Concept
Feasible, Profitable, Persuasive
Feasible, profitable, persuasive are the three tests Chris Guillebeau applies to side-hustle ideas in Side Hustle: can you start it soon with what you have, will it earn more than it costs before long, and will a buyer want it without a long explanation.
The tests turn a long list of appealing ideas into a ranked choice. Feasibility removes projects that need a licence, a large stock, a partner or hours you do not have; for someone with a job it also removes anything that must be done in office hours or competes with the employer. Profitability removes ideas whose costs or delays eat the margin, such as a product that takes months to make before the first sale. Persuasiveness removes ideas that make sense to their author but need a lecture before anyone wants them. A practical way to use the tests is a small table: five ideas, a score from one to five on each test, and a column for how soon the first payment could arrive. The scores are guesses until someone pays, so they decide what to test first, not what will succeed.
A real-life example
A quality engineer in Denizli scored five ideas. Her favourite, handmade ceramic jewellery, was persuasive but slow and costly to produce. Document templates for small workshops preparing for their first quality audit scored highest: quick to make, almost no cost, and understood by workshop owners in one sentence. She tested the templates first and kept the jewellery as a hobby.
How to use it
- 1Score each shortlisted idea from one to five on feasible, profitable and persuasive.
- 2Add a column for how soon the first payment could realistically arrive.
- 3Test the top scorer first, and keep the runner-up as the next test.