He Took His Side Hustle Full-Time After Being Laid Off From Meta in 2023 — Now He Earns About $200,000 a Year: 'Sweet, Sweet Irony'

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Scott Goodfriend, who was moving arsenic an executive shaper successful New York City erstwhile he launched Ultimate Food Tours. Goodfriend coordinates nutrient tours each complete New York City, "allowing nan participants to acquisition nan city's culinary segment successful a full caller light."

Image Credit: Courtesy of Ultimate Food Tours. Scott Goodfriend.

When did you commencement your side hustle, and wherever did you find nan inspiration for it?
I moved to New York from Los Angeles successful 2011. I ever loved traveling and getting mislaid stepping done different cities. When I moved to New York, I was fascinated by nan expertise to sojourn anyplace successful nan world by subway, moreover neighborhoods that were acold away. I researched different restaurants and past started thinking, well, possibly I tin eat astatine a fewer different places, truthful I started readying stepping routes to different eateries connected Google Maps. My friends recovered retired I was doing this and wanted to join.

Eventually, nan word spread. My friends and family from retired of municipality started calling maine erstwhile they came to sojourn New York. They would show maine astir a vicinity they wanted to research and inquire if I could scheme a nutrient tour. I enjoyed nan situation and was happy to do this, and I astir apt ended up readying 50-100 tours complete 7 aliases truthful years.

Related: Her College Side Hustle Led to an Immediately Profitable Product That Sells for Up to $450 — and She Didn't Even Consider Herself 'a Business Person'

During this full time, I was a collapsed freelance TV shaper surviving successful nan East Village who lived disconnected a adjacent magnitude of $1 pizza. I lived adjacent to Chinatown and figured I could astir apt return a short locomotion and find thing better. I not only recovered delicious nutrient but besides discovered nan variety, extent and complexity of Chinese food, which I became obsessed with. I started doing tons of investigation into nan regions, cuisines and history and nan Chinese acquisition connected nan Lower East Side. I started taking group to Chinatown, and they fell successful emotion pinch nan tour. They told maine to do this arsenic a business, and I ever poo-pooed nan idea, saying I didn't want to build a website aliases do nan marketing (sweet, saccharine irony — but much connected that later). My friend encouraged maine to put my circuit connected thing called Airbnb Experiences. I posted nan Chinatown circuit connected Airbnb successful 2019; it sewage to nan apical of Airbnb successful a short timeframe. Then, Covid-19 hit, which unopen my operations down for complete a year.

In 2021, I reworked nan circuit and put it backmost connected Airbnb, and it sewage to nan apical of nan "Activities to do successful NYC" list. People started asking maine what different tours I had, truthful I wrote more. Eventually, I had to prosecute group to thief tally nan tours and thief pinch nan marketing. It sewage overwhelming because I was besides moving my dream occupation arsenic an augmented reality shaper astatine Meta, but then….

I was portion of nan Meta layoffs successful 2023! I had a determination to make: Go activity for different institution I really loved and respected, aliases prosecute my entrepreneurial dreams. I decided to prosecute Ultimate Food Tours full-time. It's been great, and I've learned truthful overmuch doing it. I americium really gladsome I made nan jump.

Related: This Dad Started a Side Hustle to Save for His Daughter's College Fund — Then It Earned $1 Million and Caught Apple's Attention

What were immoderate of nan biggest challenges you faced while building your side hustle, and really did you navigate them?
The biggest situation while building my business was deciding wherever to attraction and put my time. You request to beryllium strategical astir what parts of nan business you put successful and attraction on. Since entrepreneurship doesn't person a playbook, nan reply is often to spell for it, analyse nan results, study from it and do amended adjacent time.

How agelong did it return you to spot accordant monthly revenue? How overmuch did nan side hustle earn?
Ultimate Food Tours evolved tremendously complete nan past fewer years, and I'm fortunate capable for it to beryllium my full-time occupation now. Before switching to this arsenic a full-time role, I was making astir $30,000 a year. I astir apt saw accordant gross betwixt nan 2nd and 3rd years. At this time, I was only pursuing Ultimate Food Tours connected nan weekends, truthful I was making astir respective 1000 dollars a month.

What does full yearly gross look for illustration now?
Currently, I make astir $200,000 a twelvemonth and person seen nan marque turn by astir 3 times year-over-year.

Related: This Insurance Agent Started a Side Hustle Inspired By Nostalgia for His Home State — Now It Earns Nearly $40,000 a Month

What do you bask astir about this broadside hustle?
I emotion being capable to leverage my passions and move them into business strategies. A awesome illustration of this is our content marketing. I travel from a family of foodies, and I person ever loved history and making videos, truthful I created a societal bid called Origin Stories, which tells nan history down New York's celebrated foods and nan champion places to eat them. We person 3 seasons and scheme to statesman long-form contented soon. I americium truthful proud of this because we get to usage our level to thrust postulation to section restaurants while simultaneously building our ain brand. It's conceptualizing and executing these win-win strategies that really sewage maine excited astir moving a business.

Whatever thought you have, immoderate your large dream is, return that first measurement now! Buy that domain name, make that societal media post, immoderate it is. Just do 1 mini point a day, and nan remainder will autumn into place. Make it portion of your routine, and you'll spot a return.

Related: I've Had a Secret Side Hustle for Decades. It Keeps Tens of Thousands of Dollars successful My Pocket — and Gets Me Into Places I Wouldn't Go Otherwise.

If you're moving a full-time job, effort to wound disconnected what you tin chew and scheme your side hustle schedule astir your existent commitments. You'll beryllium capable to spot if it has room to grow, and if you do deliberation you want to make it your full-time thing, commencement putting things successful spot that hole you to make nan jump erstwhile you consciousness ready.

Network and talk to different entrepreneurs! The astir valuable point I recovered was talking to different group who started businesses and nutrient circuit companies of their own. They knew what needed to beryllium done and were capable to capable successful a batch of nan gaps successful managing my clip and gave maine nan insights needed to successfully motorboat my ain business.