This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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Welcome to a new day with a strong story. This is a fun one. I see this business everywhere, or I see this product specifically that I'm gonna tell you about. So it was fun many years ago when we first featured the story on this small business. And then it just kind of blew up and I started noticing everywhere I went, I saw this product.
Perhaps you have seen it too. If not, you were going to see it. I'm pretty sure it's just gonna be in your consciousness. We're gonna call the story three friends step up, pull in restroom revenue. So basically it's like after three coworkers noticed their colleagues using paper towels to open restroom doors, they invent a simple solution that's a step above the rest.
And this solves a very, very simple problem. You know, you use the restroom in a public facility, you wash your hands, but then you're like, "Oh, I gotta open the door." And other people have been touching this door, right? So you might use a paper towel or you might just open the door anyway with your hand, but you're like, "Well, I just washed my hands." So basically they have noticed this problem. These three coworkers, they took action. They invented this simple product.
You're gonna hear all about it in the story. Maybe it'll get you thinking on something you can make as well. All right, stay tuned. Quick shout out to our sponsor. And then these three friends step up, pull in restroom revenue.
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Mike Sewell was working for a cell phone company along with two friends. Ron and Kelly. A big part of Mike's role at the company was to maintain the building they worked in. This meant he spent lots of time walking the halls and interacting with the staff. There were over 160 people working there.
So it was quite the job to keep the place going. Now Mike noticed an interesting trait among the staff. Many of them use paper towels to open the door when leaving the restroom. It makes sense, restrooms are dirty. Although most people wash their hands before exiting, not everyone does.
In fact, research shows many restroom door handles are covered with bacteria. So the avoidance of dirty door handles was understandable, but the solution the staff came up with using a paper towel wasn't ideal. Mike knew there had to be a better way. So he along with Ron and Kelly made it a personal mission to find one. During a long hot summer, they got together to work on it.
They knew using hands wasn't an option. So their attention quickly turned to ways in which the door could be open using your feet, which presumably would be covered by shoes. They went through a few versions that involved hooking the foot to the door or dragging it over something from the side. In the end though, the solution lay in a counterintuitive idea. Mike took a piece of C channel steel and bolted it to the bottom of a door.
By making the edge serrated, it allowed them to step down and pull the door open. This was the eureka moment. They named their invention the step in pull. And guess what? You've probably seen it somewhere around the world.
I see it all the time. Well, let's go back though. First, they had a successful prototype, but it was only, what can we say, a baby step. The version Mike created was heavy, clunky. It would have cost a fortune to produce, but with a vision and that prototype, they were willing to take this idea one step further.
They each invested $2,000 to see if they could turn step and pull into a side business. They first consulted a local metal worker who advised them that aluminum would be better than steel. It was cheaper, lighter, and easier to work with. They took that advice and purchased a 10 foot stick of aluminum and jumped on the tools. After a few iterations, they came up with a version of the step in pull they were confident in.
To further validate the concept, they installed their new device in the restrooms at their workplace. And it was an instant hit. Now on to step two. With that working prototype and a validated product, it was time to start selling. They decided to contact a few local news publications to try to get some media exposure.
They didn't know what they were doing, but perhaps because they didn't follow the usual process, it worked. During Thanksgiving, a few months before starting up officially, they received their first published story closely followed by their first customer. In fact, the local health department placed an order to put step in pulls on all their restroom doors. Even better, they were only the first of several orders they received that year. The three friends manufactured the product in a home garage.
In that first year, they made several hundred units. But of course, that process wasn't sustainable. It was time consuming, costly, and hard to produce consistently. However, it wasn't until two years later when everything became overwhelming that they took more steps to avoid the problem. At that time, the team were approached by a local manufacturer about taking on the production.
They agreed, and that relationship enabled them to think big picture. Now they had some space to refine and improve the product. They added powder coating and an embossed logo, along with several structural improvements that helped make step and pull even more revolutionary than it already was. In addition, they spent time and resources securing a patent for their invention, knowing that copycats could spring up at any time. The product itself quickly became their best marketing channel.
Word of mouth brought in more customers. It also resulted in them being stocked in stores. As the number of outlets grew, so did the money step and pull was earning. As of a few years ago, when we first featured them, what started as an idea to improve their own office stepped up to become a real money maker. In fact, they were generating $20,000 in sales with a profit of 7,000.
I'm sure these days they're doing much better. While it was not enough for them to quit their full-time jobs, they were still working at the office where they conceived step and pull. It allowed them to hire a part-time employee who took care of their social media accounts as well as doing some paid ads on Google and Amazon. Still, Mike, Ron and Kelly see the step and pull as a path toward early retirement. They hope to have the business running without them or perhaps to sell it for the right price.
These guys are proof that you can build a helpful, profitable side hustle as long as you keep a consistent effort every step of the way. Well, as I said, you've probably seen this somewhere. If not, you're gonna start seeing it. Check out stepandpull.com if you'd like to order one yourself for your office or business or any commercial location. I guess you could install it at your house too, why not?
I noticed on their website, you get free shipping when you spend $50, but they cost $30 each, and that's probably smart, right? Because a lot of people are gonna be like, "Well, maybe I need to order two." So not just one, I wanna get that free shipping. I was also surprised to not see more upsells when I added one to my cart. It could be an easy way to add more revenue without bothering anyone. And lastly, just a fun fact.
As I mentioned, I see step and pull everywhere. Once in a while, I see them installed incorrectly, like I see them installed on the exterior of the door, like going into the bathroom, and obviously it's of much more use going out of the bathroom. And I always wonder like this, nobody noticed. Does nobody think about that? But perhaps that's just my own observation.
You'd be on the lookout as well. And listeners, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is so much better. I want you to hear these stories and get excited about something you can do. Get inspired, get a practical step, get a nudge towards taking action. That's what we're all about for more than 3,300 episodes and counting new episodes drop every day, seven days a week, always free.
My name is Chris Guillebeau. You are listening to "Side Hustle School." [Music]
- From the Onward Project.
