The Livelihood Podcast

7 Side Hustles You Can Start Today & Our Honest Opinion On Which you Should Try

Side hustles are an important element of becoming more financially independent. Since we believe business is a skill that takes practice, it's also important to familiarise yourself with making transactions with customers. The more customers you serve, the more confident you'll be with your other ventures that may be slightly bigger.  An important element of this episode is that we give our honest opinion on whether we would undertake any of these and the reasons why. Usually this boils down...

Luke's $1,000 Day Etsy Store. How He Turned His Podcast Challenge Into an Automated Profit Machine.

In this episode Luke talks about his Etsy store that he created from the first Fast Bucks Challenge in episode 14 from nothing to doing his first $1,000 day. The store generated $4,700 in sales in the last 30 days, and Luke discusses the profit margins on the product later on in the show. He also discusses how he used Etsy ads to drive traffic, but how Etsy rewarded the spending by driving more free traffic; and how that has really propelled his sales in the last 30 days. The store is a c...

EP#39 - Luke's $1,000 Day Etsy Store. How He Turned His Podcast Challenge Into an Automated Profit Machine.

In this episode Luke talks about his Etsy store that he created from the first Fast Bucks Challenge in episode 14 from nothing to doing his first $1,000 day. The store generated $4,700 in sales in the last 30 days, and Luke discusses the profit margins on the product later on in the show. He also discusses how he used Etsy ads to drive traffic, but how Etsy rewarded the spending by driving more free traffic; and how that has really propelled his sales in the last 30 days. The store is a c...

EP#38 - The realities of taking an invention to market: $600k product launches, factory disputes & working on the line xmas day.

Join us as we talk with Jim Rhodes, who along with Barney Mason, designed, crowdfunded and manufactured their product. We discuss the highs and the lows of running a hugely successful product launch and then the realities of getting the product manufactured.  Jim reflects on the 3 year journey that him and co-founder Barney have been though, and how he's a completely different person from when the crowdfund originally launched. We learn that from the outside, it may seem like a business is b...

The realities of taking an invention to market: $600k product launches, factory disputes & working on the line xmas day.

Join us as we talk with Jim Rhodes, who along with Barney Mason, designed, crowdfunded and manufactured their product. We discuss the highs and the lows of running a hugely successful product launch and then the realities of getting the product manufactured.  Jim reflects on the 3 year journey that him and co-founder Barney have been though, and how he's a completely different person from when the crowdfund originally launched. We learn that from the outside, it may seem like a business is b...

EP#37 - What to do if your Business is in a Slump - How to Cross The Chasm of Stress, Uncertainty and Stagnation

If you are a small business owner you have probably felt the feelings of being stuck in a rut or that your business is stagnating. It often creates an overwhelming stress in your life that can have a negative impact on your own mental health and relationships with those around you.   So, How do you deal with a bad spells in business? In this episode we try and tackle the problem head on, using our own experience and a real world example of exercises we completed to try and get the podcast ou...

What to do if your Business is in a Slump - How to Cross The Chasm of Stress, Uncertainty and Stagnation

If you are a small business owner you have probably felt the feelings of being stuck in a rut or that your business is stagnating. It often creates an overwhelming stress in your life that can have a negative impact on your own mental health and relationships with those around you.   So, How do you deal with a bad spells in business? In this episode we try and tackle the problem head on, using our own experience and a real world example of exercises we completed to try and get the podcast ou...

EP#36 - Lean into Public Speaking - Get Over Your Fear and Sell Better, Present Better, Speak Better and Feel More Relaxed Whilst Doing It

In this episode Alex takes us through how he's gone from a nervous / petrified public speaker to feeling a lot more relaxed and feeling confident. You get to hear the most embarrassing stories from when Alex fell apart on stage and how he's used some simple tips to train his brain to feel more relaxed.  Here are the points we discuss: Treat your brain like a muscle, continually exposing it to the stress of public speaking will improve it Use a mind map instead of making notes: research.  ...

EP#35 Why Capitalism is Good for Everyone...Even Socialists

In this episode we argue that capitalism is a force for the good of society, by driving innovation which has given us an incredible quality of life compared with our ancestors. WARNING: This is an opinion piece. We are not experts on the subject of economics or politics, we just think it's important and fun to discuss subjects like this, and we hope that we give a good argument to why capitalism is good for everyone. The main points we go over in this episode - Fosters innovation and cont...

EP#34 - 7 Ways the World of Work is Changing & How you can benefit over the long term

In this episode Luke and Alex discuss the ways that world is changing, how businesses shifting to working remotely more and more, and how this will eventually effect how you get paid. Without location holding people back, they're free to roam the world and capitalise on countries with much lower living costs.  We cover the following questions: 1. If cities are no longer the place to find work, what happens to cities property prices? 2. What happens when there is much more competition for rem...

Ep#33 - Get Guaranteed Free Money by Matched Betting. 7 Tips to Get £1,000 in Less than One Month

Matched betting is a way to turn bookmaker sign up offers into risk free profit. Matched betting is a completely risk-free method, where you place a bet at a bookmaker to trigger a free bet. You then bet against that outcome at a betting exchange, meaning that you don’t lose any money. The bookmaker then gives you a free bet, and you repeat the process, but this time you keep about 80% of the free bet value as profit! £20 Free Bet = £16+ Profit! In matched betting you cover every outcome ...

EP#32 - Property Investing for Dummies - How it takes Less Money than you Expect to get Started in Property Investing.

In this episode we run through the different ways you can make money investing in property. Some ways require a hell of a lot of work upfront, whereas some ways can pay you straight away with a smaller amount of money than you might expect! We discuss the following points: Dan Pena says any idiot can get rich it’s about staying rich and getting richer! How can you use property to do this? Ways to make money:  Buy to let - Students, Long term rental, holiday lets, commercial  What sort of...

EP#31 - The 6 Best Cities to Live as a Digital Nomad

In this episode we look at some of the best cities in the world to live as a digital nomad. We factor in a few criteria to why you should live there - price to rent a one bedroom apartment in the city centre, price of a beer, price of a meal for 2 at a mid range restaurant, internet speed, visa requirements; and that little extra the place offers. Bali Rent: $350 per month Beer: $2-$5 Internet Speed: 512kbps – 2mbps (some providers can offer higher speeds). Meal out for 2: $27 Visa: St...

EP#30 - Facebook Ads Challenge - Why striking emotion in advertising could be the key to setting yourself apart from the competition.

Our second fast bucks challenge has ended in failure, but we've learnt a lot during the process. We've spent over $1000 and overall not made a profit, but we have some lessons that can save you money in the past.  We reflect on advice from marketing guru behind the UGG brand, Brian Smith, who tells us that you never advertise the product, but the life and benefits behind that product. This way you put yourself into the mind of the customer, enabling them to skip right past the product itself...

EP#29 - Why Balancing Exercise and Work Makes You a Better Worker and Business Leader, Improving Clarity and Focus

Luke and Alex discuss the importance of exercise when trying to work efficiently. Alex reflects on his use of running and strength training whilst working as a way to clear his mind from distractions and regain focus on the task at hand. Luke discusses his approach over the last three years from being out of shape to running a sub 90 minute half-marathon and 30 10k runs in a month. Exercise can be a great relief from anxiety too as both Alex and Luke have experienced. 

EP#28 - Amazon FBA Product Research - there's a good reason why finding good products is hard! What are the key metrics to be aware of before committing to selling the product yourself?

This episode we do a deep dive on Amazon FBA product research, which is the most important first step into selling on Amazon. Becoming good at this is the difference between being a million dollar business and failing. Product research is about finding a profitable product, with a low supply and high demand; and we take you through the steps to do it properly. When you are doing product research, you aren’t necessarily looking for a product, you are actually looking for keywords and niches...

EP#27 - How You Actually Get Rich. Cutting Down Spending and Increase Earnings - All About Entrepreneurial Minimalism

In this episode we talk about the importance of cutting back your spending, and some techniques to help you manage your personal finances better.  WARNING: We are no money saving experts, but Luke has to save money out of necessity and Alex has learnt a lot over lockdown. The difference between your income and your outgoings determines how financially free you are. The closer your spending and earning are to each other, the more likely you are to be stressed about money.  The goal in beco...

EP#26 - From Surf Camps to B2B Tech Businesses, Embracing Indonesian Culture in Business with Chris Burns

Today we’re joined by Chris Burns, who is a serial entrepreneur based in Bali. Chris  is currently involved in two tech companies - Bali App, Omniup. As well as the online shop for Revolver Espresso in Bali. Chris has multiple other businesses, including Secret Sumatra (surf camp in Krui), property investment in Bali and working at the Bali Tourism Board Chris talks about the early days of his surf camp, where they were still building the site when half of the next season was fully booked!...

EP#25 - $1m Product Launch and How to Get in GQ, High Snobiety, Daily Mail & Hype Beast. Ft. Josh Renouf

Today we’re joined by Josh Renouf, who is now closing his second crowdfunding campaign.  The original campaign raised close to $800,000 and the latest one has just broken £100k. He runs the business with co-founder Markus and today we’re going to dissect how to smash a product launch.  The Barisieur started as a university design project, and after some buzz around the product turned into a business. Josh tells us how he reached out to design blogs and got unexpected media coverage that r...

EP#24 - Is Apple a good business name? Did Hitler come up with the name Volkswagen?! Naming your business and why it’s as easy or as difficult as you want to make it.

What’s the perfect name for a business? *Disclaimer* If you haven’t got a product yet, call it anything remotely sensible and don’t listen to this episode. It's a waste of your time - focus on your product first.  Have a clear indication of the message you are trying to portray and what your brand needs to communicate.  How are your main competitors naming their brands, and how will you fit into the market. 4 types of name - descriptive, suggestive, abstract and legacy. Descriptive: nam...

EP#23 - Why The F*ck are Facebook Ads So Hard? How To Make Your First Profitable Ad. ft. Arun Thangavel

Arun is good friend of Alex’s, they worked together on a crowdfunding campaign back in the day. Arun and his team slogged away at running facebook ads and has some amazing experience with them. Today we’ll be mostly either complaining about them or asking some difficult questions about the subject like - why is it so bloody difficult!? Arun is an expert in helping companies use online and digital marketing to grow their businesses online. You have a budget. You spend it. You get clicks. Yo...

EP#22 - Creating Your Perfect Lifestyle & Building a Surf Empire - Meet Chris McLaverty, who quit university and set off for Indonesia with two friends. Ten years later they run one of Indonesia's most popular Surf Camps, but it hasn't been plain sailing.

Chris runs the Mandiri Beach Club Surf Camp with his two business partners. It's based on a remote beach on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Chris talks us through how they not only didn't have a business plan, but ended up falling foul to a notorious con artist in the area. The first few years Chris had to sleep with a machete under his pillow in order to protect themselves from attack. The guys eventually worked together to get the con artist deported, but even then things weren't easy. C...

EP#21 - How Can you Use FaceBook Ads to Unlock 1000s of Sales? FaceBook Ad Fundamentals & Fast Bucks Challenge No.2: Can We Turn a Profit on FB Ads in 2 Weeks!?

This episode is a perfect starting point for anyone who hasn't ran a facebook or instagram ad before; or for people who haven't ran any successfully. We go over the fundamentals of why facebook ads are so powerful, and the simplest building blocks of the ads. This is the first part in a longer series about facebook ads, where both of us take on the challenge of trying to make our first profitable ads. How do facebook ads work? Advertising is split into three groups, campaigns, ad sets an...

EP#20 - Recognising Success or Admitting Defeat. Have We Done Enough to Keep the Lockdown Livelihood Podcast Going?

When we started the show we made a deal. We make 20 episodes, sit down and review whether it's worth carrying on or to quit. We launched our first episode on 5th April 60 days before this, which marks our 20th episode! To date we have had 850 downloads, some phenomenal guests and have consistently aired the show twice a week. Our Instagram page was a total disaster, but have we done enough to keep this podcast going?? Join us as we review our successes, and our failures in the journey of st...

EP#19 - C*nt Empire - How Shitting on Trump's Face Built Elliott Hawkins' a Six Figure Income

In this episode we talk to Elliott Hawkins, the man who built a 6 figure e-commerce empire, adding a brutal twist to everyday items.  Elliott started the Brutal Gift Company back in 2017 when he had a month off work. He explains how we discovered a gap in the market for balloons printed with rude slogans (rather than the usual nice messages) and immediately ordered 120,000 balloons! Elliott's main sales channels are Amazon FBA and eBay, but he also discusses how and why he is manoeuvring h...

EP#18 - Can we turn a profit on Etsy in 2 weeks? Fast Bucks Challenge (Part 2 of 2)

Find out how we did in our two week long Etsy challenge. Is it possible to start from nothing and make a profit on Etsy in two weeks? Luke and Alex chat through their strategies (or lack of) as they take their first punt on Etsy.  We discuss:  How much money we made (or lost) by creating a store from scratch on Etsy in 2 weeks with only about 15 hours of work each. Print on demand: pros and cons - why it is the best method for testing a new business. Benefits of the simple advertising pl...

EP#17 - What’s in a box? The magical world of packaging and how it can make all the difference.

Who should be listening to this? If you’re thinking about selling a physical product then these tips and tid bits should help you out? What is the point of packaging? Two aspects - to protect the product in transit and to present the product nicely on arrival. To give those tingly Apple unboxing moments.  Two parts to packaging design. Artwork and hardware so we’re going to go through them separately: Hardware:  the actual folded card. This is produced using something called a net, and t...

EP#16 - How can you possibly start a business in less than one day?! An introduction to print on demand using Printful

Yep, it's true. If you've always wanted to sell products and didn't know where to start this is the episode for you. If your dream is to start your own clothing line or street wear brand don't do anything until you listen to this ep.  We discuss: What is print on demand? What are the best sites for print on demand?  What are the pros and cons?  Pros Easy Set Up: You don’t need to hire the best web designers to get your Print-on-Demand business up and running. There are countless plugins...

EP#15 - How to Make Money Freelancing. Leverage Your Skills To Earn from the $455bn Gig Economy.

Freelancing is the process of selling your work/expertise on a project or contract basis. Usually you and the client will define a scope of work, and you will either work on a single payment based on the project or on an hourly rate. Freelancing can cover everything, but in this episode we are mainly focused on jobs paying over $50/hour (at a high level), which would cover most professional services in the USA and UK. If you are a Designer, Marketer, Manager, Programmer or you have a skill ...

EP#14 - Can we turn a profit on Etsy in just two weeks? Fast Bucks Challenge (Part 1 of 2)

Is it possible for us to turn a profit on Etsy in less that two weeks? Join us as we discuss our game plans as we start our very first Fast Bucks Challenge. We attempt to setup an Etsy store in just two weeks. Is it possible to start an ecommerce business fast? Find out as we explore Etsy's platform on our 2 episode special. Rules:  1. Two week time limit. 2. £100 limit on spending.  3. No limit on product offerings. No limit of the type of products. No limit on services offered. Game...

EP#13 - How One Side Hustle Turned into the Biggest Side Hustle Podcast on the Planet ft. Nick Loper from The Side Hustle Show

Nick Loper is host of The Side Hustle Show podcast, one of the most popular small business podcasts out there. On the show he interviews guests who have had success with their own side hustles. The Side Hustle Show has been going since 2013 and released nearly 400 episodes. Accompanying the podcast, Nick also hosts sidehustlenation.com, the popular blog/website for side hustlers, and a mailing list with over 60,000 subscribers. Nick has also presented a TedX talk (which you can find on you...

EP#12 - Manufacturing Your First Product with Architect turned Product Designer Matt Gilbert

Matt has successfully crowdfunded two projects, the Crane Lamp and the Solstice Clock together raised over £100k on Kickstarter. Join us as we talk about the highs and lows of manufacturing in the UK and in China.  If you had advice for someone wanting to make their own product, what would it be? Start with something small and less complicated and don’t aim for massive numbers Try to use this to learn how to do it, but not necessarily at scale. You can also use this to begin to build you...

EP#11 - Welcome to the World of Fiverr: How to use it to inject speed & get shit done! ft. Special mystery guest, Victor.

Fiverr is one of the best resources for entrepreneurs to build businesses quickly. Need something translated? Use Fiverr. Need a quick logo? Fiverr. Need a guest for your podcast? That’s right - you can find it all on fiverr. Listen in to hear our top tips on how to get the most out of the platform, what to look out for and how to get the best results. Ft special guest Victor who, you guessed it, we found on Fiverr.  10 Key Points:  1. What is Fiverr and why is it f***cking great? Fiverr ...

Lockdown Livelihood Trailer - Why Did We Start a Business Podcast?

EP#10 - Launching Your First Online Shop. Ft. Flower & Flame Founder, Keri-Ann Stroud

In this episode we discuss how to start an online store with Keri-Ann, who has been running a successful e-commerce business for the last 2 years. Keri-Ann launched Flower & Flame (flowerandflame.co.uk), a sustainable products company that focuses on long life flowers and beautifully smelling long burn candles. We talk about - Managing cash flow in a small business How to source the best products in your niche and dealing with problematic suppliers Whether you should quit your job to st...

EP#9 - How to Stay Motivated when Starting a New Business: Top 10 Tips to Stay Inspired and Moving Forwards.

Starting a business is bloody hard. It takes self belief and consistent effort. We go through our favourite quotes for staying ahead of the struggle. Talking Points  Motivation is a learnt skill.  There is no finish line. Phil Knight - Founder of Nike. Just Start. When you have an idea for something you're at peak inspiration.  Start small. Start at the basics and try out low risk strategies first.  Stop theorising. Focus on action. Stop focusing on absorbing information. Have a Dopa...

EP#8 - What is SEO? Why is SEO important? How can you use SEO to make more sales and drive more traffic? ft. Digital Marketing Specialist Jyles Kerr-Smith

EP#8 - SEO with Digital Marketing Specialist Guest Jyles Kerr-Smith.  Join us as we talk SEO and discuss: What is SEO and why is it important? How do se arch engines work Keyword research On page & off page SEO Things that will improve your website’s google ranking: Speed - no-one will ever hope that a website loads slower. That was one of the fundamental principles that drove google founders to be obsessed with loading times. Make sure your site isn’t heavily loaded with high resolut...

EP#7 - FIGHT! Is Dropshipping a Load of Old Bulls***?? Product Designer Vs. Marketer

We challenge each other to decide once and for all, is dropshipping worth anyone's time or is it a load of old bull? We Cover: First of all, what is drop shipping? Is there any value in you learning about it and should you try it?  What are the pros and cons? Ultimately, is it a load of old bullshit?  YES, IT SUCKS DONKEY BALLS.  Alex's arguments: Why would a customer want to wait 14 days for shipping when most of the products are already on Amazon in prime. When you’re in a business ...

EP#6 - How to Launch a Podcast. Ft. Joel Emery, Creator of 'The Offensive' Podcast

In this episode we discuss how to launch a podcast from 0 listeners, all the way to nearly 1 million downloads.  We talk with Joel Emery about some of the tactics and tricks he used to get a massive following of fans for his award winning podcast, without using traditional marketing or an initial fan base. The Offensive Podcast has won a British Podcasting Award, as well as receiving rave reviews from GQ and The Guardian, among others. It has been downloaded nearly 1 million times. It's s...

EP#5 - What the f#&% is a sales funnel!?

Talking Points 1. Use a sales funnel, not a website. 2. Creating a value ladder for your business.  3. Free content, Low ticket items (capture those leads!) 4. Mid and high ticket items 5. Driving traffic to your funnel Summary 1. A sales funnel is a singular path along a purchasing journey with different stages along the way with an opportunity to convert a customer into the next phases of the funnel. The idea of a funnel is to reduce the amount of options to a customer, so that you ...

EP#4 - Is Crowdfunding Still a Good Strategy?

Help decide whether your should consider doing crowdfunding! It's a pretty confusing subject, but since we both have first-hand experience of running them, hopefully, it will help you make up your mind if it's right for you :) Contents 1. Why crowdfunding is great (cashflow and risk).  2. Build a funnel, not a community.  3. Choosing the right platform. 4. Keep it simple stupid. 5. The single most important piece of advice. Then we go through our quick tips: - Get in touch with the c...

Ep#3 - Selling on Amazon (Part 3 of 3) - Launch Strategy

Contents - Launch Strategy Getting your products to Amazon Getting your first reviews Amazon PPC Customer service Follow up an Email sequence to all buyers Summary & Top Tips Create a shipment in Amazon Seller Central, and send your box identification labels to your supplier. Use helium10 link builder to artificially generate a search event when you give people the link to your product. Send your product link to people you know to buy your product and give “honest” reviews - WARNING...

EP#2 - Selling on Amazon (Part 2 of 3) - Creating A Killer Listing

Join us as we talk more about selling on Amazon FBA, and focus on creating a listing that dominates your competition. This episode we cover everything related to your Amazon listing, which is the product display page customers see when they search and click on to your product. We discuss - Why you need to have an amazing product listing, and to outperform your competitors 100% of the time. Why you HAVE to create your own brand, and how to add "value" to your customer with your brand. Ho...

EP#1 - Selling on Amazon (Part 1 of 3) - The Five Stages to Setting up an Amazon Business

Join us as we introduce ourselves properly and run through our experiences of selling online and starting businesses. Together we have both started, grown and even sold Amazon businesses. In this episode we discuss: Find a category & find your product Order samples Design your packaging Create your listing Launch We end by revealing our most embarrassing business moments.  Summary & Top Tips Make sure your chosen product keyword has enough people searching for it to sustain your busi...