“At the end of every day, ask yourself one question: did today matter?”

This was the challenge posed by New York Times bestselling author Chris Guillebeau to a packed room of creatives, entrepreneurs, intrepreneurs, business leaders, and more on September 27, 2017 at WHYY. The Arts + Business Council, a Council of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia welcomed Guillebeau and fellow New York Times bestselling author Gretchen Rubin to discuss entrepreneurial culture, leadership, and taking action on your passions to bring about happiness.

(To follow the conversation as it unfolded, search #Hustle4Hire on Twitter.)

Guillebeau’s keynote speech kicked off the event with his personal story and those of other “side hustlers” who have taken action to improve their lives by making time for their passions — while creating a new income stream in the process. Guillebeau, whose podcast focuses on a different side hustle story each week, showed how these side hustles result in empowerment and freedom for those willing to take the plunge. He also offered a revision to his earlier call to potential side hustlers: don’t give up your only source of income. You don’t have to quit your day job, Guillebeau said, and he gave a few examples of people who have done just that.

Guillebeau was then joined onstage by Gretchen Rubin and SEI’s Jennifer Pouchot, VP of Digital and Creative, and Colleen Stratton, Global Head of the Workforce Development Team for a conversation about how innovation and entrepreneurship benefits in-house talent at companies of all sizes.

Cohere’s Antoinette Marie Johnson then took the stage for ABC’s inaugural Strategy Salon, where regional leaders share ideas, initiatives, and/or questions for thought leaders like Guillebeau and Rubin. Joseph A. Forkin, President, Delaware River Waterfront Corporation; Douglas J. Green, Managing Principal, MSC Retail; Kyree Holmes, Founder, Onyx Valley; and Anne Ryan, Director of Brand Strategy, Brownstein Group all contributed to this innovative panel/mini TED talk mashup that led to discussions about branding for talent recruitment, diversity in the tech workforce, corporate innovation, and entrepreneurial partnerships.

Chris Guillebeau is the New York Times bestselling author of The $100 Startup, The Happiness of Pursuit, Born for This, The Art of Non-Conformity, and his newest book, The Side Hustle. Chris is also the host of the popular Side Hustle School podcast, which generates 150,000 downloads per week.

Gretchen Rubin is the author of blockbuster New York Times bestsellers The Four Tendencies, Better Than Before, The Happiness Project and Happier at Home, which have sold almost three million copies worldwide. On her popular weekly podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin, she discusses good habits and how to architect a happier life.

Click here to view a gallery of photos from Hustle For Hire.