This as-told-to story relies on a dialog with GumGum Promoting CEO Phil Schraeder, who’s had a profitable facet hustle showing as a contestant on sport reveals. The piece has been edited for size and readability.
I am initially from a small city outdoors of Chicago. My brother, sister and I had been on the swim crew within the summers, which meant early 6 a.m. mornings. This was again within the ’80s, the place after swim observe, you’d go outdoors and play with your pals till darkish, however within the mornings, nobody else was awake. So, once we bought house from swim observe round 7:30 a.m., my mother would make us breakfast and placed on the TV — and my siblings and I might watch sport reveals.
I turned fixated on these sport 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 really like trivia and profitable prizes.
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Quick ahead to after I graduated from school: I labored in Chicago for a short while earlier than deciding that I wanted to search out myself. I needed to come back out of the closet. I felt very held again from my genuine self. I needed a change, so I moved with a buddy to Los Angeles.
Once I arrived, all I had was my automobile and what I might match within it. I had no job, and I used to be in bank card debt. I wanted to determine a strategy to earn cash. Fortunately, I’ve at all times been targeted on accounting and finance. My background is in enterprise. So, I wasn’t anxious about having the ability to discover a job, however I nonetheless wanted a strategy to make ends meet within the brief time period.
That is after I began a enjoyable and distinctive facet hustle: competing on sport 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 really like the expertise, however I used to be additionally dwelling out my childhood dream. I additionally beloved figuring out that my household was in a position to take pleasure in watching me do it.
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At the same time as I progressed in my finance profession, in the end turning into a VP, I continued with the facet hustle and saved a pulse on sport present alternatives. As a result of Los Angeles is the leisure capital of the world, a variety of first-time sport reveals have their begin there, they usually search for contestants regionally. 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 needed to use. And, being a 29-year-old finance and enterprise accounting skilled from Chicago, I supplied 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 possibility. 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-after-day after my life associate Wes and I awoke, I might examine, then go to work. On my lunch break, I might examine extra. Later within the evenings at house, I might examine till I used to be falling asleep on the sofa.
I ended up profitable $175,000 on the present. It gave me a variety of monetary freedom.
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This facet hustle supplied different thrilling probabilities to earn cash over time. I additionally appeared on the Dick Clark Pyramid Present, the place I received $22,500. I actually took the time without work work, known as my brother after I received and mentioned, “Oh, that was a superb day of labor.”
However this kind of facet hustle comes with some limitations, too. You possibly can solely go on so many sport reveals over the course of 10 years. Now, if the correct alternative offered itself, I might contemplate taking it. I nonetheless love sport reveals and recognize that they helped set me up financially, however at this level in my life, I am in a distinct state of affairs, so if I had been to look on one and win, I might doubtless donate the cash.
My sport present facet hustle positively helped form me as a enterprise chief.
At first, I used to be afraid that I may not be taken critically as a seasoned government enterprise skilled in finance as a result of I loved competing on sport 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 need to have a good time these pursuits and facet hustles; we need to encourage them.
At GumGum, we’re in 20 nations and have over 500 folks, so I’ve carried out what I name “beginning courses”: whoever began in Q1 of this yr can be within the Q1 2025 beginning class. And I ask them a variety of questions. What are some folks’s facet hustles? What are they concerned about? It is wonderful to look at everybody mild up. There are DJs, macrame crafters, influencers and opera singers. Then, I take into consideration how we will translate these passions into our tradition and encourage and assist one another locally.
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From my expertise on Are You Smarter Than a fifth Grader? specifically, I realized 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 not sure of the reply and needed to determine if I needed to threat all of it and go together with the child’s reply. If the child’s reply was appropriate, I might have received $300,000, but when it had been incorrect, 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 saved 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 essential 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 fully superb with not profitable extra to be able to defend what I already had. It’s essential to keep true to what works for you and what you might be snug with. Do not take into consideration what others may need or do, after which evaluate your self.
My sport present facet hustle additionally taught me quite a bit 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 points of my life. It reaffirmed what actually issues.
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With regards to enterprise, probably the most profitable leaders are going to be those who can go very deep in humanizing us and themselves. I attempt to avoid encouraging leaders to be “genuine” as a result of the other of that’s “inauthentic,” and I do not suppose folks attempt to present up inauthentically. They’re simply attempting to be extra clear.
In order that’s my one large push, particularly because it pertains to the promoting trade: Should you’re a frontrunner on this area, the final word aim is connecting with somebody deeply on an emotional stage or a wants stage. The very best leaders want to point out up ready to try this daily.
