Handkerchief Side Hustle Becomes Million-Dollar Blowout

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

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Did you know that the most successful e-commerce products are not high-tech gadgets? They're practical items that most people never think about until they need them. Case in point, the hairbrush tool, known as the Not Genie, we featured in episode 831. That was a seven-figure success, and today I have another one of those for you. Not another Not Genie, another seven-figure success.

Welcome to Side Hustle School. My name is Chris Guillebeau. When a new mom quits her job to stay home with her daughter, she ends up building an online store to replace her income. It cost $630 to get started and now brings in more than a million dollars a year. Meanwhile, her husband documents their success with a six-figure website of his own.

Their topic of choice is personalized handkerchiefs. That's right, it's an age-old technology that brings in hefty bank deposits every single day. Stay tuned for handkerchief side hustle becomes a million-dollar blowout. [Music]

When Stephen and Jennifer Chow were expecting their first child, they both agreed that parenting would be their number one priority. That's why Jennifer chose to quit her job and be a stay-at-home mom.

But it wasn't an easy decision. Jennifer was well on track for a lucrative career in finance. She'd been working as an analyst for a Fortune 500 company for 10 years and was bringing in a six-figure salary. Furthermore, the child's lived in Silicon Valley where the cost of living is ridiculously high. Making it on one income would be tough even though Stephen had a well-paying job of his own as an engineer.

Jennifer didn't want her lack of income to be a hindrance on their lifestyle or finances. So together, they brainstormed ways to make extra money. And one thing stood out that took them back to their wedding day. Wanting to give the bridal party some personalized handkerchiefs, they'd ended up importing 20 dozen of them even though they only needed six. It was the only cost-effective way to get the ones they wanted.

After their wedding, they listed the extras on eBay and all of them sold within a week. The quick turnover of those handkerchiefs stuck in their minds. If there was such a demand back then, maybe they'd be able to start an online store selling them now. They got in touch with the same supplier they used for their wedding and spent just under $2,000 on handkerchiefs. They also built a website calling it Bumblebee Linens.

At first, the linen shop wasn't exactly a hive of activity. They bought a whole range of different handkerchiefs without actually testing the market. But eventually, some product started to move and they made some sales. As those first orders came in, they had to quickly figure out a way to pack and ship them. They also had to figure out the most effective ways of marketing their new site.

In addition to SEO and using good product images, Stephen would sometimes take to posing as an excited bride by the name of Christina Lang on wedding forums in order to talk about Bumblebee Linens and drum-up business. Although this somewhat sneaky strategy worked, they also reached out to event and wedding planners, people who would be likely to make repeat purchases and do so in bulk. Before long, more and more people were ordering from Bumblebee Linens. To increase sales further, they decided to focus on personalization as a point of difference from other companies. They encouraged potential customers to purchase personalized add-ons like initials or a few special words printed on the handkerchiefs as part of their custom orders.

And it worked. Before their daughter's first birthday, Bumblebee had become a six-figure business, completely replacing the lost income from Jennifer's day job without the necessity of her having to leave her daughter during the day. Around the same time, Stephen started to feel inspired to teach what he'd learned to other people. To do so, he started a blog called mywifequitherjob.com. He covered monthly updates on their stores, marketing tips, and advice on how to tackle common problems with an e-commerce store.

He used Bumblebee Linens as a case study, showing the good, the bad, and the embarrassing, like those times he posed as a bride to attract business, so that others could follow along and apply what they learned. One thing was for certain, the journey was not nearly as smooth as their Linens. Although the business was growing, it wasn't without problems. They had issues with suppliers or the samples they received didn't match the final product, and that meant they had to ship their order back to the suppliers and reorder, which left them dreadfully understocked. It also felt like a lonely process at times, working in isolation with no one to bounce ideas off.

But still, those things didn't stop the store from growing into a seven-figure business over the next few years. By that stage, Stephen was now a few years into his blog experiment, which was also beginning to take off. He started to receive significant traffic and readership, and he built a substantial mailing list. Soon, the blog was earning a cool six figures too. Much of that was generated by designing and selling an online course for others wanting to build similar e-commerce businesses.

That course sold hundreds of copies, all while Stephen's reputation as an e-commerce expert grew. This enabled him to sell more courses, offer training, and start an e-commerce conference. He too eventually quit his job, focusing full time on the training. Both of them say now the biggest benefit is being able to spend more time together as a family. [Music]

So how do you build a seven-figure business with handkerchiefs?

It's pretty much the same way you do with beard oil, which we talked about in episode 660, or with devices for neck pain. That was the next day, 661. Or those hairbrushes I mentioned at the top of the episode. That would be number 831. These kinds of practical products make for ideal e-commerce shops.

There's typically less competition, especially when you find something that sets you apart. And in the case of Jennifer Chow, it was these personalized handkerchiefs. She and Stephen effectively own this market now. So how do you identify your market? Well, in each of these stories, it was a case of serendipity plus experimentation.

All of them focused on a problem they had or one they encountered. With Stephen and Jennifer, they thought back to their wedding and they thought how they got these handkerchiefs and they were able to sell them with no difficulty. And they thought, maybe we'll try that. And then as they went along and improved, they discovered that point of differentiation, which was personalization. If I'm not mistaken, I believe the hairbrush story was about a woman who was really frustrated that all these hairbrushes kept breaking or they were of inferior quality in dealing with her daughter's hair, which was really naughty.

And similarly with the beard oil guy, he was dissatisfied with all the beard oil on the market, thought he could do better. So maybe the lesson is don't think high tech, don't think futuristic, don't think innovative, think helpful, think practical, everyday helpful, like beard oil, devices for neck pain, hairbrushes, and as we heard in this episode, personalized handkerchiefs. There you have it, folks. There are all kinds of ways to make money. Inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is so much better.

Today's show notes are at sidehustleschool.com/928, episode 928. Another episode is coming tomorrow, so be sure you're subscribed. Once again, my name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]

From the "Onward Project."