This Side Hustle Highlight Q&A features Alaa El Ghatit, founding father of LifeOnRecord. LifeOnRecord is a service that lets people phone in stories, memories and well wishes for somebody celebrating a birthday, retirement, wedding or other special day. The recordings are put onto a keepsake speaker or a vinyl album.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Alaa El Ghatit
When did you begin LifeOnRecord as a side hustle, and what inspired it?
Back in 2006, I used to be working in an IT department of a large worker advantages consulting firm, managing 60 people, and I wasn’t feeling fulfilled at my job. I didn’t like being in meetings all day, and I wanted to get more hands-on again and work on something more meaningful, but I could not see a viable path to doing that where I used to be.
I had been fooling around with a telephone system in my spare time and wondered if I could create a business by having people call in and record their favorite stories and memories about a person as a way to rejoice their birthday, retirement, wedding, etc.
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What were a few of the first steps you took to get the side hustle off the bottom?
My mother-in-law’s sixty fifth birthday was coming up, and I assumed she’d enjoy hearing from all her kids, grandkids, friends, husband, etc.
So, as a trial, I arrange a phone number that everybody could call and gave her the resulting recordings on a CD (remember — this was 2006). All of us listened to it together on her birthday in her front room. She loved it, there have been tears, and it sparked a lot of stories (18 years later, she still loves it).
I assumed the concept had some traction, so I worked on it in my spare time to make it a service.
Just a few months later, I got laid off, and I made a decision to take a while to try to grow the business. People began ordering, but not in the amount that allowed me to support my wife and 4 young kids, so after nine months, I took a job as a director of IT for a mid-size company where I could possibly be hands-on and manage a small team.
Were there any challenges that got here with running the side hustle? In that case, how did you navigate those?
Navigating the side hustle of LifeOnRecord presented three significant challenges. First, I got used to the safety of a corporate salary with the entrepreneurial aspect of LifeOnRecord. I enjoyed each, which kept me from fully committing to LifeOnRecord. Despite the automation and minimal time LifeOnRecord required, the camaraderie of my corporate role left me hesitant to leave until 2022.
Moreover, keeping LifeOnRecord a secret from colleagues fostered an emotional barrier, making me more reserved and unable to share useful insights across each my worlds. This secrecy endured until the pivotal moment I made a decision to quit my corporate job. Surprisingly, upon revealing LifeOnRecord to the CEO, I discovered unexpected support relatively than resistance. The corporate facilitated a smooth transition, allowing me to step by step shift my focus to LifeOnRecord, with the CEO even providing guidance along the best way.
Lastly, an early challenge involved defending LifeOnRecord’s mental property against infringement from a multi-national corporation. Through perseverance and direct negotiation, which took over a 12 months, I secured an agreement from them without legal intervention, and I licensed my mental property to them for a fair but significant licensing fee.
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How long did it take you to begin seeing consistent monthly revenue? On average, how much revenue did it herald?
Growth was gradual, but individuals who used the service talked about it with others and developed into repeat buyers. Before I focused on it full-time, it brought in a little over $100,000 a 12 months as a side hustle. With my corporate salary, it allowed us to live comfortably, fund college for my kids and go on trips.
How much annual revenue is LifeOnRecord projected to see this 12 months?
For me, it just isn’t really concerning the money and growth but more about me having the ability to provide a personal, customer-focused experience that I may be directly involved in. Having said that, last 12 months was the primary 12 months it was a full-time enterprise, and it brought in about $350,000, and this 12 months we are going to greater than double that quantity. We’re all the time super responsive to customer questions and requests, and I don’t desire it to get so big that stellar customer support is not any longer a priority.
How have you ever approached scaling the corporate? What has really been key in helping it grow?
Right from the beginning, my strategy was all about leveraging technology to scale and enhance the client experience. Recognizing that customers wanted more control over their contributions, I developed a “My Recordings” portal for them to edit, organize or delete their messages. I streamlined the audio enhancement process by partnering with Dolby Labs for top-notch voice clarity and noise reduction, and I expanded contribution options beyond traditional phone calls to include six alternative methods.
[While] balancing this growth with my corporate responsibilities, I used to be mindful not to expand too quickly, aiming to maintain a healthy equilibrium between my day job and LifeOnRecord. This balance allowed me to benefit from the perks of each my skilled profession and my entrepreneurial enterprise without overwhelming myself or the business.
A key innovation was introducing vintage rotary phone rentals for wedding receptions for guests to leave messages for the marriage couple. Unlike competitors that simply rent out the phones, we integrated these pieces into our broader service ecosystem. Guests love the charm of leaving messages on these classic devices, that are then enhanced and preserved through our platform.
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As you look back over your journey with LifeOnRecord, is there anything you would like you’d have done in another way?
There’s a lingering thought that perhaps I must have stepped away from the company world sooner to fully embrace the entrepreneurial path with LifeOnRecord. The allure of stability and a predictable income often held me back, anchoring me to a role that, while comfortable, perhaps limited the potential growth of my passion project. Yet, with every decision comes a silver lining.
Staying in my corporate job perhaps longer than I must have afforded me invaluable lessons and experiences. It was on this skilled setting that I honed skills that later became crucial in navigating the entrepreneurial landscape: the discipline of managing projects, the art of negotiation and the power to lead a team.
This era also served as a vital incubation phase for LifeOnRecord. It allowed me to slowly but surely construct the inspiration of the business, testing ideas and refining the model without the immediate pressure of getting it’s my sole source of income. In a way, it granted me the liberty to experiment and innovate with less risk, laying the groundwork for what LifeOnRecord would eventually grow to be.
What are you most enthusiastic about when it comes to LifeOnRecord’s future?
Customers have used LifeOnRecord in revolutionary ways. People have used LifeOnRecord to send out audio thank yous, and brides have recorded their feelings of “saying yes to the dress” using LifeOnRecord, then played that recording as they walk down the aisle. I believe there are a lot of more ways to market LifeOnRecord that we will explore in the long run.
What’s your favorite part about running your personal business today?
I really like the impact the business has on customers. Once I had a corporate job, I felt like a cog in a wheel, but with LifeOnRecord, I created a way for people to make a reference to others. I’m especially grateful when people buy it and record messages for somebody with a terminal illness. They are saying it’s one in every of the few things they will do to show how loved the person is.
Beyond that, I like the approach to life flexibility and never needing to be accountable to anyone aside from our customers. I really like being identified with it and the joy that other people have once I share what I do.
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Do you may have any advice for others keen on starting a side hustle or business of their very own?
I’d suggest being kind to yourself. Although there’s a flood of stories about individuals earning astronomical sums from side hustles, such instances are exceedingly rare. Normally, progress is slower than anticipated, resembling a dance of “two steps forward, one step back.”
Constructing a principles-first business that can last requires patience and time.
Leverage your day job for its intended purpose — a means to mitigate risks as you navigate the trail to creating a business with lasting impact.