591
11 min 45 sec

The Coffee Grinder That Made $300,000

Rise and shine! A petroleum engineer finds the perfect item to resell on Amazon. He goes on to sell $300,000 worth of the humble coffee grinder.
Coffee High Profit Manufacturing Product Reselling

Subscribe Now For A Free Five Step Tutorial

What It's About

A basic, everyday item grinds out huge profits and creates loyal customers.

Business Model
Reselling
Skills Required
Resourcefulness & Research
Complexity
Medium
Profit Potential
High

Words of Wisdom

Raj says his success has largely been due to his customer-driven approach and deeper messaging. From the post-purchase emails, to the way his team responds to support requests, to the written content on the website, to the social media giveaways—all of it builds an ecosystem of value, care, and passion that encourages customers to use their coffee routine to appreciate the little things in life.

Fun Fact

Legend has it that 9th-century goat herders (circa 800 A.D.) noticed the effect caffeine had on their goats, who appeared to "dance" after eating coffee berries. A local monk then made a drink with coffee berries and found that it kept him awake at night, thus the original cup of coffee was born.

Notes from Chris

Episode 591

Raj Jana was just like a lot of us. He was knee-deep in student debt to the tune of $50,000, helping out his parents, and he working hard to climb the corporate ladder as a petroleum engineer at Chevron. Trying to please the corporate overlords day-after-day was exhausting, and Raj dreamed of stepping out of the rat race. He wanted to work for himself, move back to Houston to be with his long-distance girlfriend, and stop sacrificing his happiness for the sake of an MNC.

Raj began reading books and going through courses on internet businesses. He dabbled with a few ideas but eventually landed on private labeling products to sell on Amazon after meeting someone who’d had success in the area.

Making coffee by hand was one way Raj centered himself each morning. He was passionate about good coffee, and wondered if he could capitalize on the growing specialty coffee movement for his hustle. He researched possibilities on Kickstarter, Amazon, and other platforms to see what kinds of devices were selling really well, and the answer was clear: coffee grinders. Not the big, bulky automatic ones, but a small, handheld, manual one.

It would be small, lightweight, used frequently, and sell in the $20-30 range. It could also act as a gateway product to selling something else in the future. And it was perfect for selling on Amazon.

At the time, there was a generic coffee grinder that was selling well on Amazon, and it had zero branding on it. The company that sold it had no website. When Raj saw the same design on Alibaba, the idea clicked: he would use that existing design to create his own grinder that he would promote with creative, passionate branding.

After a couple weeks of confusing emails and a few phone calls, Raj found a manufacturer that would make 200 units to start off—just a $1,000 investment on Raj’s end.

And thus, JavaPresse sprang to life with the turn of a sharp steel blade.

Continually waking up at 5 AM to work on his hustle was rough, but his morning routine of making coffee, writing a gratitude list, and making a plan for the day helped him through. This routine set Raj up for success each day by keeping him focused and centered.

A few weeks after Raj placed his order, his grinders arrived at Amazon’s warehouse. It was go time.

A lot’s happened since then. JavaPresse now has three additional coffee products and a monthly coffee subscription. He’s still selling over one hundred grinders on Amazon per month, has fulfilled two wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation with donations, and generated over $300,000 in profit last year.

He’s brewed up a business, a lifestyle, and a mission all in one… and it hasn’t felt like a grind. Pour us another cup, Raj! Here’s to your hustle.



MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • JavaPresse: If your morning routine could use a little less drag and more grind, head on over to Raj's website to pick up one of his coffee grinders!
  • Alibaba: The platform that Raj used to locate a manufacturer for his coffee grinders

SEE ALSO:


Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter


Download Episodes By Months:

Season 6 (2022): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 5 (2021): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 4 (2020): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 3 (2019): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 2 (2018): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 1 (2017): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️


Learn More

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today!

Learn More

Quote of the Day
"Build habits and routines that allow you to work on your side hustle consistently, and consistently invest in books/reading/audio that help you grow your mindset from employee to entrepreneur. Changing your internal identity is one of the biggest drivers for my past and continued success."
—Raj Jana #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Try ShipStation for 60 Days FREE!

Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by ShipStation, the #1 choice of online sellers. 📦

To get a 30-day trial AND an additional month free, click the microphone at the top of their page and enter the word HUSTLE.


Get it Here

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.


Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!





To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau