Notes from Chris

Episode 1032

In September 2014, Rachel Park found a small lump in her breast. She took proper action and went to the doctor to have it checked out. Her fears came true when the doctors confirmed that she had breast cancer. The good news is, after a long process of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation, Rachel was eventually declared cancer-free.

But while she was undergoing treatments, she wasn’t able to work full-time in her job as a tech consultant. She also found it difficult to just sit around and do nothing—so her mind drifted back to a project she’d started after college: selling fashionable made-to-order ties. She’d already put that project on hold after her diagnosis, and she certainly had no intention of starting another side hustle during this time.

Yet, she found herself struck with inspiration and a desire to take her mind off her treatments. Her aunt (who is also a cancer survivor) had made Rachel a padded seat belt pillow as a gift. It was a nice gesture and provided comfort, both physical and emotional.

Rachel thought this would be something she could make for other cancer patients. She had always loved fashion and learned to sew at a young age. She was able to take her sewing skills and eye for design to fill the void of not working. So much of having cancer is spent feeling helpless, so this also created a healthy distraction from the treatments.

Using the skills from her career background in tech to approach her product development like a larger project, she made a small sample batch of seat belt pillows and worked with her surgeon to beta test it.

Her surgeon offered it to various patients, with the understanding that Rachel would receive feedback in return. She then took the feedback and adjusted. Once she found a design she was satisfied with, she launched a website and started selling the pillow, which she called the ParkPuff.

Startup costs were minimal. She was able to find nice fabric and supplies at an affordable price. She registered the domain SURVIVORModa.com to highlight being a cancer survivor and her love for fashion. She also registered theparkpuff.com and redirected it to better help people find her.

Rachel currently makes and sells about twenty ParkPuffs per month, which makes it very manageable to keep up with once she started working full-time again.

Thanks to that beta testing effort, a majority of sales come from referrals. She also had a fellow cancer survivor and friend feature her product in a cancer gift guide. Finally, Rachel had the opportunity to partner with a foundation. All of these efforts have allowed her to bring in at least several hundred extra dollars each month.

As for Rachel, her biggest challenge has been learning how to manage her time and energy. She constantly reminds herself to grow with her business rather than trying to create more work or spend more money than necessary.

She still hand sews each product and provides handwritten notes to accompany each purchase. In the future, Rachel may look at manufacturing options to provide the ParkPuff to even more patients. For now, however, she likes doing it all herself.

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• SURVIVORModa.com: Check out Rachel's ParkPuff pillows at her website.

SEE ALSO:

• Building A Side Hustle While Battling A Chronic Illness: A master of time management helps other female entrepreneurs learn to automate the tasks they face every day while creating a flexible second income that pays for her medical bills each month.
• High-Risk Pregnancy Becomes Healthy Baby and Side Hustle: After making it through a high-risk pregnancy of her own, a clinical therapist creates resources for other women experiencing the same struggle.
• Oncology Nurse Creates Products to Regrow Hair After Chemo; Earns $80,000: After kicking cancer to the curb, a Texas oncology nurse discovers the power of essential oils for hair regrowth and launches her own handmade hair care line.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work! Yours in the revolution,

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