In the "Multithreaded Income Podcast," host Kevin Griffin navigates the nuanced landscape of generating multiple income streams as a technologist. Aimed at professionals who wish to diversify their revenue while maintaining a focus on technology, this podcast dives deep into unconventional strategies, untapped opportunities, and actionable advice.
Kevin Griffin: Welcome back to the show.
Everyone.
I am joined by my friend, Margaret Rafel.
How are you today, Margaret?
Margaret Reffell: I'm good, Kevin.
Thanks for having me.
I'm
Kevin Griffin: Yeah,
I'm so glad to have you.
, so listeners to the show already know
Our mission is to talk to folks out
there that are implementing what we
call multi threaded income processes.
And having known you for a while, you have
a lot of threads that are currently going
on, uh, which we'll get into, but I think
first things first, Margaret, can you talk
to our listeners about your origin story,
how you got started in, uh, technology
and how you got to where you are today?
Margaret Reffell: Yeah, for sure.
So I started about, oh man, every time
I say how long I started, it's longer.
So I was forgetting how long it's
Kevin Griffin: It's only
been a couple of years.
Margaret Reffell: Right.
It's only been a couple of years.
Um, so I started probably,
oh, I don't know.
I want to say like 12 plus years ago.
I started in front end development.
So I've been a front end developer
for the last 12 plus years.
Um, started kind of self taught
tinkering around on my own and gradually
started to learn different things.
platforms over time.
Uh, and then as I learned more platforms,
I started to specialize in the stuff
that was popular at the time, which
was WordPress and then eventually
Shopify and then started to get a
little bit more niche after that.
And then, um, started teaching web
development at the local college as well.
And then during that time, as I
worked with some more clients,
I saw how I could potentially
expand my library of resources.
And, um, Get some income
in some different ways.
And some of that was online.
And then I sort of went offline
too, into the, the wonderful and
tumultuous world of real estate to,
uh, play my hand there as well too.
So it's definitely, I've had my hand
in a few different things, but my
core business is still web development
and I still make the majority
of my income through consulting.
Kevin Griffin: Let's build
off of that for a minute.
So you have a lot of different
plates spinning at the same time.
So let's, uh, let's talk one by one.
you have your consulting, tell us a little
bit about what type of consulting you do
Margaret Reffell: Yeah.
So my core audience has always been
like solopreneurs and small businesses.
So they've relied a lot on,
I mean, WordPress was my
bread and butter for so long.
And then once Shopify came on the scene,
everybody needed help with Shopify.
So that was an amazing.
Sort of avenue to grow into, and
I totally saw the need there.
In the last, I would say like
five, five to six years, there's
been a huge move for people going
on to the online education space.
And especially when 2020 hit with COVID,
everybody wanted to bring Their business
online, whether it was normally brick
and mortar, they wanted to move it
into Shopify or they were some sort of
online learning, like a fitness coach.
I had a client who was like a Pilates
teacher and moved all of her stuff
online and was just thriving since then.
So I was always doing
sort of online commerce.
As well as online courses, but 2020,
it really blew up because everybody
needed to take everything online.
Online courses became a huge thing.
And then there was a huge boom for Shopify
with everyone needing to bring their
brick and mortar businesses online too.
So that's sort of how
it grew in that arena.
So right now I've really dug
into the specialization of.
Small business owners who run online
courses and from that, it kind of
spiders out into like, well, they
need a shop component and then they
need like major system overhaul.
So there's like a lot of interconnected
systems and at the center of those.
is mostly folks who want to
run their online courses.
Kevin Griffin: and that's, uh, and
that's mostly non technical folks, right?
So you're like the Pilates teacher
isn't, uh, isn't a technical person.
Margaret Reffell: Yeah.
So it tends to be, at least from what
I've attracted a lot of people in like
the fitness and online wellness space.
So it's people who saw technology as an
opportunity to bring their stuff online,
but really had no understanding of it.
So they had to have someone come
on board to, to show them the ropes
and set things up for them for sure.
Kevin Griffin: Do you mind talking a
little bit about how you found some
of those initial customers, like
Shopify, that's a big business.
So I don't know if I wouldn't
know how to go find, say, a Ply's
teacher that's looking for help.
How do you find those type of customers?
Margaret Reffell: Yeah.
So it's all, I mean, I've been really
lucky in that as soon as I started
doing web development, I completely
immersed myself in the community.
So I like took, even though I was
self taught, I took local courses.
I volunteered at bootcamps as soon as I,
as soon as I learned enough to be able
to sort of pass on that information,
um, volunteered at bootcamps, got
myself on like any kind of educational
boards and really immersed myself in.
The online community, um, that you
and I are part of too, and as well
as the in person community also.
So I've never, every client I've
ever got has been from a referral.
I've never gone out and actively
looked for like requests for
proposals and things like that.
And I know that that's like some people's
way is just, they get on LinkedIn,
they've got a ton of, um, they've got a
ton of patients and they have a ton of
resources to sort of Comb through requests
for proposals and find stuff that way.
I can't stand doing
that stuff, truthfully.
So I try to immerse myself in the
places that really interest me and see
how I can help those folks as much as
I can, um, for free and through like
educational and Uh, like workshops
and stuff like that, and just being,
being a part of, um, of educating.
And then, uh, they eventually find
me or they refer me through someone
else who had maybe taken a course
or something like that as well.
And then also I have, uh, friends
in the business as well too.
And then if they can't take on a project,
they'll sort of pass it over to me.
So I think it was really
about just like building up
community and then a reputation.
of quality.
So if you're working with colleagues and
you have a reputation of like, she'll
get it done for you and she'll follow
through and she'll meet the deliverables
and the deadlines and the budget.
Um, that's hugely valuable
because to be honest, most web
developers don't meet all of those
Kevin Griffin: I, uh, more times
than not, I'll have someone come
to me and be like, I just need you
to build a simple website for me.
Even my own wife will, she'll come
and say, would you redo my website?
And I'll say no, not because the
consumer facing tools and services,
uh, have just gotten so good.
I sent my wife to Squarespace,
said, go to Squarespace.
They will do 99.
9 percent of what you need.
If she was setting up a storefront,
it's like Shopify is, does
exactly what it's supposed to do.
very easily.
You might need that initial
help just getting started.
You might need help with optimization,
but the common person can go in there
and kind of understand what's going on.
whereas everything I do is very special.
Specialty work, we're designing workflows
from the ground up, but that also
comes with fairly sizable price tags.
And it's not for most folks.
Like most folks need like Shopify.
I would use Shopify.
I don't want to build an e commerce system
because I've built e commerce systems.
They're complicated and there's lots
of bells and whistles and Shopify
just does such a great job with it.
Margaret Reffell: Yeah, for sure.
And I think that's a great point too.
Cause that's always when someone comes
to me, one of my first lines of defense,
it's like, do you have, a teenage
daughter, or do you have a nephew?
Do you have someone who you
can just task this with?
Because I'm telling you, they will
get you 90 percent of the way there.
You don't need to spend thousands
of dollars on a web developer
to get a Shopify up and running.
Like, yeah, if you have like a son or
daughter in high school, they can do this.
They can knock this out in a weekend
and then like, come to me when you
need the specialization of scaling.
And it's good because They're
really appreciative that you
didn't just take them for all
their worth and take their money.
And then they always come
back when they do need you.
Or if they have a friend
who's more complicated,
they'll refer you as well too.
So yeah, I a hundred
percent agree for sure.
Kevin Griffin: So you said you have a
course and it's a Shopify course, right?
Margaret Reffell: I do.
So kind of just building off what you were
saying too, like because it's so easy for
users to jump right in and build a shop.
I would say.
I mean, Shopify tells you, you
can do it in like 15 minutes,
give yourself a couple hours.
Like there's no way, like if you're
using it for the first time, yes.
Can you get, technically you can
probably get it up and running
in 15 minutes, but let's be real.
Like you need a few hours
to, to get it done, but it is
accessible to a lot of people.
Many people get super frustrated.
So I just wanted to build like a step by
step process of here's how to get your
shop running Basically, with like three
to five products, maybe two variations.
And that's, this is the thing.
This is if you're handling your own
inventory, this is, so it's not meant to
be the DIY solution is not necessarily
meant to be like a large scale.
I got to hook it up to a warehouse
and figure out all the logistics.
It's I make my own t shirts.
I make two different
designs and I need them.
I need a website for them.
Like that's, that was what it was
geared towards when I made it.
So I made a pretty, uh, pretty
simple get started, um, get started
on Skillshare using Shopify.
So if you have Skillshare, it's free.
And if you don't have Skillshare, I
think you get 30 days for free anyways.
So I will send you the
Kevin Griffin: Go pick it up.
We'll, uh, we'll drop a
link in the show notes too.
So everyone who's interested in
Shopify could just go learn about
it and go set up their own Shopify.
And then the best case is if
they go through the course,
they still have questions.
They just come to you for consulting
and the, you're already a trusted
person in, in the space because
of the course, um, you're building
that authority as a Shopify expert,
um, which helps tremendously.
I'm sure.
Margaret Reffell: yeah, exactly.
And it has, it's crazy because working
with, working with Shopify, I've sort
of, and I know we're going to get
into this a little bit later, but
I've started to dip my toes in Amazon
a little bit because everyone who's
like, well, I'm selling on Shopify.
Should I also sell on Amazon?
And Amazon is like, it's such a
beast, but I've learned so much
like working inside Shopify.
Dipping my toes in Amazon, like
the world of logistics is, can get
quite complicated quite quickly.
Yes.
Kevin Griffin: I have a friend from
high school who goes on Facebook
and he says, Come talk to me.
I'll get you a set up on Amazon.
You'll make 400, 000 a day and he makes
these big promises and I'm smelling scam.
I'm pretty sure this is what the Amway
people went through 10 years ago.
Margaret Reffell: Yeah.
It's like the new multi level marketing.
Then they'll try to sell you a course to
my course on how to get rich on Amazon.
Yeah.
Kevin Griffin: so in addition to your
consulting, your online courses, on
Etsy of all places.
Margaret Reffell: Yeah.
So what, how that sort of came
about is I'm not really, I'm
not really much of an Etsy user.
And as every time I thought about
Etsy, it only occurred to me that
it was like, you would go and get
like a knitted tea cozy, maybe
Kevin Griffin: Yeah, it's do dads
like personalized do dads is what I.
Margaret Reffell: crafty, yeah, crafty
sort of online marketplace, but it's grown
like crazy when I started looking into
like, there's so much stuff you can get
in now and Etsy is such a huge marketplace
for digital downloads, which I found out.
Um, so in the interest of.
Putting my stuff onto like a marketplace
where other people could find it.
Um, I wanted to give Etsy a try and
I also at this around the same time,
I started getting clients actually,
I've always had clients ask me, we
get to the end of creating a website,
whether it's WordPress or Shopify and
inevitably at the end of a website builds.
It's okay.
What do I do for terms and conditions?
What do I do for privacy policy?
What do I do for disclaimer,
building a course?
What do I do for online course
community guidelines and rules?
And before it was like, I
don't know, talk to a lawyer.
And I just kept sending people off, which
really didn't seem like a reasonable.
thing to do right when you just
finished people's websites because
it was one of the last things.
Uh, so I, in conjunction with my lawyer,
we created, um, terms and conditions,
like a standard template, terms and
conditions, privacy policy, disclaimer,
um, Guidelines for online communities and
a few other templates that are on Etsy.
So they're digital
downloads available on Etsy.
You download them, replace the
information, replace like the
company information with your
own, and then you can just paste
it straight onto your website.
So they're updated about every six months.
So I just did an update maybe
two to three months ago.
So those are all available as well.
And they're pretty reasonable.
I mean, hiring a lawyer will be, would
be like a couple thousand bucks for that.
And I, you can get the whole
template for like under a hundred
bucks, like all the templates.
So that has been great because I can
sell them on Etsy, but then also when
I have clients, I can say like, I can.
It's an added bonus for them.
So yes, you have, you get all this
stuff with me developing your website,
but then also you get the added
value of this free package of all of
your terms and conditions and stuff.
So I always try to think of like,
how can I add value to my current
clients, but then also like make
some, make some money on the side.
So I thought about putting them on my
own website, but the reality is, is
just like having them on a marketplace
just brings its own traffic and it's
so much easier because I don't have to.
Worry about continuously
like SEOing my website.
Kevin Griffin: it's one of those
things you mentioned a moment ago, I
would never imagine finding on Etsy
I recall, folks a while ago selling
like code templates on similar sites.
And there's ways you can just do a
lot of the work up front and you can
sell it over and over and over again.
I think contracts, templates are a
great idea, especially by my biggest
recommendation to people doing, say,
consulting contracts, statements
of work, uh, go find a template.
And take that to a lawyer because a
lawyer will only, uh, what do I say,
take it to a lawyer and make it legal for
your, your state, your country, wherever
you're residing, and that will cost
you a fraction of the price as the full
contract would, um, when I did with my
lawyer, a lawyer was going to charge a
couple, like you said, a couple thousand
dollars to do the, from the scratch
contract, but I came with the contract.
They just fixed some of the stuff that
wasn't legal in my jurisdiction, and
I think it only cost me four or $500.
All said and done.
And yeah.
Helps tremendously.
I think that's a great idea.
Margaret Reffell: Yeah, I think it's
been super helpful for some people.
It's funny because we're, I'm starting
to see even, so I'm from, I'm from
Canada, which I don't think I mentioned
at the beginning, but, uh, we are
starting to see the commoditization
of these things even more on.
Like a larger scale in Canada,
we have a few startups.
One of them is called Willful Wills.
So it's basically like that.
It's a templated will website where
you normally would have to go to your
lawyer and get like a will and get
notarized and everything as well.
But this startup has made these legally
binding wills that you can basically
fill out all your information online.
It grabs that, pops it into a pretty
basic template that at the very least
you have, you can bring to a lawyer
and they can make some adjustments, but
they don't have to make it from scratch.
Kevin Griffin: I love that idea.
And well, with wills, if you, it ever gets
tested and it's wrong, you'll be dead.
So it's not a big deal.
So not, not really your problem.
Um, so let's, you have a lot
of different streams, a lot of
different threats of income.
Um, was there a trigger or a point in
your life where you realized that this
was the direction you needed to go having
all these different threads or was it
something that just happened naturally?
Margaret Reffell: I think it
happened naturally to a certain
degree when I stopped trying to
figure out what I should be doing.
And I'll clarify, cause I think that
just to make more sense, there's so
many things online that it's like,
we were just talking about it too.
Like.
To get to make 80, 000 a month, you
got to sell this on Amazon or do this.
But what the only, even if I tried
those things before, the only stuff
that really stuck was like, listened, I
listened to what my customers didn't have.
I didn't have accessible to them
and just created that myself.
So the templates are, I think
are a perfect example of that.
So I didn't go out to just seek to make.
These pre done templates, but I did
see an opportunity of something that
continuously was coming up again
and again and again as a pain point,
and then made a solution that I
could duplicate over and over again.
And I think that's where people look
for these sort of quick fixes and
these like, Oh, build a, build an
Amazon store, build a course or build
this and make millions of dollars.
But I think there, there's some people
maybe looking a little bit too hard
and the fact that there's a lot of
stuff right in front of you that people
are just lacking that you can listen
to your customers, create for them,
uh, cause chances are they're not the
only ones who are looking and be able
to create that over and over again.
Kevin Griffin: Let's talk
for a moment about just life
and time effort management.
Uh, it seems like you have a lot
going on between your consulting
and your courses and keeping your
Etsy store up every now and then.
Um, how do you manage your time and
your efforts and how do you decide
where you're going to spend your effort?
Margaret Reffell: Yeah,
that's a good question.
Um, yeah.
Yeah.
Um, I'm usually always working, which
sounds awful, but I think that when
you are always looking for plans,
like of how to improve and where you
need to go, it doesn't feel like work.
So a lot of my time is spent like
planning and working and figuring
out like what are the best things.
What are the best solutions like
for myself, but also for clients?
So the short answer is yes, a
lot of my time is spent working.
Even if I'm not in front of the computer,
if I'm out on a walk, it's like, Oh, I
should set this up this way, which would
allow me to do this and this and this.
Uh, but I do enjoy that stuff.
I find when I try to
detach too much from it.
and force myself to not force myself to
not work and completely separate from it.
Um, it's kind of boring and I
actually really like work and
the planning that goes into it.
Uh, that said, I do love other stuff too.
So I like love traveling.
cycling, rollerblading.
Uh, I have, I have a new kitten
and she takes up a lot of work.
So I have two, I have two cats.
One of them's a, one of
them's just a kitten.
So I'm sort of managing her as much as
it sounds like, Oh, you have a kitten.
It's not a big deal.
She's a lot of work.
And I always forget
how much work there is.
Uh, so managing that.
In with just like everything
that's happening in the world right
now, just continuing trying to
like, recenter myself, understand
what's important and then finding
my energy in like, how can I be.
of service is, I think that's
super helpful and really
grounding for me, I find.
Kevin Griffin: Now we've talked
about the things that are working.
Uh, Now, I'm sure there's probably
a short list of things that haven't
quite worked the way that you wanted
them to, uh, do you have a list of
failures or dropped initiatives or
things you should drop that you haven't?
Margaret Reffell: Yeah.
So I think for the dropped initiatives,
I did mention my Shopify course.
Now I had made that it's been just over a
year that I made it dropped initiatives.
It probably needs to be updated.
So I should update that.
And then also I enjoyed making it.
But it's the only course I've ever made
and I am so involved with like creating
online courses for other people and
setting up their environments that
I've really dropped the ball in making
anything more like that for myself.
So I think in dropped initiatives, I would
really like to commit to whether it's on
Skillshare, just like churning out more.
Courses or on my own platform
churning out more, but creating more
educational content, putting myself
out there more is definitely something
that falls by the wayside when I'm
kind of focused on serving clients.
So that's something for sure.
Kevin Griffin: I think we could get a
group of us who have built content and
courses and we could just do a like
four to six hour conversation about.
All the parts that go into it, because
I, I know when I used to be an outsider,
it's like, oh, no, doing a video course.
That sounds so easy.
Like, you just sit down and hit record.
And I think people really appreciate
how much time and effort goes into
building a, uh, a video course.
Um.
I've built a couple, I've seen
yours and it's not the type of thing
you can just sit down and do you,
you have to considerable amount
of planning and then execution.
And then it's like a garden because things
are going to change and you have to go
back and weed the garden rerecord videos.
And, oh, it's a lot of effort.
Margaret Reffell: And I totally blame the
gurus because for so long it was like,
here's your ticket to passive income.
Create an online course.
There's nothing passive about
creating an online course.
It's constantly active
and it's so much work.
So,
Kevin Griffin: The one course, so I
have, I have a handful of course out
there, the two I care about, I really
care about one and I, I stopped tending
that garden a couple months ago and it's
slowly like it, it pays its dividends.
It, it keeps up with itself, but it was
a lot of effort dealing with the students
coming through, having questions and
trying to answer things and then you get
the bat, like the one bad review out of.
The 50 good reviews and
it just ruins your day.
Oh, I don't, it, when you start
doing new course, let's chat.
I'll, I'll remind us of this conversation.
Margaret Reffell: Yeah, for sure.
It's like an emotional roller coaster too.
Kevin Griffin: Well, let's
talk about the future.
So you kind of talk about,
you would love to update your
courses and do more courses.
Is there anything else that you're not
doing now that you would love to maybe
devote some time to in the future?
Margaret Reffell: That's a good question.
I think definitely more online
learning content as well.
And then as far as changes for the future,
I don't know that there's necessarily
a lot that I'd want to do more of.
I definitely want to do more travel
and things like that for sure.
So I think on the personal level,
there is on a professional level.
Um, I know we chatted a little
bit about having like a little
bit of, uh, investments in real
estate and things like that.
But part of me, it's tough right now,
really wants to scale down on that stuff.
So, so I think there's
changes in the future.
There's parts of me that really
have to look at the full portfolio.
And I mean, portfolio in a sense of
like, Real estate, what I'm doing for
work, the Etsy stuff, like really get a
look at the whole portfolio and just be
ruthless about if something's not working.
I think I definitely get, like many
people, emotionally invested because
you put so much work into things, but
Um, really getting better at taking
a step back and making objective,
objective decisions for future of
myself and the future of the company,
even if those aren't popular decisions.
So I think getting better at that,
getting a bit more objective, um,
and not as emotionally involved
in business decisions for sure.
Kevin Griffin: There was a great
piece of advice from, uh, one of
our friends, uh, Brett Fisher.
He, he said he doesn't start an initiative
or continue initiative unless he
sees himself doing it for five years.
And.
I say that as a person, I say
this as a person who has taken on
a lot of different initiatives.
This is initiative right now.
I didn't think about it that way.
Like, I don't think five years
out, I think, all right, this
is good for six months and we'll
see where we are in six months.
I've never thought about
anything five years out.
It's a good thought lesson, I think,
for, for approaching anything.
Margaret Reffell: I think so too.
I think it brings up some.
Good thoughts that I've never
really considered as well.
Like you, it's always like,
okay, what about like the
sick next six to eight months?
And I think that was also reinforced
to a certain degree during COVID
because I had this, we all did, I'm
sure had this sort of, well, we don't
know what's going to happen next.
So like, let's just, let's just, we
got to kind of figure it out as we go.
Uh, and I think COVID kind of, It
ruined, at least for myself, any
kind of, like, plausible predictions.
Plausible, like, secure
predictions for the long term.
And kind of put me more
into a short term mentality.
But I think it's a good idea
to reconsider the long term.
Definitely.
Kevin Griffin: So Margaret, there's
someone out there listening.
They say, I want to be just like you.
I want to be a consultant.
I want to have my online courses.
I want to set something up on Etsy.
Do you have any advice for that person who
wants to be like you when they grow up?
Margaret Reffell: Be
careful what you wish for.
I would say.
Uh, listen to your customers.
Listen to your clients.
There's a lot of like shiny objects that
you're going to want to chase and very
few of those end up being profitable
without listening to a customer base.
That's already there.
Your clients are a customer base.
We're already there.
So really looking.
Towards them, towards the, for the
things that you create can create
to benefit them because chances are
if they need them, they're not going
to be the only ones who need them.
The other thing too is that I know
it's so cliche to say like niche
down, but I w I would change the
word niche for specialization.
So creating a specialization in
a certain area, whether that's,
if you're a web developer and
you want to dig into something.
Dig into certain softwares like Shopify.
You want to be an expert in Shopify.
If you want to get more into
systems like right now, I'm
looking at bigger scale systems.
So I'm pursuing certifications for
Salesforce and entreport because
I'm seeing that web development
can be commoditized earlier on,
which is what we talked about.
Like you can get it, any
teenager can set up a.
can set up a Shopify store.
Anyone generally can set up a WordPress
site, but to get yourself into a place
where you're invaluable and you're usable
almost at like an enterprise level.
So getting in and specializing in software
is that you will always be needed.
Like Certifications in
Salesforce will always be needed.
So specialization and listening
to your client's needs.
Kevin Griffin: That is some great advice
and you really do hit on a, a big subject.
The businesses like to pay
and hire people that will
essentially make them more money.
So you don't want, you don't want
your developer to just be a, a
cost line item on, on a budget.
You want that person to come in and
hopefully bring in two, three, 10
X the amount of money that, that
they're, uh, that they're worth.
I know Salesforce people.
People that easily make, for lack of a
better term, they make bank because they
are going in and they know the systems so
well that they can just add insane value.
Um, and I'm sure with Spotify
or Shopify, it's the same thing.
You have someone who just needs a little
bit help optimizing their Shopify store,
whatever rate you're charging, they're
getting back tenfold, uh, because
they have an optimized store now.
Oh, that is some great advice.
All right, Margaret, do you have
anything in promote outside your,
well, drop links to your online Etsy
templates, but is there anything else?
Margaret Reffell: I think
that was pretty much it.
Just those two.
And then, but yeah, if anyone has any
questions, feel free to reach out.
I'll leave you with my socials as well.
So I'll leave a link there, but
basically if you search my name
anywhere, I'm the only one.
So it's probably me.
Kevin Griffin: Sounds good, Margaret.
Thank you so much for hanging out
with us today and thank you to all the
listeners for hanging out with us on this
episode and we'll see you all next time.
Margaret Reffell: Yeah.
Thanks for having me, Kevin.