Latest / The Side Hustle Career Podcast with Fexingo: Second Income, Freelancing While Employed / How a Part-Time Consultant Billed 100k in 6 Months
Transcript
- Lucas: You know the common advice — 'just start a consulting side hustle.' It sounds nice, but no one tells you how to actually get the first client, let alone bill six figures in six months. So today I want to look at someone who did exactly that. Luna: This should be good. What's the story? Lucas: Her name is Jessica. She's a real estate agent in Austin, Texas, but she didn't build her side hustle on selling homes. She built it on consulting for real estate tech startups. She started in January of this year, and by June — last month — she had billed just over one hundred thousand dollars. Luna: Wait — one hundred thousand in six months, while keeping her full-time real estate job? How much time did she put in? Lucas: About ten to fifteen hours a week. She worked evenings and weekends. Her first client came from a former colleague who had moved to a proptech company and needed someone who understood the local market. That first contract was a flat fee of five thousand dollars for a market analysis report. Luna: So she didn't even start with an hourly rate. She just said 'I'll do this project for five grand.' That's a gutsy first move. Lucas: It was, but she had a clear scope. She knew the report would take about twenty hours, so her effective hourly rate was two hundred fifty dollars. By the third month, she had three recurring clients on monthly retainers of two thousand dollars each, plus one-off projects. Luna: And none of those clients conflicted with her real estate brokerage? I know a lot of agents have noncompete or non-solicitation clauses in their contracts. Lucas: That's a critical point. Jessica checked her employment agreement. She was an independent contractor at her brokerage, so she had more freedom. But she still made sure none of her consulting clients were competitors of her brokerage. She also got her own liability insurance — about five hundred dollars a year for a one-million-dollar policy. Luna: So she was smart about the legal side. But one thing I'm curious about: how did she find clients beyond the first referral? Lucas: She used a very specific play. She wrote three long-form LinkedIn posts about the challenges real estate tech companies face when expanding into the Austin market. They got a lot of engagement, and two startup founders reached out directly. She also joined a Slack community for proptech professionals and answered questions there consistently. Luna: So content marketing, but hyper-focused. She wasn't trying to be a general real estate expert. She positioned herself as the Austin market specialist for tech companies. Lucas: Exactly. Her niche was narrow — 'I help real estate tech startups understand the Austin market.' That specificity made her the obvious choice when those companies needed help. Luna: I love that. But let's talk about pricing. How did she go from a five-thousand-dollar flat fee to two-thousand-dollar monthly retainers? That's a big jump in recurring revenue. Lucas: She transitioned by offering a 'market intelligence' retainer. For two thousand a month, she would provide monthly reports on new housing developments, regulatory changes, and competitor activity in the area. That was valuable enough that three companies signed up. Plus, she raised her project rate to seven thousand five hundred for new one-off clients by month four. Luna: So she built momentum. And the retainers gave her predictable income. What about time management? Ten to fifteen hours a week on top of a full-time job sounds brutal. Lucas: She had a very strict schedule. Tuesday and Thursday evenings from seven to ten, and Saturday mornings from eight to noon. She also used a project management tool — just a simple Trello board — to track deliverables. She told me the key was never promising turnaround times she couldn't meet. Luna: That's so important. Overpromising is the fastest way to burn out while still employed. But let's talk about the money. One hundred thousand in six months — did she keep all of that? Lucas: No. She paid self-employment tax — roughly fifteen point three percent — and she set aside thirty percent for federal income tax. So her take-home was around fifty-five thousand. Still a significant second income, but less than the gross figure. Luna: Right. And she also had to pay for her own insurance, software subscriptions, and that liability policy. So net profit was probably closer to forty-five or fifty thousand. Lucas: That's about right. But she also got something beyond money: she built a track record. By June, she had case studies, testimonials, and a referral network. She's now considering whether to leave real estate entirely and focus on consulting full-time. Luna: And that's the real exit strategy for a side hustle. Not just the income, but the option. Before we go deeper into scaling, I want to say — if today's episode was useful to you and you want to keep it ad-free, buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo helps. We don't run ads, and listener support is what makes that possible. Lucas: Yeah, it really does. If you get value from these conversations, that's the place. Now, back to Jessica — how did she handle the transition from side hustle to potential full-time? What was her litmus test? Luna: Good question. I imagine she had a target income in mind. Lucas: She did. Her rule was: if her consulting income matched her real estate income for three consecutive months, she would make the switch. As of May, her consulting income was about seventy percent of her real estate income. So she's getting close. Luna: That's a concrete, measurable trigger. Not 'I feel ready,' but 'the numbers say yes.' Lucas: Exactly. And she's already preparing for that transition. She's building a simple website, she's automating her reporting process, and she's started networking in two additional metro areas — Dallas and Houston — to expand her geographic niche. Luna: So she's scaling before she even quits. That's smart. For someone listening who wants to replicate this, what are the first three steps? Lucas: First, identify the niche where you already have expertise that companies pay for. Don't invent something new. Jessica already knew the Austin market cold. Second, check your employment agreement for noncompete clauses and get liability insurance if you're giving professional advice. Third, start with one project — not a retainer — to test the waters, just like she did with that five-thousand-dollar report. Luna: And after that first project, ask for a testimonial and a referral. That's how you build momentum without spending on ads. Lucas: Right. And price based on value, not time. Jessica's effective hourly rate went from two fifty to over three fifty as she gained confidence. She never worked for less than she was worth. Luna: That's the takeaway I hope listeners remember. It's not about working more hours. It's about leveraging expertise into a service that someone will pay a premium for. Lucas: And doing it while you still have a day job, so there's no desperation. That's the luxury of a side hustle. You can walk away from bad clients. Luna: Alright, next episode I want to talk about the opposite scenario — when your side hustle becomes so successful you have to quit, and how to do it gracefully. That's a whole different set of challenges. Lucas: I'll start researching. Thanks, Luna.