online business

Side Hustle Spark 142: Brooks Conkle

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Today, I googled [should I capitalize the ‘g’? Will Alphabet/Google sue me if I don’t?] side hustlers’ favorite tools and up popped brooksconkle.com.

Interesting guy.

Quote from his ‘My Story’ page:

I don’t think that we should only attempt to think outside of the box. I think that we should Destroy the Box.

Here’s a list of his current, completed, on-hold, and scrapped projects. Interesting cross-section…

But back to his preferred tools to further his side hustles…

I hope you learn a little something…or that one of your own strategies or approaches is affirmed by something you pick up in my posts.

Forge ahead!

Side Hustle Spark 140: 6 Steps to Stop Procrastinating

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In keeping with Side Hustle Spark 138, I found Chris Dritsas’ guest post on ryrob.com helpful and relevant.

Holidays for many side hustlers the holidays are a time when they’re putting in the extra time. But these not-so-normal times may well generate a few extra rationalizations for easing off the gas pedal.

Some favorite takeaways:

  1. Your brain is programmed to accomplish short-term tasks for more immediate gratification.
  2. I like the Warren Buffett strategy of listing several goals, then paring it down to five goals, and then to one goal.
  3. I had heard, but never really learned, the term, ‘kaizen’–small steps toward continuous improvement.
  4. Chris uses Trello for his ‘break it down’ strategy. I went ahead and signed up. I had done so four years ago and never followed up. Gee, seems procrastination really is hard-wired into some people.
  5. “You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”
    –Steve Jobs [I just installed the Escape 2 app to keep me focused.]
  6. I liked the quick bullet-pointed review at the end of the post.

Of course, the enduring notion rattling around in my head is: “Am I creating these posts to put off my other projects?”

I’ll just set that aside for another day.

Forge ahead!

Side Hustle Spark 136: Experts’ excerpts

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I know, I know, that’s a mouthful of a title. Sorry, I just had to. Don’t say it out loud and you should be fine…

Yesterday, I ran across startupnation.com‘s book excerpts section.
Lots of wisdom and experience from smart people in compact portions.

If my eyesight and concentration were ‘at one with each other’, I counted 156 different book excerpts.

Other authors include:
Srinivas Rao
Chris Guillebeau
Jen Sincero
Paul Jarvis

Other titles include:
Applied Empathy
Forging An Ironclad Brand
How We Make Stuff Now
The Right It: Why So Many Ideas Fail and How to Make Sure Yours Succeed

Reminder: Don’t forget my suggestion in this post. Record yourself reading aloud ‘good stuff’ like these excerpts and listen to them while rearranging the silverware [yeah, like that’s ever going to happen in my house] or walking the dog [and that happens all too regularly].

A thought…An experiment: You give me the content and I’ll create an mp3 or slide show or video for you. [sidehustlecurator at gmail dot com].


NOTE: I’m not trying to throw shiny objects at you. Just alternative options and ideas from people who’ve ‘been there’.


Thanks for checking in.

Side Hustle Spark 128: Look behind the curtain at ryrob.com

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Yep, I’ve never really spent time looking at online entrepreneurs’ income reports. A lost opportunity to learn. [Challenge: Get past the ‘Geez, I’m getting left in the dust!’ reaction and strap on your thinking cap.]

Here is expert blogger Ryan Robinson’s October income report…

What stands out:

  • Net profit: $19,356.67 [a drop in revenue! I’m thinking a number of you might endure that kind of decrease.]
  • Affiliate earnings from Bluehost: $16,750 [whoa!]
  • Blog traffic: 321, 352
  • New email subscribers: 2,476 [also a decrease, which tells you he’s still doing a lot of things right.]

Look for yourself and check out both his earnings and expenses. You may well learn of some new digital tools and pick up hints about Ryan Robinson’s approach and strategies.

Side Hustle Spark 117: Kyle Baker on Quora

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Yesterday I steered you toward Quora.

As I reviewed responses, I came across Kyle Baker’s work.

He darn near delivers a mini-course in this one Quora answer.

Below are four of his seven components: [Just the titles. Click here for greater detail.]

  • #1 – Determine the Type of Blog You Want to Run
  • #2 – Determine Your Niche… Passion and Knowledge Become Profits
  • #3 – Purchase a Brandable Domain Name
  • #6 – Determine User Intent

Keep learning, folks. I hope some of this moves you forward.

Side Hustle Spark 116: What is your side hustle and how do you do it?

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Back in September, I suggested a visit to Quora.

Today, it’s back to that site with answers to the question:

What is your side hustle and how do you do it?

As always, in the right column, there are related questions that may be better targeted to your interest.

Otherwise, just keep scrolling through the page that auto-fills more of the 100+ answers. And yes, some folks simply promote their own gig, but again, this is a search for answers and alternative strategies, so plenty here…

Note: Use your browser’s ‘Find’ command to narrow the answers to a specific year.

Side Hustle Spark 114: 5 More Side Hustle Lessons

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This buffer.com post by Courtney Seiter–5 Side Hustle Lessons I Learned From My Day Job–still offers helpful insights, despite its 2017 publication date.

Anything written before the pandemic started is probably viewed through a different lens anyway, right?

It’s well worth the six-minute read.

As always, I hope you tailor any idea or ‘aha! moment’ into something helpful