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Feeling overwhelmed by your family's daily grind and looking for a way out? Welcome to "Dig the Well," the podcast that empowers you to build the life you deserve. Your hosts Vikki and John are top earners at Neora. Vikki is a # 1 best-selling author and John is a retired Los Angeles Police Officer. Together they’ve navigated family challenges, raised successful kids, and achieved financial freedom.
In each episode of "Dig the Well," they dive deep into the strategies and mindsets that can help you break free from the constraints of the traditional 9-5 lifestyle. They understand the unique challenges faced by stay-at-home moms and families who are juggling multiple responsibilities and struggling to find balance. Their mission is to provide you with the tools and inspiration you need to create additional income, gain more family time, and ultimately, transform your life.
Throughout their journey, they’ve had the privilege of working with renowned figures like Jack Canfield and Jeff Olson, whose wisdom and insights have greatly influenced their path to success. They’ve also celebrated significant milestones, such as raising two valedictorian children and supporting their son, an Olympic weightlifter on Team USA. These experiences have equipped them with valuable knowledge and practical tips that they’re eager to share with you.
"Dig the Well" is more than just a podcast; it's a community of like-minded individuals who are committed to personal growth and financial independence. Whether you're worried about your family's financial security, longing for more quality time with your spouse, or simply seeking a way to reignite your passions, this podcast offers actionable insights and real-life stories that can help you achieve your goals.
Our mission is to inspire you with the belief that if we can do it, so can you. We want you to feel empowered, educated, and ready to take control of your future. By tuning in to "Dig the Well," you'll gain the confidence and knowledge needed to break free from the daily grind and create a life full of possibilities.
So, if you're ready to transform your family's future and discover the greatness within you, join us on this journey. Subscribe to "Dig the Well" and start building the life you deserve today!
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John:Ever wondered how you could turn your side hustle into a full time gig and spend more time together?
Vikki:Hi. I'm Vicky, a number one best selling author.
John:And I'm John, a retired Los Angeles police officer. Welcome to Dig the Well, where we help couples navigate the world of business.
Vikki:We've been married for 30 5 years and because we built a successful side business, John retired 9 years earlier than he originally planned from the Los Angeles Police Department after 25 years on the job. Now we spend more time together, and we want to help couples like you do the same.
John:Join us as we help you overcome common obstacles, and we show you how to make extra income without sacrificing family time.
Vikki:Ready to dig deep and build your well? Let's get started. Hello. Hello. Hello.
Vikki:We are back. We're excited to be with you again today. Thanks for tuning in. This is so much fun. And John and Vicky back again, and we thought on this episode that we would really dive into why we picked the name Dig the Well.
Vikki:We've talked about it on previous podcasts a little bit, but never the real, you know, backstory, and we find that interesting. So when we're learning about other people on different podcasts, we like to know why they name them the way they do. So we're excited to be here and talk about that.
John:Yeah. Dig the well is something Vicky, had come up with, and she's you've you've been using that for a long time.
Vikki:Since, I think, 2003 ish, somewhere in there. Yeah. Yeah. So And
John:there's a number of different reasons, or different, I guess, definitions for dig the well, but there was one in particular. And that's the reason why, I think Vicky used it all the time, and that's why we decided to use it for our podcast. And, Vic?
Vikki:Yeah. The main reason was we have always been entrepreneurs. You've heard us talk about that, and it was really when John was a police officer at the Los Angeles Police Department, and we had closed several businesses. And we knew we wanted another one, and we did start another and really realized it wasn't because we necessarily needed the money right that second, but it was that we wanted to prepare ourselves for the future where when we did need more money, that the well was already dug, that income source was already there so we could get the water from it. Right?
Vikki:So, yeah, we dug the well before we needed the water is what I have always said. And I know there's, you know, different, definitions of it, and it actually came from a we did some research, and it came from, I didn't know this, but a Chinese, Chinese, like, philosopher, and so I was gonna read that.
John:Does that
Vikki:sound cool? Yeah.
John:For sure.
Vikki:So, the quote, don't wait until you're thirsty to dig a well is attributed to a Chinese philosopher, and I'm gonna butcher this. I should have looked up this. You could say Zhu Xi. Okay.
John:I think.
Vikki:Zhu Xi, and we're big on pronunciation of people's names.
John:So I someone knows it, it's not right, please let us know in the comments. I don't wanna mispronounce this poor guy's name.
Vikki:We apologize for that because that's a big deal. So Zhu Xi, and it means to plan for things that may happen in the future. Makes sense. Yeah. It's basically why I started using that that term.
Vikki:Yeah. But there's other did you see that, you know, in the research that we did? There's other, meanings behind it. We thought we you'd find that interesting.
John:Yeah. And if you think about it, if you wait until you're thirsty to start digging your well, you're probably gonna die of thirst before you actually find water. And I think if you look at the same concept with, for monetary purposes, if you you need money for your family or you need money for yourself or some extra money, that's basically what we're talking here, right, is is having some sort of a side gig, a side hustle that you will operate from home. And that's what we coach a lot of couples on. If you wait until you actually need the money, it's probably not gonna be enough time for you to start something from home and have it actually be lucrative enough to where it's gonna move the needle.
John:Just like anything else, once you get started, it's gonna take some time for it to actually, blossom into into some, useful useful money for you and your family.
Vikki:Right. Yeah. So some people are, like, in dire need of $1,000 extra a month. And, yes, don't wait any don't procrastinate any longer. Get started in your side business, but it's so true.
Vikki:You know, you may not earn that 1,000, you know, that week. It might take you a month or 2 months or 3 months to to bring it up to speed, but, yeah, that's why it's smarter to start a side gig sooner rather than later
John:for sure. And that's the thing too that we always coach coach people with too is, we're not talking about get rich quick schemes. I guess something like that, our quantum leap kind of a a business like that, sure, you could wait to dig the well when you need the water and and and do some sort of get rich quick schemes. But, generally, they're not how do I put this? I I mean, a number of them are not even legal or ethical or moral.
John:So we've always been like, hey. Let's look at something that's legitimate, which does take work, and it's gonna take some time. But once you put in some of that work and time and and start digging that well, before you know it, you're gonna find water and, you're gonna be better off for it.
Vikki:Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. So couple other definitions. Do you wanna read the first one besides the Chinese philosopher 1?
John:Are we gonna do the spiritual medical? Yeah. So, we found that in Christian context, dig the well can refer to redigging spiritual wells such as time in prayer, worship, or fellowship. It can also mean to dig into God's word and to do so regularly even when it's difficult.
Vikki:That is cool. That is cool.
John:Probably the best time to dig into it is when it's difficult.
Vikki:Yeah. Absolutely. And we are Christians, and that really hit home. And, again, didn't even know when I said, hey. You know, we dug the well before we needed the water, but it absolutely makes sense.
Vikki:And, actually, a girlfriend of mine, Yvette Osborne and, Yvette, I know you're probably gonna be one of our guests coming up. We discussed you being on here with us, but, she often refers to the spiritual side of digging the well. She told me when she heard the name of our podcast, so I thought that was really, really cool. Really interesting. Yeah.
Vikki:And then, then there's also it it's along those same lines, but it's a reference to the bible, for dig the well. In the bible, Isaac inherited the task of redigging wells that his father Abraham had dug. Isaac faced opposition from the Philistines, but he directed his community to redig the wells anyway.
John:Mhmm.
Vikki:So interesting, and I bet there's some some real bible, smarty pants listening to this podcast that know exactly the verse that that comes from. Hey. If you get a moment, put it in the comments. We'd love to read that. I'm I consider myself a novice, on the bible, even though I I definitely have I read it.
Vikki:I've studied it, but I'm still a novice. Right? It's so
John:We all are.
Vikki:Yeah. It's so profound. And and so anyway but, yeah, we would love to hear even more about any references in the Bible. I'd love to hear that. And then
John:And then we have one here. It's a symbol of community. A well can represent a thriving community, and digging a well can be a costly and emotional act of faith.
Vikki:Oh, that's kinda cool. Yeah. And I get that, like, way back in time when people were digging wells for their water, that would be you would wanna help with the community. That's interesting. Yeah.
John:Yeah. Because oftentimes, a well is kind of a a a center of community and Right. Share in that.
Vikki:Right. And I just had a thought. Your one of your very favorite Disney movies, Beauty and the Beast because it reminded John of Misa so much when she was little. Remember that? She the opening scene is her singing and frolicking around that well.
Vikki:How funny.
John:I remember that. Yeah.
Vikki:Yeah. It's at the beginning, and she's got her cute dress on and, yeah, the whole community, like, think about it. They can't live without water, so, that makes total sense. So really cool.
John:Yeah. And digging a well sometimes takes an entire community to do. And that's one of the things too when we were talking about, starting a business and running a business from home. Oftentimes, you do need somebody to help you through it and help you kinda get started and get on the right path. And so it's not just a one person thing where you're just having to learn everything on your own.
John:It's nice to have someone that can kinda walk you down that path and lock arms with you.
Vikki:And it goes back to our original business, Prestige Motoring Accessories, where we didn't have a community. We didn't have a mentor at all. And that's why we're so passionate about the type of business we're in and, you know, we've made no bones about it. You see it all over social media. We're Neora.
Vikki:We're national marketing directors with Neora, but the community, that surrounds Neora is second to none, that's for sure, and the quality of people that we attract and there are mentors built into the system. So that's another reason we're so passionate.
John:Yeah. For sure.
Vikki:And then I went on to digs dig some more on the research, that dig the well means that one should not procrastinate or leave things to the last minute. It also means to be prepared for any situation. Yeah. That's exactly it. Exactly what we've been talking about.
Vikki:And then there's one one other, I think, too.
John:Yeah. This also means to prepare for what you need prior to needing it. It's much more difficult to exert the energy to dig a well if you're thirsty while doing so. So, again, looking at it from a home based business kind of a standpoint where you're trying to you wanna find some another source of income for your for your family, another stream of income for your household. It might be difficult to do that if you're so I don't wanna say broke, but if you're in a position where, every little penny counts.
John:Right? You won't you won't want to invest or you won't be able may not even be in a position to invest in a business that you can run from home.
Vikki:Right. Right. That's why it's smart to find what find ones that aren't as costly to get started.
John:Absolutely. Yeah. And it shouldn't. Right? It shouldn't cost you an arm and a leg just to get started.
John:A lot of times, and there are a number of different businesses that are out there which we don't agree with. Right. Just because they're front loaded. And so at the front end, they want a huge investment from you. And that's tough.
John:Right? Because if for most people, that's why they're looking at a home
Vikki:business, right,
John:It's because they don't have a whole lot of extra cash. Yeah. So we don't we do not believe in and we don't really, like, when we coach couples, whether they wanna start a Neora business or not, there's many other there's so many other businesses they can they can start. There's so many other things they can do that that doesn't require a massive amount of upfront cash to get started. Right.
John:Neora is one of those as well as others.
Vikki:Right. So yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Don't get yourself into 1,000.
Vikki:I I've seen women there was this, leggings company who will remain nameless, and these women were investing, like, John, $5,000 in all different sizes and colors of leggings. That was it.
John:Wow.
Vikki:And I remember them telling me, you know, my husband's not too happy about this huge investment I've had to make, and I'm thinking, yeah. Kidding. He shouldn't be. And so, yeah, we're big proponents of a low cost startup business, that has products that sell. So you're gonna start making money on a commission base right away, but you're not having to inventory all of that.
John:There you go. Right? You have to fill your garage full of inventory. Yeah.
Vikki:I don't blame the husbands at all.
John:And then and then you came up with some, you found some organizations that have put the idea of digging a well like this before they need the water, and some of those are are what here?
Vikki:Yeah. Which ones? So like Netflix. You know? Netflix is such a big name, and I absolutely remember this that, you know, when they came out back in the day, we were all going to Blockbuster Video, bringing the kids on a Friday night, picking out the movies that we wanted to watch on VCR tape.
Vikki:And they started that whole Netflix, and I was thinking net. I knew that meant Internet, and they were doing CDs. For those of you that remember where you could go online, right, and order that CD and have it shipped to you, and then they trusted you to mail it back when you're done watching it. I thought that was the most bizarre thing under the sun, but it worked. And then they slowly morphed into digital, everything being digital when they're when the they didn't really need to switch yet.
Vikki:You know? VCRs were kinda on the way out, and then the whole CDs were in totally in. Right? And they were very successful at that point, but they were smart enough to dig the well, have the vision to know that streaming is coming down the pike, and we better jump on that or lead the way. Right?
John:Yeah. Yeah. So I think they started with the mailing of those, DVDs back and forth to homes.
Vikki:DVDs.
John:Yeah. Same thing. Yeah. Right? I think they started doing that as kind of a proof of concept that people were were willing to look at into some other form of media than than the VHS tapes.
John:And then they get their they kind of get the market share for when we do make that quantum leap from going from those huge cassette tapes to streaming. Yeah. And so people are already customers of Netflix or at least they know who Netflix is, and Yeah. That was massive. Yeah.
John:Look at them now. Look at them today. Right?
Vikki:Yeah. I mean, really and you know what's sad is Blockbuster did not have the vision and foresight to dig the well in a different area. Right? And they got stuck. Look look at them today.
Vikki:Right? There's one store left. Have you guys all seen that on it's actually on Netflix. There's a there's a The movie
John:is special on it.
Vikki:How funny of that one blockbuster store left. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Netflix.
Vikki:It's really amazing.
John:Yeah. And then another one is, Tesla. Yeah. So, like, we're really close with Tesla because we've had Teslas. We've had a number of them.
John:And we were kind of early adopters back over 10 years ago. We bought our first one. And I'll tell you, when we bought it, you wouldn't believe how many people said I was crazy, I was wasting my money
Vikki:Yeah.
John:And that this thing this this car will be, the the company Tesla will be bankrupt within a couple of years, and you're gonna be stuck with an expensive car that you won't even be able to get parts for. No one's gonna want. You're an idiot for buying this thing. And look at Tesla now. It's a giant.
John:They and everyone, every auto manufacturer is scrambling to make electric vehicles. Now whether electric vehicles, you like them or don't like them, I get it. Right? Electric vehicles aren't for everyone. But certainly, there's a number of people who want electric vehicles and like them, and there's a market for them, and Tesla's proven that.
John:Look at where Tesla stock has gone. Wouldn't wouldn't it be nice if you had bought some of Tesla stock in its in its IPO or even afterwards for the next couple of years because still people didn't believe in Tesla and their stock was way underpriced for where it's at today? Right. Yeah. Absolutely.
John:Elon Musk is kind of a visionary, kind of like a Walt Disney, if you will. And and it's been proven. It's been the right way to go, but they dug the well. And and the other thing too, if you think about it, trying to break into auto manufacturing, How does someone who hasn't built cars before, how are they gonna go up against the big auto manufacturers? It's, like, almost impossible.
John:It's like a David versus Goliath kind of story. And yet he did, and he's killing them.
Vikki:Yeah. Absolutely. And we got so excited. Now we we got the cyber beast. We act there is a beast, by the way.
Vikki:Don't put comments there that you mean truck. Well, it is a cyber truck, but, John, tell us about the beast since you're so good at that.
John:So they're gonna make 3 versions of the Cybertruck, and they're only currently, building 2 versions, a dual motor version of the Cybertruck and a tri motor version, and they've called that the cyber beast. Because even on the app on the phone from Tesla, it says cyber beast on it. And when you get in the truck, in the the jumbotron that's in the in the dash, when when it starts up, it fires up. It says cyber beast, I believe. Right?
John:Yeah. It does. Splash screen is what's on the phone. But, anyways, the cyber beast is just a tri motor truck that, is incredibly fast and has, some crazy performance to it. And,
Vikki:honestly, that's what I love about it. You know, we're don't hate on us because we're not using gas motors anymore. Because I actually have a 64 and a half Mustang convertible, so you can give me a thumbs up in the comments about that. So we're not that we're against, you know
John:Absolutely not.
Vikki:Yeah. Gas gasoline motor
John:cars. Yeah. Know the one of the cars that I miss most, it was one of my favorite cars I've ever owned, was a v 8 Audi. It was the RS 5, and that thing was fast. It looked good, and it sounded amazing.
John:Just a naturally aspirated V 8. Man, that thing just it was awesome. So a Tesla makes no noise,
Vikki:which is
John:kind of a bummer.
Vikki:Yeah. That is. I remember when I was and side note, our side hustle, our side business got that truck that, well, actually, has gotten a lot of the cars for us. Right? We've taken that money, alongside, you know, John's job, and we got you that, Audi.
Vikki:Yeah. That was like a big deal. It was on International Day of Happiness too. How how funny is that that it was delivered for you? It was John's dream car.
Vikki:So yeah. So don't hate on us for also driving Teslas. We're, you know, we love everybody, everything.
John:At the time, actually, my dream car was a Maserati, the grand,
Vikki:Oh, yeah. What was it? The Gran
John:Turismo, I think. Right? Gran Turismo Grand. I don't even remember the name because I've forgotten it because it's no longer my dream car. It was the coupe.
John:Yeah. That had the Ferrari engine in it. And that was kind of my thing. I really wanted one really bad. And at the time, we couldn't afford it, obviously.
John:And, in the meantime, while we were building, while we were digging our well, while we were building our home based business and getting it to the point where we could actually afford to buy that car, I started I've been doing a lot of research, and I found out that, they're not as reliable as they probably should be for a 100 and I think it was a 140,000, 135, $140,000. You would think you'd get a car that would would work well for a while. Right. And then you'd have a lot think. Yeah.
John:And there wasn't very much technology built into it, but it's a beautiful car. And another car that sounds great, another naturally aspirated v eight. And I still see them every now and then. You know, they're not that common, but when you do see them, I just look at that thing. I think, wow, that is a beautiful car.
John:Yeah. And then I remember when Vic said, you know what? We're you know, the the our side hustle is is doing well enough. Let's go get your car. And during that time when we were building and digging that well, I've found out that I really like the the Audi RS 5.
Vikki:Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. And then he found one in this crazy amazing color. Sorry.
Vikki:We're getting off topic, but it's kinda fun to dream build. Right? You gotta dream build. What what was that? Suzuka gray?
John:Gray, which is almost white. It's really a light gray, and there's not that many of them built. And it's, one of Audi's racing colors. And it was, suzukka gray, and it was all the way out in Westlake. Yeah.
John:It was that's over a 100 miles from where we live, but they had one. They had the only one. And the other car thing about that car was they're really rare. The Audi only exported 600 each year to north all of North America for only 3 years. So they're it's rare that you see one on the road.
John:And I remember when they when I found it there, I located it, I drove out there, and I just loved it. He said, yeah. We're gonna buy it. And then he realized where we lived, and he said, well, we'll just flatbed it out to you, tomorrow if you like. And I said, yeah.
John:That'd be great. So
Vikki:That was so cool.
John:Or cafe day.
Vikki:Yeah. I had to sign for it. You were on the job in LA. Yeah. And I had to sign for it.
Vikki:Yeah. And then you came home. Yeah. Right? And met me at home with it.
Vikki:Right? Yeah. That was Yeah.
John:They delivered it at home, and I met them here.
Vikki:Yeah. But I signed for it out in the LA area. So you Anyway You
John:were at one of the events for the, for Yeah.
Vikki:For International Day Happiness. Exactly.
John:And I call I asked him, hey. Can you stop by with the vehicle on your way to my house? Because my wife's gonna be there. Yeah. She you hadn't seen it yet.
Vikki:I hadn't.
John:So they dropped by. So she actually saw it after we bought it. She actually saw it first.
Vikki:And they're a bunch of Neora brand partners, and we all celebrated around it and took pictures, you know, around it. We could dig up those photos. Yeah. That's right. It's such a great day.
Vikki:Making dreams come true.
John:We're able to do those things, and maybe cars aren't aren't your thing. Maybe it's something else. Whatever it is, though, by digging the well and making the extra money and the what we did for our side hustle ended up being a lot more lucrative than we thought it was gonna be. And so we had all this extra money. We paid off our debt, and then we thought, well, now we can spend money on some fun things that we really didn't think we could ever do, at least not in in our lifetimes.
Vikki:Till we were like 60 or 70 years old, we thought. Right?
John:But that's the beauty of having a side gig, having those additional streams of income for your household because it gives you that extra money. It gives you the options to do other things with it.
Vikki:Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Love that.
Vikki:Awesome. We could talk about that all day long. Can you tell talk
John:car stuff all day long.
Vikki:We're car people. We are. It's so funny.
John:Are there any other companies you wanted to talk about? Because there's a whole bunch here.
Vikki:There's a whole bunch.
John:It's
Vikki:the same concept. Yeah. I think we'll move on to one other thing that we almost named the podcast before we kinda close out with information on side gigs. But find a way was our original name for the podcast. So this is kind of fun to hear this too because that is something where when we were looking at starting our business, the current one with Neora, I remember telling John about it, and you were all in.
Vikki:You're like, wow. It sounds like what we've been praying for. Like, I could say verbatim what John told me. He's like, nobody wants to look their age, men or women. My buddies at work don't wanna look their age.
Vikki:The fountain of youth is not going away. And if there is one product that you slap on your face and I don't think you said slap. Now I'm like
John:Now now you're just making stuff up.
Vikki:Now I'm throwing that in, but I remember him saying, if it's one step, I'm in. If it's 2 steps, I'm out. I I remember that, you know, and I thought, wow. You know? Well, then we're in.
Vikki:And at the time, money was tight. We had 2 kids in college. So believe me when we say we feel you. We know where a lot of you are at. And money was tight.
Vikki:I had a different business, that candle business I've talked about on a previous podcast. John was still working overtime at the Los Angeles Police Department too. So we're doing all the things, trying to do everything right. And, and that's when, honestly, I didn't have the money in the bank to get started. I wanted to buy a little more product.
Vikki:You don't have to, you know, with Neora, but I wanted to have extra product to give to people to try it for a few days because I didn't you know, I wanted to make sure it worked and all that. So I said to John, you know, I I want to do this, but we don't really even have room in our credit card. That's how much college was costing. It was just crazy. But I know a lot of you have been there.
Vikki:And so, John go looks at me and goes, well, find a way. You know, you want that bigger package of product? Find a way. And any women listening out there when your husband it's it's an awesome challenge for me. It was a I took it on as a challenge.
Vikki:I love that. And he and he knows that about me. Right? It wasn't he wasn't saying a bad thing. He was like, well, find a way, Vic, and he kinda walked away.
Vikki:And I'm like and I just, you know, got all huffy puffy. You don't tell me to find a way. I'm gonna find a way. So we realized that so that's why we kinda wanted to name the podcast Find A Way because we thought about the kids and how we've raised the kids, and it was always trying to teach them to be proactive, to, plan, to figure things out. Right?
Vikki:Use common sense and find a way. And you could really elaborate on that because you would tell the kids, we'll find a way. You would tell all of us find a way. And I love it.
John:Yeah. Because if you think about it, it's it's kind of a good lesson in for life in general. Right? You just have to figure figure out how you're gonna navigate through all the issues and all the all the things that come up in life. And if you can't figure it out, then, you're gonna be you're gonna be in a bad place.
John:So and I knew when I said that to Vick, she would find a way, but she did.
Vikki:Exactly. Is it a military term, or is it a police thing? Because I'm trying to think of other people. Or do you think it's
John:think it's a philosophy in life. Yeah. Yeah. How I forget it.
Vikki:Yeah. It is. Yeah. Just don't sit there and wallow and wish and woulda, coulda, shoulda, and all that. Find a way to make it happen.
Vikki:Well,
John:I guess the closest thing would be, from the marine corps, it'd be improvise, adapt, and overcome.
Vikki:Right.
John:Love that.
Vikki:Yeah. Yeah. That's for sure. Yeah. And, honestly, that's how we've lived our lives.
Vikki:That's how we've raised our kids. If you want to do something, you know, maybe that's you right now. You're, like, kind of sitting there going, I wanna start a side business. I just don't either think I have the money or the know how. You will find a way.
Vikki:You will figure it out if you allow yourself to get started to make that decision and start. Right?
John:Yeah. That's the first part of it. Right? Make a decision. Yeah.
John:If you want you want something different, you want something more, just make a decision and follow it up with some action, and then find good people that will help mentor you and help help you.
Vikki:Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Alright. And now I kinda wanna do kind of round out the podcast talking about side gigs in general.
Vikki:So now you know why we created the podcast and named it Dig the Well. We really are passionate about helping singles, couples have a side business, really have the American dream. It is still alive and well, but we don't believe it's you working for somebody else your whole life. To us, that's just not what the American dream is. It is having your own business, and we know everybody can do that.
Vikki:So we looked up some more statistics on how many Americans have actually and, you know, I'm sure it's globally too, but have looked into having a side business. Or did you wanna touch on that, John?
John:Well, I've I've I've read many studies that have it in the 90 somewhere in the nineties. Right? Some 90 some percent. Like, some have have 90%, 93%, 95%. But what they're talking about is that there that many, Americans, working age Americans, are considering a side hustle, to start over in the next year.
John:So to me, I thought, wow, that's that's crazy that 9 out of 10 working aged Americans, are open to starting a side side hustle. I think, you know, I honestly think a lot of it changed after we just went through the pandemic. I think a lot of people realize that, hey, I would rather work from home rather than having to commute somewhere if I if I could.
Vikki:Right.
John:And then other people were really financially hurt by the pandemic, whether they were out of work or had limited work, for whatever reason, where it would have been nice if they had an extra 500 or a $1,000 a month, on that income stream. And I think they realize that, well, with a side hustle that, offered that and I can have that. And then if you think with ecommerce and and with the Internet and everything that we have at our fingertips, social media, all these things have just really opened the floodgates to having your own home business. I would imagine 50 years ago, it would have been a lot tougher.
Vikki:Yeah. Definitely. And for those
John:people who did start side businesses 50, 60, 70 years ago. Good for them. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome that that you were you were able to do that, but I think today, it's so much easier, and I think it's really lucrative, more productive to know.
Vikki:Definitely. Definitely. And so we found this survey from Insiranx. Hopefully, that's how you pronounce it. Found that 50% of those who reported having a side hustle were women, 50%, and 49% were men.
Vikki:Where's the other 1%?
John:In California. So it's about even.
Vikki:Yeah. Ain't that something?
John:Yeah. Because I know some people I've I've talked to some guys that said, well, that's not really for me. My wife can do something like that, but that's not really for me, and I I don't get that. I don't really understand why. Yeah.
John:It's it's equally for for either of us.
Vikki:Right. Exactly. Exactly. And over a 1000 part time and full time employees were asked a series of questions, including types of side hustles and how many they have and the reasons behind wanting extra cash. And the average I thought this was kinda interesting.
Vikki:The average monthly income brought in by side hustles were pretty impressive. Right? You might think $50. Right? But those who surveyed, they dedicated about 13 hours to the side hustle Right.
Vikki:Per week. Oh, wait. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Vikki:A week. Right? Working their side hustle. So, honestly, 13 hours, that's a decent amount of time. Men were reported to bring in 596 a month, while women were said to make 3.78.
Vikki:Don't know what that's all about, but Yeah.
John:Not too shabby. Surprising.
Vikki:Yeah. Not too shabby.
John:Yeah. And then the other thing too, if you think about it, by having your home based business, it it also opens up some tax advantages for you. And, of course, you would need to consult with your tax tax adviser, your tax preparer to find out exactly what those are. But, having that business you're running from home because it's a business, should open up a ton of, tax deductions that you normally don't have if you're a w two employee.
Vikki:Right. Definitely.
John:And then you found something here from Side Hustle Nation
Vikki:Yeah.
John:That 39% of working Americans report having a side hustle. So that's that's almost 4 out of every 10 Americans have some sort of side hustle, which I thought was a lot.
Vikki:That's a lot. Yeah. That's a lot.
John:And that so that amounts to as many as 80,000,000 people. Wow. And here's the really interesting part that among millennials, it rises to 50%.
Vikki:Smart millennials. That is very smart. Yeah. And,
John:of course, I'm like, you and I are right on the edge. Like, I'm barely a baby boomer. Like, I'm on the last year of being a boomer. And Vicki's the 1st year of
Vikki:Gen x. Gen x. Don't tell them. Don't tell them.
John:But you look like you're a millennial.
Vikki:Oh, you're so cute. Yeah.
John:But when you look at in the United States, in the overall population in the United States, I said, like, 39%. Of the different generations, though, 20 only 24% of baby boomers have a side hustle. Yeah. Millennials, we already talked about it being 50%. Gen z is next at 46%, and then you.
John:Yeah.
Vikki:40. What?
John:Yeah. 40%. Yeah.
Vikki:Exactly. Yeah. It's pretty pretty amazing. So people are getting wise to it, but it's amazing how many people we still talk to that just haven't even looked into it, and that's just shocking to us. It really is.
John:Yeah. We've coached some some folks in other countries too. We've we've found that in a lot of other countries, it's way more difficult to start and operate a home based business. There's a ton of obstacles. So when people say that, you know, they come to America because they want the American dream, yeah, it's still fully alive and well.
John:Because if you lived in another country or pretty much any other country than America, it you'd run into a number of obstacles and it may not be an option for you because in some countries, it just wasn't gonna work. And it was just sad because we've talked to so many people in these other countries that would love to do what we do and having a business that they can operate from home or really from anywhere. Like, we don't have to be home to operate our business. We can we were in Hawaii last week. Right.
John:Exactly. And we can still as long as we have some sort of tablet, computer, laptop, a a phone
Vikki:Phone even.
John:Yeah. We can still, stay connected and still operate our business. Yeah. But in other countries, we found that it's just really, really tough.
Vikki:Yeah. Either it's really true that we we were told in a couple of countries that their employers won't let them have a side gig. Well, I feel like that could be true, but it also may not be true. It might be just a fear factor. Right?
Vikki:We don't know for sure. I know yeah. Some, you know, some don't want you to have a side gig. But as long as you're not doing it on company time, I don't see why they should be allowed to dictate what you can do.
John:Yeah. Unfortunately, they probably signed a contract when they when they, accepted the job saying they would not, work any other any other business or any other for any other company. So they're just dedicated to that company. And we found that to be true, in a particular country more so than any other. That was almost everybody said they had to sign something, which is really sad.
Vikki:And I think here in the US too, I talked to a lot of people in the financial, services. They can't have a side business. I've been told. Yeah. Interesting.
Vikki:But if that's not you and you're really curious about maybe starting something and would love to get our advice, whether it's with Neora or maybe you just want our advice on something else because of our experience, definitely reach out to us on social media. You could also comment on on the podcast, on wherever you're listening, but we'll most likely see it and, be able to answer you in a private a direct message on one of the social media platforms because we're on everything. I know I'm the Vicki Downey. John's not on social media a ton, so look me up, but I'm the Vicki Downey on Instagram. I'm Vicki Lund Downey on Facebook.
Vikki:And on Instagram, we even have a dig the well podcast, page now, so you can actually message us there too on Instagram. So alright. This has been fun.
John:Yeah. So now you guys all know what why we ran with dig the well.
Vikki:Yeah. Exactly. It's making more sense now, and if you missed some of our previous episodes, definitely go back and listen to those. We have a one through 5. We kinda talk a lot more about a lot of this that we've already talked about in greater detail, and we're excited about future episodes, having even more guests.
Vikki:There's one coming up with our son. We just had one last week with our daughter. Really, really excited for you guys to hear what it's like growing up in an entrepreneur household from both of them. So you could be giving that legacy to your family. Alright.
Vikki:Well, thanks. Yay. Have a great day, and we'll see you on the next one.
John:Yeah. For sure. Bye bye.
Vikki:Bye. Thanks for joining us on Dig the Well.
John:We hope you feel empowered and ready to take on new challenges.
Vikki:Remember, if we can do it, so can you. Keep learning, keep believing, and going after your dreams.
John:And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with someone who needs a little inspiration or maybe a nudge in the right direction.
Vikki:Help us grow this community of go getters. Together, we can achieve greatness and get back to family.
John:Thanks for listening, and let's keep digging the 1st.