This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
What is your most embarrassing moment? You ever thought about that? It's always an interesting question and get some interesting stories at least from it. I'll tell you two of mine very briefly. I once walked into a glass door in Singapore. Like there was a glass
door that I did not see, did not realize it was a door. Walked into it in front of a lot of people. This wasn't just like a little bump, like I walked straight into it, fell on the ground, you know, in front of everybody. Everybody's like, "Is he okay?" I was like, "Oh, I'm totally fine, of course. Yeah, yeah, I'm great. Totally fine. Just pay no attention, you know,
to the blood, everything else." In the Cytosle world, I once sent a sales email to a list of about 90,000 people. I was doing a travel business a number of years ago. Sent a sales email like promoting this course or something, included the wrong link. Like the link is in the email like three or four times, but every single time it's wrong. The one thing I want them to do in this email is click the link and sign up. They can't because it's the wrong link. So you think, "Well,
that's not a big deal, Chris. That happens all the time." Companies often send a follow-up message and say, "Oops, so sorry." Well, I did that, but the thing is I didn't notice for three days. So I was doing this whole thing about passive income. I want to set up my business and not pay attention to it. That was not a good decision because I didn't realize for three days that the actual link didn't work. I was expecting to go back and see all these sales and I went back and
saw no sales. So I did send a follow-up email, but it was a little bit belated. It was like, "Okay, three days ago, I told you this thing that was super important and it was so important, but I didn't pay attention to it for three more days." So of course, I could always not travel to Singapore or not start a new business and avoid the risk of embarrassment, but that would be boring. Sometimes what doesn't go well actually becomes much more memorable. I can remember those two experiences very, very well, even many years later. It's always good to ask yourself,
"What kind of risks am I taking? What am I doing to be adventurous? What could go wrong?" And maybe if it goes wrong, that's okay. Welcome to Seto School. My name is Chris Guillebeau. In today's
story, a Seattle-based Amazon employee, or at least a product manager eventually becomes an Amazon employee, but we'll get to that. In the story, she takes the plunge and creates a swimwear company focused on making sustainable swimsuits that empower women to look and feel their best. We're calling it Bikini Lover Finds Sea of Opportunity. So let's dive in, at least after this quick message from our sponsor. Jessica Reeve was bored. She had an unloved, underpaid nine to five job and knew she could
achieve so much more. The challenge was figuring out what exactly that would be. She began to brainstorm about the things she enjoyed, such as water skiing and going to the beach, and a problem associated with them, like not being able to find the perfect swimsuit. This was in early 2018, and as she continued to think about what she wanted to do, she stumbled upon a story about a young woman from Australia who had started a swimwear brand. As she read the article, Jessica realized how similar she was to that Australian. They both had very little
money to spend, yet shared a love for sunshine, the beach, and swimsuits. And since Jessica had yet to find that swimsuit she personally loved, she figured it would be the perfect opportunity to create her own. She turned to Google and dove right in, searching how to start a swimsuit label, and immediately found several manufacturers that would make the process of selling her own suits as simple as possible. She also found a series of simple steps that walked her through everything she would need, from creating a website to obtaining a business license. Jessica used this information to launch Seattle-based Ballard Bikini with an investment of $493. Very specific. I love
that. She used that money to purchase her first swimwear samples. But she doesn't have a design background. The manufacturer allowed her to sketch out ideas on paper and send them over her feedback. She included the preferred measurements, colors, or prints. From there, the manufacturer made samples
of the pieces. And once she approved, she placed a bulk order. But first, she took those very first samples on a trip to Laguna Beach, Seattle in April not typically providing much sunshine. Her boyfriend served as her photographer, one of her friends modeled the suits, and they stayed at another friend's while there. Jessica says this is a prime example of taking advantage of whatever resources you have available. And to this day, she chooses to be resourceful instead of spending all
her cash. Jessica turned to Instagram to sell her first products, as well as through word of mouth. She made a little less than $400 on the first day the business went live. More importantly than making sales, though, was that she was beginning the pursuit of her dream. And since Ballard Bikini launched in 2018, she has sold over 1,000 pieces of swimwear.
60% of her total store traffic came from social media, the majority of which was Instagram. And the success she's found using social media prompts her to focus her marketing efforts there. So she's done everything from giveaways to working with influencers. Part of what makes Ballard Bikini stand out is that the swimsuits are sustainable, meaning that some of her pieces are made with recycled fabric created from ocean waste. In 2021, she hopes to debut an entire collection made from this fabric.
In addition, a portion of proceeds are donated to cleaning up oceans. Jessica's experience starting the business ended up helping her career as well. She recently transferred to a product management position at Amazon within their fashion division. In this role, she's learned how to negotiate with vendors, analyze sales data, study industry trends and incorporate them into Amazon's products. These experiences in turn have taught Jessica more skills than getting an MBA.
Looking to the future, she hopes to launch a YouTube channel focused on sharing tips for starting a business and building wealth. In the long term, she would love to publish a book. What if you have an idea and don't do anything about it? What if you're reading an article or perhaps listening to a podcast and it gives you an idea to do something or maybe you don't even have a specific idea, but it's a feeling. It's a sense of like, "I've got to do something like this. What can I do to create extra income?"
And not just that, but also to advance my life, to have new skills, to gain confidence, all the wonderful things that the right side hustle can bring. What if you have that idea or that sense and you don't do anything about it? Well, I just know from so many stories and talking with listeners all the time and readers, when I'm on book tour, which I miss, hopefully I'll get a chance to do that at some point again. I just know that those who move forward, those who take action, who decide to try, even if it doesn't work out, the specific idea at first, they always, always feel better. They always feel better than those who are like, "Man, I've been thinking about this for years and haven't done anything." So I really, really encourage you to pay attention to your ideas.
And when you read articles and get inspiration or hear a story like this, consider how this connects to your life and think, "What is one single next step?" Even if it's just like what Jessica did, she went to Google, she started researching. Go to Google, start researching. How do I manufacture something? How do I create that first website or whatever it is you want to do? Even just a simple step, you're going to feel better than if you didn't take it. So that's my encouragement for you today.
Inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better. This is episode 1529. So our show notes are at sidehustleschool.com/15291529. I'll include links to Jessica's website, Ballard Bikini, anything else I mentioned. If you've got a comment or question for the show, that would be at sidehustleschool.com/questions.
Thank you so, so much for joining me today. I hope you'll come back tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. From the Onward Project.
