TAIL-GREAT My ‘tailgating’ side hustle makes up to $3,000 a month – and all it took was a throwaway comment about my hobby

WANT to start a side job but don’t know where to start? One entrepreneur says all it took was a comment from his now father-in-law to start his side hustle which earns him up to $3,000 a month. 

Luke Lorick, founder and CEO of the Tailgating Challenge, revealed in a podcast interview with Side Hustle Nation that he turned his passion for tailgating into a years-long side business as he continues a corporate job.

While he is profitable now, Lorick spent the first few years of his side hustle reviewing items for free.

“I was just working my regular job and my father-in-law… planted the seed,” Lorick said in the interview last December. 

The tailgating aficionado said roughly 10 years ago, his now father-in-law told him “Find something you enjoy doing outside of work that could potentially become something.”

“I remember one night I literally woke up in bed and I said, ‘tailgate challenge’ because I had a couple of business degrees and I love tailgating,” Lorick continued.

Originally from South Carolina, Lorick revealed that his passion for tailgating – an informal social gathering often held in a parking lot before a sporting event – grew while attending the University of South Carolina.

Shortly after his light-bulb moment, Lorick launched Tailgating Challenge on Facebook. In the roughly ten years since, his side hustle has grown to have its own Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and official website. 

As of Wednesday, Tailgate Challenge garnered had more than 264k followers/subscribers across their social media platforms.

Through social media, Lorick and his team test and review the best gear people can use during a tailgating party such as various grills, top-notch coolers, or funky folding chairs. Followers can find daily posted reviews on YouTube and their website.

Tailgate Challenge also reviews fun tailgating games, such as the Zag Bag board. 

Additionally, they host frequent giveaways to loyal followers, gifting out the recently reviewed items.

While Lorick currently earns up to $3,000 a month through AdSense, Amazon affiliates, monetizing YouTube and brand deals, he warned that it took a while for his side hustle to come off the ground. 

“For the first few years… I did everything for free. Everything for free,” Lorick said on the podcast.

“No affiliates, not taking any cuts, not asking for any money.” 

“It’s like, I need to build up a genuine authentic brand and actually get some followers right behind that too,” he said, noting that it would’ve been hard to ask companies to partner with him without any statistics to back up his reviews. 

The businessman revealed that by doing the reviews for free and launching giveaways, he was able to build up his following and gain awareness for the various brands.

“Overnight successes don’t happen overnight,” Lorick said. “Like you’ve got to put in the hustle, in the grind and do it consistently.

“So many people actually like, have all these great ideas and they want to do stuff like this. They don’t see immediate results and all of a sudden their hustle fades and just kind of becomes a distant memory.”

“So it’s like you have to be passionate about it. You have to want it,” he added. 

Looking back on his current success, Lorick said the main thing he regrets is that he didn’t start soon enough. 

For those looking to start today, the tailgating aficionado urges all potential side hustlers to “never give up.” 

“Keep pushing forward every single day, even if it’s just a little bit, find a way to make some level of progress with your business,” Lorick said.

Lorick encouraged anyone pursuing a side hustle to “never give up.”