Faux Taxidermy Turns Heads on Home Decor

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

[Music]

Hey there, what's up, welcome back. My name is Chris Guillebeau for Side Hustle School. And hey, listen, we are starting a brand new week today and I have a truly amazing story for you. In fact, I believe this story is destined to be a Side Hustle School classic. When I started this daily podcast approximately or precisely 471 days ago, I said that I wanted to tell you stories you wouldn't hear anywhere else.

My point in doing so was to show you that there are so many different ways to make money, many of them ways that you've never considered. Many of them are ways that I never considered until I started this show and started seeing all the different things that people were sending in. And the point in focusing so broadly, so widely, it's not just about inspiring a wow factor, although I think that's fun too. I also wanna get you thinking about what you could do, like what weird skill or obscure knowledge or odd obsession you have that could actually turn out to be profitable. Well, today's story has a wow factor.

I don't think you've ever heard of it. And it should illustrate everything I just mentioned. There really are all kinds of ways to make money. So if you don't like this story or if you can't appreciate its creativity, well, let's not go there because I'm pretty sure you will. Okay, this is the story of faux taxidermy.

In other words, artificial animal home decor. And here's the setup, okay, great question here. What happens when a PETA-supporting animal-loving woman falls in love with a gun-owning animal-hunting man and they decide to start a business together that somehow merges these values? I know what a setup. Well, truth is stranger than fiction and it pays better too.

Stay tuned. [Music]

When Lindsay and Rick Boblitz first started dating, there was a big difference between them that caused a few disagreements. You see, Lindsay is an avid animal lover and PETA supporter who would rather take a spider outside than step on it. Rick, on the other hand, is an avid animal hunter who loves going out to track down deer, geese, and ducks. They eventually worked through these minor issues and got married, but the topic reared its head again when Lindsay and Rick started looking for a house and talked about how they wanted to decorate.

For some reason, the thought of having trophy animal heads peering down at her like they did at Rick's family home did not appeal to Lindsay. Now Lindsay was crafty and she had a crafty idea for getting around this problem. She decided to surprise Rick by decorating a resin deer head with fabric. In other words, an artificial arts and crafts replica of a deer. It was a completely cruelty-free way to bring his love of hunting into their home without hurting so much as a fly, let alone a deer.

She was nervous about what he would think of the faux decor, but not only did he love it, he encouraged her to make more and sell them. So Lindsay made a second fabric-covered faux deer head and created an Etsy shop. She called this Etsy shop, wait for it, near and dear. She was so excited when her faux deer head sold within a week, confirming that she wasn't the only person in the world who liked artificial animals hanging over their mantle. I mean, doesn't everyone?

She immediately bought more supplies to make another faux deer wall mount and eventually expanded the line by adding different patterns that sold for $200 each. That first year, she sold six pieces and was excited to have a little extra money. Soon, Rick joined in on the faux taxidermy fund by painting the resin heads solid colors to sell a higher volume at a lower price point. They also introduced other faux animals into their lineup, including moose, antelope, cow skulls, and even unicorns and dinosaurs. Because you know, one challenge of hanging traditional animal heads has been that hunters always have such a hard time finding unicorns and dinosaurs.

Now again, this is not a joke. This is a real side hustle. I'm gonna tell you how they built this business. Lindsay and Rick were slow and deliberate about what happened next. After six months of selling on Etsy, Lindsay and Rick created their own e-commerce site.

The following year, they added eBay and sold around 200 pieces in total. After business started to pick up, they made the decision that Rick would quit his full-time job as an air conditioning technician to work on growing the business full-time. They were so busy keeping up with demand that one of them needed to do it, and Lindsay liked her day job as a business appraiser. That year, they sold 1,200 pieces, six times as many as the previous year. After Rick quit his job, they continued to run the business out of their home to keep costs at a minimum.

When fake dinosaurs and resin-fabricated deer heads started taking up every nook and cranny of their bedroom, however, they decided to look for a new space. But even then, they played things on the safe side. They first rented a warehouse to store their inventory, and then a bit later, they rented a nearby workspace for the assembly portion of the business. They were also cautious in expanding their marketing platforms. It was almost two years after beginning near-endeer that they had the time to add their products to other sites.

They then added products to one platform at a time every three months or so. They now sell these home decor products on 13 different sites, including Amazon, Walmart, and Wayfair. Amazon is currently their largest source of revenue, followed by Wayfair and Etsy. The newer sites they started listing their products on do take a larger percentage of revenue, so they find that sometimes they're working harder for less money. Also, people now expect shipping to be fast and free thanks to Amazon Prime, which then cuts into their margins further.

Despite that, business is still booming. Last year, they sold over 10,000 pieces. That's right, 10,000 artificial deer heads, unicorn skulls, dinosaurs. And besides Rick working full-time, they now also employ a production manager and a painter, along with occasional part-time seasonal workers. They're also thinking about starting some other side hustles because of the extra money this business is bringing in.

All of this came from trying to make a little cruelty-free compromise and not wanting to be stared at by a real deer head on the wall. We never know what kind of ideas could lead to life-changing ventures. For Lindsay and Rick, they really are turning heads, sometimes those of unicorns, and selling them worldwide. I mean, what an amazing story, right? Like I said, we're what, 470 episodes into side hustle school and I keep getting stuff like this.

Have you ever heard about faux taxidermy? Artificial cruelty-free deer heads hanging on somebody's wall? And last year, they sold more than 10,000 of them? Look, if they can find a way to make money doing this, and not just a little money, but a lot of money, I'm gonna suggest that you can find something, too. It may take some time, it may take some trial and error, but there's something out there for you, as I say, just about every day.

And I'll close this episode by telling you a fun fact and also a quote from them. By the way, on our show notes page, every day we always have a fun fact from the business and a quote from the person that we're featuring. So if you're not in the habit of checking those out, you might wanna go to the website and see them. But today's fun fact was so good, I just had to share it with you here. Lindsay and Rick were once asked to create a human skull complete with fangs and a unicorn horn.

Kind of a little mashup of a bunch of different stuff. However, due to the client's budget constraints, they did not create the piece. I mean, if you want custom work, you gotta pay for it. That's just life, you know? And also, here's the quote from Lindsay, which, by the way, as I said, it's kind of funny, but this is a serious business.

It's a real business, they're making real money, installing fake deer heads in people's homes all across America. And here's what Lindsay said, because remember, she still has her job. She said, you know, in many husband and wife businesses, both partners dream for the side hustle to turn into something they can do full-time, but we had a different approach. I like the stability of a steady paycheck and benefits, and I also like my career. So I still play a large role in near and dear, but I treat it as my side business, whereas my husband is happy to manage it full-time.

I think that illustrates another thing that I say often, which is you have to make your side hustle work for you. You don't have to be a full-time entrepreneur. The goal isn't always to quit your job. If you like what you're doing for your job, then you keep doing it, but you can also find a way to create this additional source of income. That is exactly what they've done, of course.

They found a way to make it work for them in a way that is truly, well, I guess, how could you say it, near and dear to their hearts? I mean, for this story, I don't even have to actually write jokes. You know, they're kind of obvious. So I will leave you with that. Be sure you check out their shop, which we will, of course, link up in the show notes.

Those notes are at sidehustleschool.com/471. Don't forget, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is so much better. Thank you so much for joining me today. You're a rock star. Hope to see you tomorrow.

This is Chris Guillebeau for Side Hustle School.