My "Side-Hustle" Got Featured In Nick Loper's New Book!

Now we all know, side-hustles have been “all the rage” for at least a half decade now and maybe to some they’ve become even a little bit cliche’.

But if you’re trying to: earn some extra cash to save, invest, pay off debt OR maybe if you’re trying to test out some business ideas that eventually could replace your crappy 9-5 corporate nightmare (like I did), then learning the art and science of side-hustling could be just the thing for you.

Enter Nick Loper’s platform, “The Side Hustle Nation” and his brand new book Nick Loper's "$1k 100 Ways: How Real People Make Real Money On The Side (And How You Can Too), which I’ll be unpacking for you today.

His new book is actually a nicely thorough collection of side-hustle case studies that includes 100 members of his community. They all answered a very relevant series of questions about how they started, monetized and grew their side hustles.

Nick Loper's "$1k 100 Ways: How Real People Make Real Money On The Side (And How You Can Too)

And spoiler alert, Nick was kind enough to actually include my own story of how I began ZeroDebtCoach (it’s on page 205). So, if you want to check out how I started, monetized and grew this business and escaped my own corporate nightmare, here's a link to the book.

Hey friend, it’s Brad Long here with ZeroDebtCoach where we help 5 and 6 figure corporate burnouts escape their nightmare by teaching them how to effectively: 1) organize and optimize their financial lives, 2) obliterate their debt and 3) accelerate toward financial independence by starting and growing an online business.

A Brief Summary

So to briefly summarize what the book is about and who it’s meant to help, here’s the quote from Nick that lives on the back cover: 

“According to a recent study, 69% of Americans have less than $1000 in a savings account. Worse, 45% report having $0 in a savings account! Nearly 4 out of 5 families live paycheck to paycheck.

That’s a fragile way to live-and it doesn’t have to be that way.

This book is about creating some financial margin in your life. You can widen the gap between your income and your expenses to create a little financial breathing room.

The answer (probably) isn’t cutting expenses-it’s increasing your income. Let these 100 members of the Side Hustle Nation community be your guide.”

So obviously, the book is meant for anyone who’s trying to create some margin, that much is very clear. BUT, I would add that it’s also for those of us who may be looking to jettison our day job (ultimately) and do something we 1) don’t hate, 2) are more uniquely qualified to do and 3) are passionate about all WHILE earning some extra “scratch”.

By the way, the book is available in Kindle version at the time of this post for $0.99 and paperback for $9.99 and here's the link.

Stick around to the end of the video where I’m going to give you something that, coupled with this book will catapult you toward successful side-hustle-dom!

How I Use This Book’s Content As A Coach

Now, as a financial coach, I’ve actually been following and recommending Nick’s podcast to my financial coaching students for about the past 6 years. And the feedback I’ve gotten from them about their results has been undeniable.

I actually recommend his platform in my free $1k In 30 Days Challenge And Resource Pack

So, I would say that, if you’re not yet subscribed to Nick’s podcast and are constantly trying to flesh out side-hustle opportunities for your own goals, I highly recommend you do that. 

I mean, there are literally hundreds of interviews with a WIDE variety of different side-hustles analyzed and all relevantly contextualized inside a well-organized and personable storyline.

Nick even goes so far as to include highlights in the show notes for each podcast. Very thorough resource!

How The Book Organized

The layout of the book will help you immediately laser in on what category of side hustle would be most relevant to your interests AND may actually serve as a mini-brainstorming session for some of your own ideas.

I’ll list the categories and give a few examples of just some of the case studies for each one. Keep in mind that there are many more than I can cover here.

And I think you’ll find many of these both amusingly colorful and incredibly creative, just like you’ll hear on his podcast.

1. Local Services

• Knife And Tool Sharpening
• Portable Hot Tub Rentals
• Pressure Washing
• TaskRabbit Chores
• Personal Grilled Cheese Chef
• Water Slide and Bounce House Rentals
• Home Organizer
• Handyman For Hire
• Drone Operator

2. Freelancing

• Virtual Bookkeeping
• Web Design
• Sales Copywriting
• Custom Pen and Ink Art
• Tutoring and Academic Coaching
• Video Spokesperson
• Personal Finance Writing
• Career Coaching
• Narrating Audio Books

3. Online Business

• Project Management Blog
• The Co-working Handbook
• Public Domain Publishing
• Insurance Blog
• Software Review Blog
• Selling Specialized Spreadsheets
• Viral YouTube Videos
• Podcast and Newsletter About Craft Beer
• Financial Education Coaching And Content (again that’s mine located on page 205)

4. E-Commerce and Physical Products

• Custom Print on Demand Art
• eBay Consignment Service
• Online Store For Handcrafted Products
• Reselling Books On Amazon
• Furniture Flipping
• Beeswax Wraps
• “Low Content Print-on-Demand Books
• Mountain Bike Flipping

And again, these examples are just a small sample of what’s available in each category. There are a TON more for you to check out.

The Questions He Asked

To give you some insight as to how thorough each case study is, here’s the list of questions the contributors responded to (to maybe help you flesh out questions you could be asking about your current or future side-hustles):

1. What’s the “elevator pitch” for your business”?
2. How did you come up with that idea?
3. What motivated you to get started?
4. How much did it cost to get started?
5. What are the best ways you’ve found to market your business?
6. Roughly how long did it take to reach $1000 in profit?
7. In a typical month, how much does this business earn today?
8. What mistakes or failures have you had along the way? If you had to start over, what would you do differently?
9. What’s next for you? What are you excited about these days?

If you want to read my responses to these questions you can either 1) get yourself a copy of the book (page 205) or 2) check them out below. :)

Should You Get The Book?

In a word I’d say yes, IF: you’re looking for some solid, pithy and well documented ideas about how to make some extra money and ESPECIALLY if you’re looking to find/create a side-hustle that could turn into your new career/business that would release you from a job or career you desperately want to escape.

I see this as a resource that you can use as a reference manual, that really should be subtitled the anatomy of how to start and grow a successful side-hustle. 

So, I personally recommend that you check out the book, pick up a copy and you JUST might find the catalyst for your first (or next) million dollar side hustle idea (or to help put at least another $1000 in your pocket). And I believe this book coupled with Nick’s podcast, will launch you WELL on your way to a profitable side-hustle or two. :)

Okay, thanks for sticking around to the end and I want to give you a little token of my appreciation that will help put some teeth on Nick’s awesome new book. It’s called our $1k In 30 Days Challenge And Resource Pack.

This guide will help you take the ideas from Nick’s book and help you to REALLY turbo-charge your results toward developing your first successful side-hustle. And best of all, it’s 100% free.

AND ALSO, coincidentally my private coaching community, ZeroDebt+ will be working through these two resources during the month of August so that we can help get an extra $1000+ in all of our members’ pockets.

The community is only open for a few days starting next Monday, so make sure you get on the waitlist for that. Link below.

And you may be wondering…

My Responses To Nick's Questions For The Book (Page 205)

 

What’s the “elevator pitch” for your business? 

Zero Debt Coach is an online personal finance education platform that focuses on equipping our students with the concepts and tools to help them achieve their financial goals. We teach financial organization, budgeting, debt reduction/ elimination, financial independence, and online entrepreneurship. 

 

How did you come up with that idea? 

After having climbed out of my own $43,000 of consumer debt in 2.5 years, I started teaching friends and family how I did it. Coaching and being an educator have always come naturally to me, and I found a real hunger for people around me to learn this stuff. 

 

What motivated you to get started? 

When I finished paying off my $43,000 in debt, I felt so inspired, invigorated, and passionate about shouting this debt-freedom and financial independence message from the rooftops, I literally couldn’t hold it in. So, I started by coaching friends and family, which led to creating how-to tutorials and other resources that eventually grew into my content inventory. 

My start was gradual and steady from 2007 to 2016. In 2017, I decided to go all-in as a side hustle. I went through some financial coach training, and started my blog in 2018. Nick’s third interview with Rosemarie Groner (sidehustlenation.com/268) was the tipping point for me. I started my blog in earnest after that very interview! 

Then, in November 2019, I left my full-time corporate software sales gig and went full-time into my online business. It’s the toughest, most rewarding thing I’ve ever done, and I want to do it for the rest of my life. 

 

How much did it cost to get started? 

About $2,000 for my coach training, website, hosting, and some other tools. The financial coach training was the biggest expense and, in hindsight, I probably didn’t really need it. 

Tell us about your first sales or first revenue for this business. How did you gain initial traction?

My first real sale was a one-hour financial coaching session, for which I charged $150. This was back in 2017, after I completed my financial coach training and before I started my blog. 

 

What are the best ways you’ve found to market your business? 

Initially, I was marketing through local networking events, and more what I call “terrestrial efforts.” Then, once I established my blog, I moved toward Pinterest, YouTube, and Google SEO. Currently, most of my traffic comes from Pinterest, and I’m looking to increase my YouTube and SEO game, and I am also warming up to creating a podcast. 

 

Roughly how long did it take to reach $1,000 in profit? 

Six months. 

 

In a typical month, how much does this business earn today? 

$1,000. 

 

What mistakes or failures have you had along the way? If you had to start over, what would you do differently? 

I would say that my biggest mistake was not starting sooner. For a really long time, I wrestled with impostor syndrome (and still do). I was under the mistaken notion that the personal finance space is overcrowded. Once I jumped in and learned more about how online business works, I realized that my mindset was very fixed in that area. 

 

What’s next for you? What are you excited about these days? 

I’m super excited about the next two online courses I’m in the process of creating. I’m creating a low-cost budgeting course and a flagship personal finance academy style course. I’m also venturing into the “how to start an online business” niche as so many of my students and followers have been asking me questions about that. 

 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received along the way? 

1. Get started, wherever you are. 
2. Teach what you know. 
3. Create regular, consistent, high-quality free content by documenting what you already know and what you’re learning. 
4. Don’t be afraid to give your best stuff away for free. 
5. Sell early and often

 

What’s the website for your business? 

zerodebtcoach.com 

 

Where else can people go to learn more about what you do? 

Zero Debt Coach on YouTube 

The Zero Debt Tribe Facebook Group 

 

Are there any additional learning resources that helped you along the way? 

1. The Side Hustle Show podcast. I’ve been a subscriber for more than four years! 

2. Ruth Soukup’s Elite Blog Academy (per Rosemarie Groner’s suggestion) 

3. My buddy Graham Cochrane’s “Automatic Income Academy” and podcast 

4. Your Money or Your Life (Book) by Vicki Robin 

5. The Millionaire Next Door (Book) by Thomas Stanley 

6. The Total Money Makeover (Book) by Dave Ramsey

How can ZeroDebtCoach help you? 4 ways...

1. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and click the notifications bell to make sure you get our new videos every week. 

2. Download one of our free personal finance guides. You’ll learn some of the exact strategies I teach my private coaching students on how to organize and optimize their finances, obliterate debt and move on to financial independence by starting and growing online businesses.

3. If you’re looking for a community of motivated and like-minded people, go ahead and get on the waitlist to join our private financial coaching community. We only open it for new students a couple of times a year, so make sure to get on the waitlist.

4. If you need some help right now because you’ve got a burning issue, you need a problem solved, you want to talk through a complex situation, click on the button below.

All that said, let's keep on building your financial acumen and make this your best year yet!

Thanks so much for reading and we’ll see you in the next video post!

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