Latest / The Side Hustle Career Podcast with Fexingo: Second Income, Freelancing While Employed / How a Librarian Built a 10K Monthly Side Hustle in Research Consulting
Transcript
- Lucas: If we've helped you think through a career move or decision, that's the whole point of this show. Quick honest thing — a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what funds making this many of these episodes. Luna: Yeah, it's a small group but it keeps us ad-free and focused on the actual stories. Lucas: And today's story is a perfect example of someone who turned a skill most people take for granted into a real income stream. I'm talking about research. Luna: Research? Like, library research? Lucas: Exactly. Our guest this week is a public librarian — let's call her Sarah — who built a $10,000 a month side hustle doing research consulting for startups and small businesses. Luna: Okay, that's a big number. Walk me through what she actually does. I mean, isn't Google free? Lucas: Right, but here's the thing — Google gives you results. It doesn't give you curated, synthesized, verified information. Sarah offers three main services. First, literature reviews — for academics writing grant proposals or literature reviews for systematic reviews. Second, competitive intelligence — for startups trying to understand their market landscape. And third, data synthesis — basically taking raw data from public sources and turning it into a readable report. Luna: So she's not just finding things, she's making sense of them. Lucas: Bingo. And she's able to charge premium rates because she uses databases that most people don't have access to — things like Bloomberg Terminal access through her library, or JSTOR, or industry-specific databases. She also has the training to evaluate sources, which is actually a rare skill. Luna: I can see that especially now with AI generating so much content. People want to know if a source is legit. Lucas: Exactly. She started by posting on LinkedIn — just a simple post saying 'I'm a librarian and I can help you find research for your white paper.' She got three inquiries in the first week. Luna: What did she charge initially? Lucas: She started at $75 an hour. Within three months she raised it to $150, and now she charges a flat project fee — typically $2,000 to $5,000 per project, depending on scope. And she does about three to four projects a month. Luna: So a typical project — how many hours is that? Lucas: She says a literature review for a small biotech startup looking at a new drug class took her about 20 hours. That included database searches, reading abstracts, selecting 30 relevant papers, and writing a two-page summary with key findings. She charged $3,000. Luna: That's $150 an hour effective. Pretty good for a side hustle. Lucas: And she does it evenings and weekends. Her day job is 35 hours a week at the library. The side hustle adds another 15 to 20 hours. Luna: But how does she avoid conflicts with her employer? Most libraries have rules about using resources for personal gain. Lucas: Great question. She's very careful — she uses only publicly available databases at the library, or her own subscriptions. She doesn't use interlibrary loan or any library-specific resources that would give her an unfair advantage. And she cleared it with her supervisor — it's considered outside consulting as long as it doesn't interfere with her duties. Luna: Smart. So what's the biggest lesson from her story? Lucas: I think it's that information literacy is a sellable skill. We all assume everyone knows how to search effectively, but they don't. There's a real gap between what people can find on Google and what a trained researcher can pull together. Luna: And she's not alone — I've seen similar stories from data journalists and fact-checkers. Lucas: Right. The key is positioning yourself as a curator, not just a finder. Sarah's clients pay for her judgment — what to include, what to exclude, how to frame the findings. Luna: And she found her clients on LinkedIn. That's interesting — I would have thought she'd go through Upwork or something. Lucas: She tried Upwork, but the rates were too low. On LinkedIn she can showcase her expertise through posts and articles. She writes about research methodology, source evaluation, things like that. That builds trust. Luna: So what's next for her? Is she going full-time? Lucas: She says she's considering it. The side hustle now earns more than her librarian salary. But she actually loves the library work — it's less pressure and she enjoys the public service aspect. So she might keep both. Luna: That's the dream, right? Having a fulfilling day job and a lucrative side hustle that uses different skills. Lucas: Exactly. And speaking of using skills, I think there's a broader takeaway here. What's a skill you have that you think is common but actually isn't? Luna: For me it's spreadsheet modeling. I always thought everyone could build a financial model, but I've seen people who are brilliant at strategy who can't structure a basic Excel sheet. Lucas: That's a perfect example. Or public speaking. Or writing concisely. Sarah's story is a reminder that the things we do every day might be someone else's pain point. Luna: Alright, so if someone wants to start a research side hustle, what are the first steps? Lucas: First, identify a niche. Don't just say 'I do research.' Pick an industry or a type of research — competitive intelligence for SaaS startups, or literature reviews for clinical trials. Second, create a portfolio of sample work. Even if it's hypothetical. Third, start engaging on LinkedIn or in industry forums. Offer to do a free mini-research project for one or two people to get testimonials. Luna: And pricing? How do you figure out what to charge? Lucas: Sarah recommends starting at $50 to $75 an hour if you're brand new, then raising rates as you get testimonials. Or charge per project — estimate how many hours it will take and add a 20% buffer. For a literature review, a typical project might be $1,500 to $3,000. Luna: One thing I'd add — don't underestimate the value of your library science degree or your years of experience. That's credibility. Lucas: Absolutely. Sarah doesn't have a degree in library science — she learned on the job — but she's been a librarian for eight years. That counts. Luna: So the bar isn't as high as people think. Lucas: Not at all. If you can find information faster and more accurately than the average person, you have a service to sell. Luna: And with AI making it harder to trust information, the demand for human curation is only going up. Lucas: That's a good note to end on. Next week we'll talk to a former teacher who built a side hustle in educational content writing for edtech companies. See you then.