Your Side Hustle Idea Needs an Offer to Succeed

So you’ve got a great idea and you know who you want to sell it to. That’s a fantastic start, but it’s not enough to build a real business. To bridge the gap between concept and customer, you have to shape your idea into a compelling offer—something with a clear promise, a persuasive pitch, and a specific price.

Take the story of Jake Posko. By day, he worked in higher education, managing a team and representing his university at events. On the side, he played guitar and sang in a small band, mostly for fun but sometimes for hire. He’d tried a few other ventures over the years with mixed results. One day, he decided to try bringing in some extra cash by offering guitar lessons, a perfect example of one of the many people start.

Now, if you’re thinking that guitar lessons aren’t exactly a groundbreaking idea, you’re right. It’s a crowded market. Plenty of people already know a few chords and aren’t actively looking to get better, while countless others are already offering lessons. Jake knew he had to find a way to stand out.

After a bit of research, he noticed a common weakness among his competitors: their ads were boring. “Guitar teacher for hire” was the standard, and while accurate, it wasn’t exciting. So Jake took a different approach. He posted an ad on Craigslist with a headline that made a bold claim: “Most awesome guitar lessons in the universe.” It was a bit of a stretch, sure, but it was funny and grabbed attention immediately. This simple shift in his was the key.

Even with the bold promise, clients didn’t exactly beat a path to his door overnight. It took time for the first student to sign up, but Jake was persistent, pouring his limited free time into the hustle for eight months. Realizing his ad was his best tool, he expanded his reach by running Google ads with similar, spectacular language. Less than a year later, he was earning $80 an hour and decided to quit his job, turning his employment.

From a Simple Idea to a Real Offer

To have a successful , your idea needs to become a concrete offer. An offer does more than just state what you’re selling; it tells people exactly what they get for their money and how much it costs. “Guitar lessons” isn’t an offer. “Hour-long guitar lessons for $50” is getting warmer. But this is even better:

When you present an offer, you need to give people all the information they need to say yes. A complete offer includes three core elements.

How will your product or service change someone’s life? This should be a short, bold statement that makes the benefit immediately clear. “The most awesome guitar lessons in the universe” is a perfect example.
Why should they buy from you, right now? This is where you provide the necessary details and a sense of urgency without overwhelming them. You have to persuasively answer the question:
What does it cost, what does that include, and how do they buy it? This last part is the call to action—the specific step they need to take, like “click this button” or “sign up here.” Make it obvious and easy.

Let's see how this works with a few other and product ideas:

Curriculum Guides
Database Lessons
Homemade Liquor Kits

Creating a Sense of Urgency

A great offer doesn't just show people why they need what you're selling; it shows them why they need it . Here are a few ways to build that urgency:

Words like “now” and “today” in your call to action prompt people to act, even if the offer isn’t technically limited.
When you get an inquiry, reply as quickly as possible. A study found that companies responding within an hour were seven times more likely to make a sale.
While small design details often don't matter much, the color red is an exception. Use it for text to communicate urgency, especially for discounts or time-sensitive information.
Let people know the price is going up soon, but give them a window to buy at the current rate (e.g., “$19.97 this week only!”). It’s a sale without calling it a sale.
If you sell online, a timer on your checkout page showing “Time left to purchase: 3:14:03…” can be incredibly effective. You can always restart it when it runs out.

The Power of Simple Copywriting

Jake referred to his ad strategy as “just simple copywriting 101 stuff.” He was right, but it worked because so few competitors in his market were thinking that way. Wording your offer to be just a little more compelling can give you a massive edge, and it’s a skill you can learn.

Forget the crowd. Picture your ideal customer and speak directly to them.
Headlines with numbers grab our attention faster than words, and this principle applies everywhere. How awesome were Jake's lessons? About 36 percent more awesome than the competition!
Don't just list features. Talk about how your offer makes people feel better, whether it's joy, surprise, or reassurance.
You believe in what you’re offering. Let that enthusiasm show—it's contagious.

Jake Posko started his by charging $50 an hour. He gradually raised his rates to between $80 and $120. In his first month, he earned $420. The next month, $1,535. Six months later, he was bringing in $2,800 a month and was ready to quit his day job.

Today, his take-home pay is around $5,000 to $6,000 a month from working just 20-25 hours a week. He started this journey with a full-time job and a nine-month-old at home. As he put it, “There’s no perfect time to start. Just start.”