Chris Guillebeau

It’s no secret that many of us have lost our jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Things are financially unstable right now, and many of us need to put our goals on hold. We all have countless questions about how long this will go on. Unfortunately, the answer is: we don’t know.

But here’s what we do know: Finding new sources of income is more important than ever. Everyone should have a side hustle — one that can act as an emergency fund, a vacation fund, or just another way to make extra cash.

Luckily, my guest on The School of Greatness today knows all about side-hustling and how it can allow you to take control of your money. In this episode, we go into how you can develop side-hustles that you actually enjoy and find meaningful. We dig into questions like: What can you do to learn how to earn? And what does it take to stand out as an individual or brand to break through? Lastly, we also discuss the greatest skill for every side hustler to master today.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into this with the one and only Chris Guillebeau!

Who Is Chris Guillebeau?

Chris Guillebeau is a New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur, podcaster, and modern-day explorer. During a lifetime of self-employment that included a four-year commitment as a volunteer executive in West Africa, he visited every country in the world (193 in total) before his 35th birthday. Since then, he has modeled the proven definition of an entrepreneur: “Someone who will work 24 hours a day for themselves to avoid working one hour a day for someone else.”

Every summer in Portland, Oregon, Chris hosts the World Domination Summit, a gathering of creative, remarkable people with thousands in attendance. Chris is also the founder of Pioneer Nation, Unconventional Guides, the Travel Hacking Cartel, and numerous other projects.

His newest book, The Money Tree: Finding the Fortune In Your Backyard, comes out in April 2020. It is his first full-length fiction book, and it tells the story of a man who learns to take control of his finances and live a better, healthier life. His daily podcast, Side Hustle School, is downloaded more than two million times a month.

Do you find yourself living paycheck to paycheck? Do you want to start making extra money to spend on the things you want? This episode is designed to help you create a new source of income without quitting your job.

Learning How To Earn 

Learning how to earn can be tricky and confusing. I know that because I was once there, too! When the economy crashed in 2008, I was desperate, broke, and living in student debt. I was also sleeping on my sister’s couch, and when she kicked me out, I realized I was tired of not having control of my finances. So, I decided to start a side hustle, and within two years, I turned it into a seven-figure income. 

That’s how I learned to earn — through necessity. But what if you’re living with a different circumstance? Say you’re an artist, a thinker, or a planner? Is it possible to learn how to earn? The good news is that you can, and it doesn’t require you to build a company to do that.

“The model that I’m trying to put forward is that there are all kinds of people worldwide who aren’t taking any capital. They’re not going into debt. They’re not spending on their credit cards. They’re finding ways to start their own little business.” – Chris Guillebeau

How will this apply to you? Chris discusses the ways anyone can do to start learning how to earn. I outlined two of them below: 

#1: Identify Your Skill Set

First, Chris advises everyone to identify their skills and what they’re really good at. Begin with asking yourself, “What can you do?” or “What are you curious about?” If you still wonder how this can happen, Chris alludes to the personality of Jake, a character in the book, The Money Tree: Finding the Fortune In Your Backyard.

“Jake has the same situation. He’s like, ‘What am I good at?’ He goes to this group called the Third Way — those who want to earn but don’t take the old path of starting a business via loans (the first way) or the Silicon Valley route (the second way). The group challenged him to make a thousand dollars in the next week. He had no idea until he started selling his old textbooks through online auctions. He started making a little bit of money, and from there, he started to sell more. Before he knew it, he had already done something that helped him reach the challenge.” – Chris Guillebeau

This story shows us that you don’t really need expertise over something to make money. Sometimes, it’s also good to try out different things, such as taking surveys, trying products, and even selling your unwanted stuff. If you keep on doing these things, you’ll eventually realize that there might be something that you’re really good at and can earn a lot of money doing. 

To summarize, the best way to learn how to earn is by being intentional about it, working hard, and gaining experience. Whether you do that through gigs or teaching an online course or something completely different, let yourself explore and be creative! 

#2: Create A Service

Even if you identify your skillset, there may be a moment when you don’t feel like doing it for the rest of your life. That’s why Chris also suggests creating a service. Your service is something you can provide for somebody, and they pay you money for that. It could be some kind of consultancy, coaching, advisory, expertise, or whatever. Chris, however, cautions that there’s something to be careful about in this approach, 

“In the process of providing services, you may realize that you’re not an expert in the service you’re providing in the first place. The product wasn’t specific enough, or the service and benefits you were trying to do weren’t clear.” – Chris Guillebeau

The only remarkable thing about this approach is that you don’t have to lose thousands of dollars. However, you may lose valuable time and effort. On the brighter side, Chris also guarantees that the experience is like taking a master’s degree in business (MBA), where you gain wisdom and eventually apply the lessons you learned in your daily activities.