This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Custom trekking gear from a home printer. Hey there side hustle school listeners, welcome back to another first $1,000 episode. It's all about seeing how somebody goes from idea to income. How do they take a side hustle or business idea and make at least $1,000? And then they typically go on to earn much more. But we want to help people from all walks of life and all over
the place learn to create income for themselves, even if you love your job because it's great to have more than one source of income. So this time we're going to look at how a weekend hiker uses a basic 3d printer, which are just easier and cheaper to use all the time these days. Just like all technology, it gets better. It gets cheaper as time goes on. And this person uses the printer and a little bit of know how to create custom trekking pull grips quickly goes on to sell them to fellow backpackers, learn how a simple passion for the trail turns into an unexpected profitable side hustle in just about two months. He basically does this through experimenting. He'll talk about it.
He'll tell you the story. I want you to think about what experiment you could conduct. Maybe there's an idea you have, or maybe this will get you closer to an idea. Let's pass the microphone. We'll be back at the end with a quick little wrap up. I've always loved being outdoors.
Every weekend, you'll find me on a local trail. Just me, my pack and the fresh air. But for years, one thing constantly bugged me. Most off the shelf gear is designed for average sizes, which doesn't account for the variety of hand sizes and hiking styles out there. After a rough hike that left me with painful blisters, I wondered if a custom fit trekking pull grip could help. I had a small 3D printer, nothing fancy, used mostly for trinkets.
I decided to experiment by scanning my hand and designing a grip to match it perfectly. It took a few tries, but once I got the shape right, my next hike felt like night and day. The comfort was unreal, and hikers started asking about my strange looking grips. That's when I thought, maybe this wasn't just a DIY fix. It could be something other people would pay for. I enjoyed tinkering with CAD software and hanging out in 3D printing forums. After the
first prototype, I spent four weeks refining the design, adjusting angles, and testing different materials. Eventually, I landed on TPU, thermoplastic polyurethane, a flexible yet tough filament with enough give for comfort and grip. TPU is more expensive than basic filament, but I bought in bulk when possible to control costs. I'm active in ultralight backpacking Facebook groups and subreddits. Instead of posting a sales pitch, I shared photos of my grips and asked for feedback.
People were curious and started asking if I could design them a set. I launched a custom grip beta program. For $25, I designed grips based on their hand measurements submitted via Google Form, plus color and pattern preferences. They'd only pay if they liked the result. In a week, I had eight requests from around the country. I printed them, shipped
them, and asked for honest feedback. Four buyers loved the grips and posted about them online. They were crediting me for their improved comfort on the trail. With that validation, I launched a Shopify site called Trailform. I listed the grips along with other small 3D printed gear, hooks, clips, and accessories. Sales for my beta testers covered my Shopify fees.
For each listing, I emphasize weight, ultralight is huge for backpackers, durability, how TPU handles wet and cold, and customization, colors, textures, even trail name engraving. Custom grips cost $45 per pair, shipping extra, accounting for material costs, design time, and packaging. I also offered pre-made medium or large grips for $30 for those who didn't want to submit measurements. At first, I undercharged for shipping and ate the loss. I eventually switched to USPS flat rate envelopes and included shipping in the product price. I made $600 in my first month. In month two, I posted a short YouTube tutorial that got
shared on a hiking subreddit, triggering another wave of orders. By the end of that month, I had cleared $1,000 in profit. I bought a second 3D printer and now fulfill most orders within a weekend. This side hustle still feels like an extension of my hikes and now it pays for them too. Big thanks to our backpacking, hiking, 3D printing side hustler. I appreciate everybody who takes the
time to share stories with us. As I said, the whole point is to get you thinking about your ideas, get you thinking, and hopefully taking action. Inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better, of course. I hope you'll do something today. Take a little step, whatever it is, a quick step to get closer to your side hustle idea or your business. If you're trying
to grow your business, whatever it is, don't just work in your business, work on your business today. If you have a question or an update about your hustle, you know where to go. sidehustleschool.com. We are almost at 3,100 episodes. This was 3,089. I'll be back tomorrow with 3,090. Always completely
free. My name is Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to Sidesustleschool.
