TBT: Extra-Strong Coffee Supports Firefighters Nationwide

What It’s About

A coffee company fuels first responders across the nation.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1706

Welcome to Throwback Thursday / “Where are they now?” where we take an in-depth look at someone who’s story has evolved considerably since we first featured them.

Last week, we heard from a former H.R. manager who now sells matchsticks full-time. I actually ordered some matches from her and they just arrived the other day, right in time to prepare this episode. StrikeaMatch2.com.

Today, in our latest feature, we’ll hear from Eli Held, the co-founder of Muertos Coffee from Sacramento, California. We first told the Muertos story back in Episode #986. It’s all about better coffee that supports first responders, especially firefighters across the country. The name Muertos means “death” in Spanish, so this is coffee strong enough to raise the dead.

What’s happened since?

Listen to today’s episode to hear Eli’s updates…

 


 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • I’m really grateful to Eli for helping us with this segment. Check out their website at MuertosCoffeeCo.com and follow her business on Instagram @MuertosCoffeeCo.

 

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

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. Learn More

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

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

TBT: Mobile Coffee Roasting Blends Work and Family

What It’s About

An update from a mobile coffee roaster who blends beans with home life.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1377

Welcome to Throwback Thursday / “Where are they now?” where we take an in-depth look at someone who’s story has evolved considerably since we first featured them.

We recently heard from an accountant who sells spreadsheet templates and other financial resources to creatives, a guy who made $100,000 on Fiver, and many more.

Today, in our latest feature, we’ll hear from a Washingtonian who started selling coffee in his neighborhood to teach his kids about small business. He ended up learning a few things himself. We first featured him in Ep. 549, which was approximately, well… exactly—828 days ago!

Listen to today’s episode to hear Doug’s updates…

 


 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Valente Family Coffee: If you’re a coffee bean afficianado yourself and want to learn more about their operations, check out their website!

 

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

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. Learn More

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

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

TBT: Coronavirus Triples Sales of Cold Brew Coffee

What It’s About

An update from a co-founder of a popular cold brew coffee brand.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1349

Welcome to Throwback Thursday / “Where are they now?” where we take an in-depth look at someone who’s story has evolved considerably since we first featured them.

Last week we heard from Willem, the guy behind Vertallis, a board game to facilitate deep conversations. A couple weeks ago we featured the graphic designer for dogs who’s now grown into a full-fledged agency, retrieving clients from other industries.

Today, in our latest feature, we’ll hear from Alex French, the co-founder of Bizzy Coffee.

What’s happened since? Well, they started while they were training for an obstacle course race.

Also, one note just in case it’s not clear: Bizzy Coffee ended up joining an accelerator and raising capital, which is not usually the Side Hustle School way. However, this happened after they’d already started the business on the side and were seeing initial success—so it’s not a startup in the typical startup way.

Listen to today’s episode to hear Alex’s updates…

 


 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Bizzy Coffee Get your own caffeine fix from Alex’s website.

 

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

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. Learn More

Quote of the Day
"For anyone who’s launching a product is to get to that first dollar as fast and as cheap as you can. And I think that Amazon is the fastest way to do that while minimizing the investment upfront. "
—Alex French #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

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

The Cultic Coffee Shop in Aberdeen, Scotland

What It’s About

One couple goes against the coffee culture grind and creates a cult following.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Louise has some great words of encouragement for those with niche ideas, “It takes courage and time to build a niche business; but in the long run that’s what leads to a cool, diverse market. The race to be all things to all people is supermarket economics, and it should be shunned by the independent business scene.”

Fun Fact

The Cult of Coffee’s first customer was in Scotland for a business trip. His home? Seattle.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1029

Not everyone starts a side hustle with dreams of endless riches and quitting their day job. Sometimes it’s just a matter of filling a need. That’s what led Louise and Paul Robertson to open The Cult of Coffee nearly three years ago.

Louise and Paul were frustrated with the difficulty of finding good coffee in their city of Aberdeen, Scotland. The few spots that did have finer roasts also had a bit of an elitist attitude in their service that left them feeling lukewarm. It was from that frustration that their own coffee shop was born, built from the ground up.

To begin, they needed a space. A search brought them to the corner of an old antique store in a busy area. They loved it, but the location needed some serious TLC. Thankfully, renovating a property from top-to-bottom was something they were quite familiar with … because just a year earlier they had completely redone a 17th-century cottage.

But they were busy! Paul and Louise were both working full-time. Plus they were also renting out that refurbished 17th-century cottage, and raising two small children.

In the end, they landed on the industrial interior design that works well for so many cafes, but opted to keep it light with bright colors, white tiling, and pale woods. They ended up stripping down nearly everything, keeping only the original windows, floors, and doors.

On those windows, and throughout the shop, they applied graphics with their logo, a mix of mysterious, almost occult-like, symbols — playing off their shop’s name, the Cult of Coffee. By the time the Cult was ready to open a year later, people passing by found themselves wandering in more with curiosity for what the shop was than for finding a place to buy coffee.

That uninformed curiosity might help explain what happened next. The plan from the beginning was to have The Cult of Coffee only serve coffee and cake. Louise and Paul wanted to be the best, and to do this as a small shop they needed to specialize. However, customers didn’t immediately see it that way. Coming in at lunchtime, they’d be surprised to learn that the shop didn’t serve meals, and that led to the occasional bad review online. Some insisted that The Cult of Coffee would have to expand its menu if it was going to stick around.

But Louise and Paul stuck to their principles. They weren’t about to sacrifice their shop’s identity just to cater to a handful of unsatisfied customers.

This dedication to their vision paid off. In May of 2019, The Cult of Coffee won The Scottish Cafe’s Best Coffee Shop in Scotland award, edging out other well-known and established coffee shops.

The shop’s strong community vibe helps drive people to return again and again. Customers get a real buzz out of being the ones who introduce their friends to “this place they’ve found.” And while The Cult of Coffee has a strong social media presence, they’ve done only minimal paid advertising or marketing. It’s nearly all been through word of mouth and connections.

Louise and Paul never intended to replace their day job income by opening a coffee shop. They wanted the additional source of income, but their vision was mostly built on their desire to see a shop like The Cult of Coffee in their area. Despite the slower growth, the cafe now generates what Louise used to make at her full-time job in 2016. While Paul still works full time, Louise now works just part-time in education, and handles the cafe’s managerial tasks. Thankfully, The Cult of Coffee has a strong team that can handle most of the shop’s daily operations.

The Cult of Coffee is not the story of a side-hustle turned multi-million mega-corporation. Instead, it’s about throwing yourself into a project you believe in, to fill a need yourself when no one else is stepping up. It’s about creating something that brings people together, giving them a place to sit back, relax, and sip on some fantastic coffee.

 


 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Sticking true to doing things their own way, Louise and Paul use social media but do not have a website. Learn more and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

 

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

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

RELIABLE WEBHOST FOR $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for my past 5 websites. It's cheap, flexible, and you can get support 24 hours a day.

Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
Learn More

Quote of the Day
"The race to be all things to all people is supermarket economics, and it should be shunned by the independent business scene."
—Louise and Paul Robertson #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

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

Telecom Sales Manager Brings Mexican Coffee Across the Border

What It’s About

A highly caffeinated side hustle!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Remember: do what’s in front of you. Don’t worry about a dozen other opportunities; focus on what you can do right now.

Choose to focus on the task that is waiting for you, the opportunity you already know about … instead of searching for something new and shiny.

Fun Fact

Disney World found Christina through employees from Mexico who recommended Capeltic coffee. They raved about how good the coffee is in their home country and said it would be great to sell in their Epcot village. After researching distributors in the U.S. for Capeltic coffee, Christina’s online brand and store, Inissor came up and they were able to connect with Christina.

Notes from Chris

Episode 857
What would you do if a side hustle opportunity dropped in your lap? In the summer of 2017, Dallas native Christina Rossini found herself facing this question. Christina was invited by a college friend to visit him on a fair trade coffee farm in Chiapas, Mexico.

Being an avid traveler, she accepted the invitation without a second thought. When she arrived, she was given a tour of the Capeltic coffee farm.

Christina was immediately drawn to this coffee co-op. She learned that Capeltic controls the entire coffee value chain from field to cup while paying the farmers a fair, consistent wage. She appreciated their sustainable mission—to keep the co-op 100% farmer-owned so they can stay and support their local economy. It was one of the most successful social enterprise projects in Latin America … but they also had a problem.

Their coffee was very successful among the Jesuit church in Mexico, and they wanted to expand their mission internationally. At the time, Christina was a successful Sales Account Manager in the telecom industry, savvy with sales and making connections. She saw an opportunity and jumped on it.

Working with her friend Stephen, she started small and began importing the coffee a little at a time to sell to friends and family. They wanted to see how the coffee was received before expanding. Since the coffee was heavily intertwined with Jesuit communities and universities, they set up a booth at a holiday bazaar where many potential customers would be in attendance. While at the bazaar, they landed a few institutional clients whose own mission and core values aligned with those of the co-op. They wanted to partner with Christina and begin selling Capeltic coffee.

It’s been nine months now since she quit her job to pursue Inissor full-time, and sales have continued to brew. Her brand has grown outside of the Jesuit community and found its way to other clients and universities, and even to Disney World.

That’s right, Mickey Mouse himself has indulged in a cup of Capeltic coffee after many of his Mouseketeers native to Mexico recommended it to him. This goes to show how valuable brand loyalty and a good social impact story can open more doors to success.

Christina is currently bringing in around $3-4,000 in profit each month and is on track for $250,000 in sales this year. And while things are roasting smoothly now, she had a lot to learn in making the transition. She spent a lot of time researching and connecting with others who worked with similar goods. And before she hired the customs brokers, she ran into some problems.

Her first big order was held up at the border for nearly six weeks because a license for the FDA was expired. They scrambled to get everything together to renew the license so that shipments could resume. Shipping costs have also been higher than she anticipated and have siphoned some of her funds to cover these underestimated costs.

Christina’s advice for anyone wanting to launch a similar side hustle or product is to find your smallest viable market and go after it hardcore. In her case, it was marketing to Jesuit institutions and universities throughout the United States. And from there the products have expanded to other markets. But only after she started with a very specific group.

While she was handed the right cup of coffee at the right time, it took time and dedication for it to brew into a profitable and fluid business.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Inissor International: Learn more about this coffee importation side hustle over on Christina’s website

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for many websites. It's cheap, flexible, and offers support 24-7.

Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
Learn More

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

Quote of the Day
"Find your smallest, viable market and go after it hardcore. It’s easier (and more profitable) to start specific and then expand."
—Christina Rossini #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

The Coffee Grinder That Made $300,000

What It’s About

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

[podcast_details]

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

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

Bean-Lover Grinds Way To $4,000/Month Family Coffee Business

What It’s About

A family coffee business grinds their way to $4,000/month.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Tea, chai, kombucha, and other beverages have been experiencing a bit of a renaissance lately, but I really don’t think coffee is going anywhere. If anything, I’ve noticed as I’ve traveled that specialty coffee and premium roasting has expanded rather than contracted.

While it’s good to look at niche markets, there is something to be said about creating something with mass appeal, and doing it well!

Fun Fact

A neighbor desperately knocked on Doug’s door at 8AM one Sunday morning because his wife had used the last of the coffee he had given him a few days before. “You don’t understand,” he said, “I cannot live without your coffee.” He paid Doug $20 dollars for a pound of coffee with the understanding that he would not frantically knock on Doug’s door at 8AM on a Sunday unless it was an actual emergency.

Notes from Chris

Episode 549

Doug Valente loves coffee! The joy of a freshly brewed cup first thing in the morning is something he’d never want to go without. While most people are happy just drinking coffee, Doug’s interest goes much deeper. He loves exploring its history, learning about new blends, and studying the whole process of bean-to-cup.

Five years ago, his passion for coffee led to roasting his own beans. At first, it was just a fun hobby, something to help him understand the process a little more and keep busy in his spare time. Far from being a grind, roasting coffee was something Doug loved to do.

He began sharing his knowledge through Facebook, where he’d post pictures of roasts he was particularly proud of. With his skills rapidly brewing and gaining steam word began to spread… “Doug makes some of the best coffee around!” read a typical comment. It wasn’t long before friends and family in other parts of the country began asking if they could buy some of his highly regarded beans.

Before this, Doug had been selling some of his excess beans to people in the neighborhood. Once he saw there was more demand for his product, an idea began to brew.

Far from procrastinating, Doug got straight to pro-caffeinating and decided to turn his little passion project into an additional income source. He sold his first interstate batches from those initial queries on Facebook and put the money towards the purchase of a propane powered commercial coffee roaster. This allowed him to increase his output tenfold.

This was the boiling point in his side hustle adventure. He saw what roasting beans might look like at scale. As the kettle heated up, Doug and his wife decided to get their five young kids involved. They saw it as a way to teach his kids about business in a practical way and figured, at the very least, it would be a nice bonding experience. They called it Valente Family Coffee.

The family packed and shipped orders the very next day and made $500 in sales their first week!

They also decided to create a custom built trailer specific for markets. It allowed them to easily move the entire operation and set up a live roasting station and stall. The cost was $10K—thats a latte money. The good news is that it was largely paid for out of funds already generated by coffee sales.

These days, Valente Family Coffee is showing no signs of slowing down. Across their farmers market stall and website, they currently earn $4000/month. While the setup costs were significant, they are already into the black. Which coincidentally how they like their coffee!

Doug still has his day job but has big plans for the family business. With the profits generated so far, the Valentes are looking for a brick and mortar location to start their own cafe. A place where they can connect with the local community and make more connections selling the coffee they love.

Words cannot espresso how good they feel.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Valente Family Coffee: If you’re a coffee bean afficianado yourself and want to learn more about their operations, check out their website!
  • 99designs: The platform that Doug used to help create their logo and brand

SEE ALSO:

 

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

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
"Start slow and don’t overextend yourself. Get a really solid and consistent offering and build that first. Talk to your paying customers and listen to feedback in all forms."
—Doug Valente #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Cook with Blue Apron!

Supporting the sponsors keeps the show free. Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Blue Apron. 👩🍳

Check out this week’s menu and get your first three meals FREE, with free shipping. Get ready to say mmmmmm.
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To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Coffee Lovers Brew Quick Fix Into $1 Million Hustle

What It’s About

Two friends brew up success with their million dollar side hustle.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

This is one of the few stories we feature in which it really is difficult to grow this kind of business without outside funding or substantial help. Remember, this show is not about quitting your job to take a big risk.

That said, in this story, I think they took a measured risk. They worked on the project for a long time on their own. The first time the accelerator asked them to quit their jobs and move to NYC, they said no. I recently talked about the “right time to quit a good job”—in this case, the right time came with the second ask.

Fun Fact

Bizzy Coffee couldn’t win in retail, so Alex decided to increase the product size and reduce costs. Amazingly, this enabled Bizzy to sell more bottles, which allows the company to increase production, which reduced production cost, which made those larger bottles profitable.

Notes from Chris

Episode 511

Obstacle courses are fun. They offer exercise, a challenge, and a moment of lighthearted competition. 24-hour obstacle courses, on the other hand, are serious business. Alex French, a corporate worker for General Mills, was training for one of these insane day-long courses. Between training and work, he basically had no free time and needed frequent energy boosts.

Alex and his training partner, Andrew Healy, started brewing large batches of cold brew coffee when they could find time here and there. By immersing coffee grounds in cold water for 12 or more hours, they could create a rich, smooth cold brew concentrate that they could dilute with cold or hot water whenever they needed a boost. It was simple, affordable, and much healthier than the energy drink alternatives they’d seen on store shelves.

A few months after the race, Alex and Andrew came up with an idea. What if they could streamline their cold brewing process to make the beverage accessible to other people low on time, but who still want to enjoy good coffee?

With jobs in the marketing department of General Mills, Alex and Andrew had access to data—and lots of it. In early 2014, they noticed that the cold brew coffee market appeared to be at the beginning of a huge spike in growth. Sales were picking up for other companies, new products were being launched—and they thought it was time to jump into the black gold rush.

So they did. In homage to how busy they both were when they were working full-time and training for the obstacle course, they decided to name the company Bizzy Coffee.

In May of 2016, Bizzy Coffee launched via its own website and on Amazon.com with a 16-ounce bottle of cold brew concentrate priced at $8.99, and they generated a few thousand dollars that month. By the end of June, they had reached $10,000 in sales. And by the end of 2016, after just over six months, Bizzy had generated $100,000 in sales.

The duo attributes their rapid growth mainly to Amazon. By targeting very precise search terms in their product descriptions, Bizzy was able to attract a ton of organic search traffic—and a ton of sales. Oh, and when Buzzfeed, the holy grail or internet PR, mentions Bizzy (like they already have three times), they see nearly a 500% spike in sales for that day.

Fast forward to 2018. Bizzy Coffee has already generated over $1,000,000 since its launch two years ago and can be found in over 1,000 retail stores across the nation. Alex and Andrew aren’t ready to just ride out the wave of their success. They didn’t want to spill too many beans, but they’re said to be brewing up three new products over the next three months.

When we asked about the long-term goal, Alex told us he just wants to be the leading cold brew coffee brand—a big challenge, but this is coming from a guy who runs 24-hour obstacle courses. At least we know that he’ll be well fueled on his way!


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Bizzy Coffee: Get your morning buzz on—learn more about this unique cold brew over on Alex and Andrew’s website!
  • Food-X: The food and beverage accelerator that helped Alex and Andrew truly launch Bizzy Coffee

 

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

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. Learn More

Quote of the Day
"Marketing a beverage can be really hard. Buying habits can be unpredictable, and your market audience may not follow influencer trends the same way they do with other products. Sometimes, you have to get creative and think outside of the box!"
—Alex French #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Travel the Globe With Cards For Travel!

Side Hustle School is brought to you by CardsForTravel.com. Use travel hacking to see the world!

When you apply for their most popular, small business rewards card, you can earn 80,000 Bonus Points—enough for three round-trip plane tickets or $1,000 in travel credits. Check out this limited time offer! ✈️ 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

Coffee Lover Bets His Beans On Workplace Coffee Subscriptions

What It’s About

A Salt Lake City man takes his passion for good workplace coffee and shares it with other offices all around the US.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

In an attempt to streamline the process, Ben began using an automated Instagram engagement tool which brought in some customers, but most of the comments posted by the bot were placed on completely irrelevant posts. It felt inauthentic and just wasn’t really working with the brand. Ben learned that, for the most part, social media marketing needs to be personal, it needs to be consistent, and you just have to be willing to grind it out sometimes.

Fun Fact

Americans consume approximately 400 million cups of coffee per day, which is the equivalent of 146 billion cups of coffee per year. That makes the United States the leading consumer of coffee in the world, and coffee represents 75% of all the caffeine consumed in the United States. Also, Seattle (home of Starbucks) has 10 times more coffee stores per 100,000 residents than the United States has overall—whoa! [SOURCE]

Notes from Chris

Episode 306

Ben Martinez was the Vice President of HR for a high-performing tech company in Salt Lake City, Utah. His strategies lead to a large amount of growth in the company, his team was succeeding, and overall, he was becoming well-respected in his field. But something wasn’t quite right.

After 20 years in corporate America, Ben was struggling to feel that same exhilaration he was once familiar with. He slowly found himself less engaged in his day job and more fascinated by one of his passions.

Coffee. Rich, delicious, fresh coffee.

Ben was itching to try something new, so he started brainstorming ways to combine his love for great coffee and his business savviness. And he found one.

To his utter dismay, coffee in the workplace was often ordered as an add-on alongside printer paper and staples by office managers who either didn’t drink coffee at all or couldn’t differentiate between high quality and low quality coffee even if they did. Ben was floored—how could anyone be expected to do their best work when the coffee was flavorless and stale? But even when the underwhelming quality of the coffee was addressed, they were stumped as to where to find better coffee.

That’s when he thought—what if he could create a quality-centric coffee subscription for workplaces that was not only affordable but easy to get as well?

With this model, not only could he satisfy the business with simple, affordable delivered coffee—it would also keep their employees positively swimming in freshly roasted, high quality beans. And, thanks to the subscription model, he would have a predictable cash flow each month.

In less than a year in business, Sumato Coffee generates over $1,500 in monthly revenue, with about $600 in monthly profit. Business continues to pick up, however, and with the onboarding of a partner with experience in e-commerce business, Ben’s confident that Sumato Coffee will continue to grow and thrive.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Sumato Coffee: Be your office’s hero—check out Ben’s workplace subscription service on his website!
  • Recharge, Buffer, & MailChimp: Three of the platforms that Ben used to manage customers, social media, and email marketing (respectively)
  • Artemis Health: The Salt Lake City tech company that became one of Ben’s first customers
  • Secret Tech Sauce Talent: Ben’s up and coming recruiting and consulting firm that specializes in talent acquisition, employer branding, technology, core HR services, etc.

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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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
"Find someone who aligns with your values (in our case, quality and fresh coffee). Treat them like you work at the same company and make sure you get along well with each other because you will have to work together a lot."
—Ben Martinez #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Get a FREE Audiobook from Audible!

Audible is offering SHS listeners a free copy of the Born For This audiobook with a 30-day trial membership. 📚

Just go to aonc.co/bftaudible and browse the unmatched selection of audio programs and start listening.
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

Boring Desk Job Leads to $14,000/month Coffee Pod Biz

What It’s About

A unique spin on coffee pods leads to six-figure side hustle.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

With a few Google searches, Jack and Mike learned that a company in Australia was making Nespresso-compatible pods in a variety of flavors, and offering them for sale at a much lower price than the official ones. Jack requested samples, and when they arrived, they fit the machines perfectly—and they also tasted good.

Research, research, research! And ask for multiple samples so that you get a feel for the quality of the product. It’s always better to research and test before putting in an order with a manufacturer.

Fun Fact

In addition to basic coffee pods in various flavors, you can also get decaffeinated hot chocolate mint, hot chocolate hazelnut, hot chocolate caramel, and the list goes on. And yes, there’s even a milkshake flavor.

Notes from Chris

Episode 280

In 2015, Jack Bramhall was living in Greater Manchester, England, working in an office in a job he described as “not worth talking about it because it was boring.” Like many of his colleagues, every day he’d visit the coffee machine, which at his office was a Nespresso machine—one of the kinds that required little pods to make coffee. He knew that his office manager sometimes had a hard time ordering the pods since the manufacturer required a very large minimum order to get wholesale pricing.

In addition to that annoyance, Jack also wondered why you could only make coffee from the pods. Why couldn’t you make hot chocolate or even something like a milkshake?

He’d always wanted to have a business. He left school at age 16 to work full-time and had tried several different ideas before, but none had taken off. Maybe this idea would stick.

Exactly two years in, mugpods is generating multiple six-figures in annual income and were recently featured as the Business of the Week by their local paper in Manchester, England. The partners have reinvested in the business to make sure it can continue to be successful, but Mike now works on the business full-time. Jack focuses his time on automating more parts of the business so they can grow, but both founders still continue to pack pods every day.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • mugpods: Interested in how you can make milkshakes with a coffee pod machine? Head on over to Jack and Mike’s website!

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

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. Learn More

Quote of the Day
"I’m proud of what we have been able to achieve in such a small space of time. When a customer hears our story they are always impressed—thinking we are a huge corporation with millions of pounds behind us! The truth is we are small business of coffee and hot chocolate lovers."
—Jack Bramhall #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Get a FREE Audiobook from Audible!

Audible is offering SHS listeners a free copy of the Born For This audiobook with a 30-day trial membership. 📚

Just go to aonc.co/bftaudible and browse the unmatched selection of audio programs and start listening.
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