The Girl Scout's Guide to Selling Your Side Hustle

Even if you’ve built an amazing product, money doesn't just magically appear. You have to go out and make the sale. It’s time to channel your inner Girl Scout.

Take the story of Julie Wilder. Before starting her consulting career and diving into a side hustle, she spent over a decade running an organic restaurant. It was rewarding but also incredibly demanding. In her scarce free time, Julie, a passionate astrologer, designed an astrology calendar that she updated annually. She often thought about turning it into something bigger, but the restaurant always came first.

The astrology market is huge and a little controversial, which is often a great sign for a new project—it means people care deeply. Yet, for a long time, there were only a few calendars available, and they all shared a similar, new-age art style. That aesthetic works for some, but it left out a whole group of people who were curious about astrology but preferred a more modern design.

Julie had spotted a gap in the market. She describes her as disruptive because she created a modern, unisex design that appealed to an audience that had never considered buying an astrology calendar before. After updating her design for years, she decided to test the waters by listing it on Etsy. It started as a simple experiment, but the response was immediate and positive.

Once she sold the restaurant, she dedicated more time to this . Within months, she’d made $5,000 with very little effort or investment. The project was self-sustaining from the first week. With a manufacturing cost of just $1 per calendar and a selling price of $15, the profit margins were far better than her restaurant's, and the work was infinitely less stressful. This is how can evolve into some of the .

Julie had found a real need, and people responded, placing over $5,000 in orders through her free Etsy listings alone. But she didn't stop there. If this worked with no marketing, what could happen with a little effort? She created video tutorials, wrote blog posts, and joined astrology forums on Facebook to share her work. She also sent free calendars to six influential astrologers, hoping they might share them with their followers.

Choose Your Sales Style

Here in Portland, Oregon, you can’t walk down a busy street without someone stopping you to ask for donations. Their pitches are creative—"Do you have a minute for the polar bears?"—but they often feel annoying and guilt-inducing. The organizations behind them play a numbers game, hoping that one "yes" out of a hundred rejections will turn into a lifelong donor.

Now, contrast that with another yearly fundraising tradition: Girl Scout cookies. When spring arrives, Girl Scouts set up tables outside stores with a simple pitch: “Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?” There’s no guilt trip, no aggressive salesmanship. And people buy them by the dozen.

One of these pitches is manipulative; the other is compelling. Which salesperson would you rather be?

Selling Doesn't Have to Feel Sleazy

When you finally launch your project, don’t expect a flood of sales right away. You need a strategy, and it should feel more like selling Girl Scout cookies—a natural, non-aggressive way to offer something great.

It’s true that delicious cookies sold by kids are an easy sell, but that’s the point. They sell because people genuinely like them, not because of a pushy pitch. You can adopt the same mindset for your own . If you're hesitant about marketing, remember two things:

1. You've worked hard on this project. You owe it to yourself to see it succeed.
2. The people who need what you’ve made are waiting to find it. Marketing is how you help them.

This perspective should guide you as you . It's how you turn a project into one of many successful .

When in Doubt, Just Send the Email

I once had an email list I hadn't contacted in ages. When I had something new to promote, I worried about annoying my subscribers. I sent the email anyway, with a quick "Hey, I'm back!" note at the top. A few people were annoyed, but far more wrote back to say they’d missed my updates. One person even asked to be subscribed to all my lists.

That experience taught me that I had been too conservative. If some people unsubscribe, that's okay. They probably weren't your ideal customer anyway.

Lead with Benefits, Support with Features

A great product won't do much good if no one knows why it’s great. In all your communication, lead with the benefits: How will this make someone's life easier, better, or more fun?

The best benefits tap into an emotional need. For instance, a pet sitter doesn't just say, "I'll watch your dog." They say, "Your dog will be loved, walked, and cared for while you're away," which addresses the owner's guilt.

After highlighting the benefit, back it up with features. Does your pet-sitting service include two 30-minute walks and daily email updates? Those are the features that prove the benefit. Julie’s calendar benefit was a modern astrological tool; its features were the fresh design and beginner-friendly approach. This strategy is essential for all types of hustles, including .

Remember, They Want a Hole, Not a Drill

A reader once asked me for advice. She'd started a business writing résumés and LinkedIn profiles and wanted to know how to sell more to her existing clients. I suggested she think about people want a better résumé. It’s not about the document itself; it’s about getting a better job.

People don’t buy a drill because they want a drill; they buy it because they want a hole. By focusing on the ultimate goal, that résumé writer could offer interview coaching, career planning, or other that help her clients achieve what they really want.

Don't Be Afraid to Make the Ask

Years ago, an eight-year-old Girl Scout named Markita Andrews won a national sales contest. When asked how she sold a record-breaking $80,000 worth of cookies, she explained her method. She’d go to a house and ask, "Can I have a $30,000 donation for the Girl Scouts?" When they inevitably said no, she’d follow up with, "Would you at least buy a box of Girl Scout cookies?"

Julie’s took off not just because her calendar was different, but because she was proactive. She created videos, posted in forums, and reached out to influencers. She put her product in front of the right people, and a great product meeting an ideal customer is how a sale is made.

Your probably won't sell itself. You have to be willing to set up your proverbial table, just like the Girl Scouts, and invite people to buy.