What It's About
A Side Hustle School listener roles the dice on a niche side hustle idea and comes out on top!
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
After just a few episodes, David figured out what he needed to do: instead of selling his time, he was going to sell a product.
For the next few weeks, David took a look at his life and interests. He didn’t want to sell a product he knew nothing about. Instead, he wanted a product he could sell with confidence. This is really sound advice for anyone looking to sell a product!
Fun Fact
David has listened to every episode of the Side Hustle School podcast. He says he was guilty of only ever thinking of ways he could sell his time to make money, and the episodes he listened to taught him the power of selling a product for a profit.
Notes from Chris
Episode 352
For David Derus, his full-time job as a Presbyterian Pastor has always been a labor of love. But, it’s never been quite enough to help him pay his bills. In order to help him stay in service of his local Parish, David has spent his adult life side hustling around his church duties. He’s been a dog walker, a handyman, a house sitter and a blogger, just to name a few. Although all of these hustles were good for a while, they never quite provided him with the consistent support he needed and were a huge drain on his time. On the verge of burnout, David decided he wanted a side hustle where he didn’t have to exchange his time for money. Talking about this problem to a member of his church, that parishioner recommended that David check out a podcast you might be familiar with—Side Hustle School. He said it was filled with stories of people who’d achieved the same goals he had, and that it may help him find a profitable idea. When David got home that evening he downloaded an episode and was instantly hooked. Ever since he was a young boy, he’d been interested in role-playing games, like Dungeons and Dragons. David found it to be a fun way for an awkward teenager to meet like-minded people to talk to, and he’s been playing ever since. He also figured it might be a good place to start in his hunt for a new side hustle project. David paid a visit to his local group and got to talking to a friend who was showing off his new custom dice. He told his friend he had “dice envy” and was instantly struck with an idea and name for his side hustle—Dice Envy! Dice seemed like a simple product to sell, with low startup costs, and a like-minded market he could sell to. After everything was said and done, the total startup costs for David came in at around $3,000. This included his initial investment in the dice, creating his website, legal fees and advertising the initial release of his first set. Whilst this is a slightly more expensive investment than David thought, it has more than paid for itself, with Dice Envy netting around $2800 per month. We can’t make this up! Our listeners are by far the best testimonials of how this is working for people and how people are taking action. Please let us know what you’re up to—email podcast@sidehustleschool.com or come and share your story, here! MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:- Dice Envy: What do you call the unfair advantage that the undead have in a necropolis? Wight privelege! Snag some sweet dice for your next D&D meetup on David's website!
- Photoshop & Illustrator: Two of the Adobe programs that David used to create the designs he used for his roll-worthy dice sets
- Alibaba: The platform that David used to locate a manufacturer in China for his customized dice
- SquareSpace: The website building platform that David used to create Dice Envy
- ShipStation: The app that David used to simplify his shipments. For a limited time, you can get a 30-day trial AND an additional month free! Click the microphone at the top of their page and enter the word HUSTLE
- Fiverr: The freelancing platform that David relied on for the bulk of the branding for his website and brand
- How To Find a Manufacturer or Supplier for Your Product Idea: Learn more about how you can find a manufacturer for your product
- Office Worker Turns $15 Into $500/Month Custom Cup Hustle: A frustrated office worker “throws shade” on her feelings about coming to work each day—then gets paid for her complaints
- Engineer Invents Bestselling Pocket Tool After Getting Locked Out: After getting locked out of his apartment, a software engineer creates a pocket tool that sells 500,000 units and now employs 17 people
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Resources
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Quote of the Day
Sponsors & Gratitude
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To infinity and beyond,
