This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hey, welcome back. You are listening to Side Hustle School. I'm your host, Chris Guillebeau. Got something really exciting for you today. It's gonna start with a question.
Here we go. Do you know the four most interesting words in the history of literature and maybe even all of humankind? Well, those words are once upon a time 'cause whenever you hear those words, you know that you're hearing the beginning of a story. Your attention perks up and you wanna know what happens next, once upon a time. I've been telling stories through Side Hustle School because it's much easier for most of us to learn through storytelling.
And this is not just an interesting anecdote or observation. It's important for you to think about as you develop your hustle. Your hustle needs a story too. And we'll come back to that at the end of today's lesson. Wait, did I say lesson?
I meant to say story. In today's episode, you'll hear about a married couple and how they've created a global side hustle in the fashion world that also raises money for charity. I think you'll like it. And I think you'll learn something. [Music]
David Venn was a Canadian who found love in Amsterdam with Praj, who's originally from Kathmandu, Nepal.
Did you keep up with all that geography? Well, in any case, they got engaged and they wanted to get married in a traditional ceremony back in Praj's homeland. And the trip to Nepal was David's first one and he loved everything about the country, the people, the culture, and also the art and fashion. The Himalayan mountain ranges of Nepal are the source of much of the world's supply of Kashmir. And the production of sweaters and scarves has been part of Nepalese culture for generations.
The couple planned to settle back in Canada, another land known for its frigid winters. And David noticed that the price of Kashmir products in Nepal was much cheaper than back home. But despite the big price difference, Kashmir was popular in Canada. So he knew he wouldn't have to spend a lot of time explaining to people what it was. A side hustle idea was born.
The next few weeks were a blur, as David and Praj met with dozens of local manufacturers and suppliers, eventually discovering one who shared their commitment to making high quality accessories with care and attention to detail. They started with an order of 100 women's shawls, spending about $2,000 to acquire and import them to Canada. Kerala Kashmir, as they called it, launched just in time for the holiday season. After garnering a feature in the fashion section of their citywide newspaper, they sold out all 100 shawls for $5,000, netting a tidy profit that they then invested back into the hustle. Making money was great, but that wasn't the only gain.
From the beginning, they designed Kerala Kashmir to contribute to the communities where those materials were produced. Praj knew that many mountain shepherds in Nepal lacked the resources to pay for their children's education, a problem that impacts girls disproportionately. They immediately sent back 5% of the profits to a local charity, along with another order that allowed them to continue building their hustle. Their long-term vision is for at least one of them to work on this hustle full time. For now, though, it continues to grow organically with almost all sales coming through search results and through referral.
They've recently added new designs and colors, and they went through a rebranding process to be more intentional about their mission. [Music]
So what can we learn from David and Praj and their international hustle, Kerala Kashmir? The most obvious thing, we can see a shining example here of the power of storytelling. What if I had just said to you, "Hey, side hustle school listener, here's today's story. There's this guy named David.
He wanted to make some extra money. So he imported some Kashmir shawls from Nepal, and then he resold them back in Canada." What would you think about that story? There's nothing wrong with it. It's factually correct. There's nothing wrong with making money, importing stuff, selling it, that's great.
But on its own, that story is pretty boring. There's no depth to it. There's no hook. There's no reason why anybody would really care about it. And so now, once again, consider the details in the story I told you.
David and Praj fell in love. They traveled to her native country for their wedding in honeymoon. The idea to start a hustle came to them as they explored Nepal, as they talked with local suppliers. And also, even though it's a hustle, it's great to make money, but Kerala Kashmir benefits school children in the Himalayan mountains. So if you're one of their customers, you can feel good about that purchase because you know it's responsibly sourced, and a portion of those profits are going back to the community.
Isn't that a much better story? That first order of 100 shawls sold out in large part because they got this major media feature in their local newspaper. And without that backstory, without all those interesting details, it's far less likely that the newspaper would have written about them at all. And it's certainly less likely that people who managed to find their website would even care. So as you're out there building your hustle, you need a story too.
So think about some of the stories that you've heard so far in the previous episodes. Go back and listen to them. The homemade gen kit in episode 16, for example, these two buddies, they hang out, they appreciate cocktail culture. They even make their own gen recipe. Then they think, wouldn't it be cool to make our own gen and distribute that?
That turned out to be really difficult. So then they had this other idea to make homemade gen kits where people could kind of do it themselves, turned into this very, very profitable business selling something like 75,000 units. So you see the power of storytelling as you build your hustle. It's going to be much more effective, much more impactful, much more interesting if you have a story. What's your story going to be?
How are you going to create something worth talking about for your hustle? Well, you may not get the chance to go to Nepal and meet with mountain shepherds as you prepare for your hustle. But if you listen to these stories and you apply them to your own ideas, you will see results over time. Remember, inspiration is good, but inspiration combined with action is so much better. If you'd like to read the show notes for today's lesson, just head over to sidehustleschool.com.
Every day there's an original post that references what we've talked about. You can learn about the workshops I'm doing across the country. You can follow me on social media. And if you like what you hear, would love it if you could share Side Hustle School with other people. Just use the hashtag #sidehustleschool.
It's pretty simple. I'm Chris Guillebeau. I hope to see you tomorrow with another episode. [Music]
