Steven Bartlett built a £300M+ empire before turning 30. The guests on his podcast — Alex Hormozi, Codie Sanchez, Daniel Priestley, Gary Vaynerchuk — have collectively generated billions in revenue. And across 450+ episodes of The Diary of a CEO, they've laid out exactly how ordinary people can start making money outside their 9-to-5. This guide pulls together the best side hustle advice from DOAC, organized into an actionable framework you can start this weekend.
If you're looking for episodes that will give you concrete, actionable side hustle advice — not vague motivation — these are the seven episodes to start with. Every single one contains at least one framework you can implement immediately.
This is the single most-watched business episode in DOAC history, and for good reason. Hormozi breaks down the exact steps he used to go from sleeping on the floor of his gym to building a $100M+ portfolio. His core argument: most people don't have a money problem, they have a skills problem.
Codie Sanchez introduced millions of DOAC listeners to the concept of buying boring businesses — laundromats, car washes, vending machines, HVAC companies — instead of building flashy startups from scratch. Her argument is that the best path to financial freedom isn't a viral app; it's acquiring a cash-flowing small business that already has customers.
Priestley's episode is the masterclass on turning expertise into income. His "Key Person of Influence" framework explains why some people can charge 10x more than others for the same skill — and how to become that person in your niche in 12 months. If you have knowledge in any field, this episode shows you how to monetize it through speaking, writing, and digital products.
Gary Vee's DOAC appearances cut through his usual motivational style and get tactical. His core argument for side hustlers: attention is the new currency, and social media is underpriced real estate. He lays out exactly how to turn content creation into a revenue engine, even with zero followers, by focusing on volume and relevance over production quality.
Ali Abdaal went from junior doctor to running a multi-million-dollar business — all starting as a side project while working at a hospital. His episode is the most relatable for anyone balancing a full-time job while trying to build something on the side. He breaks down exactly how many hours per week you actually need, which platforms to start on, and the economics of digital products vs. services.
This rare panel episode brings together three of the most actionable business minds in the DOAC universe. They debate the best ways to make your first $10K, whether you should start or acquire a business, and what they'd do differently if starting from zero today. The disagreements between them are where the real gold is — because there genuinely isn't one right path.
In several solo episodes across the show's run, Steven has broken down the exact trajectory of his business career — from dropping out of university with no money, to building Social Chain, to becoming the youngest Dragon on BBC's Dragon's Den. These episodes are raw and specific, including the failures, the nearly-broke moments, and the exact decisions that compounded into wealth.
Hormozi's DOAC episode is dense with frameworks, but at its core, his advice for starting a side hustle boils down to what he calls the "Value Equation":
Value = (Dream Outcome — Perceived Likelihood of Achievement) — (Time Delay — Effort & Sacrifice)
In plain English: people will pay you more if you help them achieve a big result, make it feel achievable, deliver it fast, and make it easy. The best side hustles maximize the top of that equation and minimize the bottom.
Here's how Hormozi says to apply this when starting from zero:
Codie Sanchez's DOAC appearance is a paradigm shift for most people. Her core thesis: you don't need to invent anything new. The best path to financial freedom for most people is buying a small, existing, cash-flowing business — and the competition for these deals is almost nonexistent because nobody thinks they're "cool."
The key insight from her episode: most small business owners are baby boomers ready to retire, and 70% of small businesses listed for sale don't sell. This means there's massive negotiating leverage for buyers. You can often acquire a business making $100K/year profit for $200K—$300K — and finance it through an SBA loan with as little as 10% down.
Daniel Priestley's DOAC episode is for anyone who has expertise but doesn't know how to turn it into money. His "Key Person of Influence" framework is a 5-step system:
Priestley's core argument is that the internet has made it possible for anyone to become the go-to expert in a niche within 12 months — and being the go-to expert is the most reliable path to premium pricing and passive income. You don't need to be the world's best; you need to be the most visible and accessible expert in a specific, underserved niche.
Gary Vaynerchuk's DOAC episodes are a masterclass in using free platforms to build a business. His framework for side hustlers:
"You're one piece of content away from changing your life. But you'll never create that piece of content if you need the first one to go viral." — Gary Vaynerchuk
Steven Bartlett's own story is the ultimate DOAC side hustle case study. Here's the timeline he's shared across multiple episodes:
The consistent lesson from Bartlett's story: he started by being useful to other people on the internet for free, and monetized later. Not the other way around.
Based on the combined advice of all the guests above, here's a 7-day plan to go from "thinking about it" to "doing it":
Write down every skill you have that someone might pay for. Ask 3 friends: "What do you come to me for help with?" Their answers reveal your blind spots. Pick the skill with the highest combination of your interest and market demand.
Search for your skill on Upwork, Fiverr, and Instagram. What are people charging? Who's buying? What do the reviews say is missing? Find the gap between what's available and what people actually want.
Using Hormozi's Value Equation, write a one-paragraph offer. Be specific about the outcome, the timeframe, and the guarantee. "I'll design 5 Instagram posts that match your brand in 48 hours, or you pay nothing" is better than "I do social media design."
Create 2-3 sample pieces of work for fictional or real companies. Screenshot them. Write a short case study. If you have zero portfolio, offer to do free work for one person today in exchange for a testimonial.
Send 20 personalized messages to potential clients — small business owners on Instagram, connections on LinkedIn, or businesses you've found through research. Don't pitch. Start with value: "I noticed X about your [Instagram/website/emails]. Here's what I'd change and why."
Create your first 3 pieces of content showing your expertise. One tip, one process breakdown, one opinion piece. Post them. Don't overthink production quality. Gary Vee says your iPhone is enough.
Review responses. Adjust your offer based on feedback. Set a recurring 1-hour daily block in your calendar for side hustle work. Consistency beats intensity — even 7 hours per week compounds dramatically over 6 months.
Across hundreds of business episodes, these are the mistakes that come up again and again:
"The fastest way to make money is to solve a problem that's already costing someone money. Look at what businesses are complaining about — that's your opportunity." — Alex Hormozi
"Stop trying to build the next Uber. Buy a cleaning company. It's not sexy, it's not fun at dinner parties, but it'll make you rich while the Uber guys are burning through their third round of funding." — Codie Sanchez
"I didn't start Social Chain because I had a great idea. I started it because I was willing to do the boring work of understanding one platform better than anyone else. That's it. One thing, deeply." — Steven Bartlett
"Your network is your net worth — but only if you're adding value first. The person who helps 100 people for free will always out-earn the person who pitches 100 people for money." — Daniel Priestley
"The side hustle that works is the one that doesn't feel like a hustle. If it feels like grinding, you picked the wrong thing. Lean into your obsessions — the market will find you." — Ali Abdaal
"The gap between $0 and $1 in online income is the hardest gap to close. Once you've made that first dollar, you understand the game. Everything after that is just multiplication." — Gary Vaynerchuk
For more powerful quotes from the show, check out our complete DOAC quotes collection and our quotes about money and wealth.
Join thousands of listeners who get our weekly breakdown of the top Diary of a CEO episodes, key takeaways, and actionable insights — so you can skip the 1.5-hour listen and get straight to what matters.
Join the Community →The Alex Hormozi "How to Turn $1,000 Into $100 Million" episode is the most-watched business episode on DOAC and the best starting point. For buying existing businesses, watch the Codie Sanchez episode. For content-based businesses, the Ali Abdaal and Gary Vaynerchuk episodes are essential.
Yes — both through his guests and in solo episodes where he breaks down his own journey. Steven is unusually transparent about the specific decisions, failures, and financial details of building Social Chain. See our complete guide to Steven Bartlett's business advice.
Based on guest advice, the lowest barrier to entry is freelance services — using a skill you already have (writing, design, video editing, social media management) and offering it to small businesses via cold outreach. Hormozi and Bartlett both started this way. The lowest ongoing effort is a digital product (online course, template pack) once it's built, as Daniel Priestley recommends.
DOAC guests give a realistic range: $1,000—$5,000/month within 6-12 months if you're consistent and focused on one thing. Hormozi says the first $10K/month is the hardest because you're building skills, reputation, and systems simultaneously. After that, growth tends to accelerate because referrals and compounding content kick in.
Absolutely — and most DOAC guests recommend it. Steven Bartlett started with a laptop. Ali Abdaal started with a phone camera. Gary Vee started with his dad's wine shop and a YouTube account. The consensus across episodes: start with time and skills, not money. Money follows proven demand.
All Diary of a CEO episodes are available free on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. For summaries of every episode, visit DiaryOfCEO.online — we break down all 450+ episodes so you can find exactly what you need without watching the full 1.5-hour episodes.
Check out our guides to the best money and business episodes, best business advice from DOAC, the productivity hacks guide, and the complete 2026 episode ranking.