Steven Bartlett didn't start with a business empire. He started with a side hustle — a wallpaper app he built as a teenager that earned him his first few thousand pounds. From there, he built Social Chain into a publicly traded company, became the youngest-ever Dragon on BBC's Dragons' Den, and launched one of the biggest podcasts in the world.
Across hundreds of episodes of The Diary of a CEO, Steven and his guests have shared an incredible amount of practical advice about side hustles — from choosing the right one to scaling it into a real business. Here's everything worth knowing.
Steven has been remarkably consistent on one point: a side hustle is not a hobby. It's a testing ground for a future business. If you're treating it casually, you'll get casual results.
"Don't start a side hustle because you want extra cash. Start one because you want to learn what it takes to build something. The cash comes later — the education comes first." — Steven Bartlett, The Diary of a CEO
This mindset shift is critical. Steven argues that the biggest mistake side hustlers make is optimizing for immediate revenue instead of skill acquisition. The side hustle that teaches you marketing, sales, and product development is worth more than the one that makes you an extra £500/month.
Alex Hormozi's appearance on DOAC is arguably the single best episode for aspiring side hustlers. He breaks down his framework for evaluating business opportunities: the "value equation" — where you maximize the dream outcome and perceived likelihood of success while minimizing time delay and effort/sacrifice.
"The best side hustle is one where you're solving a painful problem for people who have money. That's it. Stop overcomplicating it." — Alex Hormozi, on The Diary of a CEO
In multiple episodes, Steven has made the case that building an audience on social media is the single highest-ROI side hustle available today. Not because everyone should become an influencer, but because an audience is an asset that makes every other business easier.
"If I lost everything tomorrow — every company, every penny — the first thing I'd do is create content. An audience is the most valuable asset in the world because it makes every other business model possible." — Steven Bartlett, The Diary of a CEO
Steven recommends starting with short-form video content on platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels. The barrier to entry is zero, the potential reach is enormous, and the skills you learn (storytelling, marketing, audience psychology) transfer to any business.
Gary Vee's episode introduced the "$1.80 strategy" — leaving your "two cents" (thoughtful comments) on the top 9 posts across 10 relevant hashtags every day. It's free, it builds genuine relationships, and it's how many people have grown side hustles from zero to thousands of followers.
"Everyone wants the shortcut. The shortcut is doing the boring work that nobody else wants to do — every single day — for two years." — Gary Vaynerchuk, on The Diary of a CEO
Across various episodes and interviews, Steven has outlined these principles for building a successful side hustle:
Based on advice from Steven and his guests, here are the side hustles most frequently recommended on the podcast:
Multiple guests — including Tim Ferriss and Alex Hormozi — have warned against the "solopreneur" trap. Steven himself built Social Chain with a co-founder and emphasizes that partnerships, even informal ones, dramatically increase your chances of success.
Steven has repeatedly cautioned against jumping on trends like dropshipping, crypto trading, or whatever's trending on TikTok this week. The best side hustles solve real, persistent problems — not temporary fads.
"If your side hustle is built on a trend, you'll die with the trend. Build on a problem that humans will have forever." — Steven Bartlett, The Diary of a CEO
Steven's business background means he's obsessive about metrics. He advises every side hustler to track revenue, profit, time spent, and customer acquisition cost from day one — even when the numbers are tiny.
Steven and his guests generally agree on these signals:
"The transition from side hustle to main hustle should feel inevitable — not impulsive. When staying in your job starts costing you more than leaving it, that's when you go." — Steven Bartlett, The Diary of a CEO
Explore summaries, key takeaways, and quotes from every business-focused Diary of a CEO episode.
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