This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Hey there, what's up and welcome back. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. So glad you're out there. Got a new story for you today about a Texas architect who takes a craft he learned from his grandfather and turns it into a profitable side hustle that is also an important creative outlet for him. I often talk about how a side hustle can provide you all kinds
of creative benefits, being able to do something different. And this story also illustrates an important pricing lesson. When you have a project like this, or really like a lot of projects, you sometimes have to choose which part of the market you're going to aim for. Are you aiming for the high end? Are you aiming for the low end or for somewhere in the middle? Are you looking
for that perfect Goldilocks like price? Today's story is specifically about making writing pens. And pens are something where there's definitely a huge range of pricing. You can go to the office supply store and spend $10 on a pack of 15 pens, or you can spend several hundred dollars on a single pen. So low end, high end, somewhere in the middle, pros and cons to each. Anyway, today you'll see
this in the analysis of the writing pen side hustle right after this. Jason Miller's side hustle started 16 years before he ever needed it. Hunched over a woodworking table with his grandfather, Jason learned the art of making luxury wooden writing implements from a true craftsman. The fascination with intricacy and design gripped both of them, and it compelled him to improve his skills whenever he could find free time. But like so many childhood hobbies, Jason's woodworking fell by the wayside and was replaced by the trials and tribulations of real life. After
studying architecture at college, followed by going directly into a full-time job as a retail architect, there wasn't much time left for creation. And although his day job kept his eye for detail sharp, his tools were going blunt in the garage. One day during a particularly stressful period, Jason decided he needed an outlet, something he could do to release those pin-up stresses from the working world and bring him some joy. Drinking a lot of red wine was looking like a strong contender, but he decided to go back to something he had learned long ago, woodworking. Jason dusted off his grandfather's set of tools and set out turning pieces of wood into beautiful pens once again. It was a perfect blend of meditation and reconnecting with a long-lost
part of himself. However, woodworking isn't a cheap hobby. Lacking serious training as a lumberjack and a metalsmith, Jason had to invest his own money into buying wood and the metal components for the pens. So in order to keep his hobby going, he decided he had to make it profitable. The initial marketing plan was pretty simple. Jason started off by asking people he already
knew if they'd be interested in buying a pen. Well, that first part was easy. Making a sale to a good friend of his in Trinidad, his business had instantly gone international, and it gave him some much needed confidence. However, even though Jason was a popular guy, he realized that he would eventually run out of friends to sell to. That's when he had a big idea. He thought about creating
the world's largest wooden pen and turning it into a tourist destination, like the cotton you find on the side of the road in rural towns. However, after sleeping on it, he decided, "Maybe I should just make a website and create a social media account." So that's what he did. Using just his laptop, his phone, and a small workspace in the garage, Jason set about creating social media updates that were as unique and handcrafted as the pens themselves. He used Squarespace to make a simple website and made sure to add a way that people could purchase pens from that website. Now, Jason was a good storyteller and also a good observer. So he spent some time looking at Instagram feeds
for luxury pen brands, and he realized he needed to create more of a sense of mission around what he was making. So he started doing that. He began to share the six-hour creation process, showcase his latest designs, share updates from the workshop floor, and otherwise just tell an interesting story about the pens he was making. Still, there were times when it felt a bit futile. By the end of 2016, when Jason started the project, he had made $1,700 from selling the pens. But that was just a bit more than half of the $3,000 he needed to get started.
He'd also had to learn a lot about things like international shipping, manufacturing costs, taxes, and so on. So there were times that it felt like the side hustle was a full-time job and not one that paid very well. But Pa Pa Neil, the grandfather who taught him his craft, wouldn't have wanted him to give up. And giving up also wasn't in Jason's nature. He kept scribbling away and soon he found his stride. At the end of the first quarter of 2017, Jason had
already made $1,600 and finally had enough profit to cover those startup costs, setting him on course to have a truly profitable year. And his work on social media was starting to get attention. After getting more than 800 followers in just a few months, his work was picked up by GQ magazine and featured in its May edition. Jason's pens retailed anywhere between $50 and $170 depending on which one you buy. He wanted to find a price that meant he wasn't competing with the likes of Mont Blanc, but he also wasn't selling himself short. That's why he decided to target that middle
range and so far he's managed to sell more than 60 of them. Jason is picky about where he gets his materials from. He sources each component from specifically selected manufacturers around the country. And even though he's not a lumberjack or a metalworker, one day he dreams of making everything in-house so that he can have total control over the design of his pens. Going into the future, JNN Woodworks, as he calls it, is moving out of the garage and setting up in a larger shop to handle the demand for new pens. Jason's also begun to experiment with different ways of creating
pens like using marble and other stones. And after about a year of experimentation, he's now making more than $500 a month from the project. Which sounds like this pen making side hustle is not just a write off, it really is the right choice for him. Well, how about you over there? Are you working on your side hustle? Do you sometimes feel frustrated? Listen, if your well has run dry,
put a cap on it and get to work. Don't write it off. There's something out there waiting for you too. Maybe like for Jason, it was something that you learned long ago and then forgot about or just got busy with other things. But there's actually something for you to consider pursuing. Well,
as always, I'm glad you joined me for the story today. Inspiration is good, but inspiration combined with action is so much better. Today's show notes, including a link to those handcrafted writing instruments are on the website. Today is episode 172. You can find those notes at sidehustleschool.com/172.
Crazy how that works. Before we go, some deep thoughts for your day. If you have a notebook on your desk and you move it, is it still stationary? Think about that and I'll see you tomorrow. I'm Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
