This Retiree's Yummy Hobby Is Now a Remote Side Hustle That Makes $250 an Hour: 'I Attached My Bank Account And the Money Just Flowed Automatically' Since 1972, in his downtime, Bill Reichman has been dedicated to one delicious diversion. When the pandemic hit, he turned his passion into a lucrative side hustle. Here's how he did it.
By Frances Dodds Edited by Mark Klekas
When you have a hobby, nothing makes you happier than sharing it with others. Watching someone stand up on their surfboard for the first time, throw a clay pot on the wheel, or crunch into a warm baguette you baked together — it's the thrill of vicarious enjoyment. Now imagine getting paid $250 an hour to share that hobby from the comfort of your own home. Sound too good to be true? Well, Bill Reichman figured out how to do it.
Reichman lives in a suburb of Chicago, and before he retired, he was the vice president of a transportation company. ("Think UPS only without the brown trucks.") But now, he has more time than ever for his true passion, and his method for monetizing it is available to people with all kinds of pastimes.
Reichman grew up on Long Island, where his grandmother was an avid baker. But he never tried baking himself until 1972, when he was "reintroduced to fresh breads."
"The hobby just got bigger and bigger and bigger," he says. "And when I retired, I decided to share my passion with other people. I contacted a local cooking school — not to be confused with a university — more like a date night function where you go and learn how to make something. So I started teaching there, and when Covid hit, I switched over to Zoom."
Until this point, Reichman had only taught adult baking classes. But during the pandemic, he says, "I was very sad for the children who were forced to stay home and hear about all these people dying from a disease they'd never heard of. I just wanted to do something nice for them, so I offered a free baking class on Zoom."
He advertised that first class on Facebook, and eight families attended. "That started an avalanche," he says. "It ended up being almost 200 classes in six different countries with 197 families participating. I was sometimes teaching three classes a day. I was working harder during Covid than when I had an actual job. And I baked so much — I put on 30 pounds doing it!"
Reichman began offering his free classes on Eventbrite under the name Bill the Baker, and as the pandemic wound down and kids went back to school, he started teaching adult classes again, on Zoom, and charging $25 a ticket (he still teaches one free kids' class a week).
"The easiest part of the whole thing has been selling the tickets on Eventbrite," he says. "Once I attached my checking account to the Eventbrite system, the money just flowed automatically."
Something else Reichman has learned is that it's helpful to differentiate yourself from others with similar offerings.
"I teach differently than most cooking establishments, because I do not teach recipes," he says. "I use recipes to teach the science of baking. So I'll teach you what's going on in the bowl and in your oven. That way, when things start to go awry, you'll know what to do. For example, I have a recipe that allows the student to hand-knead dough, and I have recipes that introduce the sourdough environment. I'll ask, do you know why you should use butter at room temperature rather than cold out of the refrigerator? Or why do the eggs have to be at room temperature for one recipe and chilled for another? Sometimes people ignore those instructions and see the same recipe go from excellent one day to horrible the next, and they don't understand why."
Lastly, Reichman says that while he has taught Zoom classes with up to 20 people — because that's how many frames he can get on his screen — these days his average class is 10 students, which is how he prefers it. "When I have only 10 people, I can actually see you making a mistake and hopefully stop you before you've made that mistake," he says.
At $25 per person, for 10 people, that's $250 for an hour of baking. Of course, Reichman needs to cover the costs of his supplies, but still, that's not bad. While Reichman has been in the baking game for a while, his success in turning his hobby into a side hustle isn't an anomaly.
Roseli Ilano, Eventbrite's head of community, says that, "Over the last few years, we've seen an explosion of creators who are turning their side hustles or passion projects into lucrative businesses. More and more talented and creative entrepreneurs are looking to expand their businesses by monetizing remote events."
Ilano says they now have a pretty clear idea of the best practices for people looking to offer classes or experiences on Eventbrite. If you have something you'd love to teach to others, here are her tips for creating a must-attend class.
1. Offer different admission ticket tiers
Think about ways to create higher-value, opt-in experiences for participants. "You can sell regular admission tickets for a certain price, and then VIP tickets for a premium," Ilano says, "offering a unique add-on to the event, whether that be a one-on-one workshop or virtual coffee date after the event."
2. Make sure your passion translates through the screen
If you love what you're teaching, show it. "When it comes to virtual events, creators need to go above and beyond to convey their dedication to the class and demonstrate their expertise on the subject," Ilano says. "When creators have a real passion for what they are teaching and the energy is contagious, people will want to attend the class, and continue coming back."
3. Optimize for interaction
The same way Reichman figured out that 10 students works best for his classes, so he can see what they're doing and offer advice, Ilano says that, "The best way to build a roster of regular attendees is to cultivate a culture that invites interaction with the host and amongst participants. Think about how you'll engage the chat — don't be afraid of emojis! — how you'll invite attendees to come off mute and join the virtual stage, and ways you can activate fun polls and games."
4. Be consistent
Online experiences can be a little disorienting, so Illano says participants will be more comfortable if they know what to expect, and when and where they'll be asked to participate. "Ensure that the structure of your event is clear and follows the same format and run-of-show each time," she says. "For example, if you kick-off with a check-in question, follow this ritual each session."
5. Consider online sponsorship packages
Selling tickets isn't the only way to monetize your classes. "Instead of traditional ads, consider using online-only sponsorship packages, which will allow like-minded brands to promote their services and products to your event attendees. By choosing to work with brands that clearly translate to your event in a sponsorship capacity, attendees will see that you have thoughtfully curated these brands and will not see your event as just another stream of income for you.
