What It's About
A marketer fishes for profits after being inspired by the natural beauty of his hometown.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
When you encounter struggles of all kinds, there’s an important question you must ask yourself: “Can I do anything about this?”
If yes, great! If not... maybe you should let it go, or use it as inspiration for something else (I’m talking to myself here too, by the way). Use it as an opportunity to focus on the future or on doing something better.
And if you're moving on, another good question to ask yourself is: “What’s next?”
Fun Fact
Since his side hustle was inspired by the beauty of the Cape, Patrick figured that it only made sense that he give back and help preserve it.
For 2017, Patrick donated over $10,000 to ocean and marine life causes. The company is profitable and growing, and it brought in approximately $60,000 (pre-donation) in the last calendar year.
Notes from Chris
Episode 402
When Patrick Clarke moved from Falmouth, Massachusetts to Boston to become a marketer for the financial industry, he didn’t realize how much he would miss home. The sand dunes, the expansive beaches of Cape Cod, the passion for marine life—he wanted to stay connected to it all. He had tried a few side hustles in the past, but he never really felt passionate about them. When it was time to put himself out there to sell whatever he had made, he would realize he didn’t fully believe in it. Something changed when he sketched the coastline of Cape Cod in a notebook one early January day. He looked at the L-shape of the Cape and had what first felt like a random idea. He could loop a band through an attached ring on one side of the Cape, then hook the band around the ‘L’ side to make a bracelet. It was a simple concept, but it felt right. He took to Craigslist to find someone who could turn his sketch into a digital 3D model. A few revisions and a couple weeks later, Patrick sent his complete CAD file to an online 3D printer. But he didn’t open up an online store right away. Instead, he spent a couple months playing a game of “finders keepers” with friends and Cape Cod locals on Instagram by placing what he now called Cape Clasps in geocaches around the area. This generated excitement and a sense of exclusivity for those early-finders. It also just felt fun. At one point during those months of experiments, Patrick was walking down Main St. in his hometown, just doing his normal thing. A local shop owner walked up to him and asked where he got the bracelet he was wearing, and Patrick told him he was the bracelet’s creator. By the end of the day, he had a $700 check in his hands for a few dozen Cape Clasps. This spontaneous display of desire from a shop owner pushed Patrick from geocaching to cash-making, and he started taking his design to shops all around the Cape. By July 3rd that year, Cape Clasp was being sold in a handful of boutique stores in the area. On July 4th, Patrick launched his Shopify store, Cape Clasp. 2017 was Cape Clasps best year. Patrick went full-time as the business owner and moved back to Falmouth, Massachusetts. As a result, Cape Clasp netted $60,000 in sales and donated over $10,000 to marine life organizations.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Cape Clasp: Ride the surf over to Patrick's website and pick up a bracelet of your own! And it's a purchase you can feel good about because 15% of all sales go towards supporting ocean and marine life causes
- Shopify: Patrick used Shopify to set up his store for Cape Clasp, and they're offering a 21-day trial and exclusive discount for all Side Hustle School listeners!
SEE ALSO:
- Philadelphia Lover Maps Out $35,000/Year Side Hustle: A neuroscientist turned marketing manager moonlights as an artist, selling original papercut designs on Etsy with very little marketing
- GE Engineer Sells Hand-Crafted Slate Artwork to All 50 States: A GE engineer uses his skills to make and sell hand-crafted slate artwork to all 50 states. In addition to bringing in a great side income, it’s also given him more courage and security to make decisions at his day job
- Detroit Women Make Jewelry for Profit and Social Good: An attorney starts a jewelry company with purpose, employing disadvantaged women in Detroit to help them transition from a life of dependence into one of self-reliance
Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work! Yours in the revolution,
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Resources
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