Avid Hikers Step Into Comfy Athletic Socks

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

[Music]

In yesterday's classroom episode, I mentioned that if you're selling a product, customers can buy it and walk away. That product doesn't have to be physical, could be digital or virtual. But either way, once you sell the item, your work is done, at least in terms of that particular purchase. Now today's story is about a physical product and that product is socks. While traveling the country in an RV, this couple designs and manufactures their very own hiking socks.

So let's take it one step at a time. The story is coming up after this shout out to our sponsor. Stay tuned. [Music]

Kim and Elliot Beattie love the outdoors. In fact, they love it so much that a few years ago, they decided to move into an RV in order to travel across the country, visiting their bucket list of hiking spots.

When they first embarked on the adventure, Elliot was working as a software engineer and Kim as a category manager for an advertising firm. They didn't mind their jobs, but they also didn't love them. They had a craving to work for themselves, even if it meant earning less money at first. While working remotely and setting out to create something that was truly their own, the couple decided to brainstorm side hustle ideas. They thought back to what they knew best, hiking.

According to Elliot, the single most important piece of hiking gear is a good pair of socks. Both he and Kim were passionate about what made a hiking sock great, because, you know, you have to love something in life. The sock of their dreams couldn't be too warm or too cold. It had to keep the wearer's feet from becoming sore. It also had to make sure to keep moisture out so the wearer didn't get blisters.

The couple had taken one too many trips that had been ruined by sore feet. As their idea developed, Elliot and Kim thought about combining it with a subscription service. Each box would include a pair of socks that was tailored to that particular time of year. Summer boxes would have breathable, lightweight socks, and winter boxes would have warmer, more insulated ones. They got to work on their first design, a warm weather sock.

They had never done anything like this before, but they took it in stride, one step at a time. It began with a rough sketch, and soon after they searched for manufacturers that would make their idea come to life. Not knowing where to look, Kim and Elliot started Googling. They ended up contacting eight manufacturers in the United States, but only one got back to them, and that company turned them down, saying their order size was too small. Unsure of what to do next, the couple kept searching, focusing more on overseas factories.

But unfortunately, six months later, they still hadn't found the right partner. The manufacturers they tried made mostly cotton socks and didn't really know how to make that magical hiking sock of their dreams. That's when Kim and Elliot attended an outdoor retail show in Denver. They met the company that makes socks for Under Armour, and the team agreed to make their prototype. All told, they went through about 15 test runs, each of which cost anywhere from $150 to $300.

Finally, after months of trying, they had created one hiking sock to rule them all. With their product perfected, the couple was ready to get their business off the ground. But again, they hit upon a series of disappointments. A planned Kickstarter campaign failed to gain momentum, and they began to believe that the subscription box service might not be the right model after all. Two steps forward, at least one step back.

Or was it two? Elliot and Kim put themselves in their customer's shoes and realized that people were really loyal to their sock brands. So loyal that Elliot even saw them passionately arguing online about the best hiking socks. Again, you have to love something in life. They had a feeling that fellow hikers weren't just going to jump ship to a different brand, especially not when it involved a commitment like a subscription.

So they decided to put a sock in that idea. Instead of a subscription box, the couple created an online store called Mammoth Wool. Their first product went live July of 2019. But they still struggled to get people to purchase. Perhaps it was because the initial website needed some design love.

The couple attacked this issue by attending a lot of events where they could sell their socks to people in person, other outdoor shows, trail races, and craft shows. Once buyers could touch the socks in person and talk to Kim and Elliot, they were much more willing to buy. After that, sales started to come in. The couple priced their socks competitively at $17.99 with free shipping, which helped them to stand out. Now in hindsight, they wish they had bumped up that number a bit.

They recently took a survey of customers and found that many would be willing to pay more. The couple is now planning to gradually increase the price. Just a few months in, they're already bringing in over $1,000 a month in profit. Soon, they'll release a winter sock and a no-show sock. After a number of adjustments, Elliot says they're happy with how Mammoth Wool is progressing.

They've taken one small step for hikers and a giant leap for their future. [Music]

Here's a fun fact for you before we wrap it up. Do you know where socks came from? Do you know where the world's oldest known socks were found? Well, according to my detailed research, also known as One Google Search, the world's oldest known socks are from 250 to 420 BC and were discovered near the Nile River, where an old Greek colony was once located.

Just like Kim and Elliot's socks, those socks were made of wool. All right, I hope this episode knocked your socks off. What is your next step? I know I often ask that question, what's your next step? But it seems especially appropriate today.

Inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better. Today's well-insulated show notes are at sidehustleschool.com/1016. More is coming up tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]

From the Onward Project.