Cuban Journalist Teaches Everyday Spanish Classes

Notes from Chris

Episode 962

Nibaldo Buides was forty years old when he relocated from Cuba to the United States. Like many others from his home country, he dreamed of building a better life for himself in “the Land of the Free.”

While life was indeed better in lots of ways in America, that doesn’t mean it was easy. In fact, for Nibaldo and his wife, things were quite difficult. You see, in Cuba, Nibaldo had extensive qualifications. With a bachelor's degree in economics and a journalism degree, you might think he’d easily land a job for a top, national paper. After all, in his home country that’s exactly what he did—he worked as a journalist.

But alas, in America there was no journalism job waiting for him. Nibaldo’s qualifications weren’t recognized and, making things even more difficult, was that he couldn’t speak English very well at all. Capitalism and a free market are what helped America prosper, but at that point in time, it was no friend of his.

So, although he was happy to have made it to America, for the first two and a half years in the country, he took low-level jobs at factories and cleaning restrooms in shopping malls to make ends meet.

But, anyone who can make it from Cuba to America is no slouch. Nibaldo had gumption, ambition, or what Spanish speakers might call gusto!

He determined to work hard and improve his English in the hopes of getting a better job. He turned to YouTube lessons and books to teach himself. Over time he improved, and soon his English was good enough that he was confident to pursue a better job—one that would finally get him out of cleaning floors.

It was Nibaldo’s wife who suggested he try looking for a job teaching Spanish. He was outgoing, personable, and could break down complex topics into memorable lessons. She was convinced he’d love it and, now that he could speak both Spanish and English, he was a prime candidate for exactly that role.

So, in 2015, four years after arriving in the country, he began looking for a job as a Spanish teacher. He applied for a position at a private school, and as fate would have it, he got it! Thrilled with this new career path, Nibaldo worked to become the best teacher he could be.

Unfortunately, the job didn’t pay as well as he’d hoped. So, he soon began thinking of ways to make some extra money on the side. He was now in the USA after all, where entrepreneurial activities were more feasible than in Cuba.

For a side hustle, Nibaldo thought he’d try an extension of his day job. He figured he could find a few students and teach Spanish classes online or at night.

In an effort to acquire more students, Nibaldo soon began posting videos on Instagram. For that, he had to come up with a catchy username. He decided on Spanish for Everyday, which ultimately became the name of his new side hustle.

While education was the primary focus of his video lessons, Nibaldo also injected a bit of humor into them as well. To him, teaching doesn’t have to be boring in order to be effective, so he comes up with funny phrases to use in his videos. He also dresses in silly outfits to help with student retention—he attributes this as an important way for him to stand out from the crowd.

Just eight months after his first customer, Nibaldo was already earning $1,000/month from his Spanish teaching side hustle, and that figure hasn’t dropped since.

For an immigrant from Cuba, the money is life-changing. It affords him the ability to buy several luxuries he otherwise couldn’t dream of. But, perhaps, more importantly, it allows him to send some money back to Cuba to improve the lives of his family back home.

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Spanish for Everyday: Brush up on your Spanish prepositions and conjugates over on Nibaldo's website!
• Squarespace: The website building platform that Nibaldo used to create his website

SEE ALSO:

• Spanish Language Learner Earns $350,000 Helping Fellow Students: After returning to Canada following a stint in Argentina, this eager student creates a language-learning platform that earns $350,000 in year one
• Language Teacher Becomes Fluent In Passive Income: Looking to add more time to her day, an avid language lover and teacher takes what she uses in the classroom to share it with a larger audience, earning $500/month in the process
• Bilingual Insurance Agent Translates Problem-Solving into Profits: After working for free doing odd jobs for friends, an insurance agent with a love of Chinese culture carves out a $40,000/year side business

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,