positive momentum and keep going.
Again, before you pull my hustle card, know that you don’t need any of these to get started. But you will need to do most of these eventually, and if you’re the person who likes to get everything in order first, let’s get that excuse out of the way.
Ready? Let’s do it.
Full Show Notes: 10 Ways to Make Your Side Hustle Feel More Official
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612: 10 Ways to Make Your Side Hustle Feel “Real”

You know those endless hours you've spent perfecting your Fortnite skills or learning how to defeat a Guardian in Zelda games?
There is a chance those skills aren't just good for bragging rights or racking up likes on Twitch.
In fact, it is possible to make money out of these games without being an online streamer.
I'm talking about teaching video games online, and the demand for these is exploding.
In this "Where Are They Now?" series, we have once again Devyn Ricks from missdevyn.com share how much her online gaming teaching business has grown over the last years since we talked in Episode 499.
When Devyn and I connected a couple of years ago, she was making around $4,000/month.
Today, her business has more than doubled, earning her the title of "six-figure video game mom." She has since expanded her team to 14 teachers.
Tune in to Episode 611 of The Side Hustle Show to learn:

mechanics of setting up classes on Outschool

strategies Devyn used to market her classes

how Devyn identified her profitable niche

connected with her audience


Full Show Notes: The 6-Figure Video Game Mom
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611: The 6-Figure Video Game Mom

$70k in profit at age 19?
Not bad for a summer business. Jack Fleming started his lawn care journey with just one lawn mower, knocking on his neighbors' doors.
He grew Yard Boyz to generate tens of thousands in profit, allowing him to pay for college debt-free, before selling the business for a six-figure sum.
In this inspiring episode, we cover:

marketing a local service

collecting reviews and protecting your reputation

hiring and scaling

setting the business up for a 6-figure exit


Full show notes: 
How to Start a Lawn Care Business: $70k in Profit at 19
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610: How a Teenager Built and Sold a 6-Figure Lawn Care Business

What if we looked at our businesses like professional sports teams?
That’s what Vincent Pugliese from Membership Freedom shared, drawing parallels between running a successful business and how sports franchises operate.
Vincent helps people build successful membership sites and communities around topics they care about.
He previously shared his freelance-to-freedom story of going from making $30k a year to earning $30k in a single day through freelancing.
In this episode, Vincent explains the "Stadium Model of Entrepreneurship." This model draws inspiration from how sports franchises operate, offering various levels of access and products to their audience.
Full Show Notes: The Stadium Model of Entrepreneurship: How to think like a sports franchise to unlock more profit from your business
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609: The Stadium Model of Entrepreneurship: How to think like a sports franchise to unlock more profit from your business

Billboards are timeless.
And they remain a successful advertising strategy even with the rise of digital technology.
With that said, you probably never imagined that a solopreneur could rake in $30,000 a month from it (part-time!).
But that’s exactly what Chris Brown from Signs of Good and wantmore.org has done for the past decade.
Chris retired early at the age of 42 and now owns approximately 30 billboards around Bentonville, Arkansas.
Tune in to Ep 608 of The Side Hustle Show to learn:

how to find billboards for sale

find places where you could put one

how to fill that ad space

how passive it is once you’re up and running


Full Show Notes: How to Start a Billboard Business: $30k a Month Part-Time
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510: The 6-Figure Bird Watching Blog

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