Start Your Side Hustle + Fund Your Passion

The nature of work is changing and more than ever before, people are turning to side hustles to earn extra income in order to explore their true passions.

We caught up with travel writer, Theresa Christine, who shared how her side hustle - teaching on Skillshare - has given her the financial freedom to continue pursuing her true passion: traveling the world.

Theresa describes herself as a “sort of quintessential millennial”, as she spent the majority of her 20’s exploring her passions, but nothing really stuck until she started her travel blog, Tremendous Times. Like many new freelancers, Theresa started off publishing her work for free, but after growing her audience and establishing her voice online, she was able to accept only paid assignments.

As Theresa was preparing to move to Los Angeles, she hit a major roadblock - she lost her job. However, she took the career setback in stride and used it as motivation to pursue her writing full time. "My blog has been responsible for me getting all of my other freelance work, including the role of Managing Editor at The Dieline, pieces in publications like HOW Design Magazine, speaking gigs, and sponsorship opportunities."

Having worked as a gymnastics coach in the past, Theresa knew that teaching was something she had always been drawn to, so it was a no brainer to share her blogging skills with others. “In 2015 I applied and was accepted as a speaker at Women in Travel Summit. Immediately afterward, I knew I wanted to turn my session Being a Travel Blogger (Even When You're Not Traveling!) into an online class.”

After creating her class, she spent a year mulling over the options of how and where to share it online, trying to make the most strategic decision possible. That’s when Skillshare came in. “Starting a blog changed my life—I would not have discovered my own voice or uncovered this passion of mine without it—and I hoped to give others the chance to discover more about themselves, too. Skillshare's mission of providing education to everyone and encouraging people to share their passions with others truly resonated with me.”

As a travel writer, Theresa naturally spends a lot of her income on trips. Teaching on Skillshare has made many of her travel dreams a reality by earning her an average of $300/month.  

“Last year I did a month-long trip throughout Europe that I’d been dreaming about my whole life, and my Skillshare earnings from my classes made it so that I didn’t have to worry about money at all.”

Teaching on Skillshare has also helped Theresa establish herself as an expert in her field. “The best thing that's come from Skillshare was getting asked to speak at Yeah Field Trip on writing—actually based off of one of my classes! Not only was that just a really amazing cold call to get, but it helped me realize that speaking at events is something I want to do more of. Since then, I've started pitching to more conferences and have set a goal to speak at other conferences this year.”

Considering your own side hustle? Join our 30-day Challenge to start teaching on Skillshare this spring!Learn More