Notes from Chris

Episode 230

It was spring 2015 and Andrew MacDonald got the phone call he knew was coming: the company he was working for was closing. He had been managing corporate sales at the same company for the past six years and had been the one relaying the dreary financial reports to the higher ups, which is why he hadn’t been caught unprepared. Months before, when he had seen the writing on the wall, Andrew had done some job searching, but the results would have required a severe pay cut. So he thought since he was 28 and already had a house and a car, why not start his own thing?

He looked back through his idea book, or as he calls it, his book of cool things, and got to work. He did anything and everything he could think of to get his creative juices flowing, including spending a week in silence at a monastery. In the end, he had 6 ideas that he felt were actionable and then whittled those down further to two ideas: a men’s clothing shop and a high-end toothbrush.

Andrew focused on the men’s clothing shop first because it was the idea he was most comfortable with, and by January 2016 it had come together and was on track to be profitable. So he turned his time attention to his side hustle: toothbrushes.

He spent a fair amount of time thinking about his market, and in the end decided that it was men that were already spending money on nice grooming products. Things like badger hair shaving brushes, beard oil, wood handled razors. These guys were paying attention to their appearance and using the best tools, but then picking up a plastic toothbrush for their teeth. So when imagining the design of the toothbrush, Andrew kept this market in mind.

And it's been working too! He's currently pulling $1,000/month with The Toothbrush Shop, and thanks to the extra income from his toothbrushes, he’s already working on launching his next product.

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Toothbrush Shop: Upgrade your dental hygiene routine on Andrew's website
• Shapeways: The product manufacturing platform that helped Andrew go from design to physical product
• Upwork: The freelancer resource that Andrew used to find the Swedish architect who helped him design his line of toothbrushes
• Keyword Planner: This tool helps you reach the right customers with the right keywords and helps you to better build your SEO and ad campaigns

SEE ALSO:

• Bearded Man Grows $500 A Month Grooming Business: A man grows a beard, and the rest is history. We weren’t sure about this bearded side hustling story, but then it grew on us
• Woman Earns $7,000 in Three Days by Selling Glass Nail Files: How an impromptu trip to a local farmer’s market leads one woman in California to a sustainable six-figure side hustle selling glass nail files online
• Brand Strategist and Dentist Team Up To Sell Coconut Oil Mouthwash: Two friends draw on their combined skills and understanding of an ancient Ayurvedic practice to launch a natural mouthwash product, building a $7,000/month side hustle

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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