What It's About
Headbands for every occasion!
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
Nothing wrong with $500/month, but the key to growth is understanding what people want. How do you figure that out? Through experimenting and engagement, of course! Brittany kept in close contact with her followers and customers and used a lot of their feedback to determine the next headbands she'd make.
Fun Fact
Headbands aren’t just Blair Waldorf’s favorite accessory. They’ve been popular since the ancient Greeks started making special occasion hair wreaths about 2,500 years ago. Originally given to ancient Olympic athletes, the wreaths started a tradition that continues today as the modern sports headband (and key fixture on the Upper East Side).
Notes from Chris
Episode 714
Brittany Lipowski was busy. The overwhelmed grad student was trying to balance her school course load, a part-time job, some semblance of a social life, going to the gym or yoga, and all the errands associated with adult life. And, like most adults, she had to wash her hair in between all these activities. But that didn’t always mean she looked as put together as she would’ve liked. All she ever really wanted to do was be able to go through her daily activities while looking effortlessly adorable. Not an unreasonable ask, especially once she started her side hustle to help her accomplish that feat. BizzyBCrafts became Brittany’s answer to a question she had only half-asked herself: “How do people wash their hair every day?” With a surge in dry shampoo sales, she’s clearly not the only one who struggled with looking put together when she felt anything but. It wasn’t until she was in Virginia to visit a friend that she seized the moment to create her side hustle. Brittany noticed a cute headband in a small shop... and then noticed the $20 price tag. Her first thought? “I can make this.” She immediately went home to start researching supplies so she could make her own headbands. She invested $300 of her savings into materials, taught herself how to sew, and got to work. She knew from personal experience that good headbands (you know, the kind that stay on your head) were hard to find, so she tested her headbands until she created the perfect design. Then, she made an Etsy account and… waited. Sales trickled in, but not as a steady stream of secondary income. Still, Brittany stuck with her labor of love. Slowly, she started to bring in an average of $500 a month from Etsy sales. Once Brittany started to connect with her customers, and listened to what they were looking for, she saw her income skyrocket to $3,000 a month. She asks lots of questions in Instagram stories, does polls on new fabrics, and asks for opinions on what her customers would like to see added to her lineup. As Brittany told us, “I think that customers appreciate that you want to know these things and it has definitely worked. I used to struggle with things that weren't selling, but once I started involving the customers more, it has helped.” Since her humble grad school beginnings, Brittany has added different headband styles, hair ties, scrunchies, kids sizes, and seasonal launches to her product offerings. And, while the extra monthly income is great (especially since she now has a wedding to plan!), she says that nothing beats hearing positive customer feedback and connecting with new communities of people on Instagram. She now knows firsthand that you don’t need a business degree to make a side hustle work. She’s definitely getting ahead in life.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- BizzyBCrafts: Learn more about Brittany's line of headbands over on her website!
SEE ALSO:
- Crafter’s Shop for Dreadlock Wearers Unlocks $3,500/Month: A product manager uses skills as a crafter to design accessories for people who wear dreadlocks, generating $3,500-4,000/month in product sales
- Woman Sells Hair Grips to Orthodox Jews & Drag Queens: It begins as a product for Orthodox Jewish women. It goes on to serve cancer patients, Broadway performers, and drag queens, earning “fringe benefits” and $4,000/month
- TV Producer Sells Monogrammed Scarves; Earns $1,000 Riding Subway: Trying to wrap the world in a little more love, a TV Producer starts a side hustle slinging personalized monogrammed scarves and giving a percent of her proceeds to charities benefiting education
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Resources
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
GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS
Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time.
Quote of the Day
Sponsors & Gratitude
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