The Business of Friendship
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The Business of Friendship
Meet the coaches, apps, & websites making $$$ while you make friends.
Odd Jobs is a newsletter about careers that don’t fit in cubicles. Too many people are miserable with their lives, jobs, and themselves. Why not do something odd and make $$$ while you’re at it? I’ve got a million ideas for you.
Ps. we’re doing a fun giveaway this month ($25 Amazon gift card & a t-shirt we designed!!!) enter to win here. The more you share this newsletter with your pals, the more you’ll climb to the top of the leader board and snag the grand prize).
The theme of the newsletters this week is: FRIENDSHIP!
Today, we’ll chat about the odd business of friendship, on Wednesday we’ll explore the business of getting paid to be a friend, and on Friday I’ll share businesses that are hiring odd jobs that have to do with friendship.
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One of the most popular searches on Google every day is:
How do I make friends?
It’s popular because (1) it’s a problem a lot of people have and (2) it’s a problem that’s not so obvious or easy to fix.
22% of millennials say they don’t have any friends - zero, zilch, none!
But that doesn’t mean they don’t want any, it just means that making new pals (especially during a pandemic) is tricky and sometimes even awkward.
Whenever there is a problem, there’s an opportunity for someone, just like you, to find the next best way to solve it.
In a year like 2021, the odder you solve it, the more eyeballs you’ll get on this new product or service.
Let’s explore the odd business of friendship, who the major “players” in this space are, and how they make their cash.
The Business of Friendship
1. Swipe Left or Right
Apps like Bumble BFF, Hey Vina!, or Peanut (for new moms), let you create a profile, share your interests, and swipe (just like you would if you were using a dating app) to meet your next best friend.
How do these apps make money?
They all usually have a free version and a premium version with more features (or you can pay to unlock new features). The apps also make $$ from selling data and/or ads.
Is this an easy business to start?
Sort of. Building an app isn't super hard and can be cheap. You can even use a program like this to build the app without knowing any code. However, the cash will only come when you get people to download and use the app and that's the hard part where you might have to spend a lot of money for new customer acquisition.
If you want to start a friendship app, make it odd/unique/weird so that it goes viral and people are eager to download it.
2. Friendship Coaching
Yes, that's totally a thing. You can hire a coach to help you make friends. One coach I found even promises you will make friends within two months.
Can anyone be a friendship coach?
Sure! You don’t necessarily need a certification or a degree in the world of friendship, but you should have strong skills in not only communication, self-reflection, socializing, and a unique approach to meeting new people.
If people get from you what they can get from a quick Google search, you won’t be uber successful.
If they can get some different, that’s effective and useful, well then you’ve got a viable and profitable business!
How much do friendship coaches make?
The world of coaching is quite bizarre because you can truly charge whatever you want for people to book an hour of your time to get your coaching. What will make people want to pay you will be how you present your value, your expertise, and your success rate.
This friendship coach charges over $500 for three session with her.
Get your business to go viral or get a lot of happy clients who refer you, and you could easily make a lot of money every month.
10 clients a month x $500 = $5,000/month and $60,000 a year.
So how do you start a business like this?
After you’ve sorted out your personal brand, you can outline your services + packages, build a website (fast) using wix.com or squarespace.com, and market your new bizz on social media, as a guest on podcasts, and by doing a lot of PR.
5. Friendship Buddy
I came across this interesting website where you can hire someone to go to parties or events with you as your “social” friend who helps you meet people and stay active in conversations. I think it’s an odd idea and a good idea.
How to become one?
It’s super easy. You can make a profile on their website here and then hope people pick you. You can set your rate ($25/an hour) and then take on this odd gig as a new side hustle.
4. Blog About It
Maybe you like giving friendship advice or tips but don’t want to coach people or work 1:1 with somebody. Consider making a website, like this one for kids called Making Friends, where you write about the hot topic of HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS.
How does this make money?
First, you have to focus on building an audience and an email list. Then you can sell products, courses, eBooks, and more.
When you get 100,000 visitors to your site a month, you can make revenue from selling ads. It’s a slow game but it could be profitable.
Found this newsletter interesting?
Thank you!
Wednesday = you’ll get to meet a friendship coach
Friday = you’ll hear about odd gigs in the world of friendship now hiring.
See you in your inbox then!
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