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When Carter Osborne needed extra funds for graduate school tuition, he decided to monetize the skill he does best: writing.
In 2017, Osborn realized he could get paid to advise high school seniors on their college application essays. He met with a consultant and applied to Stanford University, where he was accepted in 2013.
He went back to his mentor for help starting a side business, and because admissions consultants were in high demand, she introduced him to three clients.
Osborne had planned to quit his side hustle after earning his master's in public administration two years later, at which point he realized he got satisfaction out of helping kids with their essays. Plus, it was lucrative: By 2021, Osborne had 40 clients and made $113,550, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
Last year, he scaled back his number of clients to 33, largely because of rising expectations for his full-time job as a public relations account director. Still, he made $77,120, an average of just slightly more than he makes in a full-time job over the past two years, Osborne said.
The good thing is, starting a side hustle costs next to nothing, Osborn said. He works with clients remotely, and estimates it cost him $50 to set up Zoom and Squarespace accounts. Any extra money is useful, Osborn said. He recently used his savings to buy a house in Seattle, Washington, with his girlfriend.
But the side hustles aren't completely free: Between October and December, as application deadlines loom over her senior year of high school, Osborne works a combined 70 hours a week at both jobs.
“It's inevitable. When a deadline is coming up, you have to work hard,” Osborne, 28, told CNBC's Make It. “I often say to my friends, 'Hey, see you in January.'”
Here, Osborne details how he started and maintained his six-figure side hustle.
CNBC Make It: Do you think your side hustle is replicable?
Osborne: I think it's definitely replicable for anyone who is willing to invest the time into learning how to break down and put into practice the college essay writing process.
But to get started, you need a few things: You need a good mentor, someone who's been in this field and knows how it works. This could be a personal consultant like me, or a school counselor who's trained in this field.
Being in an admissions/counseling position is a different game than applying on your own: you need knowledge of how admissions officers approach essays and how schools look at things now versus 10 years ago.
Admissions processes seem to be constantly changing. How can you stay on top of what schools expect from their students without giving away trade secrets?
You need to know what's changing in the world of college admissions. It's been a tough year, given the Supreme Court ruling. [overturned affirmative action] Schools are talking about legacy admissions, and if you don't stay on top of the news cycle, you'll be behind when students ask you questions like, “Should I talk about race in my application?”
I also subscribe to many college newsletters and am about to publish some freelance articles, which require me to be critical in my writing and do a lot of research on mental health and college admissions.
How can you improve your students' essays without writing your own?
There is an ethical boundary: My first meeting with a student is a 1-90 minute interview to brainstorm as many ideas as possible. I record their responses but serve as a forum for exchange and ask questions that help them think critically about how their life experiences apply to their personal statement.
When someone starts writing for students or suggesting new content, you can get into some tricky territory. First drafts are never great, and I can't write their essays for them. If I need them to dig deeper into an idea, I just take notes and make suggestions based on what they've told me. I'm not going to just churn out a brand new thought on this page without consulting them, and it's definitely going to be woven in from what they've already told me.
How do you set boundaries to maintain work-life balance during peak admissions season? Do those boundaries help prevent burnout?
During the first or second month of the school admission season, it gets really hot, so I can't keep a good balance between work and personal life. I was the busiest in 2021, but I didn't take a day off and I started to feel burned out. The biggest symptom was that I started to lose focus. When I logged into my full-time job in the morning, I was distracted within 30 minutes. I became a little more irritable and forgetful. Even when my friends contacted me, I missed their messages at all.
But this year, I made an adjustment: I work a full-time job during the day, take a 30-minute break, and then attend three meetings in a row until about 9:30 p.m. It might sound counterintuitive, but the reason I do this is to take the weekend off and have two days off, something I never did before. Now I can take a short trip with my girlfriend, visit my family, or simply take a break and recharge my batteries.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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