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What It's About
The only way to keep his business from going under is to downsize it into a side hustle... and he couldn't be happier!
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
If you find yourself between a rock and a hard place like Neel, here are some words of wisdom:
"First and foremost, see how you can downsize your current business without killing it. Define what is important to your customers and what are the highest value (low cost/high revenue) things you do. And finally, figure out what you love about your business. See where those three things (importance to your customers, value, and love) intersect. Be sure to take your time in figuring this out because it's not always intuitive."
Fun Fact
Neel considers himself a nerdy Indian kid from Chicago and thought that his future was supposed to be a desk job at Motorola—not the crazy life he's currently living.
He also firmly believes that his lifelong, childhood diagnosis of ADHD is not a disability, but rather his superpower. He says that he's been an ardent meditator for many years and that this holds the secret to his productivity.
Notes from Chris
Episode 348
Before we even talk about his side hustle, let’s talk about Neel Vasavada’s unconventional day job. He’s sales and operations manager for a company that provides equipment to major stadium tours and festivals. He works with big bands like Metallica & U2, major festivals like Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, and big events like The Superbowl. Pretty cool on its own! On the side, he runs a motorsports electronics company called Apex Speed Technology that provides electronic systems to high-end motorsports and custom vehicles and research & development. So here’s the interesting thing: Neel’s side hustle WAS his day job as the owner of the company, but as the market changed and it became less sustainable. He says he’s having more fun and being more productive now than he ever did when it was his full-time job. Not everything is amazing; his “day job” has many challenges. The “side hustle”—formerly his main business—can in no-way impede on that day job, so he has to be mindful of how he balances things. He’s still working and traveling a lot, but he says he has a better relationship with his son that he ever has, he’s healthier than he’s ever been in his life, and he truly feels job-satisfaction. But he never expected things to work out as well as they have, with the challenging, yet fulfilling day job, and the side hustle that used to bring in $2m a year without making money, and now brings in $2-4k/month in mostly profit. When it was a small company, it did two million in annual revenue but didn't make any money. Now he pulls in $2-4k a month, and it’s mostly profit. Which sounds better to you?MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Apex Speed Technology Services: Learn more about the business that became a side hustle on Neel's website
- GE Engineer Sells Hand-Crafted Slate Artwork to All 50 States: A GE engineer uses his skills to make and sell hand-crafted slate artwork to all 50 states. In addition to bringing in a great side income, it’s also given him more courage and security to make decisions at his day job
- Resourceful College Dropout Earns Two Paychecks from One Employer: A corporate employee takes charge over a new branch of the company he works at and ends up creating a second income for himself. Don’t fire your boss… get them to pay you twice!
- Wine Expert Loses Job; Becomes House Painter Earning $150,000/Year: After rejecting the extravagant spending associated with the high-end wine industry, an Alberta man looks to get back to his roots and ends up transitioning to something completely new
