← The Side Hustle Show
Loading summary
Transcript105 lines
- [00:01]
A
100,000 bucks hosting a local workshops as a side Hustle. What's up? What's up? Nick Loper here. Welcome to the Side Hustle show. Because your 9 to 5 may make you a living, but your 5 to 9 makes you alive. Today I want to share a unique side Hustle idea and that's hosting local classes or workshops. Maybe it's not as scalable as building an online course business, but there's a lot less competition. It's going to be easier to get your first customers and you can still make great money. In fact, my guest has made over $100,000 in sales doing this on the side from her day job over the last couple years. From 100100kartist.com Chloe Winstanley, welcome to the side Hustle show.
- [00:37]
B
Hi Nick. Thanks so much for having me.
- [00:39]
A
I'm excited for this one. Stick around. We're going to cover how to come up with your workshop topic or idea, how to market the thing, how to get those first students in the door, and how to potentially scale it up so it takes less of your time. Now, if you're new to the show, welcome. Thank you so much for tuning in. This is the show that deconstructs realistic, legit ways to make extra money in your spare time. If that's what you're looking for, you're in the right place. Nobody has more experience in this space. We've been doing it Every week since 2013. Over 600, hundred episodes to choose from. And while I would love to have you binge on the entire catalog, that entire archive, I want to invite you instead. Before you do that, create your own 8 to 10 episode personalized playlist. It's a little extended sampler platter if you will. It's all super easy. All you gotta do is go to Hustle show, answer a few short multiple choice questions, and you'll get that curated playlist you can add directly to your device. You learn what works and then you can go out and make some more money. That's at Hustle Show. Now, Chloe, I want to start with how'd you come up with this idea for these little craft workshops?
- [01:33]
B
So it kind of just grew progressively. Like in 2021 in New Zealand, we were in COVID lockdown and so we were like staying at home. And so a lot of people seem to be like turning to indoor crafts and things like that. I started a terrarium business which didn't really go anywhere. And then after that I gave polymer clay a try. Initially, I was making polymer Clay earrings and selling them online. So I was like the only person in New Zealand making them. And I realized that people, you know, they were happy to spend money on jewelry, but they also really wanted to just learn how to make it themselves. And I think particularly coming out of COVID people really wanted to get out of the house. And so I was able to host people. I had a studio in Christchurch, which is in New Zealand. It grew from there over time, from serving five people to eventually bringing on staff and serving 40 people in one workshop. So it really grew in that respect.
- [02:28]
A
So it sounds like started as a hobby.
- [02:31]
B
Yeah.
- [02:31]
A
I can mess around with this polymer clay. I can make some jewelry, I can make some earrings, like a fun little outlet if I'm stuck at home and having some success selling them online. Is this Etsy? Is this through your own site?
- [02:42]
B
No, I had my own website and I would just advertise on Facebook. And that's how I reached customers. After that, I was attending markets, craft fairs in New Zealand to sell them. But I just realized that I could make way more money from hosting people for workshops than I could just by selling the earrings. Like, the profit margin for one pair of earrings versus a whole workshop was just like so much more. And for a similar amount of work as well. Because it's still a lot of work to make the earrings.
- [03:11]
A
Yeah.
- [03:12]
B
So if I'm just like hosting 20 people at the same time.
- [03:16]
A
Right, right.
- [03:17]
B
You know, I'm making a lot more within just like two hours of my time. So it just made more sense in that respect.
- [03:23]
A
That's so interesting. Our friend who was selling on Etsy 10 years ago had found the same thing, making these really nice looking, you know, baby blankets. And she's like, I'm gonna have to charge 100 dol for this thing to make it worth the time that I have into it. And people could go buy the same thing for $12 at Target. Like, it's a really tough sell. But you turn around, teach people how to make their own. Okay. Now I could do it for 5, 10, 40 people at a time. And now this starts to become an entertainment type of business. More than an education type of business, more than a kind of a done for you product business.
- [03:53]
B
Absolutely. Yeah. Like, the experience is what people sign up for. That's what they pay the money for. And so many people, a lot of the time, they wouldn't even really care about what they made at the end of it because they're just there to have fun with friends.
- [04:05]
A
Yeah, there was one in our Old Town. And it was like a sip and paint type of thing. They did a ton of group outings and, you know, girls night out type of stuff, or company team building, where it's like, oh, you got your. You got your wine and you got. The artist leader in front is telling you step by step how to recreate this famous painting. And, you know, people are having a great time. Sounds like something similar. So these first five people, how did they. How do they find you? How did you find them to show up for the workshop?
- [04:30]
B
I just advertised again on Facebook for that. I just found that I got good results from just advertising to people there on Facebook for the local event. And at the start, I had five people just because I was, like, finding my feet. And I was really like, I'm having a lot of imposter syndrome at that point because I was like, you know, I'm not a professional artist. I just started learning polymer clay, like, three months ago. Why would these people want to come and learn from me?
- [04:54]
A
You nervous? Are people going to really show up?
- [04:56]
B
Yeah. Like, are they going to, like, I'm not going to know what I'm doing, really? But again, like, my friend attended that workshop and she was just really encouraging. Like, I charged people $30 New Zealand dollars, which was like a tiny AM and she was like, you know, you have to, like, value yourself and value your time. And that's how I worked up to eventually charging people, like, $100 New Zealand per person. And just like, yeah, actually, like, valuing my skills and my time and knowing that, you know, like, I'm not a professional, but I'm, like, good enough to be able to teach these people and teach them well and make sure that they have a good time.
- [05:29]
A
Very good. So you secure the studio space, say, hey, we've got a venue for this workshop. And you put the word out on Facebook and say at this time, at this place for 30 bucks, come on in. We'll teach you how to make this jewelry. We'll teach you how to make these earrings. And lo and behold, people bought tickets for it.
- [05:45]
B
Yeah. Yeah. And it was quite funny because like I said at the start, like, I tried a terrarium business. Like, I'd tried many different businesses over the years, and none of them had gained traction the way that this did. So it was just kind of like a surprise to myself because I wasn't used to it. Like, I wasn't used to putting an idea out there and actually having people pay money for it. So that was, like, a nice change. I was like, oh, my goodness, I finally found something where, like, I actually can make money off of it. And I'm not just losing money because I've lost a lot of money on little small creative ventures over the years. So it was just a nice feeling to actually have something that was like, hitting the mark with people and they were obviously responding to it.
- [06:20]
A
Yeah, it's really rewarding to have that first little taste of traction and validation from strangers on the Internet, even if one of them is your friend or first or second degree network.
- [06:31]
B
Absolutely. Yeah.
- [06:32]
A
But it's like, I put this out, people bought it. So after this first one, I imagine you're trying to collect positive reviews, feedback. What did you like, what you didn't, what didn't you like? And then going back, well, shoot, we can do this again next weekend. Or, you know, trying to find that me. That seems like maybe the challenging part of this is they got to be constantly either coming up with a new craft, a new project to market to the same people, or I got to kind of refill that lead bucket of new. New prospects, new customers.
- [07:00]
B
Yeah, because I'm kind of like, I have interest in a lot of different things. I was able to just, like, think of, like, a handful of different crafts and. And just like, kind of cycle through them. So, you know, over like a couple of months, there, like, three or four different things that will pop up and I'll do it and then I won't do it again for a few months just to kind of give the interest a chance to refresh. And I found that with the Body Positive polymer clay workshops that I was doing for adults, that had good traction for, like, maybe six months over the summer period in one city. In Christchurch, where we have about 500,000 people, it's not a huge city, it's not a huge pool, but there was enough. And it's also like a really niche crafting experience. Like, not. It's not going to appeal to everybody. And so I think I had good success with that for an initial six months. But then I definitely noticed interest petering out. And so that's when I started going to different cities in New Zealand. And so in New Zealand, we have, like, three main cities. We've got Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Wellington has a similar population to Christchurch, around 500,000 people, whereas Auckland has about, I think, 1.5 million. And so I found Auckland was just like my golden goose for doing regular workshops. And so I ended up flying to Auckland, which is, yeah, the biggest city in New Zealand. And I would do Lots of workshops there just because the population was so much bigger. And it's also, it wasn't too expensive for me to fly there. I found that it was worth like that's where I made a lot of my money was from doing trips out of the city. Once I noticed that kind of like interest was like petering in my hometown. Yeah.
- [08:45]
A
Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. It's worth. If the market is saturated or we've tapped out here, well, let's take it. Take the show on the road. We can go someplace else.
- [08:53]
B
Yeah. And that was quite fun and it was nice to realize that, you know, I could do that. Obviously it depends on the craft and not all crafts would be as portable, but with the materials that I had for polymer clay workshops, it just worked really well. Like I just chuck everything in a suitcase and it just takes up half a suitcase. So it's like very easy to. Yeah. Take it around with me and just go all over the country if I wanted to.
- [09:15]
A
Were those people in Auckland still finding you through Facebook ads?
- [09:18]
B
Yep. Yeah, so I just stuck to that because it was also like, like I'd cast out a net and I'd only need to catch, you know, 40 people for one workshop out of a whole big city if I was doing like the really big workshops, which I would do in Auckland. So it was like my advertising spend was like 10% or something of my, like I. My return on investment was really good for that because the nature of the workshop as well was so unique. So like there was no competition for it. And so I'd find that it was just like really affordable for me to advertise it on Facebook.
- [09:51]
A
Okay. Like, were you able to find an affordable venue to host 40 people?
- [09:55]
B
Well, I would just use community centers, really. So I would just hop on like a governmental website that managed all of the community venues in the city and I would just choose from one of those. And so it would end up being maybe like between 30 to 50 New Zealand dollars per hour, which was quite reasonable. Compared to like, if I was going for like a private venue or an art studio, it would be probably maybe in the two or three hundred dollar mark.
- [10:23]
A
I want to say I come across somebody who was doing in person, like local, local business SEO workshops, and he's like, oh, I just rent the meeting room at the library. It's either free or it's like $10, like a $10 deposit just to make sure that you actually show up, that you're serious about it, invite all these local businesses in and you know, charge Money for the workshop, but they probably had an agency on the back end. It's like, okay, if you don't want to do it yourself, like you could hire us to take care of it for you. It was like really interesting.
- [10:50]
B
Yeah.
- [10:50]
A
Kind of the double double dip type of business model. So we're talking arts and crafts, but here's something that could work in any number of different niches. Trying to get, you know, get people to show up in person because it seems less. Less competitive. Just trying to get on their radar in the first place.
- [11:04]
B
Yeah, for sure. Like at the start, I didn't do it too much, but I did freelance writing workshops as well. So, like not crafty at all, but one of my backgrounds is in creative writing and so I did some freelancing workshops like that as well, which were quite popular. So that was like, I guess, yeah, the one like kind of non crafty one that I did that I didn't do as much just because the profit margin was lower on it. But it was also like it was low stress. Like it didn't require anything. It just required me being there and talking and maybe having some printouts. Like it wasn't like I didn't need materials and stuff. So. So there are pros and cons of all sorts of different activities.
- [11:41]
A
More with Chloe in just a moment, including more marketing ideas that worked, plus the text she used for ticketing and registration right after this. What if you no longer needed five separate apps for your business? Bank account. Expense tracking, invoicing, contractor payments and tax planning. I'm excited to partner with our new sponsor, Found for this episode because Found is business banking designed specifically for side hustlers, solopreneurs and small business owners like you. Under the hood, you'll find one easy to use app to help manage your money, track your spending, invoice clients, and even handle your taxes so you can focus on more important things like running your business. There's no minimum balances, there's no account maintenance fees, and there's no paperwork or credit checks when you sign up. One cool feature, Found calls them pockets, lets you allocate income to certain categories like marketing or taxes or profit. Which is really handy if you want to practice the profit first methodology. But you really don't want to set up a bunch of different accounts. Over 500,000 small business owners like you chose Found as their bank banking solution. So stop getting lost in countless finance apps and try Found for free@found.com Sidehustle. Sign up for Found for free today at F o u n d.com Sidehustle found is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Piermont bank member fdic. Found's core features are free. They also offer an optional paid product Found Plus. Here's a quick side hustle you can do today. It's called the Substitution game and it's an easy way to score what I call reverse passive income in your life. That's money you're no longer spending every month. That goes straight to your bottom line. How it works is you find lower cost alternatives to the things you're already spending money on. For example, I made the switch to our sponsor Mint mobile back in 2019 and haven't looked back. Mint Mobile offers Premium Wireless for 15 bucks a month when you purchase a three month plan. And all plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the Nation SOL largest 5G network. You can use your own phone with any Mint Mobile plan and keep your existing phone number along with all your existing contacts. To get this new customer offer and your new three month premium wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to mintmobile.com side hustle. That's mint mobile.com Sidehustle cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com Sidehustle $45 upfront payment required equivalent to $15 per month new customers on first three month plan only speeds above 40 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees and restrictions apply. See Mint Mobile for details. I'm curious about the Facebook ad itself and you probably tested a bunch of different versions, but if you recall like the best performing one, like a picture or headline, can you give us a taste of what worked?
- [14:36]
B
Yeah, it was definitely like when I was doing the adults only workshops because it's just something so different and even though it's niche and wouldn't appeal to everybody, it's still different enough that it would catch catch people's attention. So I'd say that definitely the ads that had like you know, catchy phrases or like double entendres or puns or things like that performed a lot better than just like hey, I'm doing this crafty thing and you should come, it's going to be fun, bring your friends. Like it needs to be a little bit more like out there. I think using fruit emojis and stuff like that.
- [15:11]
A
Yeah, I'm just starting to put this together. So if you can charge up to 100 bucks per session, you can have of 40 people at a time and now you're at $4,000 in revenue. Oh, my ad spend was 10% of that. So now I'm at call it 3500. I spent 100, 200 on the venue and you know, maybe a little bit on materials. Like, are you bringing in food and beverages? Like, it's got to be. Imagine the rest of it is pretty good margin.
- [15:33]
B
Yeah, yeah, it is. And I also got better over time at like figuring out where to get my materials from and stuff. Like it just made so much more sense to kind of source my materials in bulk from overseas because that just served end goal of like being able to support myself off of this venture.
- [15:52]
A
Was it something that you ended up doing every weekend or every month? Like what was the cadence?
- [15:56]
B
There was definitely a period like I'd find that the best time was over summer because people were out and about and they wanted to be doing things. People would come to a workshop and then they'd go straight off to like party in the city afterwards. And so that was definitely something that was more popular. It had more appeal over the warmer months. Months and the winter months were probably the hardest.
- [16:17]
A
Okay.
- [16:17]
B
And so sometimes I would just end up like taking a break. So I'd maybe do it like two or three workshops every weekend for like a few months and then I'd take a break for a few months just to kind of like recharge.
- [16:31]
A
Yeah, well, that's the beauty of doing it as a side hustle too. It's like this is all bonus, it's all extra income anyways. So that makes sense.
- [16:38]
B
Yeah. Yeah. And I just work to my own schedule and can like have that flexibility. Like I don't work when I don't want to. And so that was really appealing as well. Like I have a young daughter and around that time, like I did just want to be spending a lot of time with her and then just work on the weekends doing the workshops. So that worked really well for our family.
- [16:57]
A
Does Facebook have a built in ticketing tool like inside their events ad functionality or does this have to go through Eventbrite or some other ticketing software?
- [17:07]
B
I think that they do, but I would always like, I've always just had my own website. I just use Squarespace because I really love Squarespace. It's just so easy to use and it's so easy to make attractive looking web pages. And so I just sell my tickets through there. But when I'm recommending for other people to start their own workshops if they're not sure that they want to invest a lot of money, into things like ticketing into their own website. I do recommend things like Eventbrite and Humanitix and things like that where the platform might just take a small percentage of their revenue but then they don't actually have to have their own website. So they could just run ads through Facebook and then connect, have the link just go directly to like Eventbrite so that they don't actually have to have a website. That's usually what I'd recommend for people who don't know if they want to keep doing it.
- [17:57]
A
That makes sense. I've used Eventbrite for kind of meetup ticketing in the past. Just hey look, I got to make a restaurant reservation. I can't have people just RSVPing, you know, willy nilly because it's free. There's a five dollar buy in to make sure you're serious that you're going to show up. I'll put it towards the group tag. And that was made it really easy. The other potential benefit of an Eventbrite or oflikeameetup.com is a certain segment of the audience might be using those sites to find events near them. Is there a marketing angle to a meetup or to an Eventbrite?
- [18:30]
B
I think so, yeah. And so I never did it myself but there's a website in New Zealand that's quite popular called All Events. I mean I think it's global but I wouldn't actually contact them. They would just find me and they would find the events that I I'm doing and upload my event to their site. And I think it's similar to Eventbrite so I would accept it would refer them back to my website to book it. So I did get some leads from that and that's kind of similar to being like kind of on a marketplace of events where people are just browsing in an area on a specific date for an event. And I think it definitely helps to just kind of put your event out there in as many places as possible.
- [19:11]
A
Yeah.
- [19:12]
B
And also there are like free options as well by just like spreading the word on like local fans, Facebook groups and things like that. Like I had a friend who used to do that for me just to kind of help where she'd just like, she'd know I'd have an event coming up and she'd just like put them in the groups that she was in on Facebook just to spread the word. So that's like a marketing advertising option that's more like budget friendly. But I think yeah, selling on places like Eventbrite and meetup make a lot of sense because then you're just kind of like in a catalogue of things where people, they might not be like Google searching for you, but they might just be on this website looking for something fun to do.
- [19:48]
A
Yeah, I'm kind of doing a search for craft just in and around Washington and there's something called Murderino craft night going on in a couple of weeks. I don't know, there's fabric stamping craft night tickets starting at $35.
- [20:04]
B
Right? Yeah.
- [20:05]
A
I don't know how, how many people would be using this site in that way, this event. Right. But doesn't hurt to syndicate over there if incremental ticket sales.
- [20:13]
B
Oh, definitely, yeah.
- [20:14]
A
Now did you find, because this is kind of like a business to consumer type of workshop, but did you find there was ever an opportunity for like group sales or you know, to bring in, you know, 10, 15, 20 people all at once? Or is it primarily, you know, onesie, twosie, Facebook ads type of sales?
- [20:29]
B
I think part of the reason why my like return on investment with just advertising on Facebook was so good was because people would hardly ever come to these events alone. And so what I found was that I'd often get like, you know, five ticket sales in one go. Or like, you know, one person would like see the ad and then they'd share it with their whole friend group and then one by one they'd all book it or they'd just like make some arrangement where one person would buy like bulk tickets for everybody. So it was like rarer that I would get like a sale of just like one ticket, one person. Because it's like the whole notion of it is the, you know, the whole point of it is for you to get your friends together and to come and to enjoy time with them.
- [21:11]
A
That's right. You gotta find that one person who's like trying to gather up all their friends, be like, hey, come on, we're all gonna go do this.
- [21:17]
B
Yeah. I didn't have to go out and search for people interested in private events. They would just see my event and then contact me, being like, hey, I've got a work function coming up or I've got a bachelorette party coming up that I need to plan for. And so I would get additional events and gigs through that as well without even really having to try. So that was always nice.
- [21:40]
A
And because the events are, you know, very time sensitive, like it's happening this week and then it's not happening and then it seems maybe more difficult to build like an organic SEO type of presence. If somebody's searching craft workshops Christchurch, like are they going to find you or is it just more, more seasonal?
- [21:59]
B
Like, I've done SEO writing in the past, but I never really focused on SEO for this business. But I would often just get emails out of the blue. Like I'm still getting where people are still looking for like private events in Christchurch, like in New Zealand, and I'll get an email out of the blue. So I think that there must be something. But that would also be like, you know, like you said, it's so dependent on the place. If you're servicing a certain area, then I think it's likely that you would come up in that area just because that's been my experience where, you know, people would just find me. But it's hard to evaluate that because as like I advertise every event that makes sense now.
- [22:41]
A
Did you find that Auckland, even with a bigger population like that started to kind of tap out after some time too, and you got to go back to the drawing board and figure out a different craft angle. Like we're going to create a new workshop from scratch. What happens there?
- [22:54]
B
Not really, to be honest. Like, I think just because Auckland is so big and I was doing so many different kinds of crafting, like, I don't think that it would have tapped out. Like, I've got a friend who's doing candle workshops at the moment and she's about to go to Auckland soon and like the interest never really petered out with the polymer clay earrings because it's just so popular at the moment. So I think that if you've got a city that's big enough and you've got enough different ideas in the pool to kind of cycle through them on like a, you know, two or three month basis. Like, you do one thing and then you give it a break for like two months and then you try it again, something like that. I think you'd be fine if the population was like around the million people, Mark. I think that that's the kind of place I would go back to more than like a smaller city where I'd have to kind of like be more creative or think outside the box to keep getting people to come. Unless you just like to travel. Like, I'm excited about the prospect of just going to different cities all over the states just to like be, you know, tying in making a little bit of money with sightseeing. So it's like, you know, this, this could be paying my way to just like travel all over you know, coming from New Zealand, there's a lot, a lot of places in the states that I'd love to see. So it's like, that's exciting to me, just the idea of like traveling all over the place and getting to. Yeah. See different places and make money while I'm doing that. Like, that just sounds perfect.
- [24:21]
A
Yeah. And then, well, then there's a sense of urgency too. Like, hey, one night only. Chloe's coming to town and we're going to do this event.
- [24:26]
B
Yeah. And I think that always worked to my favor as well. Like it was, there was always kind of a sense of scarcity because it was always a pop up workshop. You know, I was never there permanently. And so people knew that if they wanted to do it, you know, they should book it now.
- [24:43]
A
Got it. Got it. Yeah. The last crafting episode we did it was in the context of after school activities for kids. And what was cool was kind of the school or the school district would help with the marketing if you became an approved vendor for them. And they had already several other after school programs, so it was likely just getting background checked and kind of added to that roster of different offerings that went out to the parents, but you know, the kids. And we've seen like LEGO workshops that, you know, neighbors have signed up for. Kids are really into these like Perler beads right now. Like tiny little plastic beads you iron on to make different designs and stuff. This is like lots of different angles where this could go. Now did you find there's, there's a repeat customer? Like people just become fans and we're like, oh, you're doing, you're doing something else. I want to come to that next workshop too. Or is it more often just a one one and done? Like, oh, that was a fun little outing. But what not? We're not going to be like, you know, regulars here.
- [25:37]
B
I would say like maybe 80%. It was like people who were like one timers, they would maybe come back for like a different kind of craft. But I would say that it was more rare for someone to just like become a die hard fan and just keep coming back. I mean, I did have those people and it would be nice because like everyone else would kind of just be a face and I would see them once and I'd never see them again. But then, you know, you start to recognize like one name that keeps coming up and so that's always really nice as well. So I did have some people like, like that who just really loved, you know, coming out and getting to know People and making friends, like, say, a lot of the time, it's just like a friend group wanting to come out for something. Maybe they're like, yeah, they do, like, regular meetups and stuff, and they see my workshop for one of them, and they're like, hey, we've got a meetup coming up this month and we need something to do. This is something that can work. So that's when it's just like, you do need to be a bit creative and figure out how to capture people's interest over and over again. Yeah.
- [26:34]
A
More with Chloe in just a moment, including how she removed herself from having to show up and host every single workshop and what she'd do differently if she had to start over. Plus how you might test out this idea with almost no risk. All that and more coming up right after this. Being an entrepreneur and being able to work remotely definitely has its perks. I've recorded podcasts everywhere from Vietnam to Italy, drafted newsletters from Japan, hosted Mastermind meetings from Spain, ended up being the middle of the night to get to US Business hours, and outlined courses in Mexico. The common thread of all of these trips, though, is Airbnb. We love being able to get exactly what we're looking for in a place to stay and have a more local experience than staying in some giant hotel chain. And you know me, I'm always thinking about the next side hustle idea, the next income stream. Right? And one that's at the top of the list is hopefully hosting our place on Airbnb while we're traveling. That way, the house doesn't have to sit empty. We could use the income to help pay for the trip. And we've heard from several successful Airbnb hosts on the show. And what's interesting is a lot of them started with almost that exact strategy. Renting their place or even a spare room while they're out of town. Taking inspiration from that, you might have an Airbnb right under your nose. In fact, your home might be worth more than you think. You can find out how much at Airbnb. That's Airbnb.com host to find out how much your home is worth. That makes sense. Anything else on the tools and tech side that has helped you run this thing?
- [28:08]
B
I use Canva a lot, and so in my free guide for 100k artist, I give a rundown on the favorite tech that I use just because I love it when there's, like, really reliable, great tech that's free. Canva is just, like, irreplaceable for Creating graphics and stuff like that.
- [28:27]
A
What are those tools where you'd be really bummed if they went out of business? Yeah, there's a few.
- [28:32]
B
Oh, yeah. Like, what would I. What would I even use? I have this handful of tools that you use. You know, use Squarespace if you want a website, or use like, Eventbrite and Facebook if you don't want to have a website. You know, use social media, use Cap Cut if you want to make reels and stuff for social media. Show footage of your workshops and stuff on social media there and then. Yeah, definitely. Canva.
- [28:56]
A
Yeah, I will link up all of those in the show notes for this episode. Also the free guide@100kartist.com and the interesting thing is here, with any, you know, any business that you know requires you to show up at a specific time, a specific place and, like, deliver the goods. Like, be the expert, do the thing that can be kind of hard to remove yourself from, but it's something that you've managed to do by hiring a workshop operator, you know, a fellow workshop host here. Talk me about the process of delegating and kind of stepping back, stepping behind the scenes.
- [29:28]
B
I've historically not been very good at delegating. Like, I'm a little bit of a control freak, and I like to kind of be at the center and just like, managing everything. But when it's like, workshops and when you want to be traveling or like, you know, if you want to be scaling, you do have to delegate. And so I was quite fortunate in that a friend of mine who's also, like, she has her own candle business. And so she started running workshops with me. I trained her in polymer clay work. And it got to the point where she felt confident and competent enough to be like, I can do some on my own. You handle the back end and, like, getting everything up on the website for it. And I'll be the one who actually does the thing physically. And so that seems to be working out well for us. And we're in different countries at the moment, and she's doing that. So that's been a fun learning process for me to just get better at feeling comfortable taking my hands off the wheel, not being the person who's there in person, but knowing that the workshop is in good hands and that my business reputation is in good hands. And so there's definitely ways. I've had a lot of interest from local creatives who want to host their own workshops, but don't really want to be responsible for planning everything. So it's like, well, that works out well for me. Like, I can do all of the planning and then you just, you know, be at the place at the right time on the right day, and you deliver the service. There's definitely options for scalability in that respect, and that's kind of what I'm working on at the moment. Moment. In addition to, like, the 100k artist coaching is the just like growing and scaling the workshop business and bringing on more creatives on board to host more workshops where I'm not actually there.
- [31:02]
A
Right. Yeah, you gotta find, you know, how to clone yourself in the top 50 hundred different cities around the place and just, okay, here's the. Here's the template, here's the process. Here's what worked on Facebook, you know, here's how we go and find our venues. It seems. Yeah, it seems very, very repeatable if it doesn't rely on you and your master clay modeling. Other people could learn how to do that.
- [31:25]
B
Yeah, it's training people and making sure that they have understanding of the workshop structure, having a printout or something of, okay, this is what I do at this time, and this is how it works. And yeah, I think it can be very simple when it comes to that point where you do want to take a step back from hosting the workshops there in person. And so that's something that I am excited to do more in the States as well, is to find people to train and so that my workshops can be happening all over the country even without me being there.
- [31:54]
A
Yeah, I think that's really cool. What's surprised you the most over the last few years of doing this? You know, I mean, you're dealing with the public. You ever get crazy people coming in, like, you're opening yourself up to any number of scenarios of people showing up.
- [32:06]
B
Through that door with the community venues that I'd use a lot of the time, a security guard would be included in those, like, with, you know, local community centers that I would get through the government. And so that was, like, comforting, I guess, because, you know, a lot of the time I'd be like a woman alone at night at a venue, like, setting up, breaking everything down afterwards. And so, like you, you do just have to be safe and take safety into account. I mean, people, a lot of the time, alcohol would be involved as well. Like, I'd get an alcohol license and serve alcohol. And so people can be unpredictable sometimes, but I never had any bad situations. I would have maybe sometimes when some girls would drink a little bit too much, but, I mean, they'd be having a good time and they'd be taken care of with their friends. And it's just a matter of not serving people who are already drunk, like, more drinks.
- [32:57]
A
Yeah, that sounds like that could be a regulatory or red tape kind of headache. To get a temporary liquor license.
- [33:04]
B
I found that in New Zealand it was quite simple. I guess once I'd done it enough times, I, you know, figured out the best way to go about doing it, where they would almost make it quite easy in New Zealand to do it, where you just have to get like a temporary liquor, like, license that's good for, like a small event for one time. And because my workshops were always quite small, it was like, you know, it's not like I'm throwing a big three day festival of, you know, like, you know, it's. It's like a crafting thing for two hours where I'm gonna have like 15 people or up to 40. When I'd have 40 people, I'd have like, you know, there would be three or four of us who were like, overseeing the event itself. Like, I'd have a bartender on site as well.
- [33:46]
A
Yeah, well, that's a potential extra income stream too, if you're selling wine at the event.
- [33:50]
B
Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. Yeah.
- [33:51]
A
Okay. At least cover the cost of the license and the bartender.
- [33:55]
B
And it kind of helps, I think, if people feel a bit intimidated. They're like, oh, I'm not a creative person. Why would I come to this event? It's like, if there's wine being served, it's like, you know, I don't have to be good at the crafting. Like, it can just be about catching up with my friends. Because I found a lot of the people who would come, they'd always be saying how they're not creative and stuff like that. So it's like, yeah, the target market are people who don't think that they belong. And so I think a lot of the marketing can involve, like, making people feel like, no, you do belong. Like, you can come and enjoy this and it doesn't matter that you're not an artist. Like, that's not a prerequisite for attending my workshop and having a good time. Like, I'm not expecting you to be a professional artist. I just want you to have a good time with your friends. That's the point.
- [34:36]
A
Isn't that sad how that creativity gets stamped out of us through adulthood or through education or whatever it is? But, you know, the old saying is, you know, ask a group of first graders, well, how many of you are artist. You know, all the hands go up and ask a group of fifth graders, well, how many of you are an artist? And it's like half or a quarter and like, what happened to you? You know?
- [34:55]
B
Yeah, I know.
- [34:56]
A
Right?
- [34:57]
B
Yeah. And that's part of it as well. Like, I just. There are so many benefits to being creative. Like, you know, there's like art therapy is a thing. Right. And I'm not saying that I'm an art therapist, but there's definitely an aspect of like just providing a service where people feel like they're in a safe space to express themselves and not be judged. I think that kind of stuff just, you know, it's just good on so many different levels beyond the just like, I'm here to have fun, you know, it's like, it's actually, it can be really like, you know, maybe a healing is using the word. Healing is maybe too strong a word, but it taps into those sorts of things for sure, I think.
- [35:37]
A
Yeah. And people are primed at an event like this. People are primed to have a good time. Like, it's. It's supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be light hearted. It's. You had a woman who was selling peaches on a roadside stand and it was like, people will pay almost whatever price they expect to pay more than the grocery store. They're primed for this, you know, wholesome support, small business type of experience. It's like everybody's going to have a smile on their face.
- [36:01]
B
Yeah, for sure.
- [36:03]
A
Now if you had to start over, anything that you do differently, it seems like it's gone pretty well. And now taking it on the road and having other people run it on your behalf. But anything you would do to accelerate things or do differently.
- [36:15]
B
If I were to start over, I'd probably, probably. And like, I don't really do this too much anyway. Like, I don't buy the materials for a workshop unless I know it's going ahead. But at the start, like, I definitely would just like jump straight in without thinking too much about it. And I'd maybe spend a lot, like a lot of money on materials for a specific craft and then never even do the workshop. Like, there were times when I bought materials for like bath bombs and like soap making. Like, I bought a lot of stuff and then I realized that, like, it was either going to be too difficult or like, I wasn't in. Like, I didn't enjoy the idea of it anymore. Like, I didn't actually want to like, learn, like teach myself how to do it. And like soap making just felt like, you know, I'm not interested in soap. Like, I'm not a. I don't sell soap, I don't have a, I don't have experience in soap. So like, yeah, there were definitely times where it's like I would buy materials and not use them that sit in my garage and go moldy after a year. Like, don't do that. Like, if you're starting out.
- [37:15]
A
Okay, did you have a rule of thumb where like, okay, I had this idea for a new workshop. I put it out there and maybe I sold a few tickets but didn't quite get the reaction that I wanted. Like, how long do you let it ride before maybe I just need to tweak the targeting or the messaging before you just pull the plug and say, no, this one is not going to work.
- [37:32]
B
Yeah, and that definitely happened. And I think for me the point was like, you know, If I've spent $200 on ads and I haven't so sold out the workshop or I haven't sold, you know, made all my money back, that's it. Because I just had so many, like, I'd had enough success with the polymer clay workshops and the adults only workshops that I knew, okay, if I'm going to spend $200 on ads, that's got to be like $2,000 in revenue. And so if I haven't met that, then I would just cancel it and be like, okay, I've already lost $200. I don't want to lose more money on this idea. This idea is like, obviously it cannot compete with the other ideas that I've had that have performed well.
- [38:11]
A
So yeah, something, something is not right.
- [38:13]
B
Yeah, that would be the mark where I'd just be like, okay, nah, I'll just flag that idea. Just chuck it out and find something else.
- [38:19]
A
Very good. We've got the craft business going. You've got your partner running those things while you're on the other side of the country or other side of the world rather. You've got 100 kartist.com helping other people start this type of business. Where do you want to take it? What's got you excited these days?
- [38:34]
B
So I think at the moment, seeing where things go with my friend who's running stuff for me in New Zealand, like growing that business, because that was my first, like really successful workshop business and then also just growing my like local business here in the States where I'm going to be traveling around doing pop up workshops in the States. Like I Think that's got me really excited because I still consider myself an artist, even though it hasn't been my focus on the past couple of months. Like, the past couple of months, I've definitely been focused on making the course for 100k artist. So it'll be nice to just kind of get back to my roots and just go back to crafting for a while. But then also, you know, if I happen to meet some people who are interested in learning this, then I'd love to talk to them as well. Like, I find the idea of inspiring other people to try this really exciting because I know that there are a lot of artists out there who probably would like to make more money. And it's really easy to lose money on your passion and on your craft. And so that was my experience in the past, and it's not one that I want to repeat. And I'd love to help other craft crafters and creative people avoid that as well, as much as possible.
- [39:39]
A
Yeah. And it could be crafting, and I think it works. This model works really well for crafting, but it could be teaching any other kind of skill that people would want to learn, either for their business or, like in a group type of setting. Hey, but we'll bring our friends and we'll learn how to, I don't know, do survival skills or start a fire or learn how to garden better. There's all sorts of different things where a similar model could work.
- [40:01]
B
Yeah, that's the beauty of it, is that you could really turn anything into an experiment and have people be interested enough to sign up for it. And so, yeah, like, you're not limited to crafty experiences at all. It can just be anything that you have an interest in that you're knowledgeable in and that you feel like there would be people out there who would also want to, like, you know, come out to a physical meetup or even doing them online as well to reach more people. Like, there's. There's like, unlimited options, really, if you are willing to, like, dig into and think about all the kinds of things that you'd want to offer.
- [40:37]
A
Yeah. When the side hustle Shih Tzu was really young, like, we took him to this puppy preschool thing through the local, you know, SPCA or something, you know, but that could have been a private thing, Somebody hosting their own little dog training thing. Like, oh, here's how to teach your little dog to sit or something. I love it. Well, 100kartist.com, check Chloe out over there. Let's Wrap this thing up with your number one tip for side Hustle Nation.
- [40:58]
B
If you have a good feeling about it, just go for it. I think it's so easy to. To just sit around on an idea, make up excuses not to do it or to procrastinate on it, and don't wait for the perfect time, because there's never going to be a perfect time. I think just roll your sleeves up and just get in there and do it.
- [41:17]
A
Exactly. And one cool thing about this is there's, you know, almost no overhead until you sell tickets. Then you have some. Some cost of goods. Like if you go out and buy materials for this thing.
- [41:25]
B
Yeah.
- [41:26]
A
But you can go find a venue for this. Go find a date and a venue, and oftentimes that's going to be refundable, fundable. Like, okay, pick a date. You know, two weekends out. Okay. On this time, at this date, we're going to do the thing. We're going to do this workshop on whatever topic that you choose. And, you know, maybe you put down a little deposit on that location, maybe you don't. And then you got two weeks to go out and see if there's any demand for it. And if there's not, then you've just canceled the venue and say, okay, well, go try a different idea. And if there is, now you've all of a sudden validated it with real dollars and say, like, okay, I guess we're doing this. Yeah, you know, maybe we could do it again. Maybe it turns into something else. So that was one of my big takeaways, like the really low risk model here. That could translate to something repeatable. That could translate to something repeatable in different geographies. That could translate to something online that maybe there's demand for, but really cool there.
- [42:10]
B
Yeah.
- [42:10]
A
And the other thing that I liked was you mentioned, you know, I tried a bunch of different businesses. I tried selling the stuff online. I tried selling terrariums. I tried to. And not everything worked. But one thing that has come up over and over again on the show is the idea. Idea that opportunities become visible once you're in motion. And the interesting thing here was, like, you know, I could sell these things, you know, one off through an online store, or I could teach other people how to do it. And they have no interest in selling. They're not trying to make a business out of it. It's just like a get together with friends and learn a craft and have this activity, this, you know, entertaining evening. And then that turned into the business. And then now other People start asking you, well shoot, how are you doing this? How are you traveling around making this money? And now that has led to 100k artists. Yeah, opportunities become visible once you're in motion. Really common recurring theme on the side Hustle Show. So glad we were able to touch on that. The after school crafts workshop. If you are in that artsy craftsy niche or if that's your personality, that's what you like to do. That's episode 289 in the archives. Encourage you to go and check that one out. Especially if you like working with kids. And other than that, if you're new to the show, you're wondering what to listen to next, I want to encourage you to go to Hustle show and build yourself a personalized playlist. Of course, would love to have you binge on the 600 plus episode archives, but you know, for a more curated experience, Hustle show is the place to go. Just a few short multiple choice questions and then you'll get that custom curated personalized playlist that you can add to your device. You learn what works and you go make some more money. Big thanks to Chloe for sharing her insight. Big thanks to our sponsors for helping make this content free for everyone. As always, you can hit up side hustlenation.com deals for all the latest offers from our sponsors in one place. Thank you for supporting the advertisers that support support the show. That is it for me. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you're finding value in the show, the greatest compliment is to share it with a friend. Fire off that text message. Hey, we should totally start a workshop on whatever the topic is. So until then, until next time, let's go out there and make something happen and I'll catch you in the next edition of the Side Hustle Show. Hustle on.