Notes from Chris

Episode 814

Five years ago, Brian Burgess decided that he was going to make his wife a Sazerac cocktail, no matter what it took. Although originally from the United States, the two had been living in Barcelona for the better part of a year. Several of the ingredients for the classic New Orleans cocktail, including absinthe and Peychaud's bitters, were thousands of miles away.

Brian was determined, though. He and Gillian had met in New Orleans during college, and her birthday was coming up. It felt special—so he had to find a way.

After some searching, he managed to scrounge up a bottle of absinthe, the bitters, and of course, the right brand of rye whiskey just in time. The two sat out on their tiny balcony overlooking the city, enjoying their drinks.

Brian says now that he’s not sure if that’s when his love of cocktails began, but if it wasn’t then, it was shortly thereafter.

Over the course of the next four years, cocktails became a meaningful part of their lives. The pair had thought of a couple of side hustles involving drinks in some way—from reselling antique barware to starting their own gin distillery. But then, in March of 2018, they had a new idea. One that would be a lot simpler and cheaper.

They were on a trip to Germany. While perusing the local shops, they found one selling enamel pins. This instantly reminded Brian of one of his old side hustles. Back when he was a graphic designer, he’d created and sold buttons for fun. The buttons ultimately didn’t work out—they weren’t very lucrative—but the pins were a similar concept and could be sold for a lot more.

If he could apply his old skills to this new hustle, it might become an intoxicating profit center. So when they got home, he began researching the pins to see how they were doing in the market. Brian found that they were a hot product and that many buyers were hardcore pin collectors. He saw pictures of bartenders with aprons covered in pins … and that’s when it hit him: he could make cocktail-themed pins.

Six months after stumbling on the idea, they were ready to launch. During those months they spent about $800 on startup costs, including a business license, a PO Box, the material for the pins, and shipping and packaging supplies.

By the time they started selling, they had a second pin and it was mid-October. Although they didn’t realize it at the time, this aligned perfectly with the upcoming holiday shopping season. By late December, they had nearly sold out of all 200 of their initial stock, and they needed to put another order in with their supplier.

Even in these early days, they’ve made at least $500 in profit each month, and they no longer have to put any of their personal funds into the business.

Although making a little extra cash is awesome for Brian, another big advantage of this hustle is that it coincides with some of his bigger goals. He’s still thinking about opening up a gin distillery for a few years. Thanks to Tipsy Per Tutti, he’s building valuable connections with bartenders and suppliers everywhere.

We can all drink to that!

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Tipsy Per Tutti: Don't wait around for "last call"—get your pins over on Brian and Gillian's website now!

SEE ALSO:

• Hand-Stamped Feminist Jewelry Earns $25,000 Side Income: She’s loud, she’s proud, and she’s wielding a hammer to smash the patriarchy with her hand-stamped feminist jewelry line
• Photojournalist Crafts Fighter Jet Jewelry to Relive History: A New Zealander’s artistic side hustle encourages nostalgia while providing extra income and a creative outlet
• Farmer Makes “Tater Tats” for All Your Produce Tattoo Needs: When a running joke doesn’t end up running its course, a side hustle seed takes root and begins to grow

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

Yours in the revolution,

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