Veteran Turns Sweet Compulsion Into Obsessive Candy Hustle

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

[Music]

Hey friends, what's up? Welcome to a story about the OCD Candy Company. Veteran turns sweet compulsion into obsessive candy hustle. The OCD Candy Company, it is in fact not a joke. One of their challenges is convincing people that it's not a joke because people are like, "OCD candy, that's funny." And they're like, "Yeah, but it's also a business." It was founded by an Air Force veteran of 30 years who struggles with OCD.

After she got out of service, she wanted to make some money. And like I often encourage our listeners, the way that she goes about doing it is by focusing on something that's important to her, yet also connected to a broader community. So she has a skill and an interest, but it's also something that is of interest to others. In this case, it is the convergence of candy and OCD. Again, we're calling it veteran turned sweet compulsion into obsessive candy hustle.

If you are worried that your focus is too narrow, if you think your idea is too small, compare it to this story and see if you still feel that way. Because sometimes narrow ideas, a tight market focus is the way to succeed. Excited to bring you this story with lots of details, perhaps some inspiration for your own next idea. That story is coming right up. [Music]

Helen Leguatin worked in the military for 30 years.

Throughout her service, she held many positions, including maintaining F-16 fighter jets, as well as working in computer and radio maintenance. And she loved her work. But retirement comes for us all, or at least everyone in the military. And as Ellen's retirement was approaching, she knew her life would be a lot easier if she could produce some side income, something to supplement the thrift savings plan she'd earned through her service. Beyond that, she loved the idea of working for herself, being her own boss, and maybe even sleeping in a little.

Ellen had already come up with her idea a few years earlier. It was based on a love of candy, a candy crush, if you will. You see, at work, Ellen kept a candy jar on her desk, and she had to have that candy arranged in a certain way. Otherwise, she wouldn't eat it. What appeared as a peculiar quirk to some people was actually a condition to her.

Ellen has OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder. This is a mental illness that affects a couple of million Americans and other people around the world, of course. It is characterized by having unwanted and repetitive thoughts, urges, or images that don't go away. The famous example is of someone washing their hands over and over again, despite them already being clean. For Ellen, she has an urge to count and has particular urges around eating.

With candy, for instance, something she loves, her brain just won't let her enjoy it unless it's laid out and organized in a very specific way. That's why she arranges her candy in a jar layered by color and size. And believe it or not, this type of issue affects a lot of people with OCD. Early on, Ellen's coworkers would sometimes mix up her candy jar, not realizing how negative the consequences could be. One day, Ellen was away from her desk and a new colleague took some candy, unwittingly rearranging the whole jar.

When she returned to her desk, the OCD took over. She spent the whole afternoon rearranging the candy jar using her specific counts and OCD traits. She wasn't able to leave for the day until it was done. While rearranging the candy, Ellen thought, "I shouldn't have to do this. You know, I'm not the only person who eats their candy this way.

I know I'm not. There should be an OCD candy company for people like me." Well, be careful what you wish for. The idea stuck in Ellen's head. Fast forward a bit, her retirement's now coming up. She had spent part of her weekends for years working on her concept for a candy brand for OCD sufferers.

She designed the packaging and labels. She packed lollipops and nice, neat lines of matching colors and sizes so that those with OCD could enjoy candy without being bothered by its disorganization. The idea was therapeutic for her. Since her OCD manifests itself by her counting, one of the things she enjoys about making the candy is that she can count in a productive way. When the opportunity arrived for Ellen to open a small storefront in Tacoma, Washington, she went for it.

In the shop, she would stock lollipops, sweets, books and accessories, as well as her especially OCD-packed candy. Total cost of setting up was about $6,000. That included her initial candy inventory, deposit and rent, as well as packaging. Now let's talk about the name. Ellen actually received some negative feedback about her idea to call it the OCD Candy Company.

She considered calling it the Organized Candy Company, but decided against it. And she just realized like some people may be offended, but many others will visit the store because of the name, and Ellen is happy with the trade-off. Just a side note, I think that is a great decision. If some people are offended, but you have a very specific name that reaches a specific market, that is your name. Go with it.

All right, in her own words, Ellen was never expecting to get rich from the side hustle. That wasn't the goal, but the store has given her a smooth transition from full-time work to retirement. And a few years ago, she was able to leave the military and focus more on the OCD Candy Company. The nature of retailer means that her profits fluctuate a lot. There are some great days where Ellen might sell hundreds of dollars worth of candy, even a thousand or more, and some bad days where she might not sell much at all.

She keeps a close eye on expenses and knows how much she needs to make each week to turn a profit. While it's great she's making extra money, the real reward for Ellen has been able to help other OCD sufferers. One of the things she noticed a few months after launching was parents, teachers, and carers of autistic children coming to buy her candy. Through their visits, she discovered her candy helps autistic kids experiencing OCD tendencies to enjoy candy like everyone else. And with that knowledge, she decided to take a portion of each sale and donate it to charities for children with autism.

People in her target market return again and again. When they come into the store with these requests that aren't laughed at, judged, or looked down on, Ellen understands them and through her candy company, helps them. Ellen may be retired, but that doesn't mean she's standing still. Like her candy itself, the side hustle helps her bring a little order in a world full of chaos. [Music]

When we first recorded this episode, Ellen said her goal is to be fun for everyone and to make things easier for people who'd like to eat their candy in a specific way.

It's not a joke product. It's not our intention to make fun of individuals that suffer from OCD or other anxiety disorders we really want to serve them. I enjoyed going back to work on this story again. I also saw in some of my research, there is an OCD cookie company as well. This one is in Los Angeles, predominantly serving folks through Instagram and direct by mail.

Check out OCDcookieco.com if you prefer cookies over candy. And whatever you're up to, remember, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is so much better. I've been in Austin, Texas this week, hosting my own gathering for people with autism and ADHD and the whole broad neurodivergent community. So I've been busy over here. I hope you're taking care of yourself.

New episodes come out every day, of course, seven days a week because I too can be compulsive. All right, that's it for now. My name's Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to "Side Hustle School." [Music]

From the "Onward Project."