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What It's About
Perked up by his writing skills, a former barista brews a six-figure copywriting hustle.
Business Model
Service
Skills Required
Writing & Marketing
Complexity
Low
Profit Potential
High
Words of Wisdom
Garrett was shocked to find out that people would pay (and pay well) for his writing services. Do you have a skill or service that you don't think much of but someone else might?
Fun Fact
Garrett and his wife traveled to over 20 countries in 15 months as digital nomads on Garrett’s writing income alone.
Notes from Chris
Episode 1165
Garrett Oden can remember the very first cup of coffee he actually enjoyed. He was a freshman in college, and one of his friends worked at a local coffee shop. He pestered Garrett to come give coffee a try, promising him that not all of it tastes like burnt rubber. Finally, he relented. He went to the cafe, ordered something called a “french press” and took a sip. His eyes were opened. Green apple. Caramel. Milk chocolate. Garrett can still remember the shock he felt when he realized coffee could have real flavor. Hooked, he created an affiliate blog on Wordpress to document his journey into the world of coffee (and hopefully make some money from Amazon Associates while he was at it). He wrote educational content, like “Does Coffee Go Bad” and “Why Does My Coffee Taste Bitter?” While he made a couple hundred bucks a month, it wasn’t very lucrative. However, the research paid off: a year later he applied to be a barista at a new cafe and was hired. Shortly after that, he got an email from a business owner in Chicago. He was preparing to open a massive coffee eCommerce store and wanted to start building authority for his brand. He’d found Garrett’s blog, and asked for his help writing articles to do it—paid help, that is. Garrett was shocked, thinking: "People actually pay money for this?" He did some research and crafted a proposal. $800 per month for twelve 1,000 word articles. He had no idea if it was a fair offer. Garrett estimated it would take two hours to write each blog and figured $800 divided by 24 hours is $33 per hour. It seemed insane. It was nearly three times what he was making at the coffee shop. The coffee-preneur accepted, and Garrett Oden Writing was born. That initial contract didn’t last long—the business owner would give up on the coffee idea—but the fire was lit, and Garrett began looking at freelancing sites to see what other coffee-related jobs he could get. And sure enough, with his resume, he didn’t have a hard time finding more. Three blog posts for $80 for one client. Six blogs at $30/hr for another. A 2,000-word article for $100. So in early 2017, Garrett began stepping up his game. He now ranks #1 on Google for “coffee copywriter” and “food tech copywriter”, but most of his clients come from LinkedIn. In 2019, Garrett earned $70,000 pre-tax. In 2020, he expects to break six figures.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Learn more about Garrett and his business at his website, GarrettOden.com.
- Published Author Adds Income Source; Makes Additional $21,000 Her First Year: A successful novelist teaches an online course about productivity for writers, reaching 3,700 students in year one.
- University Lecturer Earns $2,000/Month Writing Children’s Books: An American teaching in Taiwan tells tales of foreign lands, packaging them in a series of books for children back home.
- Sports Writer Wins Big Gambling On His Own Book: When a sports blogger creates an accidental success story, he becomes an independent publisher helping people write winning books of their own.
Quote of the Day
"Every time my calendar starts to get full, I raise my rates. Eventually, low-paying clients drop off (or I let them go) and are replaced with higher-paying ones. It’s a slow, natural way to ensure your income is never stagnant."
—Garrett Oden #SideHustleSchool
