This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Hey, what's up, everybody. Greetings. Welcome to Side Hustle School. It is the 7th of January. At least that's the day of this episode, episode number 1468. So glad you're here. If you are just
joining us, this podcast is all about helping you create more freedom through the form of an income generating project. So every day, every single day, seven days a week, we're doing listener questions, sharing stories. Got a new segment coming up. Tell you more about that very soon. But then also every Thursday, we do an episode called Throwback Thursday. It's also known as
Where Are They Now? because I couldn't decide which title was better. So we just kind of used both of them. Throwback Thursday slash Where Are They Now? And this is all about looking back at somebody that we featured in the past, just getting some updates, perhaps hearing what has gone well, what has not gone well, since the time that they were first on the podcast. I have a great
one for you today. Of course, we wanted to come out strong for the new year. This one is called Texas Marimba Rentals Hit Noteworthy Demand. It kind of goes all the way back to episode 752. This is one of those classic Side Hustle School stories, along with, I don't know, blogging about fish tanks, or the woman who gets paid to make decisions for people. Just one of
those that I continue to mention, because it's such a smart idea. And so simple as well. It really is something that anyone could have done or could do in a different area, perhaps. It's just that this is the guy who took the initiative to do it. So in his update, his name is Cassidy, you'll hear a synopsis of how he got started. And if you'd like to hear more of the whole story, just go to
sidehustleschool.com/752. Since we first featured him, demand for his Marimba Rentals has struck a chord, hitting a high harmonious note. He's actually doing very well. So let's hear directly from Cassidy. I'll come back at the end to wrap us up. I'm Cassidy Lackey from South Lake, Texas,
and my side hustle is Texas Marimbas, featured originally on episode 752. We rent Marimbas, which are percussion instruments similar to a xylophone. Primarily, we rent to middle and high school students so they can practice at home. My son was accepted into sixth grade percussion in 2017, and I knew that I would need to purchase drumsticks and books and practice pads and all that, but I was surprised to find out that I needed to rent a Marimba for him to practice at home. So I did the research, and I wasn't really thrilled with the rental options out there.
They seemed like they were extensive and inconvenient. They had long contracts and hidden charges plus trips to the music store to haul this big monster Marimba back and forth. So I started looking at used Marimbas on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, and noticed there were quite a few used Marimbas for sale out there. So I just purchased five of them and thought, I'm going to try and see if I can rent these. So I set up a website and connected it with an online subscription billing system and then started running AdWords ads to generate some interest. And I decided I would charge a bit less than the competitors and make it much more
convenient with free delivery and pickup and really focus on just making it a no-brainer type of decision. Within a couple weeks, those five Marimbas rented, and I purchased 10 more and did it again and did it again and did it again. And it was really just really a perfect niche because there was already a market that had been created. There were already percussion instructors who were requiring their kids to rent these, but it was really underserved market. You know, the music schools that were doing it felt like they were kind of old music stores, right? And they were
doing it in an old archaic way, and yet I can order cookies and have them delivered to my house in 15 minutes. I don't know why this has to be so difficult. So our business was growing steadily since we launched in 2017, but we were particularly well positioned when COVID hit. You know, more students were practicing from home and parents were looking for more convenient options and safer options such as having their Marimbas delivered contact-free if they choose. So, you know, during that period, our business really doubled over the last year. So we now have over
350 Marimbas delivered and rented. So right now, our biggest challenge is just finding enough Marimbas to support the demand. I mean, we've been purchasing everything used up until now. So, you know, we've basically purchased everything we can find in Texas, and we still have customers on a waiting list. So we've started working with manufacturers to purchase new Marimbas, but, you know, that can bring its own set of challenges. You know, they don't have warehouses
full of the Marimbas that we need. So they essentially build Marimbas, you know, as you order them, which can take, you know, can take months to get just 10 Marimbas sometimes. So we're working with them to make longer-term commitments to them so they can order the necessary parts and get ahead of it a little bit to help speed up the process so we can get more Marimbas a little bit faster. I know that there's a few people that do similar stuff in other parts of the country, and I think those areas, the market just hasn't been established yet. So, you know, they're out there having to convince people that they need to rent a Marimba, which is a much more, much more difficult proposition. You know, we were fortunate that
percussion instructors were already requiring their students to rent Marimbas and much about many of the high schools around here. So we didn't need to convince anybody of the need. We just had to create a more convenient and cost-effective solution for a need that already existed. Thank you so much, Cassidy. Really appreciate that. Getting us off to a great start here
in the year known as 2021. We'll see how this year ends up stacking up to next year. It's got a lot to live up to, but we'll see. Now on his website, I would encourage you listeners to go check it out. His website is texasmarimbas.com. And you may think, well,
I'm not really in the market to rent a Marimba in the state of Texas. The whole point is to go and look and see how have people designed these projects, you know, what can we learn from them? How can you apply them in your life, you know, to whatever market is in your part of the world and something that you might have knowledge in or you might encounter? So some specific advice from Cassidy that we didn't actually include in the episode, he said, I would make sure that the market already exists, but it's underserved. So listen to that. I would make sure the market
already exists, but it's underserved. So in his case, his high schooler needed to rent a Marimba. Apparently that's pretty common as he learned, but he was disappointed with the existing Marimba rental services. So anyway, on his website, texasmarimbas.com, it states the benefit very clearly. As I said, this is so simple. It says rent a three-octave practice Marimba for
just $35 a month. You'll spend $60 to rent the same one elsewhere. So just imagine if you are in the captive market of needing to rent a Marimba for yourself or more likely your high school student, what are you going to do? You know, if you're in his area, you're going to pay almost 50% less in rent from Cassidy. It really is no-brainer, right? So such a smart project. So simple, as I
said, there really is something that everybody can do. And whether you've been listening for a while or you're just joining in this year, you know, you're like new year, new me, I want to do something for myself. Well, I really hope to demonstrate this fact to you throughout the year with lots of stories, tips, you know, throwback episodes like this one, a new feature we've got coming up, a whole bunch of other stuff because it really is possible. And I want you to be able to do it. All right. Once again, I'm grateful to Cassidy for helping us with this segment.
If you have a question, if you'd like to be part of all this stuff that we're doing this year, just come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. Let me know what's on your mind. We will be featuring them throughout the year once again, along with updates from other listeners as they launch their projects. Super excited. Today's notes specifically are at sidehustleschool.com/1468. So a few links for
you there. Wherever you are in the world, I hope you're doing well. I hope you do something today to get closer to a goal you believe in. And I hope to come back tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. I'm your host for Side Hustle School. From the Onward Project.
