649: This Firefighter’s Side Hustle Grew to $1M in Sales

The Side Hustle Show

#Marketing #Entrepreneurship #Hustle #Online #Passiveincome #Nick Loper #Nick Loper of Side Hustle Nation #Business #Entrepreneur #Podcasting Education

57:50

Alex (@alex_kamenca) and Carley (@carleymitus) are both members of our Action Academy Community that purchased TWO small businesses last thursday! Want To Quit Your Job In The Next 6-18 Months Through Buying Commercial Real Estate & Small Businesses? 👔🏝️ Schedule A Free 15 Minute Coaching Call With Our Team Here To Get "Unstuck" Check Out Our Bestselling Book : From Passive To Passionate : How To Quit Your Job - Grow Your Wealth - And Turn Your Passions Into Profits Want A Free $100k+ Side Hustle Guide ? Follow Me As I Travel & Build: IG @brianluebben ActionAcademy.com…

about a year ago 54:17

MP3•Episode home

Mike Ettenberg spent 10 years as a firefighter, but was constantly losing or breaking his sunglasses on calls.

Frustrated, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Frontline Optics makes durable sunglasses for first responders with a no-questions-asked replacement policy.

Despite having "no business experience," the Side Hustle Show listener took Frontline from side hustle to full-time venture, selling over $1M worth of sunglasses along the way.

Tune in to episode 649 to learn:

How Mike found his first customers
The "microinfluencer" strategy that generated consistent sales
When he felt comfortable quitting his firefighting day job
His plans for the future

Full Show Notes: This Firefighter's Side Hustle Grew to $1M in Sales

New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here!

Sponsors:

Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month!
Airbnb — Discover how much your home could be worth!
OpenPhone — Get 20% off of your first 6 months!
Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!

714 episodes

649: This Firefighter’s Side Hustle Grew to $1M in Sales

The Side Hustle Show

62,587 subscribers

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

Mike Ettenberg spent 10 years as a firefighter, but was constantly losing or breaking his sunglasses on calls.

Frustrated, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Frontline Optics makes durable sunglasses for first responders with a no-questions-asked replacement policy.

Despite having "no business experience," the Side Hustle Show listener took Frontline from side hustle to full-time venture, selling over $1M worth of sunglasses along the way.

Tune in to episode 649 to learn:

How Mike found his first customers
The "microinfluencer" strategy that generated consistent sales
When he felt comfortable quitting his firefighting day job
His plans for the future

Full Show Notes: This Firefighter's Side Hustle Grew to $1M in Sales

New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here!

Sponsors:

Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month!
Airbnb — Discover how much your home could be worth!
OpenPhone — Get 20% off of your first 6 months!
Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!

714 episodes

#Marketing #Entrepreneurship #Hustle #Online #Passiveincome #Nick Loper #Nick Loper of Side Hustle Nation #Business #Entrepreneur #Podcasting Education

All episodes

The Side Hustle Show

1
Mom Advice: 10 Life Lessons from Mom (Greatest Hits) 29:55

3 days ago29:55

29:55

With Mother's Day coming up, I wanted to share some of the best advice and lessons I got from mom growing up. Most of the time, this was pretty literal advice, but I found a lot of it has a broader application to entrepreneurship. Mom has always been probably my biggest advocate and supporter. For background, she essentially had a couple different careers, first in nursing and then as a library assistant. (At the library, she actually helped me get one of my first jobs in high school.) Lots of wisdom I hope to be able to pass along to our little ones! And if you like this format, be sure to check out the companion list/episode on dad's advice ! Full Show Notes: Mom Advice: 10 Life Lessons from Mom New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Streamline and scale your customer communications with Open Phone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/sidehustle . Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!…

The Side Hustle Show

1
670: $1000/mo Helping People Plan Trips: Inside the Travel Advising Side Hustle 1:01:49

7 days ago1:01:49

1:01:49

What if you could turn your love of travel into an extra income stream and build a travel advising side hustle that fits your life? Bailey Richert is back on the show to pull back the curtain on how you can do it too. You might remember Bailey from one of our early episodes , where we talked about building an online course business. Today, we’re switching gears to talk about her newest side hustle: helping people plan epic trips as a travel advisor . Bailey runs UnlistedTravel.com and MakeTravelYourJob.com , and she's managed to create a flexible, low-overhead business doing something she’s genuinely passionate about. Listen to Episode 670 of the Side Hustle Show to learn: how travel advisors actually get paid what it takes to set yourself up for success in this field creative ways to find clients Full Show Notes: $1000/mo Helping People Plan Trips: Inside the Travel Advising Side Hustle New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Get 20% off of your first 6 months! Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!…

The Side Hustle Show

1
669: The Piggyback Principle: The “Lazy” Way to Build a Successful Side Hustle 49:39

14 days ago49:39

49:39

The Piggyback Principle is a business idea framework that looks at popular market trends or “ecosystems” and seeks ways to support or supplement those trends. It’s a faster way to start a business because you can capitalize on what’s already hot with an additional or complementary product or service. Basically, your side hustle can ride piggyback on a larger business or trend. You could even say that my now-retired shoe-business was a piggyback business on the e-commerce trend and the comparison shopping trend. It’s a concept I first wrote about 10 years ago, but at that time, I took a pretty narrow view by just talking about marketplace trends. At that time, it was things like the rise of WordPress, or the popularity of the Paleo diet. Now, I’ve broken this principle into three stages: Idea generation Startup creation Marketing/growth And to make this practical, I’m bringing in real-world examples from fellow entrepreneurs who’ve used this approach to build real businesses. Here are the new and updated trends for the Piggyback Principle in 2025. Full Show Notes: The Piggyback Principle: The “Lazy” Way to Build a Successful Side Hustle New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Get 20% off of your first 6 months! Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!…

The Side Hustle Show

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668: How I Built an $80k/year Side Hustle in an Obscure Niche 48:42

17 days ago48:42

48:42

When you think of side hustles, flipping 2,000-year-old Roman coins probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But for Dean Kinzer, what started as a nod to his dad’s hobby turned into a $86k/year side hustle, one built around history, storytelling, and a very specific type of collector. Dean runs KinzerCoins.com and The Ancient Coin Hour on YouTube , where he shares his love for ancient coins and educates others who are curious about the space. Here’s how he did it. Tune in to Episode 668 of the Side Hustle Show to learn: how Dean turned a collector’s passion into real income why ancient coins are the ultimate niche product the low-risk strategies he used to build an $80k side hustle Full Show Notes: How I Built an $80k/year Side Hustle in an Obscure Niche New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Get 20% off of your first 6 months! Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!…

The Side Hustle Show

1
667: 10+ Side Hustle Trends for 2025 1:04:05

21 days ago1:04:05

1:04:05

What are the best side hustle trends you should look out for in 2025? These might impact what business you start and how you think about scaling it. And to help me out is a longtime friend and a friend of the show, Spencer Haws from NichePursuits.com. He’s been covering online side hustles even longer than I have. Almost all our content starts from the question of, "How do I make extra money?" To answer that, it’s important to know where the market’s been, where it is, and where it’s potentially going. Tune in to Episode 667 of the Side Hustle Show to learn: what side hustles are thriving right now and which ones are fading why email, AI, and even eBay are making big comebacks how to future-proof your hustle in a rapidly changing digital world Full Show Notes: 10+ Side Hustle Trends for 2025 New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Get 20% off of your first 6 months! Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!…

The Side Hustle Show

1
666: $300/hr as a Content Creator w/ No Audience Required 56:18

28 days ago56:18

56:18

What if you could make $300 an hour filming short videos with your phone … and you didn’t need a single follower to get started? That’s the side hustle Megan Collier carved out for herself with UGC (user-generated content). Think of it as getting paid to create authentic-looking social media content for brands, even if you're not an influencer. And she’s not alone. Brands are hungry for this stuff. In just a couple of years, Megan built her side hustle into a six-figure income stream and quit her day job in 2023 . Let’s take a look at how she did it, and how you can, too. Tune in to Episode 666 of the Side Hustle Show to learn: how Megan landed her first $750 UGC deal in 10 days. the exact outreach strategies she used to book brand clients. how she scaled to $300/hour and replaced her 9-to-5 income. Full Show Notes: $300/hr as a Content Creator, w/ No Audience Required New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Streamline and scale your customer communications with Open Phone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/sidehustle . Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!…

The Side Hustle Show

1
Zero to $6k a Month With a Mobile Detailing Business (Greatest Hits) 43:29

4 weeks ago43:29

43:29

Josh Belk is a full-time college student, he works full-time in web design, and in what little spare time, he’s started a $6,000 a month mobile detailing business with his younger brother. This idea came about when Josh connected the dots between obsession and opportunity. On the obsession side, Josh would always see his brother out in the driveway cleaning his car. On the opportunity side, he received an email about business ideas anyone could start, and mobile car washing was one of them. He asked his brother if he wanted to team up to see if they could make some money cleaning cars — and with that, Belk Mobile Detailing was born. Tune in to hear the full podcast episode to hear how the pair: landed their first mobile detailing customers price their service stand out from the competition Full Show Notes: Zero to $6k a Month With a Mobile Detailing Business New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Get 20% off of your first 6 months! Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!…

The Side Hustle Show

1
665: The Path to $1k/mo with Mini Digital Products 49:51

5 weeks ago49:51

49:51

Cody Berman is no stranger to selling digital products. He’s known in the side hustle world as the "printable guy" and co-founder of Gold City Ventures , but when Internet skeptics told him the Etsy market was "too saturated now" compared to when he started in 2018, Cody accepted the challenge. And proved them wrong. From zero to $1,000/month in 116 days with a brand-new Etsy shop, with no followers, no email list, and no marketing. Just skill and data-driven decisions. (If you want to shortcut the learning curve, check out his course: ( sidehustlenation.com/etsyprintableslaunch ) Tune in to Episode 665 of The Side Hustle Show to learn: how Cody launched a brand-new Etsy shop to $1K/month in just 116 days keyword research strategy behind finding low-competition, high-demand niches why printables aren’t just for passive income but powerful marketing tools too Full Show Notes: The Path to $1k/mo with Mini Digital Products New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Get 20% off of your first 6 months! Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!…

The Side Hustle Show

1
664: The $1 Product Challenge 50:27

6 weeks ago50:27

50:27

I can almost guarantee you've heard the phrase the "money is in the list." And all the experts, myself included, extol the virtues of building your email list, right? Because it's the platform that you own and control. But the question is, are you building an email list of buyers? Subscribers are great, but you're not buying groceries on subscribers alone. Pete Boyle is the founder of growthmodels.co and he has a unique list-building and business-building strategy that throws free lead magnets out the window in favor of low-priced products, starting at just $1 , and has seen some exciting results, including $4,000 in just 10 days. Tune in to Episode 664 of the Side Hustle Show to learn: how a $1 product can turn cold leads into paying customers (without ads) why low-ticket offers convert better than free lead magnets how to stack simple offers into a $250+ funnel that leads to high-ticket sales (Start your own $1 product experiment at growthmodels.co/dollar .) Full Show Notes: The $1 Product Challenge New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Airbnb — Discover how much your home could be worth and find a professional co-host today! Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Streamline and scale your customer communications with Open Phone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/sidehustle . Shopify — Sign up for a $1 per month trial!…

The Side Hustle Show

1
663: Bank Bonuses: How I Make $200/Hr Opening New Bank Accounts 30:25

6 weeks ago30:25

30:25

I’m not usually one to fall for those flashy, too-good-to-be-true money hacks. But when someone tells me they’re making $200 an hour in their underwear just opening bank accounts? You bet I’m curious. That someone is Dylan Sexton from dylansbonuses.com, and he’s been pulling in consistent weekly income by playing the bank bonus game. No shady stuff. No switching your entire financial life around. Just a super smart (and surprisingly low-effort) system that banks actually want you to take advantage of. Tune in to Episode 663 of the Side Hustle Show to learn: how Dylan makes $200 an hour opening bank accounts where to find the best bonus deals right now the simple system he uses to track and scale it Full Show Notes: Bank Bonuses: How I Make $200/Hr Opening New Bank Accounts New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Airbnb — Discover how much your home could be worth and find a professional co-host today! Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Get 20% off of your first 6 months! Shopify — Sign up for a $1 per month trial!…

The Side Hustle Show

1
662: From Zero to $50k/mo in Vending Revenue in 16 months 53:32

7 weeks ago53:32

53:32

Vending machines are a classic passive income source that continues to be profitable today. We had Mr. Passive himself, Mike Hoffman, on the show before to talk about how to scale up his vending machine business . And one of his mentees is here today. Anthony Kolodziej from H&H Vending scaled his vending operation from zero to over $50k per month in just 16 months . That’s 30+ locations, thousands of transactions, and a strategy that turns vending into something way beyond the old-school snack machine in the corner of a breakroom. Tune in to Episode 662 of the Side Hustle Show to learn: how to land prime locations how to negotiate deals why he never says the word "vending" when pitching a property manager Want to go deeper? Check out Mike Hoffmann’s Vendingpreneur training program . (Side Hustle Show listeners get 10% off!) Full Show Notes: From Zero to $50k in Vending Revenue in 16 months New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Airbnb — Discover how much your home could be worth and find a professional co-host today! Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Streamline and scale your customer communications with Open Phone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/sidehustle . Shopify — Sign up for a $1 per month trial!…

The Side Hustle Show

1
661: How We Sold $100k Worth of Golf Gloves on the Side 58:29

8 weeks ago58:29

58:29

Most people look at a golf glove and see, well, just a golf club… white, plain, forgettable. But Randall Pulfer and his co-founder Tyler, with zero experience in manufacturing, no background in design, and a full-time day job, sold $100k worth of golf gloves as a side hustle. ChippGolfCo.com is now a brand that’s making waves in the golf scene. Randall breaks down how he pulled it off from coming up with the idea, finding the right manufacturing partner, and making those first crucial sales. (Want to try one for yourself? Head over to ChippGolfCo.com and use promo code HUSTLE for 15% off your order.) Tune in to Episode 661 of the Side Hustle Show to learn: how Randall came up with this idea how they found the right manufacturing partner to make it reality the marketing efforts that have worked to start to generate some profitable sales Full Show Notes: How We Sold $100k Worth of Golf Gloves on the Side New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Airbnb — Discover how much your home could be worth and find a professional co-host today! Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Streamline and scale your customer communications with Open Phone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/sidehustle . Shopify — Sign up for a $1 per month trial!…

The Side Hustle Show

1
660: How to Stop Spending Money 57:55

8 weeks ago57:55

57:55

It’s easy to get caught up in the habit of spending without thinking. But the good news is, it’s totally possible to break the cycle. In this episode, we’re going to share simple, practical ways to stop spending money and start saving. These strategies come from real experience and expert advice , so you know they actually work. Full Show Notes: How To Stop Spending Money New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Airbnb — Discover how much your home could be worth and find a professional co-host today! Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Streamline and scale your customer communications with Open Phone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/sidehustle . Shopify — Sign up for a $1 per month trial!…

The Side Hustle Show

1
From $17/hr to 6-Figure Side Hustle (Greatest Hits) 50:54

9 weeks ago50:54

50:54

"Changing the world with chess" and making $100,000 per year on the side. That’s the story of today’s guest, Jeff DiOrio from EliteChess.net . Jeff went from earning $17/hr working in summer camp chess programs teaching kids how to play chess, to running his own camps and earning five times as much. He then transitioned to an online recurring membership model, in part due to the pandemic, while also keeping the in-person coaching side of his business alive. Jeff’s approach to growing his student numbers so rapidly? Organic growth through giving to charities and delivering a value-driven service, all while doing something he loves—teaching chess. Tune in to The Side Hustle Show interview to hear: how Jeff built his minimum viable audience the methods he used to set up the business for recurring revenue how you can borrow some of these same tactics in your business Full Show Notes: From $17/hr to 6-Figure Side Hustle New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here ! Sponsors: Airbnb — Discover how much your home could be worth and find a professional co-host today! Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month! Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! OpenPhone — Streamline and scale your customer communications with Open Phone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/sidehustle .…

The Side Hustle Show

1
659: $100k with AI-Coded Apps 1:06:54

10 weeks ago1:06:54