360
6 min 52 sec

Unusual Men’s Fashion Item Romps Way to $100k

After spotting a viral Kickstarter campaign for men’s rompers, two young professionals decide to create their own fashion line.​
Kickstarter Manufacturing Niche Ideas Product

Subscribe Now For A Free Five Step Tutorial

What It's About

Two friends capitalize on the men's romper trend and make six figures!

Business Model
Manufacturing
Skills Required
Research & Resourcefulness
Complexity
Medium
Profit Potential
High

Words of Wisdom

Wyatt’s advice to other side hustlers is to act quickly on opportunities that already have demand—let someone else prove the concept, then do it better than them. Pretty soon you can break away from mirroring your competitors and do your own thing without taking too much risk.

Fun Fact

Men’s rompers have gone from being a gimmick to a serious fashion statement in less than a year, and no two people are more surprised than the founders of RomperJack.

Notes from Chris

Episode 360

When Steve Jobs quoted Picasso saying “Good artists produce; great artists steal,” Wyatt Thompson took it to heart, and it was the influence behind his side hustle, RomperJack.

Following Picasso’s lead, Wyatt decided to make a side hustle out of something that already existed rather than taking the time to invent something new. He invited his friend Justin to join him in the search for one.

They thought Kickstarter would be a good place to find out what was coming onto the market, and it was. They found a campaign for men’s rompers that was going viral. It had raised $300,000, but the product wouldn’t be available for four months. Four months seemed like a long time to wait for rompers, and the two figured they could start selling them sooner than that.

Until then, Wyatt didn’t even know there was such a thing as men’s rompers. In fact, he knew little about fashion in general.

In spite of that, Wyatt and Justin saw that this was a great opportunity from a strategic perspective:

1. There was only one company selling this product for the market.


2. The barrier to entry was low. No one can copyright the design of a romper because the outfit has been around for decades. 


3. The Kickstarter campaign wouldn’t deliver the product for four months, leaving a window for someone else to make it first.


These three indicators led the two to believe it was a great market to test a Side Hustle. He wasn’t thrown by their lack of knowledge or experience because they had a blueprint in front of them—the Kickstarter campaign from the other guys—and Wyatt had the confidence in their ability to find out what they didn’t know.

Within 26 days of first finding that Kickstarter campaign, Wyatt and his friend were selling RomperJacks. And within ten minutes of making their site live on Shopify, an alarm went off indicating a sale was made. Wyatt and Justin assumed it was the other one testing if their PayPal options were linked correctly, and then they realized it was an actual sale. They screamed for joy, and then terror, because their rompers hadn’t yet arrived from AliExpress.

Within a few weeks, the two began designing their own style of rompers in Photoshop and sending them to manufacturers on Alibaba. While AliExpress sells existing products in small quantities, Alibaba is a group of manufacturers and resellers who trade in larger orders and do custom designs.

The company grossed $100,000 in sales from July - October! Now they sell RomperJack in five countries and enjoy a growing number of brand partnerships.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • RomperJack: Romp on over to Wyatt's website to see the full lineup on his website!
  • Kickstarter: The crowdfunding platform that Wyatt used to find trending side hustle ideas
  • AliExpress: An online retail service owned by Alibaba that is made up of small, international businesses offering products to online buyers with wholesale options
  • Alibaba: The platform that Wyatt and Justin used to locate a manufacturer for their man rompers
  • Shopify: Wyatt and Justin used Shopify to set up their store for RomperJack, and right now, they're offering a 21-day trial and exclusive discount for all Side Hustle School listeners!
  • Dollar Shave Club: The personal grooming ecommerce store that Wyatt scored a job at after using his experience building RomperJack as leverage
SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter


Download Episodes By Months:

Season 6 (2022): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 5 (2021): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 4 (2020): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 3 (2019): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 2 (2018): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 1 (2017): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️


Learn More

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today!

Learn More

Quote of the Day
"When in doubt, mimic the market!"
—Wyatt Thompson #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Learn More With Skillshare!

Supporting the sponsors keeps the show free. Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Skillshare. 📷

Skillshare is giving Side Hustle School listeners 2 months of unlimited access—for $0.99! Join the 2 million students learning everything from street photography to SEO on Skillshare today!


Get Started Here!

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.




Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!





To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau