What It's About
A niche reselling side hustle that earns a couple $60,000 annually on the side.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
The duo’s startup costs were low, as anything they could do themselves, they did. They went with the least-expensive website template they could find, with annual fees of about $350, did no paid marketing, and bought as little inventory as possible, totaling about $5,000. To photograph the products for the online store, Matt watched YouTube videos to make a small light studio out of household supplies such as cardboard boxes, lamps, and paper.
You don't have to spend an arm and a leg to get your side hustle—especially if your idea has yet to be validated. The best thing you can do is to just get started!
Fun Fact
While less known, competitive grip sports are a growing market—and one that Kristy and Matt Cannon have successfully tapped into. The couple sells grippers for hand strength, ranging from $34 to $64, from various manufacturers. For context, the average healthy man can close a gripper rated at about 90 pounds of pressure, and it is very uncommon for someone to close one rated over 120 pounds without specific training. Matt, on the other hand, has closed one rated at 164 pounds. No big deal.
Notes from Chris
Episode 186
Husband and wife duo Matt and Kristy Cannon are literally crushing it with their niche side hustle—which consists entirely of selling grip-strength equipment, in particular, hand grippers. These simple tools are used to increase hand strength and usually involve a torsion spring fitted with two handles. Now five years along, the unique business—called Cannon PowerWorks—originally came about as a natural spillover from the couple’s shared passion for fitness. Since there is an entire community organized around hand strength, the couple got more and more involved and eventually saw an opportunity to serve this market. At the time, there was one other company that sold different grip manufacturers’ products under one roof, giving customers the chance to order a range with one low shipping fee. That company ended up closing its wholesale store, and Matt and Kristy figured they could fill this gap—and find a way to improve upon the concept. The first year, they made a consistent $3,000 per month in profit. By the second year, this had shot up to $5,000 a month. They’ve maintained this range ever since, and the couple now rakes in about $60,000 each year in gross receipts. Thriftiness has continued to be their mode of operation, and they credit this as key to the company’s success. Their main investment has been their time, to do their own graphic design, marketing, and accounting. They also manage the ongoing operations themselves, each investing about five hours a week into the hustle during their spare time.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Cannon PowerWorks: Test your mettle with a hand gripper yourself, and visit Kristy and Matt's website
- DIY Tryin | Build A Light Box On The Cheap, Take Gorgeous Photos!: Here's a handy video if you'd like to learn how to make your own Light Box
- Side Hustle School: Websites & Platforms to Make Quick Cash: Sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start with your side hustle, and you may not want to make a major investment if you’re still in an experimental stage. To get you going, here are some great starter sites and platforms
- School Administrator Creates Digital Magazine for Goaltenders: After discovering that his passion for goaltending has little to no online presence, a hockey fan decides to create his own resource blog
Resources
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