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    Side Projects (what are YOU working on right now)?

    Working on a side project

    What is a side project you're currently working on?

    A side project doesn't necessarily have to be a side business.  A side project can be....

    • ...for fun.
    • .....for profit.
    • .......for learning something new.
    • .........for scratching your own curiosity.

     

    Example 1.) My buddy Noah bought a Chrome Extension called Leoh.io and started improving on it. It currently makes no money, but it's just a small side project for fun:

    Leoh.io Side Project

     

    Example 2.) My buddy JR is doing a side project called "Nom Dudes" where he creates videos about food and posts them to Facebook.  It's not his main thing, but he loves making videos, so he's trying it out on the side and seeing what happens:

    Nom Dudes Facebook Page

     

    Example 3.) One of my current side projects is busking in San Francisco.  I'm hanging out in San Francisco for all of August, and the place I rented is next door to the San Francisco City Hall building, and San Francisco Opera building.....a seemingly appropriate place to practice music:

    san-francisco-city-hall-and-opera.jpg

    san-francisco-city-hall-building.jpg

     

    I bought this craptastic battery operated guitar amp and am going out by myself to busk:

    blackstar-busking-amp-2-speaker.jpg

    So my side project for the month is coming up with a solid 6-song set list I can play/sing on the side of the road with a guitar.

    I've done this many times with other people, but going by myself scares me a bit for some reason. In fact just last weekend me and my brother setup on the side of the road and jammed for fun!

    busking-setup.jpg

    Like I said, a side project can be a useful tool teach you something new, get out of a funk, or get the creative juices flowing!

    Sincerely,

    Neville Medhora

     

    P.S. What is a side project you're currently working on? Post it below in the comments!

    You can either post a link to a website you're working on, or describe your project.

    P.P.S. Bonus points if you lemme know what you hope to get out of it (EX: "I'm doing it out of curiosity" -or- "Hoping to supplement my income with this" -or- "Starting this with hopes to eventually quit my job.").

    P.P.P.S. I "jjuuusstt might" be going through every side project listed here and offering my (un-asked-for) advice to the projects :)


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    Guest Robbie abed

    Posted

    Just trying to help people take control of their career. The more people I can change their perspectives on a career related topic the better off I am and they are: https://firemeibegyou.com/
    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Nice Robbie!

    I really like the homepage, but the one suggestion I'd make is kind of "flipping" the bottom two sections around. It's always best when at the end of the page, there's also a call to action. You currently don't have one right at the very bottom:

    robbie-no-action.png

    Just put that "Start Here" section at the bottom to solve it :)

    Link to comment
    Guest Joyce

    Posted

    I've got 2 musical projects going "side" by "side" so I say at least one of them counts! :D

    My main activity is writing, recording and licensing my music BUT, I recently started teaching other musicians about music licensing (why they should do it and how to approach it).

    After the initial wave of enthusiasm that may or may not have been linked to the fact I was offering people to test a 6 months course for free, I realized I was going to have to talk to a LOT of people along the way to make this little side project sustainable AND I'd have to figure out a way to make people visit my website.

    Sooooo I started talking to a lot of people and creating a lot of content.

    Funny thing is I (re)discovered I LOVE writing AND meeting new people. I used to love both those things but kind of forgot for a while when I was working a full-time interesting but not exciting office job.

    What am I hoping to get from this side project?

    1- great connections that can help me grow the other side of my business (for example, I'd love to interview a few indie filmmakers, successful crowdfunders, music supervisors, PR people, other creatives, social media experts who would help both my students and me)

    2- additional income

    3- continued growth.... I know, this sounds lame but I'm really happy I rediscovered how much I like writing and talking to people. It's good to be back ;)

    Right, that's it for me. I look forward to every one else's stories!

    PS: Love the busking experiment! It's on my to-do list this year. I'm absolutely TERRIFIED to do it!

    PPS: Noah's project looks like a customizable Momentum. I'll try it NOW!

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Hey Joyce! We've spoken before and the number of music tracks you've successfully put out AND licensed for $$ is quite impressive.

    I think training other musicians how to do the same could be a great step for you, ESPECIALLY since you "walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk" already.

    One suggestion I'd have for you is make an "About Page" or a "Licensed Songs" page to show people as social proof:

    joyce-about-suggestion.png

    I would post on there a bunch of cool numbers like:

    Songs written in 2015: 75

    Songs licensed in 2015: 24

    Songs sold in 2015: 12

    Songs written in 2016: 49

    Songs licensed in 2016: 29

    Songs sold in 2016: 18

    Songs written in 2017: 102

    Songs licensed in 2017: 38

    Songs sold in 2017: 24

    ....this could provide some awesome proof that shows you are the real deal, and the right person to learn from!

    Link to comment

    My side project is my capstone for undergraduate project and servant leadership mission.

    Bringing www.americandreamu.org to alaska.

    Creating a Veteran Community Entreprenuership Education program. I found strong evidence to support that attributes associated w/ successful entreprenuers could have a positive effect on long-term mental fitness.

    Business reflects life. Using the narrative of entreprenuership, whether starting a business or finding employment or just quality of life in general Veterans could benefit. We are all self-employed in our lives.

    The goal is to end suicide and self-destructive behavior and focus that energy on a common mission. Having a positive affect on Alaska's dying economy.

    If it works perhaps, places like Detroit or Flint... oreven Batswana may be able to tirn their economies (social/fiscal) around.

    Link to comment
    Guest Brice

    Posted

    Cool to hear about the music jams man. My side project this year is to learn spanish. Ahora mi español es okay
    Link to comment
    Guest Craig

    Posted

    Hi Neville!

    My side project is my blog called Create Good Mornings. I'm looking to:

    - help others create good mornings with insights, tools and strategies to get more done with less stress

    - continue to learn and evolve how I can make the most of each day. I've noticed that as I learn and reflect more on writing for the blog, I push my personal growth, creating a positive feedback loop

    - become a mildly better stick person artist

    - develop a location- independent business

    Here it is:

    http://www.creategoodmornings.com

    Link to comment

    My side project is ramping up my Tarot Reading business. I hope to make a nice supplementary income that provides me with enough $$$ to keep experimenting with different paid media channels. Working on FB at the moment.

    Here's my sales page - copy writing advice would be hugely appreciated!!!

    http://readingswithmatt.com/tarot-card-reading/

    Link to comment
    Guest Mike Smith

    Posted

    Lately I've been paranoid about how risky it is for 99% of my income to come from one source (job).

    So to that point I am doing a little entrepreneurial challenge for myself to create some income via affiliate marketing / sales. I use Convertkit for my blog + a client or two so I figured it's a low startup cost way to generate some money. Started the year at like $9 a month with a goal of $100 by year end. I'm at $121 (humblebrag?) but don't feel accomplished yet. Like $121 doesn't impact my life.

    Of course I want #passive #income and to never have to work but realistically a better goal is to cover my student loans $500 a month.

    Some days I think affiliate marketing is super smarmy but other days I feel like it's the exact same as doing sales.

    I think a good next step for me is to create a post on my blog explaining my goals / stories.

     

    Feedback / suggestions please and thank you!!!!

    Link to comment
    Guest Hannah

    Posted

    Hi

    Must say this marketing psychology thing totally fascinates me!

    I'm a creative mom who hated recieving stupid gifts that were totally not my taste when my baby was born. Equally annoying was getting doubles of the same stuff. So I decided to put my creativity to use and make a range of gorgeous gifts, mainly for babies, but also for some other occasions... Main point is, theyre useful to every mom, no matter their taste!

    What do you think?

    Link to comment
    Guest John Harrison

    Posted

    I'm trying to launch a side business selling emoji domain URL shorteners for vloggers and film makers. Using the 🎥.ws emoji domain I hope to offer short engaging links. An example might be http://🎥.ws/277 which redirects to Gary Vaynerchuk's 277th DailyVee episode. I wrote an article on Medium about the idea, how I got through to Gary's team and why I think they're powerful marketing tools. https://medium.com/@cjharrison/part-6-access-every-dailyvee-with-an-emoji-ac61d476297 I hope to test my idea using the lean startup method
    Link to comment
    Guest Wendy Reese Hartmann

    Posted

    I have been teaching yoga for 15 years, but leaning into being a spiritual mentor (which I have been all along) has scared the shit out of me. I decided to face it head on as I saw an ever-growing crisis of consciousness with increasing suicide and addiction rates. It's bite sized and a format I love- podcasting. "Mindfulness Miracles" is on anchor, but once a week, I upload as a podcast.

    https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mindfulness-miracles/id1257177564.

    It's for people who want more out of life, are tired of being tired, are tired of the meanness, want to feel more peace daily, want to do something about the world we live in but don't know what, and know meditation is good for them but aren't ready (or perceive aren't able) to jumb on that bandwagon.

    Link to comment
    Guest Wendy Reese Hartmann

    Posted

    I think if you're being an affiliate for a product you believe in and if you are honest and not spammy like so many people I see, you'll be fine!
    Link to comment

    My side project is walking dogs. My problem was I would join a gym, then not go. But if course the gym wanted it's money every month!

    I finally saw I focusing on the wrong end of the exercise equation. Figured out:

    •I need exercise.

    •I need a compelling reason to get away from the computer and/or off the couch.

    •I waste money paying the gym and not going.

    Right now I have two dogs to walk in the afternoon, $20 for 30-min. walk. So I get about an hour's worth of easy exercise. Haven't lost weight yet, but I feel more energetic. At the end of the month, I get a few hundred dollars.

    I'd like to add two dogs. I'd really love to find two that I can walk together. That would get me double the pay for the same amount of time.

    Exercise for pay is working for me. Now I never miss a walk.

    Link to comment
    Guest Wendy Reese Hartmann

    Posted

    And Neville, if you have any songs up on spotify or apple, I'd love to highlight on my anchor station after an episode! (or any other budding musicians)
    Link to comment
    Guest Norma Tracy

    Posted

    My side project is photography, although my day job is freelance copywriter. While writing pays the bills, taking photos is my true passion. I find it enhances my writing because the editing process is similar . . . take out what doesn't work so the focus is on what it needs to be. It lets me use a different part of my brain than writing does.

    Here's one of my pics: https://www.photographytalk.com/inspirational-photo/414383

    I haven't monetized my photography yet, but I'm considering it. :)

    Link to comment
    Guest Chris

    Posted

    As a drummer myself I totally relate. Music can really get your creative juices flowing!

    As of me, I'm about to leave my full time job as a software engineer and go full time copywriting.

    One of the reasons I started learning about writing copy was because I wanted the flexibility to tour with my band whenever I wanted to. Now it turned into something I really enjoy doing and a great looking career path to start.

    Flexibility, freedom and not depending on crappy bosses are the main motivators + the ability to travel more (not only for work) :)

    Link to comment
    Guest Clayton

    Posted

    My side project is an idea I've been working in for years. I've had freelance developers in Sri Lanka working on it, local developers charging me just to quote that it'll cost $60k to do it!!.. and now I'm scaling it all the way back. Starting start-up styles with a MVP and am learning how to do WordPress myself to do that.
    Link to comment
    Guest Jeremy Sagaille

    Posted

    I built this website last year in a hurry and I am going to be revamping it because I feel like I get decent traffic but not enough conversions. Just looking for more parents to reach out to me about dive lessons for their kids. So, in short, my side project is to get more sign ups/interest.
    Link to comment
    Currently working on http://WorldwideCruiseClub.com which is a pre-sales website for an affiliate link to a cruise vacation membership. The goal is to supplement my income, just sell a few dozen memberships or so. Haven't completely decided how to do it yet. The current website was literally thrown up a few hours before going on a cruise in case the conversation came up. Have been meaning to fix the website, so this was a great reminder.
    Link to comment



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