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What It's About
A new financial planner gets paid to ask questions.
Words of Wisdom
Todd still believes that someone can follow his shoes to launch a similar hustle, "now is going to be a challenging time to walk this path as bars/restaurants are closing or restricted with what they can do. However, these types of weekly trivia shows happen at bars/restaurants all across the US, so I would highly encourage someone to check it out for themselves!"
Fun Fact
Trivia nights in bars and restaurants originated in the United Kingdom during the 1970s, and what started as a fun way to bring in customers on slow nights, quickly became a sensation.
Notes from Chris
Episode 1445
In 2008 Todd Bryant was 22, fresh out of college and just starting a career in financial planning. It was a terrible time to get into finance. The Global Financial Crisis had just hit and people were being ultra frugal—looking to tighten their purse strings, not open them. Todd had a friend, a successful financial planner, he often turned to for advice. One night, while chatting, this friend abruptly ended the conversation and said he had to run. Turns out, this successful business owner was moonlighting as a trivia host in a local bar. Puzzled, Todd asked why, if he was already successful, would he bother working an extra job. His friend's response was that it was fun, it paid well and was a great source of new business leads. Todd was intrigued, and followed his friend to the pub, asking questions along the way. Turns out there are large national trivia companies who franchise their model to local hosts. Todd asked for a referral, got it, and within a few weeks had his first gig. He was in hot trivial pursuit of extra income. The company provided all the equipment, materials and questions. All Todd had to do was show up at the bar and run the event. In exchange he’d receive one hundred dollars cash for his efforts. Todd was hooked! Besides being a good-paying gig for a couple of hours, it was a load of fun. That is, until COVID-19 hit and bars, clubs and venues everywhere shut down. That put Todd's revenue at a standstill earlier in 2020. However, in the last few months things have started turning around. Several venues are opening up in COVID safe ways and Todd’s trivia business has returned to the same levels as before. Sometimes all you have to do is ask the right questions.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- When Todd's not coordinating trivia hosts, you can find him at his main hustle as a financial planner.
- Quiz Master Creates Side Hustle Nobody Can Question: This expat’s local pub quiz night started as a hobby. It turned into an idea to sell his collection of 5,000 trivia questions online, earning passive income month after month.
- Bartenders Turn Trivia Night Into $1.5 Million Business: From an initial investment of just $300, a pair of Cincinnati bartenders transform trivia night into a seven-figure franchise.
- Teacher Makes Money Asking Questions Outside the Classroom: A West Virginia high-school teacher hosts trivia night for extra income—then earns a share for other hosts who use his equipment.