This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
One year ago, we were entering peak COVID phase one. There's so many phases and seasons to this thing. And of course, it varies depending on what part of the world you're in. But you know, over here in my part of the world, at least lockdown had started in the US travel, domestic travel in particular had dropped to 5% of the daily totals from the previous year. There was very little international travel at all. And we were all getting used to what became a new normal.
For me, I was getting ready to launch the Money Tree, a book I was very happy about one year ago, literally today was the birthday, the birthday of Money Tree. And I was still very excited about it, but I had to change all my plans. I still haven't been able to tour, to go out and speak to readers and listeners about the book. So if you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, well, it's called the Money Tree, please do. It's the story of finding a fortune in your own backyard. My first
fiction book, but I'm also teaching along the way. One reader said they read the book and began applying the lessons right away. And they'd already earned $1,000 from it within the first couple of weeks. I'm not guaranteeing that you're going to earn $1,000 from it, but you know, the book costs like 20 bucks. So maybe check it out for yourself. It's also entertaining and meant for people who
might not read a normal business book, or who don't have any background in this world of side hustling. So if you're a little bit further along, maybe this is something to pick up for a friend or somebody who might benefit from it. So that's all I have to say about that. But happy birthday to the Money Tree. In today's episode, we hear from a listener who has an idea to sell a home office in a box. Not a literal box, I'm pretty sure more of a conceptual one. I was going to say a conceptual
concept, but that's kind of overkill. So what might she need to know? How can we help improve her odds of success? Let's talk about this idea. Can you sell a home office in a box kit? And what
would that look like? That's the question coming up after this quick message from our sponsor. Hey, Chris, this is Melissa, and I recently found your show after a friend recommended it to me. I've been loving the stories, puns, and helpful advice. I've got an idea for you that I'd like some feedback on. With so many people working from home and many of them planning to stay that way,
I'd like to sell a home office in a box. Not the actual home office, but everything they need to work from home more productively. I'm thinking of things like a ring light so they have better lighting on video calls and something fun and whimsical like a survival guide for the indoors. How can I develop and market this idea? I can imagine lots of different directions for it, and now I need to narrow it down a bit or I'll never get started. Looking forward to hearing from you.
So what do you need to work productively remotely? Melissa, thank you for the question. Melissa is right when she says this idea could go in different directions. I like the concept, the branding of home office in a box, but what does it look like? One direction is tech, to work productively at home and to adjust to remote work. Well, you need the right computer, you need the right webcam, and so on. But that's
probably not the best approach here because most people already have a computer, they know what they want for that. And if they are getting a new one, that's a big purchase on its own. They're going to handle that separately. So I think rather than focusing so much on tech, I think it might be better to think about happiness, not just productivity. And there is a connection, of course. So that's why I do like the survival guide for the indoors,
which already seems more aligned with working better, not just working more or being more productive, quote unquote. So I think you want to create a package that has the perception of good value, one that exceeds whatever it costs you to put together, and preferably at a good margin. Because you're going to have expenses you haven't thought about, you might want to do some advertising. So that's also why the tech approach doesn't work well, because margins are much lower there. You can instantly go online and compare the cost of webcams or ring lights, for example. I think Melissa mentioned a ring light. But if you have a kit that includes,
I don't know, like a heating pad for your back, and some scented candles, maybe a nice pin, maybe a Pomodoro timer, like a little timer that helps people focus their efforts for 25 minutes or 30 minutes before taking a short break. Like small, fun, and useful items like that that don't cost much. And then you can assemble that package and sell it for much more than the individual items put together. I think that's the goal. And there's still lots of different ways you could do that. But
I think by focusing on comfort and focusing on working better, not just working more productively or working more, I think that's the way to go. Then lastly, I think this could be a good gift idea. But if you're going to promote something specifically as a gift, the marketing can be a bit different than promoting it to the person who's actually going to use it, you know, the end user. So for that, you want to look at gift guides, which can be huge in terms of bringing attention and buyers. You know, you actually want to go out and make a list of all the gift guides and figure out who's in charge of compiling them and put together a short pitch for them. And there's a
lot of work to be done with that. But there can be a good return on investment if you go that route. So hopefully that helps narrow it down a little bit, at least. Let us know what happens. Melissa, we'd love to hear about this home office in a box kit. It definitely is a needed resource,
or at least it's a big market, let's say. And listeners, if you have a question, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. We will continue to feature them throughout the year, along with updates from other listeners as they launch their projects. I am so glad you're out there. Thank you so much for joining in. This is one year from the date of the Money Tree launch.
So happy birthday to the Money Tree. And I look forward to all that is to come. Thank you for tuning in. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
From the Onward Project.
