Sell Shovels in the Gold Rush
Don't chase the trend — sell the tools and services the trend needs.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 88%
Sell Shovels in the Gold Rush is the strategy of profiting from a trend by supplying what the trend needs rather than competing in the trend itself. When podcasting boomed, the shovels were editing services, ad-sales brokering, recording software, and microphones. When a software tool like Notion, Asana, HubSpot, or QuickBooks gets popular, the shovel is becoming the implementation expert with proven templates. These enabling plays win because there's already awareness and search demand — people are actively Googling and searching YouTube for how to use the thing.
Origin
Nick draws on the California Gold Rush adage — the people who sold shovels made more reliable money than the prospectors — and applies it to modern side-hustle trends observed across hundreds of Side Hustle Show episodes.
Core principles
- 01The people supplying a boom often profit more reliably than the prospectors.
- 02Every trend spawns a demand for enabling tools and services.
- 03Piggyback on existing awareness and search demand around a hot tool or trend.
- 04Being an early adopter of a new capability lets you serve those who can't or won't learn it.
How to run it
- 1
Spot the gold rush
Identify a trend, platform, or software tool that's rapidly gaining popularity and users.
Pro tip AI tooling, a hot Pinterest trend, or a surging SaaS product all qualify as gold rushes.
- 2
Inventory the shovels
List the services, tools, templates, and expertise the people in that rush need to succeed.
- 3
Match a shovel to your skills
Choose the enabling offer you can credibly deliver — editing, consulting, implementation, or content.
- 4
Ride the existing demand
Create content and offers around the tool so you capture people already searching for how to use it.
Pro tip Make YouTube tutorials answering 'how do I do X in this tool' to intercept existing search demand.
In the wild
Nick describes people becoming Notion, Pipedrive, HoneyBook, Asana, or QuickBooks experts, selling implementation help with proven templates and creating how-to content around each tool.
→ They capture existing search demand and build a service business off another company's popularity.
As everyone started a podcast during the pandemic, the enabling plays were editing services, ad-sales brokering, recording software, and microphone hardware.
→ Providers profited from the boom without needing their own hit show.
Common mistakes
Joining the rush as a prospector
Competing head-on in the saturated trend itself is far harder than selling the tools and services every participant needs.
Is it for you?
Best for
Service providers and consultants who can spot a rising trend and provide enabling tools or expertise.
Not ideal for
Those wanting a fully passive product with no service delivery.
From the transcript
“Maybe the gold rush here is a Pinterest trend around nice looking porches... what shovels could you sell into that gold rush?”
“There's already some level of awareness and search demand... People are typing in questions into YouTube about these different software tools.”
From the episode
Nick Loper: Side Hustle Secrets Every Aspiring Entrepreneur Needs to Know
Nick Loper