How Can I Scale My Side Hustle?

You may be asking yourself the same thing. Maybe you want to leave your job or grow your side hustle, but you aren’t sure HOW.

This is exactly what I helped my husband, Eric, do over the past year. And I’m here to share more about how you can scale your side hustle too!

Eric has always loved going to restaurants and started writing food reviews back in 2017. In fact, his first review was a Chic-Fil-A sandwich! He would research these restaurants, try the food, then rate it.

Eric has this uncanny knack for knowing everything there is to know about food, cooking, grilling, and, of course, alcohol. 😉 His mom was a dietician (who makes the best pasta, by the way) and his dad was a radio broadcaster. He got the best of both worlds when he combined those talents to start writing food reviews! He also loves to investigate (his day job is a NY Life long-term disability claims manager) and he loves digging in and researching the restaurant to find out every detail about it so he can write the BEST review possible.

Over time, this grew and he started having a rating system for the various components of his restaurant experience. He rated taste and flavor, ambiance of the restaurant, portion size, and affordability.

When I met him, he was doing this for free because he loved it so much. It’s so clearly his gift and passion.

One day during the pandemic, we were having our morning coffee and I suggested he start a Facebook page so that he could create a community of food enthusiasts who love Pittsburgh food as much as he does!

He was disciplined and consistent, going to restaurants each week, and his audience grew to love his charm and his food reviews. I loved it too, because I got to see him shine (and I got free food!)

A few months later, we were having coffee (again!) and we talked about putting all of his reviews into a book. A couple of months later, he published his first book, The Hidden Restaurant Gems of Pittsburgh, that featured over 50 restaurants in our area. He segmented the book by county – Allegheny, Butler, and so on. The book sold over 500 copies.

Eric also loves to cook and experiment with seasonings and rubs on meats like chicken and steak. He included delicious recipes in his book as well!

Recently, his Facebook following has reached over 3,000 people, he launched his new website The Restaurant Gems of Pittsburgh, and he’s monetizing his food reviews.

Scale Your Side Hustle Hacks You Can Use:

#1. You can monetize anything you’re passionate about. Eric has created passive income streams like his book and is in the process of creating an Insider’s Guide membership for food enthusiasts who want insider access to Eric’s knowledge. Restaurants now pay him to come eat at their restaurant and write a review.

Think of your passion and how you could package your knowledge into an e-book, PDF, e-course or anything else you can sell. 

#2. Stay consistent. He didn’t get paid right away. In fact, Eric built up his social media presence over time and gained the trust of his community. Now he has raving fans and people who love his content. That took consistency and time.

Are you being consistent with your posting, newsletters, etc? Does your audience know, like, and trust you? If not, create consistency by having a regular social media presence.

#3. Be creative on how you can monetize. I helped Eric create a professional PDF he could send to restaurants when they emailed him asking to be featured in his next book. The PDF outlined in detail the step-by-step of how he helps promote the restaurant to bring THEM more patrons.

Which brings me to my final point…

#4. What is the value of what you offer? And how does it help your client, customer, or patron? Eric is promoting the restaurant through his website, book, and social media channels. That automatically brings in more customers for the restaurant. Think about your ideal client and how you can bring value to them, solve a problem they have, and/or make their life easier.

I hope this article inspired you that you can monetize your gifts!

You’ve got this!

Xx,

Christina

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