This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
All right, all right, welcome to Side Hustle School. This is Chris Guillebeau. Guess what I got for you here today? A homemade hummus subscription fails to smash. That's right, we're gonna talk about a homemade hummus subscription box, an idea from one of our listeners.
And just in case you're just going through a whole bunch of episodes and didn't notice the title or just in case you're brand new to the show, which, hey, that's awesome, welcome. Either way, today's episode is in the segment known as Failure Friday. Failure Friday, so this is all the stories that didn't work, all of the case studies that it turned out to actually be quite unpopular. So it's about mistakes, missteps, disasters, and of course, failure. What did not go well, what is not a side hustle that made $100,000 or a million dollars, but made either $0 or definitely not enough to be sustainable.
And we've been doing these stories for about two years now just because I highlight a lot of successes and I like to tell stories of projects that are going really well and making lots of money for people and that's cool, but there's another side to it and we wanna see what about those ideas that don't work. So lots to take from these stories. Today's features Angela Aziz from Virginia. Angela is drawing on her Lebanese ancestry and decides to create a homemade hummus subscription box, but alas, those chickpeas failed to smash themselves into a hit. So let's hear the story from Angela, homemade hummus subscription.
I'll come back at the end with a quick wrap-up. [Music]
I'm Angela Aziz, a hummus enthusiast hailing from Richmond, Virginia. My Lebanese grandmother's hummus recipe is something of a legend in our family. And one day I had an epiphany. Why not share this creamy garlicky goodness with the world?
Thus began my daring venture, the hummus harmony subscription box. My business plan was straightforward. I was going to offer a monthly service delivering homemade hummus right to people's doors. Each box would include a couple of jars of hummus, one traditional, one adventurous, think beetroot or jalapeno cilantro, and a rotating selection of artisan crackers. I priced it at $20 per box, calculating the costs of the ingredients, shipping and packaging.
I figured I could turn a profit if I reached a hundred subscribers. I made an Instagram account and started local. The initial response was encouraging. I was receiving orders and had about 30 consistent subscribers within the first two months. That first rush of orders felt like victory.
I was riding high on dreams of chickpea domination. However, the honeymoon period ended pretty quickly. I ran into some unexpected roadblocks. For one, the shipping costs of safely sending a box of hummus across the country were astronomical. I had completely underestimated the weight of the hummus jars and the cost it would take to keep them cool.
Plus, maintaining freshness was a constant struggle. Not everyone was pleased with receiving a box of hummus that had been in transit for a couple of days, despite my best attempts at packaging. Next, the time and effort it took to make the hummus, package it, manage the subscriptions, it was all far more than I'd anticipated. I was churning out jars of hummus late into the night after my day job and my weekends were a blur of chickpeas and tahini. A nail in the coffin moment occurred when a batch of beetroot hummus turned an unsightly color during transit, leading to a string of complaints and concerns.
The stress was piling up and I realized I was barely breaking even. The grand hummus adventure ended six months in. I simply couldn't keep up with the demands of the business, the cost and the time it required. It was a difficult decision, but I had to pull the plug. Despite the failure, I learned a lot.
First and foremost, shipping perishable items is a logistical nightmare for a small business. I also learned that scaling a homemade product is more challenging than it seems. My kitchen became a mini hummus factory, which believe me, isn't as fun as it may sound. Lastly, the importance of a solid business plan was a lesson learned. My initial estimations were off, especially regarding shipping costs and time investment.
Maybe if I had done more research and planning, the outcome might have been different. The hummus harmony subscription box may not have worked out, but it was quite the journey. I may not be a chickpea mogul, but I can still make a mean batch of hummus and not even an unsightly beetroot batch can take that away from me. [Music]
Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. Indeed, Angela, the hummus harmony subscription box did not end as a raging success.
It just kind of ended. But hey, listen, I respect the idea. I respect the journey. I respect the experiment. I love to see people trying different stuff.
So Angela, I really appreciate you sharing this story. Listeners, just remember, not every idea is a good idea. You wanna focus on profitable ideas, feasible ideas, timely ideas. Those, in fact, are the three qualities I think are most important in deciding on your side hustle what is profitable, feasible, and timely. So think about that.
Of course, we got today's notes, sidehustleschool.com/2386. We'll probably include some resources about hummus there. Who knows, new resources every day, new links every day, and so on. Of course, you can subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcasts. New episode also every day.
And that's all for now. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
