This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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What's up? Welcome to Side Hustle School. It's your host, Chris Guillebeau. Got a question from a listener today. This question aligns well with both this week and last week's classroom focus.
Now last week was all about the MVP of MVPs, minimum viable product. In other words, how can you create something really simple? How can we get that going? Make sure you're moving forward with the nuts and bolts, logistics, et cetera. And this week was all about finding time to work on your hustle, two very important topics.
Well, as I said, this question aligns well. Our side hustler today is wondering whether he should work with a fulfillment center for his first private label product or do it all himself. Now, of course there are pros and cons to each approach, no universal answer, but in his case, what's best for him and how would you make a similar decision? Should I distribute a private label product myself or not? That's what we're gonna talk about in this episode.
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Hey, Chris, this is Chad from Rockledge, Florida. Love the show and I think I've pretty much taken in about every episode to date. The problem with that is all I do is listen to you and I take no action. So this year, 2020, I'm changing all that. So here's my question.
What is the best way for a small private label product idea to start with packaging and distribution logistics for their product? A first order will require about 500 units, but I'm stuck on making decision. Should I attempt to bring those all home and distribute from my house or jump right into a fulfillment center? I see positives and negatives to both starting off. Bringing in a fulfillment center into the picture adds a lot of additional research, decision-making and costs for an unproven brand, but it obviously saved me personally a bunch of time.
I work construction, putting in 50 to 60 hours a week. So time has always been my excuse. Any suggestions on how to help me push through my indecision? Thanks, Chris, and keep up the fantastic work, my friend. - Chad, thank you so much.
Thanks for listening. And even though I appreciate you listening to every episode, I agree, it's time for you to take some action. So well done in your 2020 plan. Now, this question has three key variables. This is how you make this kind of decision.
The variables here are time, money, and viability. Viability, I just mean, you know, of the idea itself, of this particular private label product, which Chad doesn't actually mention what it is, but that's okay because it allows us to answer the question in a way that can help multiple people. So viability, whether it's gonna work, then of course time and money, pretty self-explanatory. So when it comes to outsourcing fulfillment or doing it on your own, as you say, Chad, there are positives and negatives each way. If you knew for certain that this new idea was going to be a hit, then I think the answer might be different, or at least it would be very clear.
Maybe then you'd work from the beginning to have someone else handle the shipping. Now, assuming that you don't know that this idea is going to work, which is normal, like it's your first private label product, I believe, personally, I would lean toward doing some version of the fulfillment myself at first, let's say. You wouldn't wanna have to bring in 500 units to a fulfillment center and then have them sit on the shelves forever. Among other things, they'll charge you for storage. And it can also just feel disheartening to have gone through that process without much to show for it.
Now, as soon as I saw clear evidence that it was working, however, like say I'm doing the fulfillment myself, then I would move to that next stage. And the thing is you can't just flip a switch. That's why you don't do it from the beginning because there's a lot of research involved in bringing in a fulfillment center. You have to talk to different companies. You need to document your process.
Depending on what the product is, there could be some additional steps or something specific that might be different from the other products they're shipping and so on. The point is it's a bit of work. Plus, it's better that you know how to do everything associated with your product, even if in the long run you don't end up doing it all. That way it'll just be easier to show somebody else how to do it and also easier for you to pick up or hand off to a different person or company if something goes wrong. So that's how I would handle that myself.
I know, Chad, you're working 50 to 60 hours a week, not trying to add a burden to there. I just wanna make sure you are best set up for success. And I should say this is also the kind of question that could have more than one answer. So ultimately, it really is up to you. Most important, take that action, let us know what happens, and thank you again, Chad.
Listeners, if you've got a question, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. We're gonna be featuring them throughout the year, looking at what listeners are doing, kind of understanding where they are in different stages of their projects and hopefully hearing about how they're moving from one stage to the next. I'd love to do that with you as well and I hope you'll do one thing today to get closer to a goal you believe in. Thank you so much for listening. My name is Chris Guillebeau.
This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
