Marie Forleo: Listen Before Designing a Side-Hustle Offer

The Lesson

You enjoy editing short videos and would like to help a local workshop organizer. It is tempting to arrive with a package of clips, captions and social posts already decided. First learn what the organizer is trying to accomplish and where their current process gets difficult.

In her official article and published episode transcript, Marie Forleo recommends asking potential customers about their problems and listening before aligning your knowledge with their needs. Her official biography identifies her work in business education and MarieTV. We are applying the listening idea here, without adopting the episode’s promises about sales.

A learning conversation needs a different structure from a pitch. Ask for a recent example: what happened the last time they promoted a workshop? What did they prepare, who reviewed it, and which part required unexpected effort? A concrete account can reveal a task you would otherwise overlook. Perhaps they already have enough clips, but struggle to correct captions before publishing.

Keep their answer separate from your conclusion. “I spend an evening checking names in captions” is something they reported. “They will pay me for caption editing” remains an assumption. A polite compliment about your idea is also different from a request for a particular service.

You can use what you learn to make a small practice sample. Explain its limits and ask whether it addresses the task described. That second conversation might change the idea again. Listening is useful even when it shows that your proposed service is not needed.

Reflection

• Am I curious about their work, or trying to get agreement with my idea?
• Which question invites an example rather than a yes-or-no answer?
• What would make it easy for the person to decline or correct my interpretation?

Practice

Original SelfGrowthVideos exercise: prepare a conversation and evidence note. These questions and the worksheet below are ours; the creator has not endorsed them.

1. Choose one situation, such as preparing a newsletter or organizing workshop materials. Ask a person familiar with it whether they would be willing to discuss their experience. Say how long you expect it to take and that this is a learning conversation.
2. Prepare three prompts: “Walk me through the last time you did this,” “Which part took more effort than expected?” and “What have you already tried?” Let the answers guide a follow-up.
3. Ask before taking notes or recording. Use only what the person agrees to share; fictional materials are enough for a sample.
4. Make a note with three headings: what they said, my interpretation, and questions still open. Read back your understanding and invite correction.
5. Propose one practice sample if they want to see it. For caption work, use your own short recording and demonstrate a correction checklist. Do not promise results you have not measured.

If nobody is available, rehearse the questions with a peer and mark the responses as a rehearsal. Do not count fictional answers as customer research.

Review

Check the note after the conversation. Which part surprised you? Where did you interrupt or steer toward your preferred solution? What evidence would you need before committing to paid work?

Choose one next question or a smaller sample. An interview can help you understand an experience; it does not establish the size of a market, an appropriate price or a guaranteed sale.

Go Deeper

Explore starting and managing the work and research services. Pair this with Seth Godin’s first-audience brief and a lesson on asking a genuine follow-up. Visit Marie Forleo’s profile and video library.