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Welcome to the Small Town Entrepreneur Podcast. Here we dive into the challenges and opportunities of starting and growing a business in a small town. Join us each week as we share tips, stories, insights, and strategies to help you build a successful business in your community. We're here to help you spread your awesome. Hello everyone and welcome back to the Small Town Entrepreneur Podcast. I'm your host, Claire Bouvier, and today you're just with me. And I'm excited because we're gonna talk about a topic that keeps coming up and it's the most listened and it's the most asked questions, both personally and on forums. And people are emailing me, Claire, how can I make more money? And you know what? You're in the right spot because my favorite thing is I help you make more money. I make people more money and I love it because I get to work with people that are passionate about what they do, but help them make more money.
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So I'm gonna be your guide on this entrepreneurial journey. And remember, my story all started from being a high school teacher and transitioning very quickly into entrepreneurship. I had no previous background and in just seven years I can say that I have surpassed over a half a million dollars inside hustling. So today we're gonna dive into just a couple of the tangible steps and ways you can monetize some of your passions. There's 10 that I really focus on, but today we're gonna talk about two to three of them. And if you're interested, I'll keep going and I have a surprise at the end of the episode to let you in on. So grab a notepad, whether it's your phone or a piece of paper or a napkin, because today's the day you're gonna start making more money for the things that you love and you're going to create that starting right now.
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And it's not hard, I promise. You just have to stay committed. So the first one is that I have done for over a decade. I can happily say I was one of the first in my small town Airbnb. And I remember when it first came, it wasn't nearly as glamorous as it is today, but I would say that over the decade, the same things were expected to perform well and to be able to have, you know, the premium price and to be able to get people to come and to not only enjoy their stay but leave the place beautiful. That's the biggest nightmare is having setting yourself up for damages or things happening. And if this doesn't apply to you, you if you don't own any property, there's tons of people that actually run other Airbnbs and I hear that a lot. And this is just as important.
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You get paid to have your own Airbnb company and this is becoming more and more popular, taking over other people that have the property. So obviously the first most important thing is having the perfect spot. And whether you're in a small or a big city, it doesn't matter because there are people traveling to all nooks and crannies of the world. So it's really important to highlight where you are, all the amenities. For some people it might be they wanna be near York Park, other people in New York cafes to highlight these things. That's really important, which is obvious. But sometimes we take for granted and some of the descriptions and the things that we post, we don't necessarily really accurately or hype up the beauty of where you are. I will say though, if you don't take anything about creating a secondary suite where you're gonna either rent for its Airbnb or whatever, the most important thing that I have come to learn and absolutely love is creating that irresistible atmosphere that people, they see the first image, they look at it.
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So whether you're in any of the spaces of renting out rooms, I love customer experience. I worked in restaurants for nine, 10 years as a hostess to a server. And it's kind of like that. It's like, it's so fun to get people feeling comfortable and welcomed and to leave them with a really good experience. So what does that mean? So most important thing is a theme. A theme is crucial. I remember my first Airbnb, I had to live out of my car, um, in order to rent my bedroom apartment, my one studio, which at the time there was a lot of very casual legislation around Airbnb. Anyway, I don't do that anymore. But the one thing that I did do was my love of traveling. I really infused my little loft into a Parisian chic vibe, meaning it was very shabby chic interior decor. So I kept everything in a theme, very light and airy and always provided like journals for people to write in or have a bottle of wine.
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And I really attracted almost exclusively romantic couples coming into town. And it was amazing. I never actually had any issues in three or four years, one small incident. But I created this theme from the pillowcase to the fresh flowers to everything. And if you're not good at that, that's okay. Bring someone in that is amazing and it's just maybe changing the colors up a bit, adding different art, whatever it is. Game changer. Absolute game changer when it comes to the interior decor of making something feel like a certain vibe. So you attract a type of audience based on how you're setting it up. And so be really diligent about that. And obviously that goes with the cleanliness and everything. And most importantly, create that. You know, words are powerful so that irresistible stay, they see the, and then they read the words that totally matches with the description of what they're seeing.
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It's absolutely ridiculous the difference between you know, what they're reading, what they're seeing, the themes, and we're gonna get to the pictures in a second. But the pricing for success, you want to test it based on getting the reviews. I would say the most important at this point is that when people are coming and you wanna create a certain experience, I would say keep a lower price. At the beginning. The auto, it kind of does a beta, or what's the word it generates based on the demand and the price for it. So I would turn that on based on what Airbnb recommends or depending, you know, you can use that reference as if you're doing A, b and B or whatever it is to get a sense of it. Because really what you want is the testimonials. You want people to be like, this was amazing, assuming in this case it's couples on a romantic getaway.
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So the most important once you have that theme is actually making sure the photos represent what you're saying, what it looks like. So I can tell you right now, the second I look for an Airbnb or looking for accommodations, if there's dark photos, I'm gone. I want something bright, I want something light. So think about that. Just generally there is like, it's completely proven. People want something light, they want something clutter free, they want to imagine themselves in it. Um, obviously certain experiences you have a unique place. Maybe it's a, a floating dome in the sky, that'd be cool, an air bloom, whatever it is that's gonna be different. But keep in mind that people are looking for a certain experience and you can see the ones that do really well and understanding that I could go so deep into creating the right photographs as a photographer.
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We won't go there, but I can go there at a later time, which I will tell you at the end of this episode. And really what is the cherry on top? What gives you the amazing review is making it personal. And I think that's the danger that it's becoming so big. Airbnb, that impersonal touch is starting to be more common where it feels, everything feels like, I remember when it first started, it was like you literally were going to stay at someone's place and now people just buy places and turn it into an Airbnb. So it's, it's like a bed and breakfast essentially, or a hotel in a boutique style. And so that's what the demand is and and I totally understand that, but you can still go the extra mile and create these little tiny moments where you create really good customer experience. So anything from the check-in time, from a handwritten letter to letting them know your favorite, not only your favorite restaurants, but you know the favorite dishes at those places.
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And I always had something that I could leave for them so that they could take away or check out. Maybe you have a discount for something offering that extra will go so far. And that's at the end of the day, you know, crafting that experience, setting that experience up really comes down to you know, the customer experience. And it's really important that you're in the business for that customer experience. And there's a lot of opportunity, like the difference you can charge on setting it up properly versus not setting up properly is wild. And I've worked with other people on the Airbnbs and I've done my own and I've tested so many times and I'll say it comes really down to those four or five things to really create an optimal experience that you can charge more of a premium rate, you have it start to finish that customer experiences five star.
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So that was one of the side hustles I really dove into and I absolutely loved and essentially allowed me to, that was the first step to allowing me to leave my teaching job. And then on the side I started running my own events. And this is crazy lucrative if you want it to be. You know, a lot of people collaborate and I think that's great or a lot of people get invited to different events but run your own event. And the thing is, you can take anything, any of your skills and create an event. And I can tell you obviously during the pandemic we shifted, we went online, people became really creative, but now people are becoming more and more excited and curious to like go in i r l, go in the real life, do things, meet more people, join different communities. And so the best thing is, especially for everyone listening that lives in a small town, you know there's gonna be gaps.
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There's things that are just not being provided in your city, in your town, in your community. And so by combining what the gaps are being like how come we don't have blank? Just because you're not the expertise in that you can still run the events, put something together, bring them in, sell tickets, and a voila. And that was a lot of time I did. I started moderating panels, I created panels, sold tickets and would bring other experts in and bring together this community and start leveraging it in that way. Obviously the pandemic was hard and we shut it down for that time being, but then moved into something else. So look at your passions, look at the things that you're really love to. I love the Airbnb thing 'cause it was customer service. Well I just took those skills and transferred into running workshops and running events and really taking what I loved is education and teaching people and bringing other expertise and other people into it.
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So it's really important that you understand what your skill and your passion is and understanding the audience who's out there. Is there a gap, an absolute gap in the market for the opportunities to have an event? If there's something that you wish was there, create it. Just go out and create it. Put together a description. This is why we have AI tools. Put all your thoughts down, put into chat, g p t, get a beautiful description, post it on Eventbrite, sell tickets, get it shared. Create a Facebook group. Invite all your friends. And you know what, you'll be surprised people love other people putting something together and making an event. Those of you that are like scared to be creative and put that out there. I just had an episode that's gonna be dropped in the next couple of weeks and we were talking about Elizabeth Gilbert's book, big Magic, if you haven't read it, it is brilliant.
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For anyone that feels creatively stuck or just afraid to put themselves out there, you know the fear of failure. Big magic is amazing. It's both audio and a book. So putting yourself out there, yes you have to if you run your own event, but it is awesome and people want to show up. People want to do these cool things. And the best way is to really, if you're a little nervous post, like a little poll on your Instagram or LinkedIn or Facebook or email your top 10, you know people that will respond and ask them like what are the top three things you'd wanna go to? Get a sense, you know, pilot it first and then you can go from there. So the little, there's lots of things, and I'm going super high level because I'm gonna dive more into this. I'm actually developing a course on the very specific steps, one to 10 for everything, all the side hustles, everything I've done to make my first half million inside hustling.
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I'm gonna share with you in a course, this is super high level and that you can get inspired and I'd love to hear from you if you're enjoying this, if you wanna learn more. But the second one of event planning, creating your own event, not even event planning, just putting together your own event. Maybe someone wants to help you with it, they're excited there's something that's needed. The biggest thing is that the financial planning is absolute paramount to this. I can tell you right now the best thing to do, the biggest costs, the biggest costs to you are the space where you're gonna have it. And any of the, depending if you have speakers, that's one thing. But if you're just doing something maybe on your own, you're gonna start it at first on your own and you're gonna offer something is any refreshments or alcohol if you get a license, whatever those things.
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So there's lots of, I have everything down to what age group lights, what kind of wine and the cost. And let's just say I have always been able to run my events under a very small and tight budget in order, but to give the optimal experience. So it's really, really crucial that you run through your numbers, look at that stuff. And the best is to leverage a space where they need some exposure. They would love to have you in there. Some sort of agreements, whether it's bartering, whether it's like creating at an off time for the business. There's lots of little things that you can do to make sure logistically everything runs smooth and that you have a beautiful space for your event that it matches. It pre-event obviously is crucial. You want everything to run smoothly. And so that's where you have all everything prepared in advance.
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And I can tell you, you know, your lead time, it's like, well how much time do I need? I always say at least three weeks to let people know about the event. Once you go further than two months, people don't worry about it or think about it or really invest. But that sweet spot is that six weeks is really crucial and especially if you're moving into different seasons, hitting them early in the season as we go through the season. Anyways, the third one that has made me over a hundred thousand dollars more than that. That's not sure exactly the numbers, but I can tell you that creating content for brands. Now you might be listing, well Claire, I'm not really good at creating content and that's okay. But there is, so the word content is so vast. It could be writing, it could be drawing, it could be photography, it could be editing, it could be coding, it could be administrative, it could be so many different things.
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And so that was where as a professional photographer for many years, and that's where I really, when I was a high school teacher, I started training and I started taking courses, um, night courses, specifically working with mentors, big in the industry and really leveraged my photography. And then I started just shooting for fun for people to test, you know, a lot of uh, portrait photography and then started working with brands. And so how did that happen? Honestly, especially with something like photography, I can say after 15 plus years shooting, the one thing it comes down to is do you have some work to back up? You know, do you have something that people have seen? But mostly that's kind of like your baseline. But I can say for me specifically it was, especially with content creation and working with brands, it was like, what are you like on set so to speak?
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Do you make people feel comfortable? Are you able to take this brand or these people and turn it into something better? Turn it into something great And there's so many different roles in the content creation world and it's super extensive. But that for me was everything was how I was on set. How I was on camera was when I got the jobs and how did I get the jobs? Well, it's strategically and also authentically and organically, whatever word you wanna look at and how you want is engaging in dialogues that really open those doors of collaboration. So I would talk to someone and I would like, oh, like what are things you enjoy doing? Enjoy. And always it seems to end in a conversation where like, well we're looking for someone like this or do you know of someone or, that's really cool, I didn't know you'd do that.
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And I said, well, can I have your email? How about I follow up? I'll send you over what I've done. And they're like, sure. But then the onus is on you. You have to go and follow up. You know, a lot of time people are busy, they forget. And that was how most, honestly 95% of the jobs I got was following up, sending 'em a message, Hey, it was great to see you. This is what I'm doing. Or you know, and some people that are really excited, they're like, please can I have your contact info? And you know, before you've even left chatting with you, they've already sent you a message. And so it's so important to be in situations where there's other people where you have those conversations. 'cause they don't really, they don't happen as organically and the same when you're online. I love the online world and I'm in multiple communities online, but those kind of conversations whether, you know, I've gotten photo shoots or work, you know, standing in line at the Adidas outlet or downtown at the market, uh, or just saying, giving someone a compliment, being like, I love this.
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And they're like, oh, like I didn't know you were into this and yeah, this is what I do. And then it turns into this conversation, they're like, well I was actually looking for someone like this. Voila, there's the opportunity. And so I was saying a hundred thousand dollars, I would say probably $200,000 over the last seven years of having these opportunities, these conversations have led to monetary rewards with the work that I got to offer. And as I was doing this, I was learning more and more and more and kept getting better. So it's so important to leverage your talents in conversation, talk about it, bring it up, let people know. Because what's happened is that over the years I started as in photography, well now I build out courses for people. I create, you know, I love designing different for brands and creating strategies and social media and all these different things.
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And I take on now only the things that really get me excited. But people like to work with someone that is the one-stop shop. You know, when you go shopping, there's those moods sometimes you know, you go to Loblaws or wherever you can know, you can get clothing, you can get a baseball bat and you can get your peanut butter. And sometimes for a company, a smaller company, depending on what their budget's like, they want to work with someone that has, you know, the ability to do multiple things. And so it's important that you keep growing and learning and start with what you have. And there's an opportunity, I say for the multipotentialite, um, you have lots of skills and you can put them together to create something for people. So if you're one of those people like, oh, I don't wanna get out in public and be networking, you don't have to.
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But I would say if you're in the grocery line, if you're somewhere and you're just around people, you will not believe that the beauty of the universe will come tenfold. It will open up doors. When you're looking for something, there's going to be this opportunity. And it's really important to ensure that there's this like mutual conversation that you're not just like pitching to everyone sometimes like just a conversation is just a conversation. But just be open to the opportunity that there might be something more behind that. That they've met you in a grocery line and they like you and they feel comfortable with you and they're like, wow, okay, I'll connect with you. That's how I've hired most people is because I've built some sort of relationship with them and then recognize, oh, I really like working them, they're really skilled in this area. I lack this area, I need them.
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And so that's where really building and nurturing those relationships are crucial to building your community and building the quality in your work. And then it just, word of mouth, it's powerful. It just keeps spreading and spreading and spreading. So those are three things. There's three or four more that we're gonna come in future episodes, but the first one is like, how do you really take an empty space and turn it into a rental? And this is just overnight, we haven't even talked about just like an empty space that you could do something else with. Behind me, I took my garage and , I turned into a studio and this is where now my, I don't have to corporate lease with putting minimal amount down, I was able to build out my own studio. So there's lots of opportunities to do things to make it more affordable and to grow.
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The second one is create your own event. Build something and they will come, I promise, every single time I have this feeling, oh, I don't know, but I'm telling you, if you do it right, you follow the steps, you do a proper pre-launch. What is a pre-launch? Getting hype? How do you do that? I have lots of methods, very successful methods to create that hype, build out the audience. Especially if you have no one. If you have no audience, no email list, very little on social media. It's okay. It is so possible to have a sold out event. It's all about pre-launching and creating the hype. And lastly, well, the content creation. If you're someone in the creative fields, there is so much opportunity to leverage the conversations authentically and be true to who you are. Don't go around pitching everyone, but let's hear from people.
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Ask, be curious. Curiosity leads to opportunities. Opportunities leads to jobs. Jobs leads to financial growth for you. So if you have a nine to five, this is a great way to start. So from your living room tonight, today, if you're driving, you can start your journey of being, making your own money. Whether it's an entrepreneur, you're running your own business, whatever you wanna call it, having some financial freedom, having, you know, even if it's just starting to have this little bit of extra money, it doesn't matter where you live, it truly doesn't matter where you live. You look at the gaps, what are the needs? And I truly believe if you want to make more money and you are excited about something, put them together, passion and profit. I promise you there will be successes and some failures, but mostly you keep learning and keep growing. So until next time, thank you for tuning in. I'm Claire from the Small Town Entrepreneur Podcast and I will see you next week.
