Trinidad Burger Chef Sells Curry Creations on WhatsApp

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

[Music]

What does the Island of Trinidad, gourmet burgers that don't need ketchup, and the communications platform known as WhatsApp, have in common? Welcome to Side Hustle School, this is Chris Guillebeau. In typical side hustle fashion, today we've got a burger chef on the Island of Trinidad who works as a sales professional by day and sells her curry creations by night using WhatsApp to take orders. It is a whole new world out there, so much is possible. Wherever you live, whatever your area, no matter your situation, if you're in a small town, there are options.

If you don't have a lot of money, well, that's actually a good thing. Bootstrapping is a benefit, not a constraint, and there really is something you can do. All right, let's talk today about what one woman is doing to generate a substantial side income and possibly even a new future, one that's significantly more profitable and less risky than opening an actual restaurant. The story is called "Trinidad Burger Chef Sells Curry Creations" on WhatsApp. [Music]

The dual island nation of Trinidad and Tobago lies at the southeastern edge of the Caribbean Sea, not far from the coast of Venezuela.

The country is known for its pristine beaches, stable economy, and vibrant musical heritage. It's not known for its burgers. Burgers on Trinidad are plain, designed to be doused in ketchup or garlic sauce. To Crystal John, a young mother and lifelong home cook, it seemed like a food that was ripe for disruption. Crystal's son was a huge fan of burgers, and she enjoyed finding creative ways to make them for dinner when she returned home from her job as a sales facilitator.

She blended ground beef with all sorts of local ingredients, experimented with her own sauces, and didn't always stick to the traditional toppings. One of these experimental burgers changed everything. You see, Trinidad loves curry. It's one of their most beloved things to cook with, and Crystal had an idea for a curry burger. She thought through the flavors, blended the ingredients, and slapped the cook patty on a bun.

It was exceptional, the iconic flavor of the nation, infused into a mouthwatering burger. Crystal invited friends over for a tasting party, asked them for their brutally honest feedback, and they all said the same thing, "You should sell this." Coming from a family of skilled cooks and foodies, Crystal knew a few restaurant owners around the island. She called up one of them and asked for a meeting. They cooked some burgers at the restaurant, did a tasting, and the owner agreed. Her recipe was something special.

They worked out a simple deal, $3 per patty, sold in batches of 48, and just like that, in late 2016, Crystal began supplying a respected restaurant with curry burger patties made in her own kitchen. From there, she became known as the burger babe and started serving her unique burgers at dinner parties. It was obvious she needed to grow, or so she thought. In 2018, she tried to open her very own restaurant and was prepared to invest her life savings, but when the state inspection agency came to take a look, they had bad news. The initial real estate contract she'd signed had been falsified.

The building she was moving into wasn't zoned for commercial use. It was residential only. Crystal spent the next year on a funk, wondering what to do next. Then, through the support of her friends and family, she realized her dream hadn't died. One day, she made a simple flyer on her computer, announcing that she was taking orders for frozen gourmet burger patties and then sent it out to all of her friends on WhatsApp.

She expected two, maybe three orders, whatever it took to get going again. But apparently, her community had missed these exceptional burgers, and Crystal got 26 orders. She rushed to the grocery store, bought $500 in ingredients, and got to work. Burger babe was back in business. Crystal began posting on the Instagram account she had set up for the original restaurant, announcing that burger babe was opening, just in a different way, and that orders could be placed directly on Instagram or through WhatsApp.

That first month, she generated over $600 in profit. The curry burger was a hit, but Crystal had a few other creations by now as well. The total local infused island spices and pimento cheese. The Italian patty had fresh basil and mozzarella mixed in. There was a turkey cranberry patty and even a veggie one.

Next, she saw another opportunity, to make burgers fresh and deliver them around the island. To stand out, she developed a pink burger bun. It was bright, bold, and it set the expectation immediately that this was a different kind of burger. When she announced her delivery service, once again on Instagram and WhatsApp, her followers, who were still only a couple hundred, went wild. Crystal whipped up fresh burgers, hopped in her car, and set out to deliver them herself.

Her passion was infectious. More growth came when she started cold-pitching restaurants and corporate office managers. Convincing a couple more restaurants to serve a burger wasn't hard, now that she was quickly making a name for herself. And offices that wanted to provide a delicious lunch for employees had a reliable partner in Crystal. Coming into 2020, she's generating over $1,100 per month in profit, and she's still looking to grow.

Her signature sauces, papaya pimento, oh honey mustard, and the Bosti barbecue, have been hit since the beginning. So she's turning them into shelf-stable products that will launch in grocery stores. She's also thinking of exporting to other Caribbean islands. Crystal is thrilled to finally be building her dream into a real business, this time doing it on her terms. The Burger Babe is here to stay.

[Music]

Congratulations to Crystal, that Burger Babe. Hey, save that life savings. You don't need the restaurant. You're gonna be much more successful taking matters into your own hands, low overhead. I love this whole part about taking orders through WhatsApp and Instagram.

There really is something out there for everyone. These new technologies combined with a creative way of thinking, combined with the skills you already have, in her case, you know, she was a foodie. She was really into cooking burgers, found this special curry burger. Sometimes what you think you want is not what you really want. So she thought she really wanted that restaurant, but it turned out she really just wanted to make her burgers and find a way to get them to people.

And the restaurant was the traditional option, but she found some alternatives that have served her much better. All right, that's it for now. It's a big day over here, by the way. Today is the publication date of my brand new book, The Money Tree, Finding the Fortune in Your Own Backyard. It's actually a story about finding the fortune in your own backyard.

Now I've talked about it before. I'm gonna talk about it a bit more as I go along, but I also respect this format. So we're gonna focus on story time as we continue here, listener questions, case studies, all that good stuff. But if you wanna check it out, go to moneytreebook.com or look for it at your favorite online retailer or bookstores, if there are any bookstores open where you are. I was hoping to do a 40 city tour and that's not happening right now.

So I am doing everything I can to reach people virtually daily Instagram live streams, my new YouTube channel, check that out. And speaking to groups from afar via webinars, Zoom, Google Hangouts, whatever technologies exist. So I promise to take you along with me, but also not to talk about it too much. Okay, that's it for now. Oh, one thing, our show notes for today are at sidehustleschool.com/1193, 1-1-9-3.

Thank you so much for listening. My name is Chris Guillebeau for Side Hustle School. [Music]

from the Onward Project.