This side Hustle Spotlight Q&A includes Charles Eid, 40, Minoriapolis, founder and CEO of Corporate events company at Minnesota. EdcomAs a teenager, Eid sidelined as a DJ, then began to produce major programs at the University of St. Thomas. Read more about his journey here. Reactions have been edited for length and clarity.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Edcom. Charles Eid.
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What was your day work or primary business when you started your side hustle?
I was raised by two selling entrepreneurs who actually inspired me to think outside the box. My mother taught me that I need to learn to sell. In high school, I waited for the table and sold the web development services full -time, creating the introduction of Eidecom. I also shot wedding videos during the peak wedding season. I was shooting weddings over the weekend and editing the video during the week, which had no downtime, causing burnout. This inspired me to believe that something big and better for me. While I did not love the pieces of the wedding industry, I loved being a part of life -changing events. I always knew that I was going to do something big in the event industry.
When did you start your side, and where did you get inspiration for it?
I started Eidecom in 2003. Prerna came from attending a sales conference with her mother and falling in love with the effects on humanity. At a young age, I had a high intuition when it came in large rooms of people and how they were feeling; This X-ray was like being a vision. For some reason, I had the natural ability to understand the dynamics of the engagement of the audience from a very young age.
Related: I took my side full -time and earned $ 222,000 last year. Here’s how – and sometimes why do I work only 10 hours a week.
What were some of the first steps you take to remove your side from the ground? How much money/investment was made in launching?
I started my father’s home theater system by borrowing at DJ parties, which developed at weddings. At one point, my father told me that I had to stop abusing their home theater system and buy a professional audio system. I remember to maximize your first credit card with a range of $ 2,000 for the trailer to connect with your Saturn L200 sedan to transport my DJ devices – it was cheerful. Imagine that this teenager is shown in his program who is pulling a trailer with a Saturn; No wonder my prices were so cheap. For me, it was a fortune if I made $ 200 in a night.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Edcom
If you can go back to your professional journey and change a process or approach, what would it be, and how do you want you to do it in a different way?
I must have hired better people first. In the beginning, you think you can do all this. After gaining experience, I have realized that some people are much better on some things that I am, and I should have hired them soon.
I would have applied and enforced my ideal customer profile very soon. We ruined the energy when we tried to do everything for everyone, which slowed down our development and diluted our brand.
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When it comes to this specific business, you should be particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who come in this type of work should be prepared, but not the possibility?
Logistics. Live events do not get another tech. Coordinating hundreds of moving parts – gear, truck, talent, time – with zero margin for error is something that most people underestimate.
In addition, sales and finance never noticed that they are entitled to our industry. Most of these are left to the largest players. We have realized that the creation of a strong sales team and a strong finance team makes a big difference in success or failure.
Can you miss a specific example when something went very wrong? How did you fix it?
We were doing a show in Las Vegas for a big customer. He had Matthew McConaghi and many other big speakers who were taking stage the next day. When his CEO rehearsal came to see, the LED wall started messing up on a large scale. This remained a problem, and the CEO and his team went into frustration. On the way to go out of the door, he asked me if he could trust me. I assured him that we would find out it. Millions were on line for us and him.
Late that evening, after much troubleshooting, we realized that it had a computer with a poor component. It was not an ordinary computer, but a supercomputer which was very specific for LED wall processing. We called everywhere and no one had one in the city, but we found a available in Los Angeles, which was quite a drive or a small flight. Fortunately, I spent learning my years to become a pilot and I had a plane with me. We went to the midnight to fly to Los Angeles at midnight to take this computer with only hours before the show started. As soon as we took the runway, we got a call that he finally found on the ground in Las Vegas, and it will be in the ballroom in minutes. We shut down the airplane, go back and continued troubleshooting in the early hours of the morning until it was perfect.
I sat waiting for the CEO to show that morning, and when he did, he asked me if we were going to be a good day, and I assured him that 10 out of 10, we would get this right. Of course, I was scared of the death of the initial video about playing the bullets and playing the opposite count on the headset. I never felt that I was feeling the concern. Without any hesitation, the video was played completely back, and the rest of the conference went exactly according to the plan. At the end of all this, the CEO came to me and he admitted that he was worried, but he trusted us in full way. We have now secured that customer for life. It is always about being ready to work. You have to know your result.
Related: He started a side hustle producing a ‘clear’ food items. This rapidly hit $ 300,000 monthly revenue for more than $ 20 million in 2025.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Edcom
How long did you take to see continuous monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
It took almost five years to start watching continuous revenue. We started a few thousand dollars per year with revenue. Initially, it was a pair of hundred dollars at a time and turned into enough to pay the mortgage, but it was about it.
What does development and revenue now look like?
We are looking between 30% and 40% year-on-year growth. Last year, we raised $ 20 million in revenue, and we are moving to $ 100 million in revenue by 2030. We are a premium production partner for Fortune 500 brands that are demanding high -end production for large -scale conferences, events and meetings.
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What do you enjoy the most in running this business?
I love people. I really believe that our people are on our banks. I have spent my entire life to collect amazing humans around me, and Edcom is the result. Most companies get it backwards. He says, “Always keep the customer first,” which is completely wrong. If you put your team first, the customer will always get what they need.
What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
Sales are oxygen – without it, you die. Therefore, learn to sell. Remember jet. Just execute today. While someone else is planning, you execute. Get out of there and build relationships, sell your product and rent the best people you can tolerate.
