This as-told-to story is predicated on a dialog with GumGum Promoting CEO Phil Schraeder, who’s had a profitable facet hustle showing as a contestant on recreation reveals. The piece has been edited for size and readability.
I am initially from a small city exterior of Chicago. My brother, sister and I had been on the swim group within the summers, which meant early 6 a.m. mornings. This was again within the ’80s, the place after swim follow, you’d go exterior and play with your pals till darkish, however within the mornings, nobody else was awake. So, after we obtained dwelling from swim follow round 7:30 a.m., my mother would make us breakfast and placed on the TV — and my siblings and I might watch recreation reveals.
I grew to become fixated on these recreation reveals, ones like The Value Is Proper and Sale of the Century, and I might play them with my siblings. I am tremendous aggressive. I like trivia and successful prizes.
Quick ahead to after I graduated from school: I labored in Chicago for a short while earlier than deciding that I wanted to seek out myself. I wished to come back out of the closet. I felt very held again from my genuine self. I wished a change, so I moved with a good friend to Los Angeles.
Once I arrived, all I had was my automobile and what I might match inside it. I had no job, and I used to be in bank card debt. I wanted to determine a technique to earn cash. Fortunately, I’ve at all times been centered on accounting and finance. My background is in enterprise. So, I wasn’t fearful about with the ability to discover a job, however I nonetheless wanted a technique to make ends meet within the brief time period.
That is after I began a enjoyable and distinctive facet hustle: competing on recreation reveals. I ended up happening The Value Is Proper with Bob Barker — and received. I walked away with $900 in money, an amusement park popcorn cart and a grandfather clock. I used to be like, Wow, that is unbelievable. Not solely did I like the expertise, however I used to be additionally residing out my childhood dream. I additionally beloved figuring out that my household was in a position to get pleasure from watching me do it.
Whilst I progressed in my finance profession, finally changing into a VP, I continued with the facet hustle and stored a pulse on recreation present alternatives. As a result of Los Angeles is the leisure capital of the world, plenty of first-time recreation reveals have their begin there, and so they search for contestants domestically. So, it isn’t that aggressive to use; it isn’t a nationwide search.
Once I heard in regards to the new present Are You Smarter Than a fifth Grader?, I knew I wished to use. And, being a 29-year-old finance and enterprise accounting skilled from Chicago, I offered a possibility for them to check out a contestant who wasn’t within the leisure trade. Nonetheless, it was a protracted audition course of. However I used to be invited on the present and given about 10 days to organize.
I wasn’t going to squander the prospect. I went to the children’ homeschool retailer, and I purchased all of the third, fourth and fifth-grade books. I purchased world geography. I purchased measurements. I purchased flashcards of the presidents. Day by day after my life companion Wes and I wakened, I might research, then go to work. On my lunch break, I might research extra. Later within the evenings at dwelling, I might research till I used to be falling asleep on the sofa.
I ended up successful $175,000 on the present. It gave me plenty of monetary freedom.
This facet hustle offered different thrilling possibilities to earn cash over time. I additionally appeared on the Dick Clark Pyramid Present, the place I received $22,500. I actually took the break day work, known as my brother after I received and stated, “Oh, that was an excellent day of labor.”
However this kind of facet hustle comes with some limitations, too. You’ll be able to solely go on so many recreation reveals over the course of 10 years. Now, if the proper alternative offered itself, I might contemplate taking it. I nonetheless love recreation reveals and respect that they helped set me up financially, however at this level in my life, I am in a unique state of affairs, so if I had been to seem on one and win, I might possible donate the cash.
My recreation present facet hustle undoubtedly helped form me as a enterprise chief.
To start with, I used to be afraid that I won’t be taken critically as a seasoned government enterprise skilled in finance as a result of I loved competing on recreation reveals. However these had been my very own concepts about societal expectations and being boxed in, and it really helped me understand that as a CEO and chief myself, I do not need anybody to really feel that their pursuits or facet hustles negatively affect how they’re perceived professionally. We wish to have a good time these pursuits and facet hustles; we wish to encourage them.
At GumGum, we’re in 20 nations and have over 500 individuals, so I’ve carried out what I name “beginning courses”: whoever began in Q1 of this 12 months can be within the Q1 2025 beginning class. And I ask them plenty of questions. What are some individuals’s facet hustles? What are they excited about? It is superb to observe everybody gentle up. There are DJs, macrame crafters, influencers and opera singers. Then, I take into consideration how we are able to translate these passions into our tradition and encourage and help one another in the neighborhood.
Associated: How one can Stability a Full-Time Job With a Facet Hustle
From my expertise on Are You Smarter Than a fifth Grader? specifically, I discovered the worth of listening to your self and following that intuition. I used to be in a state of affairs the place I used to be uncertain of the reply and needed to determine if I wished to threat all of it and go together with the child’s reply. If the child’s reply was right, I might have received $300,000, but when it had been fallacious, I might have dropped all the way down to $25,000. For the reason that child wasn’t sure in regards to the reply, I caught with my very own and stored the $175,000.
Because it turned out, the child’s reply was proper, so I might have received $300,000. Nevertheless it was nonetheless an necessary lesson in listening to myself — as a result of though it might have felt nice to win $300,000, it might have felt far worse to lose $150,000. Ultimately, I used to be utterly superb with not successful extra so as to shield what I already had. You should keep true to what works for you and what you’re comfy with. Do not take into consideration what others might need or do, after which evaluate your self.
My recreation present facet hustle additionally taught me lots about my private motivations — and the way these values can translate to management.
On Are You Smarter Than fifth Grader?, I obtained a shock video message from my mother, who’s an educator and my fifth-grade instructor. I get emotional on the present as a result of my mother’s wishing me good luck. That second made me understand that, sure, that is tremendous enjoyable, however no matter that is, it is nothing in comparison with how fortunate I’m with the opposite facets of my life. It reaffirmed what actually issues.
On the subject of enterprise, probably the most profitable leaders are going to be those who can go very deep in humanizing us and themselves. I attempt to steer clear of encouraging leaders to be “genuine” as a result of the other of that’s “inauthentic,” and I do not suppose individuals attempt to present up inauthentically. They’re simply making an attempt to be extra clear.
In order that’s my one massive push, particularly because it pertains to the promoting trade: In the event you’re a pacesetter on this subject, the final word purpose is connecting with somebody deeply on an emotional stage or a wants stage. The perfect leaders want to point out up ready to try this on daily basis.