Latest / The Side Hustle Career Podcast with Fexingo: Second Income, Freelancing While Employed / How a Government Analyst Built a 20K Side Hustle in FOIA Consulting
Transcript
- Lucas: Last year, federal agencies received over 900,000 FOIA requests. That's up roughly 14 percent from five years ago. And most requesters — journalists, researchers, small businesses — have no idea how to navigate the system. Luna: And that's where today's guest comes in. Maria — a federal policy analyst in her day job — turned that knowledge gap into a $20,000-a-month side hustle. She's a FOIA consultant. Lucas: Right. She helps people file requests, appeal denials, and push for expedited processing. She even handles fee waiver arguments. And she started it with just $200 in filing fees and an Upwork profile. Luna: Let's back up though. What exactly is FOIA consulting? I think a lot of listeners have heard of the Freedom of Information Act but have no clue how it actually works. Lucas: Yeah, good point. FOIA lets anyone request records from federal agencies. But the process is slow, bureaucratic, and full of jargon. Agencies can take months — sometimes years — to respond. They can deny requests for vague reasons like 'exempt under b5' or 'deliberative process privilege.' Lucas: So a FOIA consultant translates that. They write the initial request in the right format, they track it, they follow up, and they handle appeals. Maria's specialty is expedited processing — getting a request bumped to the front of the line for people who can prove urgency. Luna: And she charges for that. How did she land her first client? Lucas: Her first client was a freelance journalist who needed internal emails from the Department of Education about student loan servicing. Maria found her on Upwork, bid $500 for the initial request and one appeal. She won the bid, got the records in six weeks — which is fast — and the journalist wrote a story that got picked up by a major outlet. Luna: So she had a case study. That's smart. She could point to a real result. Lucas: Exactly. From there, she built a website, started a newsletter on FOIA tips, and now she has a waitlist. She charges a flat $2,500 for a standard request package — includes the filing, one appeal, and a fee waiver argument. Expedited processing adds another $1,000. She does about eight to ten clients a month. Luna: That's $20,000 to $25,000 a month. And she does this while working full-time as a policy analyst. How does she manage the time? Lucas: She's disciplined. She dedicates two hours every evening — 8 to 10 PM — and one full day on Saturday. She uses templates for common request types, which cuts drafting time to about 30 minutes per request. Appeals take longer, maybe two hours. She also uses a project management tool to track deadlines. Luna: What about conflicts of interest? She works for the government. Isn't there a risk? Lucas: She's careful. She only handles requests for agencies she doesn't work for. She also avoids any topic related to her agency's mission. And she cleared it with her ethics office — they confirmed it's okay as long as she doesn't use government time, equipment, or non-public information. Luna: That's smart. Because the last thing you want is an ethics violation. But it does limit her market, doesn't it? Lucas: It does, but not as much as you'd think. There are over 100 federal agencies. She can't work with the Department of Health and Human Services because that's her agency, but she can work with the Department of Defense, the EPA, the SEC, the FDA — there's plenty of demand. Luna: And the demand keeps growing. You mentioned 900,000 requests last year. Is there a particular reason? Lucas: A couple of factors. Journalists are using FOIA more aggressively — especially for investigations into pandemic spending, climate policy, and tech regulation. Also, small businesses are filing FOIA requests to get data on competitors or regulatory compliance. And there's a growing number of individuals requesting their own records. Lucas: But the biggest driver is the backlog. Agencies are overwhelmed. The average response time is now over 18 months for complex requests. So people who know how to expedite, how to appeal strategically, how to negotiate fee waivers — they're in high demand. Luna: So what's Maria's advice for someone who wants to do this? Do you need to work in government? Lucas: You don't, but it helps. She says the key is understanding the law — FOIA, the Privacy Act, state-level equivalents. You can learn the basics from the Department of Justice's FOIA Guide, which is free. She also recommends taking a course from the National FOIA Conference or the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Lucas: Then start small. Offer to help a local journalist or a nonprofit for free or at a discount. Build a track record. Maria says her first five clients were all pro bono or deeply discounted. That's how she learned the nuances. Luna: And the money? She's making $20,000 a month now. But what's the ceiling? Could she make more? Lucas: Probably. She's at capacity now with her evening and Saturday schedule. But she could raise her rates. Or she could hire subcontractors — other FOIA specialists. She's considering a small agency model where she trains a couple of freelancers and takes a cut. That could push her to $40,000 or $50,000 a month. Luna: That's a serious business. And it's all built on a skill she already had from her day job. That's the theme of so many of these episodes — you probably already have something you could monetize. Lucas: Speaking of which — if we've helped you think through a career move or decision, even a small one, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going. It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it really makes a difference. We keep the show ad-free, and listener support is the only reason we can do that. Lucas: So back to FOIA — let's talk about one more specific tactic Maria uses. She's had particular success with fee waiver arguments. Under FOIA, agencies can waive fees if the request serves the public interest. She's gotten fee waivers on 80 percent of her requests. Luna: How does she argue that? I'd think most agencies would push back. Lucas: She documents everything. She shows that the information will be disseminated — maybe through a news article, a blog, or a public report. She gets a letter from the requester's editor or publisher. And she emphasizes the potential societal benefit. For example, for a request about pesticide safety, she might argue it could affect public health policy. Luna: So it's not just filling out a form. It's making a persuasive case. Lucas: Exactly. And that's why she can charge a premium. Her clients aren't just paying for the paperwork; they're paying for her strategic judgment. Luna: One last thing — what's the biggest risk for someone doing this as a side hustle? I'm thinking about burnout, or the day job finding out. Lucas: Burnout is real. Maria almost quit last year when she had a rush of appeals and a big project at work. She now has a rule: no more than two new clients per week, and she caps Saturday at six hours. As for the day job — she's transparent. Her supervisor knows, and they're supportive. But if you're not sure, check your employee handbook and talk to ethics. Better to ask permission than forgiveness. Luna: Solid advice. And a great example of how procedural knowledge — something many of us take for granted — can be a real business. Lucas: Right. Maria's story is a reminder that side hustles don't have to be about coding or design. Sometimes they're about knowing how a system works and helping others navigate it.