Nick Loper helps people earn money outside of their day job. He’s an author, online entrepreneur, and host of the award-winning Side Hustle Show podcast, which features new part-time business ideas each week. As Chief Side Hustler at SideHustleNation.com, he loves deconstructing the tactics and strategies behind building extra income streams.
I had the opportunity to have an amazing conversation with Nick Loper at Side Hustle Nation today. From talking about SEO for Lead Generation sites, Nick agreed to a quick interview.
He took the time to talk to me and answer some questions so I could get to know him better and hear more about the things that have helped shape his business success to date – let’s get stuck into it!
Soundpeats Bluetooth earbuds. These are around $30 and are a major life upgrade! I’ve had these a little longer than 6 months, but they bring me so much joy whenever I pop them in, they pair instantly, and I can start listening to a podcast without dealing with clunky always-tangled earbud wires.
For me, it’s helpful to make a to-do list and break tasks or projects down into their smallest manageable chunks. I may never have a magical 36-hour interrupted block of time to tackle this nagging project, but I can chip away at it and make progress. As part of my nightly “shut down” routine, I try and itemize out my top 3 priorities for the next day, and even number them 1-3 so I know exactly what to do and in what order when I get to work.
“Start a business around your passion.” If your passion involves solving a real problem for real customers, then yes, go ahead. But otherwise, this can be a dangerous and futile exercise. Instead, pick something you’re curious about or interested in, and I think you’ll find passion follows doing the work. That’s what happened to me in podcasting.
Working out first thing in the morning. This gives me a big mood boost throughout the day and sets the tone for being proactive in moving toward your goals instead of reactive to what the world throws at you.
I’m definitely not the world’s savviest investor, but a $3500 used pickup truck I bought in college set me down the entrepreneurial path, and for that, I’m forever grateful. (https://www.sidehustlenation.com/my-red-paperclip-story/)
“Life is an experiment.”
Keep living like a college student as long as you can. I was in a rush to feel like a “grown-up” and get my own apartment, but I feel like I would have had more fun and saved more money if I kept on living with roommates. Remember, it’s not how much you make, but how much you keep. Keep an eye on your personal profitability — and guard it — that’s the gap between your income and your expenses.
Side Hustle Nation is the leading resource and community for people looking to earn extra money and build businesses in their spare time. We do this primarily through free content and hundreds of case study examples designed to inspire people to take action and give them the confidence and direction to stick with it.
There’s magic everywhere. My kids (5 and almost 3) have such an amazing natural curiosity and wonder about the world around them. It’s been fascinating to discover and re-discover so many of the things in our everyday lives we overlooked or ignored.
If we lived closer to the mountains, I could see being a part-time volunteer ski patroller as a cool retirement gig.
I really don’t know.
I don’t know if this is a hack, but having a supportive partner can’t be understated. My wife has encouraged all my random projects, with wise advice like “what’s the worst that could happen?” and “you’ll figure it out.” Priceless. Plus, we’ve been together since high school, so we like to joke about all the countless hours and dollars we saved by not having to play the dating game in our 20s.
Podcasting has been my favorite marketing channel. I love how it builds relationships at scale, and how authority rubs off on you. People really connect with human voices, and if listeners spend 30-40 minutes with you in their earbuds week after week, they really get to know you. Plus, it takes the same effort to produce an episode that 10 people listen to as one that 10,000 people listen to. It’s a really powerful platform.
Gmail keyboard shortcuts. For example, r will open a reply message, c will open a new compose message, j and k will toggle to the previous or next message in your inbox.
Interest in side hustles and diversifying income streams definitely increased due to Covid and so many people being out of work, which led to more people discovering Side Hustle Nation. But the growth rate wasn’t noticeably higher or lower than in previous years. The biggest shift inside the company was reducing my own working hours due to our preschool closing for several months. That made me re-evaluate how I spent my time and get more focused on what really drives results.
The most surprising (and inspiring) thing I’ve found is the incredible breadth of creative ways there are to make extra money. Renting out portable hot tubs? Starting a pooper scooper business? Blogging about gray hair? Dropshipping onions? I feel like I have the best job in the world to uncover and share those ideas!
I’m re-evaluating my approach to email marketing, everything from how I’m collecting leads to what I send and offer afterwards. I’m excited to test some new segmentation and automation inside of ActiveCampaign to potentially build new income streams, better serve customers, and maybe even build a steady pipeline of new content.
The Hilton Los Cabos has a special place in our hearts.
Fancy cars. As a former employee of a big car company, I can appreciate a nice ride, but have a hard time justifying that additional expense myself.
Dealing with controversy and negative feedback. It makes my gut feel awful and I can’t sleep.
I normally skip breakfast to hit a 14-17 hour intermittent fast, but this morning my son tapped out on his waffle, so I “had to” help him finish it. To stave off hunger on the other days, I usually have some coffee with MCT oil powder around mid-morning.
Pearl Lemon are an SEO, PPC, PR, and B2B lead-generation agency. We are based in London but service clients around the world.
We have taken the time to interview entrepreneurs and experts (like Nick) in this new series.
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