Tag: Dropshipping

The Battle of the New Zealand SpeedCubers

What It’s About

A puzzle master makes all the right moves to sell his product.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Don’t count out the power of relationship building. Hear what Oliver has to say about the subject, “Don’t be afraid to use your personal connections. Maybe your friend has graphic design skills or photography skills. You need to leverage these personal networks, especially during the startup phase.”

Fun Fact

Oliver’s greatest marketing success was in partnering with one of his larger competitors. By taking on their brand recognition and trust for a small percentage of sales, he was able to increase his sales dramatically.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1102
Speedcubing is a little known (but much loved) sport that involves solving 3D puzzles. The common 3-by-3 Rubix Cube is one of these puzzles, but the sport gets far more complicated. You can try 5-by-5 cubes, additional magnetic challenges for advanced players, pyramids, 12-sided puzzles, and more.

Oliver Jenks, a high-school student and experienced puzzle solver in New Zealand, enjoyed competing in Speedcube competitions. He especially loved when he could save up enough money to travel to an event in another country and meet players from around the world.

After graduating from high school, Oliver realized that there was no dedicated Speedcube shop in New Zealand. Most people—including himself—ordered their cubes from a shop in Australia, the U.S., or China. With more time on his hands, it stuck out to him as a problem that he could solve.

He got together with another Speedcuber friend who’d done dropshipping. Learning the ropes from that friend, Oliver created a barebones Shopify store. The friend connected him with the name of a reputable cube manufacturer in China. When Oliver called them, they gave him a quote: $1,000 for an assortment of popular Speedcubes he could resell.

He knew it was a trusted manufacturer, and he believed the cubes he was eyeing were likely to sell. Now he just had to commit. He wired the $1,000—all the money he’d been able to save at his job—and started listing products on his store.

Within a few weeks, his products had arrived, and in July of 2016, Oliver launched Cubes4Kiwis.co.nz.

He set up at speedcubing events and weekend markets across the country, talking up his new products. People slowly started visiting the website—mostly people he’d met from these events. It took four weeks, but Cubes4Kiwis finally got its first online sale.

On a whim, he sent an email to Speedcube.com.au, the leading speedcubing store in Australia. The store was well known in New Zealand, and the most affordable place to shop for competitive cubes in the two countries.

Oliver told them he was a fan, and that he had a business proposition. The owner of the store agreed to meet, so Oliver hopped a flight to Melbourne.

When he left that meeting, he came out with a fresh vision of the future. He would disband Cubes4Kiwis and build SpeedCube.co.nz—taking on the brand name and brand recognition of his Australian counterpart.

He was essentially entering a fairly loose and flexible franchise agreement. He could ship product at lower prices through his partner, get bulk discounts, and benefit from their brand recognition and reputation. All he had to do was pay a percentage of sales back to that partner.

He switched the domain of his site and set up the SpeedCube branding. Thanks to his new ability to acquire more products at lower costs, he was able to lower prices, undercutting his new intra-island rival. That month, his sales doubled. Within a year, they had quadrupled.

In 2019, the Speedcube shop experienced 9% growth month over month on average—generating somewhere between $1,000-2,000 in profit each month. Oliver loves running the store, especially since he’s been able to use a small share of the profits to attend competitions all over the world—Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Malaysia, and elsewhere.

He’s solved the puzzle and is having a lot of fun.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • SpeedCube.co.nz: Learn more about Oliver and check out his full Speedcube lineup at his website.

SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

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Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

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GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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Quote of the Day
"Don’t be afraid to use your personal connections. Maybe your friend has graphic design skills or photography skills. You need to leverage these personal networks, especially during the startup phase."
—Oliver Jenks #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.
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To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Online Bike Store Owner Gears Up for Hands-Off Profits

What It’s About

A refresher course in dropshipping a niche product!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

When John decided to focus on being more deliberate about the products he was going to sell, he started with 100 random products and began to eliminate them one by one with a list of criteria based on a product’s weight, price, number of suppliers, niche and dropshipping compatibility, and market competition.

Fun Fact

John got his first eBike sale two weeks after he opened up his store. The people in his life had little confidence in his abilities to make money from dropshipping, so he immediately screenshotted the sale and sent it to all his friends and family. Soon after, he found out that it had been purchased off of a stolen credit card.

Notes from Chris

Episode 579

Irishman John Murphy dreamed of a job that he could do from anywhere in the world. His wife was Italian, and they moved around Italy for her career. Each time, John had to quit his job and look for another. With another move on the horizon, this time with a less than ideal job market, John decided to ask his current boss if he could work remotely instead.

His boss said yes! But this victory came with a no-going-back realization: as soon as John started working from home, he knew he never wanted to stop.

With his interest piqued, John started looking into other ways he could make money online. While looking online for ideas, he came across a business model called “dropshipping.” If you’re not familiar with dropshipping, it’s when someone sets up an online store to sell other people’s products. In exchange for marketing the items and running the online store, the dropshipper gets a percentage of the profit. The dropshipper doesn’t have to deal with producing, handling, or mailing what they sell.

Not only that, but some dropshippers were making thousands of dollars a month by doing this! To John, it seemed too good to be true… but it was true.

He was ready for the cash. Where was the “free money” button on the internet? He’d heard people talk about using the Shopify platform, so he made an account and linked products from a big retail website called AliExpress. Then John waited for his bank account to inflate.

Unfortunately, John was startled to discover that he hadn’t hit the “free money” button after all. After spending $300 on marketing, he had made just $50 in sales, resulting in a $250 loss.

This only made John more determined. He knew that dropshipping was a successful business model—the proof was all over the internet—he just had to figure out what he was missing.

It was time for more research.

He picked a more specific niche to target this time—people who were afraid of an impending apocalypse… although, in recent years that niche has probably expanded a bit. Either way, John found more success this time with his survival kit store, but it still wasn’t what he was looking for. He knew he could do better.

Ultimately, John chose to start selling eBikes, which he hoped would break him out of his old cycle. There was already an online presence for them, so John knew people would be willing to purchase them online. Plus, the average cost of the eBikes John was selling was roughly $2000. This meant John had to sell less products to make money. If he sold anywhere from 2-4 bikes a month, he’d be making anywhere between an extra $1000 – $4,000.

He launched his eBike store, eBike Generation, July 31st, 2017. Over the next 6 months, John only made two sales. Just as he was giving up hope, the store that dominated the eBike niche shut down. The owner had decided to pursue a career in coaching instead, it would seem. John set up a one-hour phone call with him and has been making up to $25K a month from his store ever since.

John is now making more money from his side hustle than he ever could have anticipated, but the most rewarding part for him was finally breaking his cycle and mastering the skill of dropshipping.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • eBike Generation: If you’d like to learn more about the ebikes John is flipping, head on over to his website!
  • Shopify: John used Shopify to set up his site for eBike Generation, and they’re offering a 21-day trial and exclusive discount for all Side Hustle School listeners!
  • Dropship Lifestyle: An online drop ship course that taught John the basics of the business

 

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:

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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

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 best part of the whole experience for me has to be the realization that it can work, and it’s possible to start a business from nothing, learn a set of new skills and make money without a huge upfront investment."
—John Murphy #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Create a Stunning Website With Wordpress

Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Wordpress.com! Whether you’re looking to create a personal blog, business site, or both—you’ll make a big impact, when you build your website on WordPress.com. 💻

Get 15% off when you build your website with Wordpress.com—use promo code PODCAST when you check out.
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It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.


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To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Listener Discovers Astronomical Success in Astrological Gifts

What It’s About

A listener reads the stars to discover her side hustle!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Sasha’s best advice for fellow hustlers is one that echoes from SHS: just start! Sasha’s side hustle started with a single mug and has grown into a line of astrological gift goods that now has her thinking about other expansions. Being able to shift her mindset from “working hourly” to the side hustle concept where you make your product/service/etc. work for you has made all the difference. Her astrological line of gift goods—and her success—was written in the stars.

Fun Fact

When asked if she has had more than one side hustle, Sasha said:

“I cringe slightly at this question! Once in my youth (actually, I wasn’t THAT young) I followed my favorite band, The Cure, around the country. My best friend and I made devotional votive candles of the band members and sold them in the parking lot after each show to cover our gas money!”

Notes from Chris

Episode 374

Sasha Soukup been selling vintage items on Etsy for eight years. It brought in a little money from time to time, but it also had its limitations—mostly that she was never able to replicate when she had a hit. Frustrated and looking to get ahead, Sasha started listening to Side Hustle School aiming to create a side hustle that was low investment and low risk but also replicable.

After a month of listening, Sasha’s thinking started to shift. Her once rigid reasoning began looking at things in new ways. That, she said, has been the greatest gift Side Hustle School has given her—flexibility of thought.

After two months, Sasha was coming up with an idea or two a week. Then, suddenly, it was like a dam burst and she was seeing potential side hustles everywhere.

Looking to combine her skill with physical products with her interest in popular culture, Sasha created a line of astrology-related printed goods. She started with coffee mugs. After coming up with initial designs, she then found an artist to develop those ideas. That artist was actually one of her former Etsy customers who specializes in far-out 1960s-inspired art—it was a perfect match.

She had no idea whether her designs would be successful or not—she figured if it failed at least she would end up with great Christmas presents for her friends. Luckily it was the best case scenario, and not only her friends but also a lot of strangers, are buying her goods for their own gift giving.

Sasha’s now selling coffee mugs, t-shirts and stickers (and she will be adding buttons soon, too) and her sales are growing each week. For now, most of her profits are being reinvested into new designs, and promotions, since she covers her living expenses from her day job.

The additional income has made a big difference in her life—among other things, she can now go to the acupuncturist once a week instead of just in urgent situations without feeling like she is spending her food and basic expense budget.

Being able to shift her mindset from “working hourly” to the side hustle concept where you make your product/service/etc. work for you has made all the difference. It seems her astrological gift goods—and her success—was written in the stars.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Astral Boutique: See what the stars have in store for you over at Sasha’s eclectic Etsy shop!
  • Marmalead: The paid service Sasha used that analyzes the strength of your keywords, titles and tags

SEE ALSO:

  • EXTENDED CUT #6: The Million-Dollar Etsy Shop: Most Etsy shops don’t make money—or if they do, they make a small amount of money. But some make a lot of money. What separates them? This special episode takes a detailed look at the online storefront for a million-dollar Etsy shop whose full story is coming up next week on the show
  • Single Mom Makes $15,000 from Astrology Calendar: After realizing that all of the astrology calendars in the market featured similar designs, a former restaurant owner decides to create her own
  • New Yorker Doubles Her Income with Next-Level Tarot Cards: How a senior designer for a feminist media publication decides to create tarot card decks and ends up making as much with her side hustle as she does at her day job

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 9 (2025): JAN | FEB | MAR |

Season 8 (2024): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 7 (2023): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

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

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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
"I’ve been absolutely obsessed with SHS since the first episode. I was amazed at how rigid my thinking has become after, well, a lifetime of looking at things one way, and that’s been the greatest gift that this show has given me, this flexibility of thought."
—Sasha Soukup #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Learn More With Skillshare!

Supporting the sponsors keeps the show free. Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Skillshare. 📷

Skillshare is giving Side Hustle School listeners 2 months of unlimited access—for $0.99! Join the 2 million students learning everything from street photography to SEO on Skillshare today!
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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 $300,000 Bouncy Castle Hustle—With No Inventory!

What It’s About

A Texas man starts a dropshipping side hustle and bounces all the way to the bank. [podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Amazon FBA, stock trading, dropshipping high ticket items, and reselling items on eBay were among Rene’s top ideas when he was getting started, but ultimately, he decided on dropshipping for a couple reasons with the chief reason being the low barrier of entry. Dropshipping is a fantastic model because he didn’t have to invest in producing or purchasing inventory and didn’t have to carry inventory or ship the product.

Plus his success wasn’t dependent on external factors out of his control, as is the case with some of the options he was considering, like the stock market or real estate.

Fun Fact

Rene’s first sale came while traveling for work. He had just installed the Shopify app on his phone so he could monitor things. Suddenly, in the middle of a meeting, this loud “cha-ching” sounds from his pocket.

Having never heard that noise yet, he casually pulled out his phone to take a look. To his surprise, it was his very first sale!

Notes from Chris

Episode 324

During the day, Rene Delgado works in operations and supply chain management for a large consumer electronics company. In the evenings, he runs an eCommerce site dedicated to selling bounce houses to residential and commercial customers. Yep, that’s right—bounce houses. Rene didn’t decide to sell bounce houses because he harbors a secret passion for them. He decided to sell bounce houses after some very careful analysis and consideration of his best options.

That careful consideration began in August 2016, when he started considering his side hustle options. Amazon FBA, stock trading, dropshipping high ticket items, and reselling items on eBay were among his top ideas, but ultimately he decided on dropshipping.

To land on a winning idea, he made a list of over 100 product options and then narrowed the list based on the following criteria: the products were hard to locate in a brick and mortar store, the average price point was over $400, there were more than 5 manufacturers or suppliers, the ad spend on the PPC was below $2, and the level of competition in the space was low. These comprehensive criteria ultimately lead him to settle on bounce houses.

Once he had the legal framework in place, he bought a relevant domain—BounceHouseStore.com was luckily available—for less than $20/year and then filed his DBA with his local county. Rene officially launched the website in December 2016, once he had products from multiple manufacturers up. The first three months of the year, Rene brought in almost no revenue because it was simply too cold (winter is apparently a low-bounce season).

But by April things start to pick up for summer, with a peak in June. And then by September, as the leaves begin to fall, the bounce goes out of people’s lives…sales drop off again. But looking at sales on a yearly basis tells a much different story. So far in 2017, Rene has had just over $300k in sales!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • The Bounce House Store: Bounce on over to Rene’s website and pick up a bouncy castle for your next Frozen themed birthday party!
  • Shopify: Rene used Shopify to set up his store for The Bounce House Store, and they’re offering a 21-day trial and exclusive discount for all Side Hustle School listeners!
  • QuickSpark Financial: The business that helped Rene increase sales and provide financing to his business customers
  • Dropship Lifestyle: An online drop ship course that taught Rene the basics of the business

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 9 (2025): JAN | FEB | MAR |

Season 8 (2024): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 7 (2023): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

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

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
"There are SO many moving pieces when it comes to starting and running a dropship business, so make sure and do your research before starting your own business! Also, niche selection is absolutely crucial and can make or break your success."
—Rene Delgado #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Create a Stunning Website With Wordpress

Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Wordpress.com! Whether you’re looking to create a personal blog, business site, or both—you’ll make a big impact, when you build your website on WordPress.com. 💻

Get 15% off when you build your website with Wordpress.com—use promo code PODCAST when you check out.
Get Started 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 Live Cricket Dropshipping Hustle

What It’s About

How a man creates a live cricket dropshipping reselling hustle. Fun fact: when mailing crickets to someone, never include paper instructions

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Part of what lead to Jeff’s success with his cricket dropshipping hustle, The Critter Depot, is that he knew to look for a niche market with little to no competition.

Throughout Side Hustle School this year, you’ll hear a lot of interesting and unique stories like this. Here are a few examples of previous episodes that dealt with a niche market:

  • Ep. 3: How a marketing executive created a six-figure, seasonal side hustle after being unable to find a custom candy heart manufacturer.
  • Ep. 10: After the loss of a beloved family pet, an engineer decides to improve on a saddle for chickens.
  • Ep. 11: How a woman creates a $2,000/month side hustle sharing specialized diet tips and recipes on her blog.

Fun Fact

Dropshipping has a long history in the hustle world. Pre-internet days there were companies that advertised in magazines and lots of people were attempting to start a dropship business, some successfully and some unsuccessfully.

Jeff learned about dropshipping while working at an e-commerce site that also sold a living product. He was able to use the success of their live product as a benchmark when building his own creative hustle.

Bonus: Did you hear about the two bedbugs who met in the mattress? They got married in the spring!

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
"Between some customer service and emailing my dropshipper, I maybe put in about 1-2 hours per week and am still able to bring in at least $700/month—and that’s a slow month!"
—Jeff Neal #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