74: Making Money Being Santa, with Mitch Allen

Do you have a twinkle in your eye and a genuine love of Christmas? Then consider being a seasonal Santa!   Today’s guest will unwrap all the details. He’s Mitch Allen, founder and Head Elf at the Santa Claus talent agency hiresanta.com   After landing a deal on Shark Tank, business really ramped up and they’ve now grown to be the largest Santa for Hire company in the world.   This year alone they've added 1100 Santa’s to their database.   Through Mitch being deeply entrenched in the Santa community, he shares valuable insights on the business of being Santa, including;   the variety of opportunities available, the increased diversity of Santa's, the costs involved, and the earning potential   While Mitch builds his database predominantly from Santa's living in the United States, there are Santa talent agencies in a number of other countries,  as well as different versions of Santa represented around the world.   Instead of using an agency, you may choose to fly solo and seek out opportunities on your own.   Be sure to check out the end of episode wrap up where I share some ideas from my own experience about the earning potential of going solo vs. working with an agency.   What You’ll Hear:   02:12 Hiresanta.com started as an accidental business 04:17 The vibrant Santa community 04:50 Mitch’s Shark Tank experience 07:30 The deal with Barbara Corcoran 08:23 This year’s demand for Santas 09:40 Recruiting Santa’s is a year-round job 10:21 Melissa Rickard, episode 29 - you’d never know she’s female 12:40 The criteria for being a Santa with Mitch 14:40 A growing demand for diversity of Santas 16:42 The process of getting a gig once you’re in the hiresanta.com database 18:25 Potential earnings 20:55 Some results from the 1200-Santa survey 21:57 Younger people are Santa’s too! 23:05 Start up costs 23:52 A Santa photo shoot at the self-storage facility, and other unique gigs 26:15 Mitch’s most unique Santa gig - the waterpark! 27:25 Being Santa is a ton of fun, but it’s work - you need to be “on” all the time 29:42 What’s next for hiresanta.com? hiremariachis.com! 31:05 Mitch’s best tip to start or grow your side hustle Wrap Up 32:45 Get booked through an agency, or fly solo?   Joan's Online Masterclass to help you achieve your side hustle goals: Turn Your Thoughts Into Wanted Things: https://courses.joanposivy.com/p/turn-your-thoughts-into-wanted-things   Shark Tank featuring Mitch Allen’s pitch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWhhqlTYLdY   Hire Santa 2023 Santa Survey: Shoot us a message via our website or by DM on Instagram and we'll get it to you!   Connect with Mitch: https://www.hiresanta.com/   Connect with Joan: https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/ https://www.facebook.com/posivy/ https://www.sidehustlehero.com/about/ Be on the show! https://www.sidehustlehero.com/guests/intake/