During Spring Quarter 2024, the UC Irvine ANTrepreneur Center hosted a new program called the Side Hustle Challenge. The Side Hustle Challenge offered students the training, resources, and networking opportunities they needed to turn their passions into bonafide ventures. Throughout the quarter, the students learned about branding, finances, legal considerations, e-commerce, and other key aspects of building a business. The program culminated in a Finals Marketplace where the UC Irvine and wider Orange County communities were invited to explore the various student-developed side hustles and shop their products and services.
To highlight some of the incredible student side hustlers who participated in the challenge, Ryan Foland, ANTrepreneur Center Director, invited these ANTrepreneurs for a series of informative interviews. Welcome to Side Hustler Stories!
In this interview, Ryan sits down with Informatics student Tanis Sarbatananda (UC Irvine Class of 2025) to talk about his musical content creation side hustle.
Ryan: Ahoy Tanis! Thank you for sitting down with me to kick off our new Side Hustle Stories interview series. I think having musical content creation as your side hustle is a really interesting idea, especially because I don’t think most people think of content creation as something that can be a business venture. Can you start us off by explaining how you got into creating music cover videos?
Tanis: Sure; when I was in high school, I randomly started listening to Tattoo Color (a Thai pop band), and I was captivated by their music intro. I thought that it would be really cool if I could play the exact songs by myself. One of my main motivations was to mimic playing those beautiful intros using an electric guitar, pretending to be a guitarist. After developing some skills, I wanted to share my progress and my passion for music with others. Electric guitar became my primary focus because I could use it to play different types of music, whether that be something that sounds calm and relaxing or something that sounds a little bit more heavy.
Ryan: Content creation in the music space is highly competitive. How do you differentiate your music covers from others online?
Tanis: As of now, most of the music covers that I make are Thai songs. I want to showcase that there are many interesting riffs and melodies from Thai bands, even though they are just instrumental portions. In the near future, I want to expand my content to fingerstyle and improvisation to add more uniqueness to my content.
Ryan: Music cover videos can be technical to produce. What challenges have you faced in terms of video and sound production, and how have you worked to improve the quality of your content?
Tanis: One of the challenges that I have experienced is not getting high audio and video quality since I am currently using my phone for recording. I recently got an audio interface, which should help with audio recording, and I’m thinking of investing in a camera in the future.
Ryan: You’ve mentioned wanting to expand your content to include soccer, acoustic guitar, and bass. How do you plan to incorporate these new elements into your current brand, and what excites you most about this expansion?
Tanis: I plan to incorporate new content into my current brand by creating more short and exciting videos of my progress in soccer and bass. Particularly, I am considering adding new content where I challenge myself to learn a particular technique within a specific number of days and document the challenges I encounter along the way.
What excites me the most about this expansion is expanding my personal interests, learning new skills, getting out of my comfort zone.
Ryan: How do you stay motivated to consistently produce and share new content, especially when juggling multiple creative interests like soccer and different instruments?
Tanis: To keep myself motivated, I look up videos of musicians and soccer players that I admire, which inspires me to push myself to the next level. The amazing sense of accomplishment I get after learning new techniques also keeps me going.
Ryan: As you expand into new types of content, how do you plan to manage and organize your production schedule to balance your focus on music with your other interests?
Tanis: I plan to focus on sports content during the first and third weeks of each month. At the same time, I want to focus on music content during the second and fourth weeks of every month.
Ryan: Social media is a key platform for content creators. How have you used platforms like Instagram to engage with your audience, and what have been the most effective ways to grow your following?
Tanis: I use Instagram Reels (https://www.instagram.com/tanis_meanion/) t edit and share my content. I focus on making my videos short and concise yet interesting to keep audiences engaged. I think the most effective way to grow my following is to provide value or entertainment to my audience.
Ryan: What has been the most rewarding experience or feedback you’ve received from your audience, and how does it influence the direction of your content?
Tanis: The most rewarding feedback I’ve received from my audience are positive comments that show appreciation and belief in my ability. This motivates me to keep developing myself and making higher quality content.
Ryan: When you participated in the Side Hustle Challenge, what specific lessons did you learn that have helped you refine your approach to content creation?
Tanis: Participating in the Side Hustle Challenge was very helpful for me because I was able to learn new ideas to market myself better, such as creating my own website, having a business card, and making more connections. One specific piece of feedback I received from the Challenge was to think of how I can generate income through my side hustle, such as through providing services to customers.
Ryan: Looking ahead, what are your long-term goals? Do you envision turning your content creation into a full-time career or are there other projects you want to pursue in the future?
Tanis: My long-term goal is to build a personal brand where I can showcase my passions. One of my goals is to work for myself, and creating content is something that I would be excited about doing for the rest of my life. I would also be interested in becoming an expert in nutrition and fitness. One of my dreams is to be a part of Thailand’s national soccer team and debut in the World Cup.
To check out Tanis’s music covers and other content, follow him on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/tanis_meanion/) (https://www.youtube.com/@poffgikosasas1344) (https://www.tiktok.com/@tanis_meanion). Inspired by Tanis’s journey and interested in other student side hustles? Then stay tuned for the next installment of the Side Hustler Stories series.
Want help developing and launching your side hustle or business venture? Then visit the ANTrepreneur Center website to learn more about programming, speaker series, Micro-Internships, funding, and more. You can also learn more about the Center’s collaborations with Blackstone LaunchPad, Tech Coast Angels, Tech Coast Venture Network, OC Startup Council, and SoCal Celebrates Entrepreneurship. Keep up with the Center’s latest news by following them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.