5 steps to show your facet hustle into severe money

“Someone huddling under the cat’s blanket, hunched over a microphone, might not be how you imagine your favourite podcast being made. But I’m proof that you don’t need a shiny studio to generate 20,000 monthly listens or a big investment to get a side hustle off the ground.

It began on Twitter – now X – after I found a group of like-minded folks tweeting pithy takes on the BBC Radio 4 cleaning soap The Archers. I had extra to say than the phrase depend allowed. So I ordered a secondhand microphone and recorded a five-minute voice clip psychoanalysing the cleaning soap’s characters in a witty abstract, and known as it Ambridge On The Couch.

I ordered a secondhand microphone and recorded a five-minute voice clip

I uploaded it to Acast (which pushes recordings out to all the main podcast platforms) and decided to do one a week over the following month or so, to see how it went. People loved it! I invested in a better – but still secondhand – microphone and had a friend show me how to use podcast-editing software. Everything else, I picked up from online research. My five-minute summaries expanded to full-length episodes, including sketches around characters from the show.

For my day job, I run my own business (Jackdaw, a communications agency) from home. Initially, I worked on the podcast during evenings and weekends, paying around £50 a month for software. After a few months, it was paying for itself through ad revenue from the podcast platforms, and was in profit after a year. Today, podcasting forms a significant part of my income, which I’ve been able to use towards big bills like the mortgage. I’ve also been able to reduce my days at work, to allow me two days a week to work on podcasting.

Today, podcasting types a major a part of my earnings

The most surreal moment was being recognised at the petrol station, just by my voice. And recently, Horatia Lawson (Nigella’s sister) reached out over email, saying she was a fan. I’m not planning to ditch the day job (which I still enjoy) completely, but my side hustle has given me an outlet – as well as an income – and offers me the best of both worlds.”

Listen to Ambridge On The Couch wherever you get your podcasts

How to arrange a facet hustle (with out burning out)
GH profession knowledgeable Erica Sosna says:

STEP ONE: What’s lacking? Your day job pays the payments however leaves no room for creativity, connection or autonomy. A facet challenge you’re captivated with can fill that hole and construct a future, in case you select proper. Look for one thing you’d fortunately discuss for an hour about, causes essential to you or abilities you’d practise if nobody paid you.

STEP TWO: Shape it. Choose one service or product and begin small – don’t dive into launching a full enterprise. Write down what you do, who it helps and the end result it’ll ship.

STEP THREE: Get shoppers. Start with colleagues, associates, work contacts and oldsters on the faculty gate. Offer a beta model at a diminished charge in trade for testimonials. Get your fi rst shopper, then yet another.

STEP FOUR: Optimise. Systemise the boring bits: invoicing, scheduling, supply. Track which actions carry shoppers after which elevate your charges as your confi dence and buyer demand develop.

STEP FIVE: Go full-time? Look for 3 indicators: constant demand, earnings that substitute no less than half your earnings and a way that this work energises you greater than the rest. With these indicators, you could be able to take the leap.

Find Erica on Instagram and YouTube @thecareerequation