The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

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Passive Income Expert: How To Make 10k Per Month In 90 Days!

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Dec 8, 2025

Guest

Chris Koerner

Chris Koerner, a serial entrepreneur and the 'King of Side Hustles', discusses how he built over 80 businesses with just $500. He reveals the brutal truth about passive income and emphasizes the importance of active income. Chris explains his strategy for turning $1,000 into $10,000 quickly using AI tools and practical frameworks. He shares insights on validating business ideas rapidly, the role of focus versus momentum, and the reality of rejection in entrepreneurship. Plus, he offers unique side hustle ideas like wedding rentals and local newsletters.

02:11:55

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Episode notes

Learn Facebook Ads Quickly

Learn Facebook ads by launching real campaigns; you can become proficient in days.
Treat ad skills as foundational, like writing emails or building websites.

Avoid Co-Founders Early

Most founders don't need co-founders; solo founding lowers failure rates.
Only partner after you know your strengths and have traction to define fair equity.

Delay Equity Talks Until Traction

Set a clear metric (e.g., $10k revenue) before discussing equity with partners.
Revisit equity once traction and responsibilities are measurable to avoid resentment.

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Chris’s origin story and first business

02:39 • 4min

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Scope and results of 80+ businesses

06:57 • 1min

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Foundational entrepreneurial mindset

08:01 • 1min

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Why now is the best time to start

09:18 • 3min

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Using Web Archive and copying models

11:55 • 2min

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Copying the iPhone screen recycling model

13:37 • 3min

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When to iterate versus copy exactly

16:50 • 2min

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Testing vs expertise for old and new problems

18:48 • 5min

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Buc-ee's experiment and viral launch

23:42 • 4min

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Act on ideas quickly to build momentum

27:33 • 1min

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How to spot opportunities like Buc-ee's

28:55 • 2min

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Who should and shouldn't be an entrepreneur

30:49 • 6min

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Should you burn the boats or keep plan B?

36:35 • 3min

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The myth of passive income

39:27 • 1min

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Examples of sweaty, profitable side hustles

40:35 • 2min

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Follow profit until passion is affordable

42:15 • 6min

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Two-week idea test as a signal

48:31 • 45sec

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Validating ideas quickly and in-person

49:16 • 3min

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Use Meta products to test MVPs

52:39 • 32sec

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Validate a women's creatine brand on Facebook

53:11 • 4min

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Becoming proficient at Facebook ads

Types of entrepreneurs: starter, maintainer, finisher

01:00:27 • 4min

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Focus vs momentum trade-offs

01:04:02 • 3min

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Guilt, sacrifice and family during startups

01:07:20 • 3min

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Reframing rejection and sales

01:09:59 • 3min

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Partners, failure rates, and solo founding

01:12:47 • 5min

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Practical partner equity and milestone approach

01:17:18 • 4min

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What to build with $500: AI implementation services

01:21:11 • 7min

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Other $500 plays: drop servicing and directories

01:28:01 • 6min

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Vending machines as accessible physical businesses

What to build with $1,000: wedding rentals

01:38:41 • 2min

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Local newsletters as $1,000 play

01:41:10 • 3min

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What to do with $5,000: small RV parks

01:43:49 • 6min

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Macro themes: AI and retiring baby boomers

01:49:35 • 52sec

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Most profitable ventures and finding operators

01:50:27 • 3min

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Experimentation analogy: fishing for business ideas

01:53:02 • 3min

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Avoiding mirage opportunities

01:55:57 • 5min

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Final advice: trade-offs of entrepreneurship

02:00:39 • 4min

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What Chris appreciated about this interview

02:04:18 • 4min

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Where to follow Chris and his work

Serial entrepreneur CHRIS KOERNER reveals how he built 80+ businesses from scratch, turned side hustles into millions, and why ONLY $500 is all you need.

Chris Koerner is a self-made entrepreneur and content creator, known as the “King Of Side Hustles”. With over 1 million followers, he now teaches people how to build and scale a business and he is host of the ‘The Koerner Office Podcast’.

He explains:

◼️The brutal truth about passive income (and what to build instead)

◼️How to turn $1,000 into $10,000 fast, with a step-by-step formula

◼️The #1 habit silently keeping you poor without you realising it

◼️How to use AI tools to launch and scale instantly

◼️The simple framework for testing any business idea with $0

[00:00] Who Are You and What Do You Do?

[02:36] What Businesses Have You Started?

[05:46] Is This the Best Time to Start a Business?

[08:52] Copying Businesses

[13:06] Experimentation and Testing

[20:24] Your Experience With Buc-ee's

[23:13] Is Entrepreneurship for Everyone?

[30:36] Should We Have Plan Bs?

[36:27] Passive Income

[39:23] How Important Is Passion?

[42:08] How to Know If You Should Pursue an Idea

[47:23] How to Validate Your Ideas

[49:02] How to Test a Product

[52:14] How Important Is It to Learn Facebook Ads?

[57:24] Ads

[59:04] The Different Types of Entrepreneurs

[01:00:07] How Important Is Focus?

[01:02:17] Did You Feel Guilty for Trying to Build Businesses?

[01:07:17] Rejection and Failure

[01:10:12] Team Building and Business Partners

[01:12:43] Equity Split in a Business

[01:15:25] What Would You Do With $500 for a Business?

[01:21:10] Drop Servicing

[01:28:06] Making Money From Vending Machines

[01:36:29] Ads

[01:38:32] What Business Would You Do With $1,000?

[01:41:22] Online Business With $1,000

[01:43:51] What Would You Do With $5,000?

[01:49:24] Don’t Ignore This When Starting A Business

[01:50:22] Which Has Been Your Most Profitable Business?

[01:52:26] Keep Trying and Experimenting

[01:55:49] Any New Business Ideas You’re Trying?

[01:56:47] Business That You Should Stay Away From

[02:00:46] Should You Really Become an Entrepreneur?

[02:03:55] What’s One Thing Steven Did That You Appreciated?

[02:08:30] What’s the Most Popular Question You Get?

Follow Chris:

Instagram - https://bit.ly/4oFom0i

YouTube - https://bit.ly/3XBUI16

X - https://bit.ly/3Mc0UdJ

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