It doesn't matter if it's side hustling, hobbies, or just life in general. It's incredibly easy to get excited about a new project or goal and to have a thousand different things on the go simultaneously.

Personally, I never feel as if there's enough time in the day to get everything done. I don't mind this feeling since I spend my days doing what interests me (freelance writing, blogging, spending time outdoors etc.) but the feeling is there regardless.

Now, what I love most about the entrepreneur we are about to hear from is just how many amazing projects she has on the go and how she manages to balance everything. I think it can be easy to let entrepreneurial pursuits fall by the wayside as life becomes busier, but this story is certainly an exception to this!

So, if you want to learn how Leila runs a successful blog and not one, but two YouTube channels, stick around for this Young Money interview. Leila shares 5 crucial tips for other aspiring side hustlers at the end of this interview as well, so don't miss out!

Extra Reading – Checkout Other Young Money Interviews!

About Leila

My name is Leila (pronounced Lay-la), I am 26, and I am a microbiologist by day and a small online business owner by night!

I live a pretty simple and routine life that I’ve grown to enjoy for the time being. I love working out, taking walks, cooking, reading, writing, and planning. 

I strongly believe and encourage personal development and it has become my greatest passion. Additionally, I’m passionate about finances, veganism, and health.

While I value my full-time job and the impact it may have in Public Health, my dream is to become an entrepreneur. The ‘9-5’ life is not for me and I’m so grateful to live in a time where we can make a living off of the internet.

What Side Hustle Did You Start & Why?

I've dabbled with plenty of different side hustles or ways to make money online, but I definitely have a few main hustles.

YouTube

After graduating high school I started a YouTube channel dedicated to beauty and other lifestyle topics. However, since I was in college and going through a new stage in life I wasn’t very consistent with it.

YouTube was kind of just fun for me. While I wanted to make money from it, that wasn’t really happening. Eventually I stopped creating beauty videos and started to focus on more lifestyle videos (workouts, meal prep, money, vlogs). While I am consistent with my uploads, I still treat YouTube as a fun hobby.

I've also created a second YouTube channel, which focuses solely on personal finance content. You can checkout my most recent videos for that channel here!

Extra Reading – How To Make Your First $100 On YouTube.

Blogging

Throughout my life I had always loved writing, and I had even created a blog through Blogger in the past. Again, I wasn’t very consistent with this and it wasn’t my best writing work. 

I would upload videos and write posts every so often, but wasn’t earning money from blogging at the time.

About 3 years into college I knew I didn’t want to live a “mediocre” life. This was when I started listening to Tony Robbins and Gary Vaynerchuk and learned that I can actually become an entrepreneur one day.

So, in 2015 I created my blog, LivinglikeLeila.com. I remember being so scared to tell anyone that I had started my own blog.

At the time, I knew I wanted to make a profit from my blog, but I don’t know what I would do with my free time otherwise. I love writing, I love creating, I love a finished product. I blogged and made videos basically for free for years, and that is how I know these things are just my passions.

Living Like Leila now earns income. My blog was accepted into Mediavine, meaning my blog generates advertisement revenue every single month now. 

More recently I launched a self-discipline course, self-discipline/time management/productivity coaching, and a second YouTube channel dedicated to finances.

Each of these things mean so much to me and my goal is to help people truly live their best life. I expect the most growth in these 3 areas this year.

Other Side Hustles

I’ve dabbled in multiple side hustles: Patreon, flipping, Etsy printables, working as a Pinterest virtual assistant, etc. I constantly think of new ideas and I like to try things out.

By experimenting with them, I usually find that I don’t love doing them and then I can stop. I never invest too much money into these things so I don’t feel bad giving them a shot!

How Did You Scale your Side Hustles?

I grew the most on both platforms by being consistent.

I publish my content and send my emails on the same days every week. For my blog, I also noticed more growth when I started writing longer posts (1500+ words) and creating multiple Pinterest images for each post.

For YouTube I have grown the most by sharing more of my life and just being myself. People just like to watch other people’s lives!

For my second YouTube channel, I’ve noticed my channel is growing much faster. I believe this is because it covers one specific niche rather than branching out on multiple topics. Promoting a second channel is also easier once you have established an audience on social media and YouTube initially.

Results

I would say one of the most exciting parts about being a blogger and YouTuber are the people I get to connect with. It still amazes me that strangers around the WORLD watch my videos and read my blog posts. 

Kind and supportive comments are still priceless, and I love when people tell me that I inspire or motivate them, since that ultimately motivates me.

I know that one day I will be a full-time online business owner and that’s really exciting. In 2019 I made about $6,000 from my online work and that’s pretty incredible to me! That money allowed me to reinvest back into my business and pay off a bit of my debt.

From 2018 to 2019 I increased by income by 6x. In 2020 I am hoping to do the same but I am aiming to make about $24,000 from my online business.

Wins, Losses, & Challenges?

I wouldn’t say I have any huge wins, but I’ll never forget those big moments throughout this journey such as: reaching 100K pageviews for my blog in a month, getting my first coaching client, and getting accepted into Mediavine.

Throughout this journey I’ve faced many challenges. The internet is filled with information and stories of other people achieving success from blogging or YouTube at a rapid rate, but that has not been the case for me.

There have been multiple times where I’ve thought about giving up, but I never will.

My growth has been very slow and often plateaus. However, I have gained so much patience from this process and I’m so grateful for what I have accomplished.

Because I am multi-passionate AND someone who likes to do 10 projects at once on top of maintaining my health, relationship, personal development, etc., I’ve realized that the success I want to achieve will take longer to reach and I am OK with that.

Future Goals?

I have many goals in life but in relation to my business and finances…

My long-term goals (next 10 years) include:

• Become completely debt free.
• Reach financial independence.
• Work as a full-time entrepreneur.

My short-term goals (for 2020):

• Earn over $24,000 from my online business.
• Get my total debt well under $40,000 (I’m at about $57,000).
• Have a successful “No Spend Year” to save money and pay off more debt.

Tips For Other Entrepreneurs?

There are so many tips I could share but I’ll try to keep this brief.

1. Be yourself and don’t compare your success to others.

I know this is so cliche but it’s so true. If you try to be like someone else you won’t be able to maintain it. You’re also going to come across so many blogs or videos talking about, “How I made $100,000 in my first 6 months of blogging.”

It’s not impossible, but that’s not how it works for most people! Don’t get too caught up in those articles, just focus on your own actions.

2. Commit to consistency.

Success takes time, and consistency/perseverance is a big part of that. If you only publish content once every few weeks don’t expect much growth.

3. Have patience.

Online work comes with many setbacks and struggles. From slow growth to my website being hacked to losing a whole blog post, I’ve experienced it all. You have to get used to failing and failing fast.

4. Take advantage of this generation we live in.

It still amazes me that I can come home from my full-time job and work a few more hours at my desk and make more money. There are so many opportunities on the internet world to make money and we should all take advantage of that. And no, the market is not too saturated! Most people who start an online business give up pretty quickly, so if you’re willing to commit you’re more likely to succeed.

5. Have a plan.

Create a clear plan including your niche, target audience, content, product to sell, sales funnels, and so on.

I would recommend learning a lot, but implementing what you learn even more. There is no need to buy a million courses. Just learn the basics and then create a clear plan for your business. That’s definitely something I wish I did better when I was first starting out.

Extra Reading – How To Start A Successful Blog.

Final Thoughts

Personally, I found Leila's side hustle story to be very relateable.

It is absolutely true that the internet is full of overnight success stories (true and fake) of bloggers or business owners who started making 5 or 6 figures in a short amount of time. Between everything we see on social media and sheer noise of self-promotion, it is easy to feel as if one's own success is lagging.

However, the blunt reality is that most people fail their first several online endeavors or businesses. Or, at the very least, most people do not find success until they have made many mistakes and learned what they need to do to succeed.

This is fine.

The point of starting a side hustle or business isn't to become an overnight star. If you ever feel as if you are stagnant and aren't reaching your goals as quickly as you'd like, take a step back and consider how far you have come since starting out.

When I started WebMonkey, I thought I'd get into Mediavine and earn $1,000/month in under a year. In reality, I was stuck at under $500/month for 17 months. Then, before I knew it, my blog made more than $7,000 in a year and is back to growing.

Leila's story is similar. She started blogging in 2015, but in 2019, she increased her online income by 6x. That's incredible growth in a very short period of time. The fact that Leila can balance a blog, two YouTube channels, and a busy life full of other hobbies is also a feat in and of itself.

It's 2020, so there's no better time to follow the 5 tips Leila outlined. Make a plan, be consistent, and have patience. If you work hard and work smart, you'll inevitably see progress.

I'd like to thank Leila for taking the time to share her story. Be sure to follow her blog and both YouTube channels if you want to keep tabs on all of her entrepreneurial endeavors.

That's all for now! Catch you guys in the next post.

The post Young Money Interview #11 – How Leila Balances Blogging & YouTube appeared first on WebMonkey.

We're now on the 10th post of Young Money, and it's been pretty incredible so far. From million dollar retail arbitrage businesses to full-time bloggers, we've definitely had quite an array of successful entrepreneurs who have been willing to share their stories.

Now, my goal in starting Young Money was simple. I wanted to showcase the stories of young, hungry, and passionate businesses owners or side hustlers who are trying to forge their own path.

I also wanted to highlight stories where the entrepreneur in question approaches things differently. 

Considering that the entrepreneur we're about to hear from started her freelancing/blogging career at 18 AND decided to move across the world to grow her copywriting business…well, I guess you could say we're in for one truly incredible story!

Take it away, Araminta!

About Araminta

Hey everyone! My name is Araminta Robertson, I am half Spanish half Scottish, and I’m currently based in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Like many other 18 year olds, I had no idea what I wanted to do after high school.

Although all of my friends were going to university, I decided to do some work abroad. After one year of working abroad, I attended university for three months, and dropped out after deciding it wasn’t for me.

After reading a few books, I realized that I knew nothing about the financial world. I also realized that if I understood how money worked, I would be pretty much sorted out in terms of career.

So, I started my own blog, Financially Mint, to write articles about all the books I was reading on tax, property investing and managing a business.

I tried online university and started working as an intern for a FinTech startup in Barcelona. I still kept up with blogging, and other people online hired me to do virtual assistant tasks and a bit of writing for their own websites.

I realized I could make money working from my laptop, and kept doing some freelancing work on the side.

Financially Mint never really took off, but it was an excellent way to build up a portfolio. The blog has over 100 articles on personal finance and career building tips, and it's written with millennials and Gen Z in mind (emojis everywhere ).

With my internship coming to a close, I decided to find freelance writing clients specifically in the FinTech space, and that’s when I went full-time with freelance.

What Side Hustle Did You Start & Why?

You could say my first side hustle was freelance writing.

I started freelance writing because I wanted to have the flexibility to work whenever and wherever I wanted as soon as possible (yes, impatient). My parents had helped me out with rent and other expenses, so I had a few savings.

With two months of savings in the bank and a few regular writing clients, I jumped ship and moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (I was actually heading for Australia, but that’s a story for another time). 

The other side hustle I maintained was a podcast with two friends, called Financial Independence Europe. The podcast itself doesn’t make money, but it has been an amazing way to meet fascinating people, gain interviewing skills, and learn a lot about the world.

We even organized a four day conference in early 2019 in Portugal, and have interviewed interesting people from every corner of the world.

How Did You Scale Your Side Hustles?

It was all timing. I found a common skill (writing) in a specific up and coming niche (FinTech) and was based in a city with demand for talent (Kuala Lumpur).

When I arrived in KL, I explored the tech scene and started pitching to FinTech startups. Lo and behold, the FinTech scene in Malaysia is booming, and people need writers. Next thing I know, I’m offered three different jobs at interesting startups.

I turn them all down, and instead insist on being hired as a freelancer (still love my freedom!). I gain more clients and keep working. I’m extremely happy that I still get to go into their offices and work with them in person, from time to time. 

I learn the intricacies of freelancing: how to negotiate, what are my values, what jobs are not worth my time, which schedule works best for me, what are my strengths and what are my weaknesses.

It’s a lot of fun, mostly because for the first time in my life, people are paying me for something that I am producing.

It's an incredible feeling. Something that I am creating with my own experience, love and ambition. Every article I produce is like a baby; all the unpaid hours, weeks and months I spent writing are finally paying off. 

And, I’m extremely lucky. I love technology, I love working with startups and I love helping others add value to their businesses. I’m extremely lucky that I’ve found a “side hustle” that allows me to do exactly that.

Results & Impact

The biggest impact on my life was confidence: startup employees were listening to me when I gave marketing advice and discussed article ideas.

I hosted my own tech event and started working with InsurTech and PropTech startups. I also attended a FinTech conference and was able to ask questions without feeling small. I felt in charge and in control of my own career.

I wasn’t making bucketloads, but I was making enough (and Malaysia is extraordinarily cheap) that I could stop budgeting every cent and relax a little. 

Wins, Losses & Challenges?

I’m currently dealing with a health issue that I’ve tried not to let take over my life. Because of this, I’ve had to come back to the UK, and I’m still sorting it out.

The challenge has been to keep my freelance writing going even though I'm no longer in KL. As suspected, my work significantly reduced when I left, and I’ve had to ramp up my client base using different techniques. This was a challenge, but I’ve taken it head on and now I’m expanding my network to the entire world, and not just Malaysia. 

I’ve re-branded as Mint Studios, and have my own freelance website. I've also kept up with networking with people in the FinTech space and producing content.

I still love what I do and I keep looking for opportunities to work with startups and find interesting projects. That’s a win in my books!

Tips for Other Entrepreneurs

Live, breathe and network what you do (or want to do): Attend conferences, download podcasts, sign up to newsletters. Immerse yourself totally into that world. If you don’t like it, then this work is not for you (and that’s absolutely fine, the sooner you realise this, the better). If you like it, then you know you’ve hit the hammer on the nail.

Investigate before committing: I tried a lot of different work (au pair, museum assistant, teacher, waitress, you name it) and traveled to different countries. I did a lot of networking, listened to a lot of podcasts and read A TON of books. I kept searching for things that interested me and kept note of them. That’s how I ended up at the right time, in the right place with the right skills. Keep investigating, and when you find something you like, be willing to go down the rabbit hole. 

Figure out the accounting side of things: I’m still figuring it out – you’ll spend more hours than you wish doing admin, managing accounts and talking to clients. I recommend investing in some accounting software AND an accountant.

Final Thoughts

One of my favorite sayings is “The harder you work, the luckier your get.”

I think it's easy to look at successful entrepreneurs (especially young ones) and to think, ‘damn, you got lucky.'

But…luck really is just one small piece of the puzzle. Yes, being in the right place at the right time matters. However, in order to create a lifestyle that brings you fulfillment and happiness, you need to work to build a foundation.

I actually wrote a guest post on Financially Mint nearly 2 years ago when I started blogging at WebMonkey. Let me tell you, Araminta was hustling back then and nothing has changed in that time frame. I'm not the least bit surprised to now learn that she has found success and is growing an international client base in the FinTech space.

For other young adults reading, I hope her story has provided some inspiration and guidance.

Take risks, hustle to build the career or life that you desire, but make a plan.

Araminta's point of ‘investigating before committing' is absolutely critical. It is possible to make money online, or to become a digital nomad, or to build whatever sort of work-life balance you desire.

However, you need to put in the time and effort to test proof of concept. There is no point of buying a one-way ticket to Thailand just because you ‘hate your job' or ‘want to try something new.'

Take time to learn the skills you need to succeed, build up a savings cushion, and pull the trigger when it makes sense. You don't have to get everything perfect on the first try, but heading into a new chapter of life with a game plan dramatically increases your chance of success.

You can also read our post on the top writing sites that pay daily if you're looking to get your start with content writing.

The post Young Money Interview #10 – Araminta’s Path to Successful Freelance Copywriting appeared first on WebMonkey.

I've tried a variety of money making experiments over the years, and honestly, most of them weren't a success. From starting a dropshipping store to selling POD items on Etsy, I've had my share of botched entrepreneurial attempts.

In contrast, my two most successful ventures have been starting this blog and getting into freelance writing. These side hustles aren't anything special, and I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel or hop on to the latest fad: I just write content and monetize it accordingly.

What I love about this particular Young Money interview and Nate and Alysha, our awesome entrepreneurs, is that they are also leveraging one of the oldest economic principles to make a killing: arbitrage.

They made a business plan, tested proof of concept, worked on scaling, and have even crossed the million dollar mark with their Amazon FBA business and taken the business full-time.

If you've ever wanted to make money with retail arbitrage or to learn more about how this business model works, you're going to want to read this one through the end.

If you've missed the previous interviews in this series, I highly recommend giving them a read.

If you're caught up, get ready to learn about the incredible world of Amazon retail arbitrage!

About Nate & Alysha

We are former public school teachers, turned entrepreneurs.

We have also turned $100 into over $1 million in sales by using retail arbitrage.

Nate is known around Orlando as “the bra guy,” and has spent an incredible amount of money on bras to resell.

In our free time, we take our children to Disney, go hiking, and run a free Facebook group for Amazon sellers called Hustle Buddies.

We also run a YouTube channel that shares useful tips and tricks for Amazon FBA and making money with retail arbitrage.

What Is Retail Arbitrage?

Arbitrage involves buying and selling assets in order to turn a profit by taking advantage of price discrepancies on different marketplaces.

Retail arbitrage relies on the same idea.

By sourcing products from major retailers like Walmart and other big box stores, you can turn a profit by selling those same items on online marketplaces like Amazon where there might be a price discrepancy that works in your favor.

What Side Hustle Did You Start?

As teachers, we tried a lot of different side hustles to bring in extra income.

However, one day I (Nate), stumbled upon the concept of Amazon FBA and we’ve never looked back.

When we started Amazon FBA as a side hustle, we quickly realized the potential for it to become our full-time income source if we put in the hard work and stayed focused on our goals.

We do what’s called “retail arbitrage” through Amazon’s FBA program, which is where we purchase merchandise from local retail stores and resell those items on Amazon for a profit.

For example, we will go to Kohl’s and purchase bras that have been marked on clearance, stack discounts, and then sell them on Amazon for a profit.

Extra Reading – The Best Items To Flip.

How Did You Discover Retail Arbitrage?

Retail arbitrage was on a long list of potential side-hustles, but when we looked into it, we realized how scalable it was, and how we could grow it into a viable business.

We knew a lot of people that had sold on other platforms like eBay, but at the time we lived in a small apartment, and we simply didn’t have the time or space to store and ship all of our products to customers.

However, the fact that you don't have to deal with storing your inventory or constant shipping hassles is what makes the FBA program so scalable and so appealing.

With Amazon FBA, you are stocking Amazon warehouses with your products, so they store all of the items before they sell, and then they ship them to customers when an order is placed.

FBA stands for “Fulfilled by Amazon”, because Amazon fulfills customer orders. This means that we can purchase $9,000 worth of bras, and then ship them out to Amazon warehouses the following day, where they will stay until a customer places an order.

Now, there are multiple methods for selling on Amazon and utilizing their FBA program.

The most common methods are:

• RA (retail arbitrage-what we do).
• PL (private label, which is when products are made by one company but sold under a separate company's brand).
• WS (wholesale, which involves buying large quantities of goods straight from manufacturers at reduced prices).

While the other methods aren’t bad, they do take a substantial amount of starting capital, and the risk is much higher that your products could fail, especially for Amazon FBA beginners.

With retail arbitrage, we aren’t creating our own brand. We’re simply supplying customers with the items they are already trying to order at prices they are willing to pay. The Amazon listing already exists, so we're just stocking their shelves. 

You also don’t need a ton of money to do retail arbitrage.

When I (Nate) first wanted to try retail arbitrage, Alysha (my wife) was pretty skeptical that it would work.

I tend to be the dreamer, and she tends to be the realist. It’s why we make such a great team.

I had to prove to her that retail arbitrage was a viable business, so she told me that I could use $100 to try out Amazon retail arbitrage, and now that initial $100 has turned into full time incomes for both of us. 

Results

As I mentioned, we initially started out this business with just $100.

We also committed to not taking any income for ourselves so that we could keep rolling all profits back into our business.

Soon, that $100 turned into $300, then $1000, and it just kept growing.

We’ve now done over $1 million in sales, and in June of 2018, we quit our teaching jobs and started working from home, doing retail arbitrage full-time.

We also knew that we wanted to grow our family through foster care/adoption, so it was the perfect time to start working from home so that we could spend a lot of time with our children.

A few months later we became foster parents and are loving that we get to spend so much time with our two children. 

Major Wins, Challenges? Plans For The Future?

During the process of growing our retail arbitrage income, we developed some really great relationships with local managers, and they will text me when they have great sales, which makes sourcing products much easier!

A challenge that was also a success was when we became foster parents.

We took a 3-month break from our business so we could completely focus on the kids and help them adjust, as well as us adjusting to being first-time parents!

While sales did slow down during this time, our business continued running smoothly. However, we did have to work hard after those months to regain momentum.

This challenge is really a testament to how your business can work for you if you have the right systems in place.

In the future we plan to automate more and more. We’re currently making enough money to stay home with our kids, and that was a big goal of ours.

Now our focus is creating more time. Our next goal is to become financially independent and retire early within the next 6 years. 

Tips For Anyone Looking To Make Money With Amazon Retail Arbitrage

Building and income to replace your day job does not happen overnight, and it won’t happen without sacrifices.

For our journey with Amazon, we worked 4-5 hours every day AFTER our day job teaching, and we weren’t taking any money from the profits, because we had that end goal in mind.

We worked weekends, nights, holidays, always pushing towards our goal.

All of that hard work allows us to now spend time with our children and have an incredibly flexible lifestyle. You need to be prepared to reinvest into your business in order for it to grow into something life changing.

Final Thoughts

All I'm going to say is wow: this has got be one of the coolest and most amazing stories we've ever had on Young Money.

What I love most about this story (aside from the amazing amount of revenue and their adorable dog) is the fact that Nate and Alysha took an incredibly rational and patient route to scale their Amazon FBA income.

I think it can be easy to get caught up in early signs of success with a business venture and to make the call to go all in.

While this can sometimes work out, in reality, most successful businesses require time and investment to scale.

Reinvesting their profits into their retail arbitrage business at such an early stage and putting in the effort to test out proof of concept (while still holding down full-time jobs) is both commendable and smart if you ask me.

It doesn't matter if your side hustle is blogging, working in the gig economy, or ecommerce: make a game plan, take time to scale and test proof of concept, and flip the switch to full-time when the financials check out.

I'd also like to thank Nate and Alysha for sharing their story with WebMonkey.

I personally didn't know much about the world of retail arbitrage, but their path to success has opened my eyes to an entirely different world of making a living online.

Be sure to checkout and follow both their Facebook group and YouTube channel! If you're serious about making money through retail arbitrage, the Hustle Buddies Facebook group in particular is full of valuable information and tips, as well as other entrepreneurs making significant income through Amazon FBA.

Catch you guys in the next post!

The post Young Money Interview #9 – A Million-Dollar Retail Arbitrage Business appeared first on WebMonkey.

It doesn't matter if you're a college student trying to make extra money or if you just want a part-time side hustle to improve your financial well-being: opportunity is out there.

What I love about this Young Money interview in particular and Jesse is that he also has a few irons in the fire.

I've always advocated that diversifying your income is important.

Even a modest sum of extra monthly income can be incredibly powerful if you use the money to start investing or to pay off debt (or, you know, to do something awesome like taking a trip or to save up for something special).

Now, if you've missed the other posts in the Young Money interview series, I highly recommend going back and giving them a read.

If you're up to date, get ready to hear from Jesse, a fellow personal finance blogger, on his two unique side hustles (one of which I was obsessed with when I was younger)!

About Jesse:

I’m Jesse, a 29-year old mechanical engineer from Rochester, NY.

Outside of work I enjoy writing at my blog The Best Interest, working on my home with my girlfriend, and playing any sort of sport or game. 

Sports & My First Side Hustle:

The first side hustle I’ll quickly mention is coaching squash lessons.

Squash is an indoor racquet sport—a bit like racketball— that I played in college (go Rochester!).

One side hustle I started was actually coaching squash lessons. At different times over the past few years, I’ve averaged up to 5 hours of lessons per week, generally earning anywhere in the $30-$50/hour range.

While my example is very specific (not many squash players out there!), the key takeaway for the general reader would be to ask themselves: how can you monetize your expertise?

Perhaps it’s coaching, tutoring, freelance writing…what’s a skill that you have that people would pay to learn from, to watch, or to emulate? 

For me, squash is already my #1 hobby for fitness and fun. Adding in a small money stream was a no-brainer.

If there's something you're talented at and can pass on your knowledge to someone else looking to learn, you're probably sitting on a money making opportunity.

The Second Hustle: Selling Magic Cards Online

The second little side hustle I have—that I know has a fun place in Tom’s heart as well—is “flipping” Magic: The Gathering (MTG) cards.

Where to start with this explanation? 

Firstly, MTG is a collectible card game, with hundreds of unique cards having been printed each year since 1993.

The game itself has fun and deep strategy. The “story” around the game appeals to fantasy nerds (like me); it has similar tropes to Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings, etc.

MTG allows each player to create a deck from the 20,000+ unique cards that exist. Since each of the estimated 35 million worldwide players want to build their own winning deck(s), there’s a thriving market for buying and selling MTG cards.

There are even worldwide companies that exclusively buy and sell these cards. But, there are also opportunities on a local level, and that’s where I make some side money. 

I look at Craigslist or the Facebook Marketplace for people selling their MTG card collections, and that’s where the fun begins.

The following tips apply to flipping MTG cards specifically, but I also think they would apply to any sort of “flipping” that someone could do via Craigslist, Marketplace, or even through consignment stores.

Extra Reading – The Best Places to Sell Pokemon Cards Online.

1 – Pricing knowledge is out there! 

Most of the time, a MTG player will know which of their cards are valuable, and exactly what those cards worth. If they have a $200 collection, they’ll ask $200 for it. If you’re the seller, it’s the smart thing to do.

But if you’re a buyer looking to flip products for profit—like me—then this isn’t the deal that I’m interested it. I’m looking for undervalued card collections.

I don’t want to rip anyone off, but I need to consider my profit margin; I can’t someone more than what I think I can re-sell for. 

When it comes to flipping MTG cards, I follow Warren Buffett’s two rules of investing. 

#1: Don’t lose money. 

#2: Don’t forget rule #1.

2 – Be an expert, and be quick!

Buying anything you haven't seen in person via Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace is a risky proposition, so I go in-person to look through the cards before I buy them.

However, neither the seller nor I want to spend hours rifling through a collection of cards to assess the value. I need to know which cards are valuable, and then quickly extrapolate from a small sample up to the whole collection. 

For example, the last collection I bought had 15,000 cards in it.

I took about 10 minutes to flip through approximately 500 of the cards, and then made a judgement, “If these 500 cards have $15 in value, then the full 15,000 cards will have about $450.”

While this extrapolation carries some risk with it—what if I happened to look at the 500 most valuable cards?— you’ve got to understand your risk posture in any aspect of life.

Granted, this begs a question, “How do I know which cards are valuable?”

Well, I’ve been playing the game on and off since 1995 (you do the math!), so I’ve got a feel for which cards have value and which don’t.

I also listen to a couple podcasts about the game, so I know which cards are in demand, and therefore carry higher prices.

3 – It still might not be worth your time…so hopefully you enjoy it

 It took me about 15 hours to sort, price, organize and ship the collection of 15,000 cards. 

• I paid $100 for them
• Sold ~1000 cards to a national store ($300)
• Kept about 200 for myself (worth ~$100)

For those keeping tracking, that’s approximately $200 of direct profit (plus perhaps $100 ‘unrealized’) in 15 hours, or $20/hour. That’s less than my full-time job. But, do you know what your time is worth?

After all, ever since 1995 I’ve enjoyed sorting through these colorful, nerdy cards.

If I make a small profit, add to my collection, and flex my creative muscles…that’s a fun side hustle at the end of the day!

Side Hustle Challenges – Consider Difficulties In Scaling

Generally, I turn a profit when someone thinks they’re sitting on a collection of 100% junk, but I know it’s 99% junk and 1% gems. 

That doesn’t happen too often. 

As I mentioned before, online marketplaces for cards are easily accessible, and players tend to know which of their cards are valuable. And on the other side, I’ve met up with plenty of players and realized, “Yup, this is pure junk,” and walked away. 

Even though there are 35 million players worldwide, the intersecting Venn region of my marketplace is tiny: Rochester NY-based players who are selling their collections, who think they’re selling junk, but are actually 1% wrong.

This ultimately makes it pretty challenging to scale my MTG card flipping side hustle, but it's still a fun way to make extra money on the side in any case.

Advice For Other Side Hustlers

If I were to start over and focus on a flipping side hustle full-time, I’d consider the following:

Pick a product with either less pricing knowledge or larger arbitrage gaps. For example, I just read a story today about a guy who buys $3 brassieres from Wal-Mart, because he knows the same bra sells for $20 on Amazon.

How can you go wrong with that sort of margin?!

Quantity is a pain. Dealing in 15,000 card increments can be annoying. It’s much easier to buy one snowblower, fix that one snowblower, and re-sell that one snowblower.  

Choose something more scalable. What’s a product that everyone uses? That everyone enjoys? That’s constantly being bought and sold?

I chose MTG because I was already enjoying the hobby, but there are way better options out there. Dealing with cars, home ownership, smart phones, food…these kind of products seem far more universal that collectible card games.

I know for a fact that you learned something today. The people who know squash and Magic: the Gathering and blog about side hustles for fun…I think there’s one of them, and he’s writing to you right now

I really appreciate you reading, and a big thanks to Tom for letting me share here on WebMonkey. 

Cheers,

Jesse from BestInterest.blog

Final Thoughts

I'd like to take a moment to thank Jesse for sharing his two awesome side hustles with us!

I've always been a proponent of monetizing your existing skill set and playing to your given talents, and Jesse's squash coaching hustle exemplifies that fact.

If you know how to do something and to do it well, you can make money by helping others to do the same. It doesn't matter if it's sports cards, language, blogging, or business…provide real value to people and you can get somewhere in this world.

I'm also taking a massive trip down memory lane right now just reading about how to make money selling magic cards.

MTG was actually a massive part of my childhood/part of high school.

It was a game that brought me closer together with friends/cousins who shared a love for the game, and I remember spending dozens if not hundreds of hours theorizing the best decks I could build with the cards I had available.

See, the beautiful part about Jesse's MTG flipping side hustle is that it also highlights a fact that I think is forgotten all too often in the personal finance space: our own enjoyment has value.

Not everything is dollars and cents.

Sure, you should value your time and factor it in to whatever money making endeavor you start on.

However, never discount your own enjoyment, skills you can acquire along the way, or the people you will inevitable end up meeting.

If I had factored in hourly pay when I decided to start WebMonkey…well…let's just say that I don't think you'd be reading this story right now!

Play to your strengths, listen to what the market tells you, and hustle to accomplish your goals.

Just don't forget to have a little fun along the way!

That's all for this one! Be sure to check out Jesse's blog to keep up to date with the awesome content he is putting out!

The post Young Money Interview #8 – How Jesse Flips MTG Cards & More! appeared first on WebMonkey.

I felt unsure when I started WebMonkey. I also felt unsure when I tried out dropshipping, opened an Etsy POD shop, or branched into freelance writing.

While many of my ideas failed (I'm looking at you, Etsy), I think there's also a lot of value in just trying something out. Not everything has to be a home run, and you will never succeed if you don't give things a shot in the first place.

The power of just giving something a try is exactly why I'm excited to share the story of how Kevin started a successful side hustle by selling books on Amazon.

I stumbled across Kevin's story on Reddit, and after reaching out, he kindly agreed to break down exactly how he started making money by selling books online.

So, if you've ever wondered how to sell books on Amazon or make money with the leading ecommerce platform in the world, this is the post for you!

Take it away Kevin!

About Kevin

Over the last few years, I’ve been really curious about the intersection of technology and investing.

The first real a-ha moment I had was watching the 2017 Bitcoin bubble get a whole wave of investors and young people excited about the new opportunities and business models that could come from monetary innovation. 

Most of those ideas are still too early, but it set me off nonetheless, and I’ve been working in the space surrounding technology and investing ever since.

What Side Hustle Did You Start?

A couple weekends ago, I was exploring a local thrift store and came across some really solid business books selling for just $3 each. I had a feeling I could become a middleman and make a profit  with a little bit of arbitrage, so I decided to try selling the books on Amazon. 

I already knew selling books on Amazon was a popular side-hustle for many people, but I had no idea how the Amazon FBA program worked.

But, most importantly, I was certain that if thousands of other Amazon sellers could make meaningful income from selling their items online, I could also figure out a way to do the same.

My most recent YouTube video is really just me documenting my journey on Amazon so that others looking for a little extra side-income can do the same!

What Is Amazon FBA?

FBA stands for ‘Fulfilled by Amazon.'

Essentially, FBA means that instead of shipping products to individual customers one by one, you can instead ship all your products to Amazon warehouses and they will ship them off whenever a customer orders an item.

The program was actually launched way back in 2006, but in the last few years, the model has caught on with the rise of dropshipping. Alibaba re-sellers have used the FBA platform extensively to buy loads of cheap products overseas, ship them to Amazon, and then profit from price differences when they sell the products in North America.

Amazon FBA is great because you also never touch (or see) the products you're dealing with in the case of dropshipping. For flipping, it works quite well because you don't have to worry about logistics, plus, the Amazon FBA shipping rates are way better than individual shipping rates.

Selling using Amazon FBA was something I did out of necessity since I quickly realized that merchant-fulfillment was too expensive for my used books and would erase any of my profit margin.

My case is also a little different than dropshipping cheap products from overseas as I’m sourcing products from local shops. I still see and pack my products up for Amazon. However, once I send them to my UPS store for shipment, those products are in Amazon’s hands and I just sit back and relax.

What Is Your Process For Finding & Listing Books?

Nothing too scientific for now – it seems like there are lots of opportunities for buying underpriced books for anyone who knows how to use the Amazon Seller app.

The Amazon Seller app is a free tool that I use to scan all my books before I buy them.

Basically, the app tells me whether the book I've scanned is selling quickly or slowly, and it gives me a listing of the best offers currently available from other sellers. If the book is relatively popular and is selling for anything over $13, that’s typically a buy signal for me.

By using the Amazon Seller app and looking around local thrift stores, it's possible to find books that can potentially turn a good profit once you flip them online.

The books that go for $20+ are bonuses, and textbooks are even better. I also take book popularity into account and won't buy anything less than a 250,000 Amazon seller rank (since Canada is such a small market). Americans can get away with selling items ranked 2,000,000 or more.

Extra Reading – The Best Amazon Price Trackers to Save Money on Amazon.

What Have Your Results Been Like So Far? How Did Your First Batch Of Books Go?

My first few shipments of books to Amazon have been surprisingly smooth. The entire process is well-documented on the Amazon site and on all sorts of other blogs, so there was no fear of Amazon losing my package or anything. 

My very first batch of books probably included too many low-margin books and low-popularity books. Some of the books have only a couple of Amazon reviews, and other popular ones are only selling for $12 or $13, so they’ll be tough to make a profit on.

It was really encouraging to see my first few books sell so fast though, I sold 4 books within 48 hours of Amazon receiving my inventory. Those sales alone were enough to hook me on the e-commerce game. 

Any Major Wins Or Losses? Plans Or Expectations For The Future?

Now I’ve sold about 20 books through Amazon FBA after only 9 or 10 days of selling, this hustle has turned into a pretty steady stream of sales.

I’ve sold a handful of books in the $20+ range, which are all worth $10+ of profit, so that’s nice.

No big losses so far. I think my biggest foreseeable challenge will be making sure my Amazon inventory doesn’t get too bloated. Amazon charges a small monthly fee for keeping my books in their warehouse, so I need to be aware of those costs for the unpopular books that aren’t selling.

I’m going to double down on my Amazon selling and see if I can take sales to the next level by either finding lower priced inventory or partnering up with thrift shops and libraries to help them make some extra side money. We’ll see how it goes, I’ll be documenting that journey on YouTube or Twitter most likely. 

Suggestions For Other Side Hustlers Considering Selling Books Online

My first suggestion is to just start. If you’re looking for a side-hustle to generate some extra income, there are literally thousands of ways you can make that happen. It’s 2019, the internet (and this blog) is full of useful ideas to make extra cash. 

Selling with Amazon FBA is a proven strategy, and a great starting point, but definitely not the only possible approach for e-commerce sellers. If you choose the Amazon FBA route, you’ll need a smartphone, a computer, and a printer. Everything else is extra for those who are more serious. 

I’ve heard of some people buying custom barcode scanners to scan books quicker, some buy repricing software to automatically adjust their prices on Amazon, and some even buy listing software to speed up the process of listing lots of books on Amazon, but all those tools aren’t necessary for a beginner looking to make a few extra bucks. 

For any beginner, just get out there and start.

You’ll quickly learn about what part of book flipping process takes the most time, and how much profit you can make selling particular books. Then it’s all about finding ways to get 1% better each day.

Final Thoughts

If there's one message I hope you take away from this side hustle story, it's exactly what Kevin said: the best piece of advice is often to just start somewhere.

The internet is incredibly powerful. If you put in some time and effort, you can start diversifying your income and earning more money every single month.

It doesn't matter if you just make extra grocery money or develop a passive income stream, the power of starting a side hustle is immense if you use the money to mitigate debt or start a modest investment portfolio.

I think Kevin's book selling side hustle is proof of that. He noticed an opportunity to make money through arbitrage, did his research, and then pulled the trigger. He's making sales almost every day now and has got his latest side hustle idea off the ground in a shockingly short amount of time.

So, start selling books on Amazon, or flipping items on eBay, or finding different ways to make money doing something that interests you. You'll be amazed at how quickly you can make progress and where you end up!

I'd like to give a massive thank you to Kevin for taking the time to share his story about selling books on Amazon! If you want to checkout more of his awesome content and to stay up to date with his hustles, be sure to subscribe to his YouTube channel and follow his socials!

Catch you guys in the next one!

The post Young Money Interview #7 – How Kevin Makes Money Selling Books On Amazon appeared first on WebMonkey.

The idea of being able to work remotely and to make money from a blog is certainly an alluring one, and I'd argue this is why many people decide to get into blogging alongside the fact that blogging is just a tonne of fun.

I've made an effort to create transparent income reports on WebMonkey to track growth and inspire others, and series like my Road to $100 Blogging Income A Month have set (I hope) a decent foundation for anyone who is just starting out.

However, I have 0 idea about what it takes to blog for a full-time job. I'd also argue that many of the top income reports from six figure sites are from bloggers who have been blogging for so long they have lost touch with what it's like to be a beginner.

So, if you've ever wondered how you can actually take a blog from a beginner to intermediate level and make the leap to full-time, this is the post for you.

I'm incredibly excited to have Shruti from Indian Girling to break down how she recently became a full-time travel blogger.

Keep in mind, Shruti started her blog around the same time I started WebMonkey…it's safe to say that she is absolutely killing it while simultaneously providing an immense amount of value to her readers about how to effectively monetize and grow a blog while travelling the world.

Time to let Shruti take over with her incredible story about how she scaled to a full-time blog in under two years.

Let's get to it!

Extra reading – Check out the 5 previous entrepreneurs in the Young Money series!

About Shruti:

Hi! My name is Shruti Pangtey. I’m a full time travel blogger and online entrepreneur. I was born and raised in India and had a traditional childhood where getting good grades was valued above all else. 

I studied economics as my major during bachelors and went on to do an MBA straight after.

During my MBA, I had the chance to spend two semesters abroad. One semester was in Indonesia and the other one was in Poland. Having never traveled that far alone, I was positively bitten by the travel bug. 

After finishing graduate school, I worked with a both big multinational company and startups for two years, until I realized I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life.

I wanted my life to be about more than a 9-5 job.

I wanted more control, more travel, more freedom.

Realizing this made me pack up my life and move to Germany for a second master degree. I figured this would give me enough time to travel, learn a new language, and hone in on what I really want to do in life. 

What Side Hustle Did You Start?

After moving abroad in late 2016, I wanted to be able to share my adventures with my friends and family back home.

As far as I knew, I was the only person from my circle of friends who had chosen to move to Germany. As you probably know, most Indians head to the US, Canada or the UK to study and work, so I was quite the odd one out. 

The desire to stay connected made me start an expat blog in 2017, and I worked on it during my free time. It wasn’t until I accidentally had a post go viral on Facebook and reached 20000 page views in a week that I realized I had a voice! 

I realized I had so much potential to create an impact with fellow millennials around the world. However, having come to the end of my “expat advice” as a blogger, I realized there was one thing I was more passionate about, and that was travel.

The Second Blog:

The desire to write about travel made me start my second blog in July 2018, and this was the start of Indian Girling.

I focused this blog on my travel tips for Europe and a bit of life in Germany.

I knew traveling to Europe is such a dream for people around the world, and I wanted my blog to be the go-to Europe travel planning resource. I also wanted more people from developing countries to be able to explore the beautiful continent that I now call home.

Extra Resource – Checkout SiteGround if you're thinking of starting your own blog and want affordable hosting!

Blogging Results:

I had started my second blog in the hopes that I would one day be able to monetize it.

I also wanted to make sure I didn’t make the 100 mistakes I made with my first blog. You can say that this was true start of my “side hustle”.

At this point, I was still finishing my master, learning German, and working 20h/week to pay for my living expenses. So, I basically spent every weekend and free hour I had working on my blog. 

In the first six months, I didn’t see massive growth. However, I was busy with reading, studying, and educating myself about how I could convert my blog into a business.

After six months, I hit a point where my traffic started to grow thanks to my new found Pinterest marketing expertise, and I started to cross tens of thousands of page views a month. A big turning point was when I hit 40000 page views in a single month and qualified for Mediavine.

Even before I hit this point though, I had read and found that digital products were the way to go.

Having dabbled a bit in product sales myself, I found this to be a good fit for my personality and I decided to give it a try.

I launched a travel ebook to my email list and made $200 in a single day. This was absolutely monumental. 

You see, as a blogger, you often have to wait months if not years to make $200 in a day. And here I was, with a product that I put together in 6 free weekends, that made me $200 in 24 hours.

I was hooked!

I started to experiment with more digital products, and along this way I had also found a passion for teaching other bloggers how to use Pinterest to grow their traffic.

I made my course Pinterest Traffic Explosion and pre-sold the course to a small list of 100 bloggers. This made me $600 in a weekend. 

Looking back, I started out with zero revenue in July of 2018, and by the next summer I was averaging $1000/month using various monetization methods. My main methods of monetization include ads, affiliates and digital products with a few sponsored posts sprinkled here and there, but it adds up!

Wins & Losses:

The biggest win so far has been to be able to help over 40+ bloggers grow their Pinterest following by using my marketing strategies and see how successful they have been after using my course. In terms of income, I had a month recently where I made over $3000 and I was on holiday for two weeks of the month. 

For me, THIS WAS IT.

A career where I could have location and financial freedom while still being able to impact a ton of people. 

Shortly after, I decided to quit my day job and jump into blogging full-time. I’m now a full-time blogger and online entrepreneur. 

The biggest loss (or learning, as I like to call all my failures) was initially thinking that just because a monetization strategy works for someone else, it does not mean it will work for you.

Affiliate marketing, while all the rage, just doesn't scale that fast in my niche. 

You have to realize that there is no custom monetization strategy that fits every blog.

You have to be willing to experiment, listen to your audience, and find a way that best helps them all the while still growing your income. This realization made me pivot my focus from affiliate marketing and focus more on ads and products.

I am also guilty for trying to do too many things at the same time. When it comes to make money with a blog, it is SO important to focus on 1-2 things each month and to exclusively work on them before you make any conclusions or rule anything out.

What Advice Do You Have For Other Bloggers?

As a new blogger who is learning the ropes of a non-traditional career, I believe it is hard to stay consistent when you don’t see immediate growth. Add friends and family who do not understand your passion at all to the mix, and this becomes as much a mindset challenge as anything else.

I believe the thing that kept me going was connecting with other bloggers and seeing their success online.

I knew that it wouldn’t happen overnight or even in a year, but as long as I was consistent, invested in myself, and treated my blog as a business, things would work out. 

As a business woman with a startup background, I am very well aware of what scaling a tech business looks like: years of hustle with no pay or profits.

I believe having this mindset where I don’t expect instant gratification has been key to growing my blog into a business in a short period of time.

If I had to look back and give one piece of advice to my past self, it would be to invest in your blog.

I went into $40000 in debt over my MBA, but when it came to $100 for an e-course, I hesitated.

There are people out there who are miles ahead of you and can teach you how to fast-track your audience and income.

Learn from them.

Make a “l(fā)earning budget,” and use that to buy books, courses, or even coaching (if you can afford it).

It doesn’t matter if you can only afford to spend $10 a month, just do it. I promise you it will come back manifold. Listen to podcasts, watch videos, talk to other bloggers, but always keep learning.

This industry moves fast and you gotta keep up if you want to grow!

Final Thoughts:

I want to thank Shruti for taking the time to share her amazing blogging journey for the 6th Young Money interview (these interviews are coming in quick eh?)

While many bloggers start with dreams of monetization, I think it can be hard to keep focused during the grueling hours of work and early stages where zero revenue is coming in,

However, I think it's critical that bloggers remember some of the realizations Shruti has outlined.

Starting a blog is like building a startup. You will not make significant income in the early stages, and sweat equity is what you need to put in to get things up and running.

Additionally, you need to view your blog like a business. Investing into better hosting, SEO, social media marketing, or content is what will drive growth.

I've just recently had the same realization, and I'm now outsourcing all of my Pinterest marketing and looking to improve site speed and content production. While it might be tempting to take your blog earnings and to funnel them towards grocery money, there's also value in funneling your revenue back into growth.

At the end of the day, if you want to build an online platform and audience, you will have to put in the time and dedication. It might take months or years to achieve your goals, but the only way to get there is to start and never look back!

If you're looking to accelerate your Pinterest marketing efforts, I highly recommend checking out Digital Empires and Shruti's Pinterest Traffic Explosion course.

Since I've implemented some of Shruti's tactics and passed on the advice to the freelancer who is managing my account, I've seen month over month improvement in terms of traffic and follower growth. I'd also suggest signing up for Shruti's email blasts since she puts out a lot of informative content about how to design viral pins and grow a Pinterest audience.

If you're super serious about Pinterest marketing, I also recommend checking out Tailwind app review and my and tips on how to automate most of your marketing efforts.

That's all for now! Catch you guys in the next one.

The post Young Money Interview # 6 – Shruti On Taking Blogging Full-Time appeared first on WebMonkey.

That's the fun part about entrepreneurship, and it's also why I encourage it very frequently for other young adults.

Along your journey, you usually end up encountering a slew of interesting people, new ideas/opportunity, and you often find yourself travelling down a path you never would have expected.

I'm incredibly excited to share this Young Money story with you today because it's truly an example of what can happen in life if you just take a shot in the dark and try to build something.

I met Ben, the entrepreneur who is about to take over this post, in college last year, and he is by far one of the most open minded and driven people I met during school.

Ben's been on WebMonkey before, and covered how to start a successful podcast a few months back.

If you want to learn more about how Ben has started both a successful podcast and a rapidly growing YouTube channel, be sure to read on!

Also be sure to checkout the previous posts in the Young Money interview series!

About Ben:

Growing up, I had a passion for two things.

The first was sports, and the second was something I later found out was entrepreneurship, and most of my free time was invested into one of the two interests.

I was starting side hustles before I was 10 without even realizing that was a thing.

I also invested almost every waking hour into football as my dream was to be the starting running back for my favorite NFL team, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

I played the sport year round and trained throughout all of it as well. It cultivated into a decent high school career with a few championships and an opportunity to play at the next level in college.

However, I only ended up playing a season on the team and walked away after suffering a serious concussion.

I had attached so much of my identity and confidence to the sport, like many athletes do. After my concussion, I was terribly lost and confused as to where I should invest all of this new found time.

The First Side Hustle – YouTube:

Figuring out what to do next took some serious self reflection.

I took the time to write down all the things I knew I loved, and I recommend this strategy to anyone searching for direction or purpose.

I don’t care who you are, there will be things you do in life, big or small, that make you feel a certain way.

That indescribable feeling is your life compass trying to point you in the right direction.

I have always loved entertaining, inspiring and educating people. Few things give me the satisfaction like an engaged audience that I know I provided value for.

The only time I had ever really had the opportunity to experience this was through school presentations or performances. However, I was fascinated with social media and more specifically, YouTube.

I had been following the journeys of many entrepreneurs for a while, and I consistently found myself feeling similar and wanted to build a presence and lifestyle like theirs.

Starting a YouTube channel seemed like a great way to build and engage an audience, but like many people, I made excuses and quit before even trying.

I continued to toy around with the idea until my compass forced me into action.

While playing recreational football, I tore my ACL and meniscus.

I was devastated and immobile. After wallowing in self pity, feeling like I couldn’t catch a break, I went to YouTube to seek out advice on how to deal with my new situation.

Upon doing so I was surprised to find very little content of any value on ACL injuries and rehab. I decided this was my opportunity for YouTube; my opportunity to earn those subscriptions and grow.

I made a series of videos on my experience with the injury that have received over 200k views to date. Throughout this process, I fell in love with the platform and the ability to help others through simply doing things I enjoy.

Extra watching – See how Ben made his first YouTube paycheck and learn how to make money on YouTube!

Expanding The Channel:

While ACL recovery videos were a great start for my channel, the niche put me in a box with little room to grow.

Realizing this, I decided to incorporate my second long time passion, entrepreneurship.

I began making videos providing advice for other aspiring entrepreneurs ranging from tactical strategies, general mindset advice, and personal development.

During this time of starting my channel, one of my favorite YouTubers appeared on a podcast I listened to, and this was another light bulb moment for me and was something that dramatically changed my life.

I decided that, much like my knee, this was the push I needed to grow.

I decided to start a podcast.

The Second Side Hustle – Podcasting:

I had always wanted to connect with entrepreneurs, but I was also a kid from Canada with no connections in the game.

Starting my podcast, Do Dope Shit, seemed like a perfect way to bridge this gap.

I decided to structure my content with passion in mind while also aiming for growth, and I built a show around what I wanted to supplement in my life.

Let me tell you, having your content based on passion and desired personal growth will keep you extremely motivated and consistent.

I decided the direction for my show and you can find it in the bio of my podcast: “Benjamin Hayden Leavitt interviews doers who have followed their own path and created a career and lifestyle revolving around passion. He captures their stories, struggles and tactics to try and help you do the same.”

Why Podcasting:

Podcasting is the most valuable platform for self-improvement, bar none.

I have made so many amazing friends and established relationships that will last a lifetime because of the medium, and I believe it has everything to do with the nature of podcasting.

Conversation has been a tool that humans have used to connect, learn, grow, laugh and educate as long as we have been around.

Every episode, I have an hour long conversation with someone I want to get to know, so we inevitably leave as friends while also creating a valuable piece of evergreen content.

I have been able to connect with people I otherwise never would have through podcasting while simultaneously improving my conversational abilities, a lifelong skill that is also important for business.

Extra Reading – Podcast vs YouTube – What's Best For You?

Combining Passions:

Podcasting gave me a new skill and an outlet for my passion, but YouTube was still something I saw so much value in.

I figured creating a video on my podcasting experience would provide some value to my small audience, so I made one.

It went about the same as every previous video, and I thought it was a decent video but nothing spectacular.

It received the same amount of views as my other videos (under 100). I moved on and thought nothing of it.

Five months later that same video started receiving hundreds of views a day.

I didn’t think anything of it, and thought it was just a fluke.

However, it continued to grow and continues to this day, averaging about 600+ views every single day and has surpassed 115K views.

It ranks in very competitive keywords, has brought me a decent amount of passive and recurring income from affiliate revenue, Adsense revenue, and future sponsored videos and opportunities.

It also forced me to learn more about growing a channel and making money on YouTube/podcasting.

This has led to consulting jobs for paid clients and many more opportunities coming in the near future. At this point it isn’t crazy money, but it is extremely helpful and continues to grow.

Wins & Losses:

My biggest win turned out to be a complete surprise in the form of my first viral video.

As for the biggest loss, that would definitely be dealing with a massive headache and lost episodes due to poor software and a lack of knowledge.

Starting a podcast is a learning process, and I have made plenty of mistakes along the way.

To avoid any of these complications, I now highly recommend investing in a reliable and dedicated hosting service. I partner with Buzzsprout and use them as my host. If you are looking for a host, Buzzsprout is giving out a free $20 Amazon gift card when you sign up!

What Advice Do You Have For Other Young Entrepreneurs?

My advice to any other young people looking to grow is to simply start doing things, constantly.

Through doing that, life and the market will manufacture the right opportunity.

It’s easy to get discouraged when you see people “killing it” on social media, but it’s important to remember that Instagram isn’t reality and everyone is on their own path.

Your path will form, but only when you start learning, failing, and actually putting the effort into creating something.

Final Thoughts:

I'd like to thank Ben for taking the time once again to share his story on WebMonkey.

I think Ben's story is a perfect example of how jumping into a passion project can take you down a path you never would have imagined.

I also think that Ben's initial venture into YouTube (ACL videos) and eventual viral video on how to start a podcast proves that you can succeed if you provide real value to the market.

Ben couldn't find useful content on how to recover from an ACL surgery so he created it, and he was rewarded. His video on how to start a podcast is also one of the best I have seen on the topic and is transparent/honest, and the views prove it.

Niche saturation or competition shouldn't scare you.

If anything, you should get excited when a subject you are passionate about has a growing audience around it. Focus on providing value, put in the work, and you can succeed on any platform.

Be sure to checkout Ben's podcast if you haven't already, and be sure to leave a review. You can also checkout his YouTube channel for more insightful entreprenurial resources and tips.

Catch you guys in the next one.

The post Young Money Interview #5 – Ben’s Successful Podcast & YouTube Journey appeared first on WebMonkey.

It doesn't matter if you turn to the gig economy or to more location independent jobs, with enough know-how and determination, it is possible to increase your income by working online.

I've been slowly growing my blogging income and trying to take WebMonkey more seriously, so I was incredibly excited to have Charlie, one of the co-founders of College Life Made Easy, agree to take part in my Young Money Interview series.

Not only in Charlie a full-time blogger running an absolutely incredible blog catering to college students, she also uses a variety of other side hustles to make money every single month!

Now, if you've missed the other guests on my Young Money Interview series, I highly recommend checking them out:

• Kyle from Financial Wolves on website flipping.
• Nathan from MillionaireDojo on eBay selling.
• Todd from Invested Wallet on profitable blogging.

But, if you're up to speed and ready to see how Charlie from College Life Made Easy makes all of her income through blogging and various side hustles, read on!

About Charlie, College Life Made Easy, & Side Hustling:

My pen name is Charlie. I’ve lived in quite a few places, but I’m currently residing on the West Coast in the Portland metro area. I’m one of those people who find overcast days to be deeply satisfying. I’m a free spirit, a low-key hippie, and my path to entrepreneurial success has been a bit unconventional. 

What I value most in life is freedom, or the ability to do whatever I want, whenever want. 

For college, I went to a very crunchy school for massage therapy. The choice was an impulsive decision (I submitted my application riiiight before admissions closed). I had also never even received a professional massage in my life  up to that point.

After taking a gap year, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for a career.

But what I did know was that…

• I wanted a career that paid well.
• I wanted to be able to minimize work hours so I could maximize my free time.
• I didn’t want to spend a long time in school.

My leap in the dark panned out, and I even had a knack for body work. My first massage job out of school paid $25/hr, and I was making $40/hr within 9 months.  

Was it my calling in life?

No, but I appreciate that I got what I needed from the job and more. I learned invaluable lessons (about other people and myself) from working in the field.

My career as a licensed massage therapist gave me so many personal freedoms which is what facilitated the discovery of my true passion, and I’ll always be grateful for that!

Starting College Life Made Easy:

I started College Life Made Easy in 2016, and it originally started as a coupon blog for college students.

However, there isn't a massive demographic for student coupons, so the blog sort of morphed into more of a college lifestyle blog.

I still wanted to help college students manage their finances, and College Life Made Easy has plenty of awesome freebies, coupons, and information on college scholarships to help students save money.

SEO drives a lot of my search traffic, and the College Life Made Easy Pinterest account currently has more than 23,000 followers. In terms of SEO research tools I've used Google Keyword Planner and the chrome extension Keywords Everywhere to find low competition keywords I can write about.

College Life Made Easy is monetized through Mediavine ads, sponsored posts sometimes, and affiliate links, and has allowed me to make blogging into my full-time job.

Now that I’ve transitioned into blogging full time, it’s fun to say that I’m retired from the traditional 9-5 at the ripe age of 25! 

Other Side Hustles:

When it comes to side hustles, I like to take a diversified approach. So there are a few different avenues I like to use to make extra money. My three main squeezes are the ones I’ll focus on.

For one, I enjoy using an app called Field Agent. The app offers cash for completing different tasks within the surrounding local area.

The tasks vary, but for example, a job might want you to audit a display in a store by taking pictures and answering a few questions. Another will have you try a product and provide feedback.

What I really like about Field Agent is that it’s easy to use, and they pay via direct deposit. Plus, there’s no minimum balance to cash out. 

Another way I made money on the side with is a survey website called Prolific. It’s different than any other survey website that I’ve used, and in a really good way. 

The surveys on Prolific are actually studies that are being conducted by researchers, which can make things more interesting. Studies pay pretty decently compared to how long they take to complete as well.

The best part about Prolific is that you’re always compensated for the time you spend completing a survey (so long as you provide quality answers). If there’s a study available for you take, you already qualify for it.

I never have to deal with getting kicked off a survey for “not qualifying” after answering a bunch of questions, and that is SO refreshing!

The third is a side hustle blended with a passion project. I have an Instagram page called Older Labs, and it’s been my jumping point for creating a small retail brand.

It’s basically what it sounds like – a page where the theme is old Labrador Retrievers. I created a website for Older Labs where I sell clothing via dropshipping. I’ve also printed up batches of stickers and I ship those out myself. 

When & Why Did You Start?

I first started using Field Agent in the fall of 2018. I don’t remember exactly where I first heard about it, but it might have been on r/beermoney actually. I also started using Prolific around the same time. 

I began those side hustles because I was doing research for an article about easy ways for college students to make money. Of course, before making any recommendations, I need to take them for a test drive.

It’s safe to say they passed my review as I haven’t stopped using them yet!

I started the Older Labs Instagram page in June of 2017. I opened my online store for it in the spring of 2018. 

The inspiration for the page was my senior dog, Knuckles, who was 16 at the time. I saw there were hundreds of Instagram accounts dedicated to sharing pictures of puppies, but there weren’t really any for dogs on the other end of the spectrum.

Old dogs need some love and appreciation too! I felt there was potential for the senior dog niche and I seized the opportunity to fill the void.

Okay, but why Labradors in particular right?

I went with senior Labs because:

1. They’re the most popular dog breed in America.
2. I wanted to create a clear and concise theme for the page.

Results:

With Field Agent and Prolific, I’ve consistently made an extra couple hundred dollars a month. And that’s just with casual use.

I’ll usually check the Field Agent app when I’m about to go to the store to see if there are any jobs in the same area. Prolific I’ll check when I remember to (which is not the best way to optimize earnings).

If I was on top of my game more with those two streams of income, I could have easily doubled those earnings. I’ve learned that there’s a Chrome extension that alerts you when there is a new Prolific study is available – it’s very handy! 

Running my Older Labs account has also been a great way to connect with other people all over the world. The bonding over a mutual love of old dogs can be beautiful and heartbreaking at times.

Running an online store and figuring out dropshipping has taught me a lot, too. It’s something new for me and I'm enjoying the challenge of figuring it out.

Wins & Losses:

Outside of growing my blog to a full-time job, the biggest win for my side hustles has simply been watching the the community around Older Labs grow. The hashtag I started on Instagram has over 71,000 uses right now. That’s a little mind blowing to me! 

I feel like I hit the nail on the head with the idea. All the interest around it is very encouraging. 

My biggest loss was investing in a logo for Older Labs way too early.

Being excitable and impatient, I got ahead of myself. I paid a pretty penny for the work of a professional graphic designer, and while he was great to work with and I loved the design, I wish I had held the reigns a little longer on that decision. 

While the logo is beautiful, ironically my best performing design is something I whipped up myself. Live and learn, but that was a painful lesson for my wallet.

What Advice Do You Have For Other Young Entrepreneurs?

I’d like to think that you can learn almost anything online. You don’t have to wish for something, because you can accomplish it. 

The mind is a powerful thing. Seriously. As inconsequential as it sounds, it all starts with believing that you can and will be successful. Not only that, but you deserve to be successful. 

So, start now. However you can, whenever you can. Keep learning and apply your knowledge.

Experiment over time. What’s working for you? What’s not working?

The original way I imagined how things would work VS what actually did is vastly different. So, be flexible and willing to change your strategy.

Once you have something that’s working, don’t become stagnant. The only certainties in life are taxes, death, and impermanence. You need to be constantly adapting to changes for continued success. 

Becoming complacent will steadily but surely kill a thriving endeavor. Celebrate your wins, but keep in mind that nothing is permanent. 

If your end goal is making money, then focus on what people already have an interest in. You can do what other people are doing, but don’t think that you can do the exact same thing and experience the same amount of success. Find a way to make your ‘thing' different!

Do keyword research to get a better understanding of what people want, assess the competition, and then capitalize on less saturated niches!

Final Thoughts:

I'd like to thank Charlie for taking the time to be a part of my Young Money interview series.

I find it truly inspiring that Charlie is able to make a full-time income from blogging even though she's just recently graduated from college. The fact that she can also find the time to make a few extra hundred dollars every month from her side hustles and grow a considerable social media following for her ecommerce brand is remarkable.

I think Charlie's entrepreneurial success really highlights the fact that you can earn income online in so many different ways. As long as you take Charlie's suggestion and focus on serving the needs of a market while differentiating yourself from the competition, you can start to make progress in your industry/niche.

Starting a successful blog or online venture will be a tough journey, don't get me wrong, but the rewards are certainly worth it if you put in the effort and continue to adapt to challenge.

I highly recommend checking out Charlie's blog if you are currently in college and looking for some very useful resources, and definitely check out College Life Made Easy on their socials!

Catch you guys in the next one!

The post Young Money Interview #4 – Charlie From College Life Made Easy appeared first on WebMonkey.

Since I started my blog a year and a half ago, I've gotten to know many successful bloggers, entrepreneurs, and business owners across the personal finance space and other niches.

The amount of valuable lessons I have learned throughout this process has been immense, and that is the main reason I started the Young Money interview series in the first place; I firmly believe there is no better resource for young entrepreneurs than to learn from others who have walked in the same shoes and done great things.

So, if you've missed the first Young Money, I highly recommend checking it out:

• Nathan from Millionaire Dojo on eBay flipping.

Now, once you're all caught up with those interviews, sit back and find out how Todd from Invested Wallet worked to create multiples streams of income and a profitable personal finance blog since graduating college back in 2010!

Take it away Todd!

About Todd & Invested Wallet:

My name is Todd, I’m 31 (when did that happen?) and currently live in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania with my Fiance. If you are wondering where Bethlehem is, the best visual to give you is it is an hour north of Philadelphia.?

I work remotely for a software company that is based in Utah as the head of marketing. I’ve been in marketing for over eight years, but more intensely in the last five years. I’m also a big traveler and have gone on two camping trips that took us in 25+ states and into Canada.?

Additionally, I’m a personal finance and music nerd. Previously I had a music blog that I ran from 2010 until a few years ago, and now I run Invested Wallet, a blog that covers finances and investing for beginners and beyond.

My goal in the next few years is to reach financial independence, meaning if I chose to no longer work, I could have a self-sustaining lifestyle based on savings and investments. I have no plans to retire early per say, but being able to never worry about money is key.?

What Side Hustle Did You Start?

I’ve actually had quite a few side hustles since graduating college in 2010. However, back when I started I never called it anything other than some side work.?

The reasons I like side hustles is because I love the freedom of exploring my own entrepreneurial endeavors and making extra money. I’ve always felt that multiple streams of income are important for your financial health and to have in place in case something happens to my full-time job.?

Here is a list of my past and current side hustles:?

Music Blog: Back in Fall 2010, I started a music blog to share my finds, discover more music, and write about it. I was considering working in the music industry at the time and thought this could be cool to have on my resume.?

Company & Domain Naming: I was a part of a website called CrowdSpring, a crowdsourcing company where I worked on graphic design projects to hopefully get paid. I went to college for graphic design so I thought it would be a good place to practice. However, they started offering writing work, company naming, domain naming, etc. And the minimum project paid $250 and the max was averaging $2,000. So I switch gears to that. I made over $8000 in the span of 9 months doing this.?

Marketing & Web Consulting: As I got more experience with marketing and social media, I took some side work with local companies. This is something I’m looking to get back into in the near future.?

Personal Finance Blog: This is my current side hustle.

When & Why Did You Start?

For all my previous side hustles, I started them for two reasons: to make extra money and to beef up my resume. I knew my side businesses could add value to my career while also helping me bring in some extra income.?

I started Invested Wallet in June 2018 and have been focused on it since. I wanted to create a legit money making blog, so I turned it into an LLC, have a business bank account, and learning Quickbooks to manage the income and expenses.?

But I also started blogging because I’m passionate about personal finances and wanted to hopefully be more relatable to others.

I’m not a six figure earner, haven’t made millions of dollars, but I have made some huge strides without being handed anything. I saw the financial media likes to focus on those big headlines. And while they can be inspirational, they aren’t the norm and isn’t very relatable to 99% of people (just look at the comments).?

In 2017, I wrote some guest posts about my story on other finance websites. But, I also wanted to create another blog and treat it as a business. This is where Invested Wallet was born. Not only is my blog something that I can make money from my passion, but I can hopefully help others make a difference in their finances and improve their overall well-being.

Results

All my side hustles have made money in someway. The music blog probably made the least, but I never treated it like a business or really optimized it to make money.?

However, Invested Wallet’s main goal is to generate income. I recently crossed the 1 year mark this past June and in early 2019 the blog has started to make money every single month.

So far this year I’m closing in on $4,000 in profit, however 2019 was the first year I started to put a minor effort in to generate income. Currently, the blog makes $300-$400 minimum per month just through having ads up!

Add that income to any affiliate income and sponsored content, and it starts to accumulate quite significantly. In fact, I’ve had two months in the $1,000+ month revenue range, and I’m pumped about this for a few reasons:

• My blog is just over a year old.
• I only spend a few hours each week on it.
• It’s making passive recurring income every month through ads.
• My traffic is growing. I don't have the highest traffic amount per month, but the blog is still making good money.
• I've already had two companies interested in purchasing the site (I’m not ready to sell, but always entertain the idea).

I have three goals for Invested Wallet:

1. Generate enough income to cover all my monthly expenses (Would need to make around $1600 per month).
2. Become a future full-time gig (Would want this to generate $45,000+ per year before consideration of this).
3. Sell the blog for six-figures.

Wins & Losses

I’ve actually had some pretty awesome wins for Invested Wallet, which makes me excited for the future. I think some of my big wins are:

• Featured or quoted in many major media publications like Time, CNBC, Market Watch, Business Insider, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, and others.?
• Two months recently where I made over $1,000 in revenue.?
• Huge spike in SEO traffic, something I’ve worked on with the blog since day one.

As far as losses, I don’t have any major ones so far (*knocks on wood). There are always things I could have potentially done differently that may have resulted in better outcomes, but I'm happy with my progress in a short time.

What Advice Do You Have For Other Entrepreneurs?

Find something you're passionate about and find a way to turn that into some extra income. Almost any hobby or passion can become profitable, you just need to figure out how to effectively monetize it.

The digital age has created so many more money making possibilities, you just need to get started!

Don’t worry if you do not know everything right away, most people don’t. Taking the first steps and just getting started is already doing more than most people ever will.?

I was pretty unsure when I got started blogging, but it has led to so many more opportunities for me that I would have missed had I just not tried.

Will every side hustle work out? No. Will you get rich immediately from it? Probably not. But if you keep at it, work hard, and stay patient, there is a good chance you’ll find success!

Final Thoughts

I think one of the most common questions I see related to blogging as a side hustle is: “can you even make money with a blog?”

As Todd has shown, it is absolutely possible to create a blog that makes money within a year, even in a competitive niche like personal finance. Sometimes, the secret sauce is really just the right mixture of hard work, know-how, and perseverance.

Besides, as Todd also mentions, taking a stab at an entrepreneurial venture is one of the most effective ways to improve your resume, learn new skills, and to develop as a person.

You will rarely be handed opportunities on a silver platter in life. More often, the only way to take advantage of new opportunities is to create them yourselves. So, don't be afraid to set big-picture goals and to back them up with consistent hard work and a solid plan. You might be surprised at where you end up after just one year or even a few months!

I'd like to thank Todd for taking part in the Young Money Interview series and for sharing his awesome story! If you have a hankering for more personal finance content, go and subscribe to Invested Wallet. You won't be disappointed.

Catch you guys in the next one!

The post Young Money Interview #3 – Todd From Invested Wallet – Blog Profits appeared first on WebMonkey.

I mean, for as long as humans have been able to barter, the concepflt of flipping has existed. It doesn't matter if you look at some savvy ancestor who bought and sold silk or modern flippers who deal in real estate, the concept remains the same.

The aspect I find most appealing about flipping is the fact that you can actually trade just about anything since perceived value can vary between buyers. This is how we can witness phenomenons like a Montreal man flipping his way up from a paperclip to a house in just 14 trades.

Anyway, the point is that flipping is pretty timeless, and this money making idea is here to stay…Plus, thanks to the internet and rise of Ecommerce, it has never been easier to get in on the game of buying and reselling products.

One young entrepreneur who has been incredibly successful at flipping is Nathan, the blogger behind Millionaire Dojo, and a true expert when it comes to flipping items on eBay.

I'll let Nathan do the rest of the explaining about how he is able to make hundreds of dollars every month from his eBay store, so be sure to read this Young Money interview through to the end!

If you missed the first Young Money interview featuring Kyle from Financial Wolves and his website selling hustle, be sure to read that one as well!

About Nathan & Millionaire Dojo

My name is Nathan. I’m 25, married, and live about an hour outside of Atlanta, GA. I like to work and try new side hustles to generate new streams of income but outside of that, I love to learn new things and also train in martial arts. 

I started training in Taekwondo at age 15 and eventually received my black belt. About a month ago, I decided to switch things up and start training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It’s been fun/humbling to start out as a white belt again, and grappling is truly a great workout! 

I find a lot of value in martial arts. From my training, I'm able to get a good workout, stay limber, develop more discipline and focus, and also learn how to defend myself if I ever need to. 

I’m also a bit of a personal finance nerd, and I made a goal to eventually reach a net worth of one million dollars. I started tracking my progress towards reaching this goal by creating Millionaire Dojo, where I share any financial tips and adivce I pick up along the way. 

My wife probably thinks my earbuds are permanently attached to my head at this point. I’m always listening to podcasts when I get the chance! I’ve become somewhat addicted to learning new things and podcasts are the best way to learn that I’ve come across. 

I work remotely in IT for my day job (no, I’m not the stereo typical software developer/personal finance blogger, and I don’t make software developer level income either).

I like my job, especially the work from home part, but I definitely don’t see myself working in IT for another 40 years. I’d like to eventually work for myself doing something I love!

What Side Hustle/Business Did You Start?

My side hustle of choice is selling items on eBay. I also have a couple of antique booths at an antique mall where I make money. You can checkout my eBay store to get an idea about the sorts of items I sell every month!

I love the process of going out and finding new items, as well as learning the history of things when I come across something I don’t know about. 

The amount of waste in America is astronomical, and I hope I’m doing a small part to help the environment by keeping things from ending up in landfills.

I get most of my store inventory from yard sales and thrift stores, so that’s basically one step away from the item being thrown away! It’s amazing how much value some of the items I find still have to certain people! 

I’d love to eventually sell things full time, but I’m still a good ways away from being able to live off the income produced by my store. 

When & Why Did You Start?

I sold my first item on eBay when I was about 13 and ever since, I've always thought: “hey, I wonder what that would go for on eBay?” when I come across something that seems like a good deal. 

I didn’t start seriously selling on eBay until a little over a year ago. It was around the same time I learned about financial independence and started my blog. I went through a bit of a minimalist phase and went through our house looking for items I could get rid of. Some of the things I found had a bit of value, so I figured I should try to sell them and make some money. 

After a few of the items sold, I thought it might be worth seeing if I could find some items to buy for cheap and flip for profit. After I started seeing some success with flipping, I got hooked! 

Results Of eBay Flipping

Thanks to my eBay store, I’ve been able to consistently make an extra $600-$1,000 a month net profit for the past several months, and I’m hoping to continue increasing this amount as time goes on. 

Since I’m able to cover our regular living expenses with my day job income, I’m currently using my eBay flipping income to invest back into other side hustles I have so I can continue to grow.

I’ve funded all of my blogging expenses from my eBay sales, and I’ve been able to grow the blog enough now that I’m making a little money from it. 

At this rate, if I keep growing my side hustles I’ll be able to live off the income they produce within a couple of years, if not sooner. The blogging income has been slow growing for me, but I actually started profiting from eBay within the first month of starting! 

Spending money in the right places can really speed up the process of scaling your side business, so it’s nice to have money to invest from day one. 

Wins & Losses

My biggest win so far with selling things on eBay was when some people offered me a box of junk for free when I was at a yard sale.

I didn’t really know what the stuff in the box was since it just looked like some old electronics, but when I got home and did some research, it turned out to be rare CB radio equipment. 

I ended up profiting over $700 from that box of junk, and the people at the yard sale said they were going to throw it away if I didn’t take it!

I can’t really think of a huge loss with this side hustle. I lose a little money every now and then if an item breaks in shipping or someone wants to do a return. Sometimes I buy things that aren’t worth anything, and I end up having to donate them to thrift stores.

Overall, I don’t lose much money from this side hustle at all!

Extra Reading – How To Flip 500 Dollars.

What Advice Do You Have For Other Young Entrepreneurs?

If you’re already working full-time but want to increase your income, pick a side hustle that you really love spending time on.

It takes time to build a solid income with most side businesses, and having fun in the early stages will help you pull through to become successful and to avoid burnout.

What I would do on day one of starting a new side hustle is to create a new bank account just for your hustle. This makes it a lot easier to keep track of your income/expenses and will help you at tax time as well!

If you’re thinking about starting to sell on eBay specifically, my advice is to just put in the work until you’ve got several hundred listings. I’ve currently got about 500 listings in my store, so if I want to take it easy, I can take a bit of a break and the sales still continue to come in.

You probably won’t sell things very often until you get a decent size inventory. It takes time and effort up front, but once you get a bunch of listings, you can hit the brakes a little if you want.

Also, if you're really serious about selling items on eBay, I suggest taking a look at my post on Easy Auctions Tracker.

Easy Auctions Tracker lets me import every eBay transaction from my store, and allows me to quickly calculate my net profit for each sale. This software allows me to save time and increase accuracy in my bookkeeping, so it's a no brainer!

Ultimately as long as you work hard on something you care about and don't give up, you can succeed!

Extra Reading – The 20+ Best Things To Flip.

Final Thoughts

If you asked most people what an extra $500-$1,000/month would do for their financial situation, I bet you'd have a lot of positive feedback.

To me, the fact that Nathan has taken successfully scaled a side business to such a level (and in a very short period of time) is truly inspirational. I'm still grinding away at my own blogging business to try and reach some consistent four-figure numbers, and I think learning from successful entrepreneurs who are going through the motions of growing their own business is very valuable.

I mean, Nathan was able to build his eBay store while working a full-time job and learning how to blog. There's really no excuse for not having enough time; if you want something badly enough, you will make it happen.

However, I want to highlight one key piece of advice that Nathan outlined in this interview: play to your strengths and do something you enjoy.

Starting a side business while working full-time is exhausting, so you need to work with the skills you have and ideally put your effort into something that brings you joy. This will allow you to push through the months (or years) where you aren't making that much money and to fend off the creeping sense of doubt that is the natural enemy of entrepreneurship.

Anyways, I'd just like to thank Nathan for taking the time to contribute to the second ever interview in the Young Money series!

And, as a side note, you really need to checkout his blog.

I've been blogging friends with Nathan since around last September, and in that time, he's produced nothing but stellar, honest content that is hard to come by in the personal finance space. If you're looking for a new blog to add to your reading list, definitely check him out and subscribe!

Anyways, that's all for this post!

I hope you enjoyed, and I'll catch you in the next one!

Tom.

The post Young Money Interview #2 – Nathan From Millionaire Dojo – eBay Flipping appeared first on WebMonkey.