Tag: High Profit

Social Worker Bakes Cupcakes for The Walking Dead

What It’s About

A sweet side hustle with pinup appeal!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

What we’re seeing now is Carrie thinking even smarter and asking herself how she can go from baking more cupcakes (which is ultimately not sustainable, at least not on its own and with her doing much of the baking) to those side-side hustles that allow her to reach more people

That’s the path you need to follow if you want to grow. And as always, it’s also okay to just make cupcakes and sell them at the market. On this Boxing Day and every day, your next steps are your own!

Fun Fact

Carrie is a third generation hustler. Her dad had a letterpress side business he ran from the basement. Her grandparents were holocaust survivors that came to America with no education. They began working out of their own home offering sewing and wallpapering services.

Notes from Chris

Episode 725
Carrie Buchanan has a demanding—and might I say selfless—day job. As a social worker in her hometown of Canton, Ohio, she provides support to people with disabilities. But, sometime a few years ago Carrie found herself needing some support of her own.

She was going through a stressful divorce. After the separation, she moved into a small condo with her two teenage daughters. A few close friends helped pack her things on moving day. To thank them, Carrie couldn’t buy expensive gifts, so she turned to her creative side instead.

While shopping at a local craft store, she came across a large muffin baking tray and an idea struck. She could use the muffin tray to bake extra large cupcakes for her friends. What’s better than cupcakes? Extra large cupcakes! She whipped up a batch, and all her friends loved them. During the next year, she received several requests to bake the extra large cupcakes again. Gradually she modified them, adding creamy flavored icing and topping it off with an extra treat like a peanut butter cup or s’more.

The cakes became Carrie’s signature dish. She’d often bake them for special occasions or for friends and family. It was a fun hobby that made people smile. But, while the cupcakes solved her original thank you gift problem. They couldn’t eliminate all of life’s stressors.

As the next year rolled around, Carrie was still stressed and fantasized about packing everything up and escaping in a trailer. In her fantasy, she’d sell homemade french fries out the back of the trailer while traveling around the country. The idea was so appealing that she even went to a local carnival to ask the workers about life on the road. It sounded so freeing!

But this particular fantasy wasn’t meant to be. She couldn’t just drop everything and run away. She had commitments at home and two teenage daughters to care for. But the idea didn’t go away entirely. Carrie soon began dating someone new and told him about her ‘life on the road’ dream. He suggested she could do something similar, but keep things closer to home. Instead of running away, she could bake and sell some of her giant cupcakes at a local market called First Friday.

Initially, she dismissed the idea, saying, “What do I really know about baking? I still use canned icing to decorate the cakes!” Even so, he assured her it was worth trying and even suggested a business name, Bombshell Cupcakes!* Carrie was a fan of pinup culture so it fit perfectly.

*[producer note: since the airing of this original episode, the name has now changed to Bombshell Baking Company]

For a couple more years Bombshell Cupcakes continued to drop Bombshells at the market. Carrie was still baking out of her home kitchen all while still working full-time.

But then she introduced iced cookies. These turned out to be even more popular. People would request custom orders for parties, or with their favorite characters or corporate colors. Over time, this part of the business became so popular that Carrie added it to the name. It was now called Bombshell Cupcakes & Cookies!

Carrie continued with both her day job and side hustle. She’d work all day and then come home at night and bake cookies and cupcakes. It was time to bring on a little help in the form of her first and only employee. Although the employee only worked part-time, she allowed Carrie to increase the volume of her operation while still working a full-time job.

Over the last year, Carrie was able to take home close to $20,000 profit from the business. This is made all the more impressive by the fact that each order is just $35 – $50. That’s a lot of orders! She’s also been able to expand to include a few side-side hustles.

Carrie has even bigger plans for Bombshell Cupcakes in 2019. She understands you can only bake and decorate so many cookies by hand. It’s not a business that scales well. Just recently she began offering live streamed baking courses which has opened up another source of income. Next up is a Youtube channel so that she can share her knowledge. The goal of all that will be to create a paid video tutorial course to generate income in a more passive way.

But what she is most proud of, is that this side hustle has enabled her to purchase her own home. Those bombshell cupcakes have had extra-large benefits.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

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
"First things first, you must love what you are doing, and you must love to learn and be patient. It takes a lot of time and practice to get good. But hang in there!"
—Carrie Buchanan #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

Art Director Turns Passion For Puppets Into Profit

What It’s About

An art director discovers a niche where there are no strings attached…

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Laurie and Cindy chose the pricing for their fabric based on how much they wanted to earn per hour, after the cost of raw materials. They wanted professional puppet-makers to get the highest quality products possible, but also wanted affordable options hobbyists could buy as well.

Yes, you want to price something so that it will sell, but also remember that you’re creating this for you! Make sure that it’s going to be worth it to you in the long-run.

Fun Fact

Larry is Laurie’s fabric distributor and is the only person in the world who distributes Antron fleece. He was approached by Jim Henson to create the fabric for The Muppets and then ran the world’s only puppet-fleece mill. He has no website, only a telephone number, and if you don’t know him, you can’t order fleece in bulk.

Notes from Chris

Episode 723

Laurie Nickerson, an advertising art director, knew she didn’t want to work behind a desk. Eight hours a day staring at a computer screen left her sad, sore, and searching. She wanted a job that was creatively fulfilling and allowed her to share her love for arts and crafts with others. And, seeing as she couldn’t find one, she decided to create one.

Laurie and her just-as-creative mother, Cindy, began renting studio space where they could teach classes and offer other services, such as long-arm quilting.

When she wasn’t at work, Laurie found she spent more and more of her spare time at the studio. She also picked up an exciting side project: puppet making.

Laurie loved the process of making puppets because every stage of the process was done by hand. Contrary to what was out there, there was no “puppet by numbers” system, and you had to do the work from scratch. One of the most fun, yet challenging, aspects was dying the puppet fabric. She felt like it was the perfect blend of science and art, trying to get the colors to stick properly and turn out just how she wanted them.

Puppets are made from a fabric called Antron fleece. When you purchase Antron, it only comes in pure white, and the puppet maker needs to dye it to the color they want. Even in small quantities, this can be notoriously difficult to do in your bathroom or kitchen. But at the studio, Laurie had more than enough space to create all the puppet fabric she needed.

Much to her surprise, Laurie found other people in the puppet-making community didn’t enjoy dying their fabrics anywhere near as much. For many, it was even a burden.

On one particularly frustrating day at work, Laurie’s mind kept wandering to how she had the space and love of the process to solve this problem for people. When she got home from work, she decided to create a simple website, which she called Puppet Pelts, posting photos of fabric in several different colors for sale. She then shared the link with a couple of puppet groups she was a member of to see if there were any takers.

There was an instant demand for it, and puppeteers kept coming back weeks and even months later to ask for more. This was when Laurie knew she had a new business on her hands.

Puppet Pelts now averages around $9,000 a month in revenue and, more perhaps importantly, it has freed Laurie from the shackles of her nine-to-five job.

Looking to the future, Puppet Pelts wants to expand into offering a complete range of colors, fabrics, and accessories for puppet makers, including furs. They’ve also recently relocated from Las Vegas to Orchard, MA, and are looking forward to the challenge of working from a bigger and better space.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Puppet Pelts: Learn more about this puppet-possible side hustle over on Laurie’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
"I started this with no money or inventory. Everything in our studio was built and created by saving our pennies. We didn’t take out a loan, or have investors. If we couldn’t afford something, we waited until we could."
—Laurie Nickerson #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

Online Memorial Services Are the New Funerals

What It’s About

An Aussie ushers obituaries into the new millennium.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

We asked Andrew if he’s faced any challenges when explaining to potential customers why they should pay money to have an online memorial for their loved ones since this isn’t common knowledge yet.

He said showing people the benefit of what his service provides is key. Skymorials isn’t expensive. Also, since he’s working with resellers, most funeral directors (as an example) give the product to customers at no charge as an added value.

Fun Fact

Looking to grow his business, Andrew flew to Manila, in the Philippines back in January 2018 on a hunch. The country has an enormous Catholic population and is a colossal social media user—one of the biggest in Asia. Naturally, he figured he’d have a good market! He now has offices and a full sales staff working with 35 funeral home locations who use his software for their clients.

Notes from Chris

Episode 721

Andrew Ranger is a serial side hustler. He created an iPhone app that did NDA agreements. He was involved with a crowdsourced website for coming up with company brand names. And somewhere in there, he developed a payments platform for cafes and restaurants.

He did all this while working his day job at an advertising agency in their marketing and communications department. Andrew is a strategist and likes working hard. While at his 9 – 5, he noticed the rise of publishing tributes and fan pages on Facebook for people that passed away.

However, he noticed these pages weren’t always respectful or built for a specific need. He also wondered about the people who die that aren’t even on Facebook by choice. Some of them might cringe at the thought of being on there when they die.

He also saw the gradual decline of traditional newspapers where tribute notices and obituaries are commonly placed. This led him to create the side hustle we’ll look at today, Skymorials. Andrew said he built this platform for people to create memorial web pages for loved ones in hopes that they’d remain online, cherished forever.

At first, the pages were free. Then he began charging a small price, just $75 for a page that would be hosted indefinitely.

Since his first sale in 2016, Andrew has successfully scaled Skymorials into that $250,000 a year juggernaut. However, he still considers himself in growth mode which explains why he’s content to reinvest most of the profits back into the business.

What’s next for Skymorials? Andrew says he’s scaling fast. Currently, Skymorials has grown to be used by people in 20 countries and he now has a goal to take him into every single country worldwide. By reworking an age-old service to honor the passing of loved ones, he’s able to do well for himself while doing good for others.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Skymorials: Learn more about this memorable side hustle over on Andrew’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
"This is a slow-moving business, so you shouldn’t get into it unless you’re a patient person. Build a simple product that people need first, then work out the bigger picture later. After all, Microsoft started with a couple of guys wanting to build a programming language for a new computer they saw in a brochure. They didn’t envision the rest."
—Andrew Ranger #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

Wall Street Banker Places “Buy” Order on Organic Superfoods

What It’s About

An investment banker finds a way to have it all—one bite at a time.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

When you’re planning on starting a product-based side hustle, it’s important to ask yourself where your ideal customer is making purchasing decisions. Also, keep market saturation in mind—grocerie stores are flush in 1lb. bags of granola, but there are not many places selling single servings of granola for when you’re on the go. The switch was a hit!

Fun Fact

Cindy’s facility is powered by renewable energy. All food scraps are composted while things like plastic and glass are recycled. A plan for using compostable, biodegradable packaging is in the works for next year.

Notes from Chris

Episode 719

Cindy Poiesz was an investment banker in the energy sector on Wall Street. It was a demanding job, consisting of 12+ hour days. Never having enough time to snag a meal outside the office, she ate lunch in the office every day.

But, sometimes, she’d want a snack. This proved difficult because of her dietary restrictions. Cindy adhered to a strict paleo diet in order to maintain a pain-free gut and an improved quality of life. No dairy. No grains. Nothing refined or processed.

The snacks available at work just weren’t an option, and none of the nearby coffee shops and vending machines provided her with anything close.

So Cindy started experimenting with different combinations in her kitchen. Eventually, she found one she liked. It was the perfect asset allocation of seeds, nuts, and spices. She named her creation, Supernola, and started bringing it to work.

Like James Brown’s song “I Feel Good”, her paleo-friendly snacks were a hit! Which is fitting because that’s exactly how her snacks made people feel—good.

It wasn’t long before her friends suggested she start selling Supernola at farmers’ markets. So she did. Her first sale was in the amount of $30. She framed the twenty and ten dollar bills to celebrate and has kept to this day. As Cindy put it, “small beginnings lead to bigger things.”

Supernola has come a long way since its creation two years ago. In Cindy’s first year, she sold 4,000 units and this year-to-date she’s sold over 300,000.

One of the freedoms Cindy has found in being her own boss is having greater control over the taxes that are taken out of her paycheck. It’s no surprise she loves deductions—after all, she did used to work on Wall Street.

What’s next for Cindy? She’s in the process of expanding the Supernola brand nationally. Her first step is a round of external funding to help accelerate growth. The brand is in the throes of a bull market with no market crash in sight.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Supernola: If today’s episode piqued your interest (and your appetite), head on over to Cindy’s website
  • Shopify: Cindy used Shopify to set up her site for Supernola, and they’re offering a 21-day trial and exclusive discount for all Side Hustle School listeners!
  • EVOLVE Brands & Gorilly Goods: The two additional snack brands that Cindy created

 

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
"Network, network, network. Other professionals are generally willing to share advice—save yourself some time and learn from other’s triumphs and mistakes!"
—Cindy Poiesz #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

Educator Makes Cards to Teach Kids About Emotions

What It’s About

An educator teaches mindfulness to the next generation.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

According to Suzanne, her “motto through it all has been ‘less hustle more grace’… and keeping my eye to the quality of my life rather than the biz performance. My kids are still home, and I could speak a lot to the pressures of balancing things.”

Fun Fact

As I’m sure you already know, shopping for toys and games on the internet has consistently been on the rise since 2008. In 2016, almost 44 million US consumers shopped for toys or games online!

Notes from Chris

Episode 711
Any parent can relate to the feeling of helplessness when dealing with a child having a meltdown. The crying, possibly screaming, and maybe even kicking and hitting. What do you do? You want to raise kids that can deal with their emotions in a healthy manner. But becoming a parent doesn’t come with a handbook. Learning to teach kids social skills and manage their emotions is one of the biggest challenges of parenthood.

Suzanne Tucker is a parent educator, physical therapist, and mom. She noticed a lot of her parenting class graduates were asking for help in connecting with their children, especially when stressed. Suzanne realized this was an opportunity to help other parents connect with their kids through daily play. She wanted to create a fun way to learn because she knew kids are especially receptive to learning through creative play. So she decided to make a game, called PeaceMakers Mindfulness cards, to do just that.

Each of the cards in a deck of PeaceMakers has a positive message meant to spark conversation between adult and child. The cards are especially appealing to kids due to the colors and animals that represent themes, such as balance, love, and forgiveness.

Suzanne decided to start a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to produce her PeaceMaker cards. In about one month, she raised $8,000—twice her goal! For Suzanne, the experience validated her idea. She wasn’t an influencer; she just wanted to make a difference.

From its start in 2016, PeaceMaker monthly sales averaged about $1,000. The first BIG jump in sales was in the holiday season of that year—with monthly sales going to $10,000! Suzanne attributes this increase not only to holiday shopping but also due to a great article published in the Philly Voice at that time. PeaceMakers Mindfulness cards were her only product at the time, and the piece included a direct link to purchase the cards.

Sales grew from there. Once she had three months in a row of $10,000 in sales, she put her energy into creating a second product, the Time-In Toolkit, an alternative to time-outs and behavioral charts that helps teach children emotional regulation.

By early 2018, Suzanne had named her company Generation Mindful, or GenM. (At first it was just that one product.) The company was growing so fast, she started to hire more help, including a marketer and content creators. However, another lesson here: she ended up taking back much of this work to keep the voice and brand of Generation Mindful intact. The company has a very distinct—and hard to copy—brand and voice. This has been the brands’s greatest struggle, but it is also one of their greatest assets.

Earlier this fall, GenM ran their latest Kickstarter campaign for a third product, SnuggleBuddies. They raised $35,000 in 2 weeks. From the initial $1,000/month, to the $10,000/month boost and then back again before restructuring and working smarter, Suzanne now expects the company to hit seven figures in revenue in 2019.

Another of Suzanne’s goals for 2019 is to create more products. She also wants to translate her products into Spanish and then French. Through her tools, toys, and programs, she wants to “make connection a habit so that together we can raise an emotionally healthy world.” One year ago, she transitioned to working full-time on Generation Mindful.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Generation Mindful: Interested in learning more about Suzanne’s products and how you can help your chilren process their emotions? Head on over to her website!
  • Kickstarter | Time-In ToolKit & SnuggleBuddies: Here are some Kickstarter campaigns that Suzanne launched for a couple of her products

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
"Mostly when I talk about life balance as a CEO/mom I like to blow up the myth that you can have it all. Ummm, no—something’s got to give, it’s just what is going to give, when, and on what day. I say no to (some) things so that I can say yes to other things. And I am constantly letting go of the unicorn that is being ‘perfect’. That myth will kill ya."
—Suzanne Tucker #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

Shoe Designer Runs After $1 Million Challenge

What It’s About

An industrial designer steps up, delivering comfortable dress shoes that cross the finish line.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Justin wanted a fresh take on shoe marketing, so he focused on the innovations and technology that make his shoes unique. And it worked. Press inquiries starting arriving, friends of those first pre-order customers began to order, and retail stores starting calling to ask about supplying the brand. By February of 2016, Wolf & Shepherd made its one millionth dollar. Always remember to look for ways to set you and what you’re offering apart from the pack!

Fun Fact

Justin recently put his own product to the test and wore his dress shoes in the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. He then made a new shoe to commemorate the experience—and it sold like wildfire. Maybe next year there will be some more runners in Wolf & Shepherd dress shoes!

Notes from Chris

Episode 704
Growing up, Justin Schneider spent a lot of time running. In high school, he was a natural track star. He then ran for Notre Dame and won a handful of awards, including setting the school record for the Heptathlon.

While in college, many of the projects for his industrial design degree came back to the same thing: athletic shoes. He loved dreaming up ways to improve shoes and sketched designs he hoped to turn into reality someday.

But he didn’t want to just dream, so he called up the Adidas customer service line and asked about a summer internship. Then he called again… And again. After a few weeks, he finally got through to the Senior Designer of Cleated Sports (real title!) who he convinced to give him a spot in the internship.

After graduating, he spent a few years working in the industry—but he was never fully satisfied. He wanted to do something more exciting and unconventional. He eventually stepped away from the shoe world for a few months to sketch newly discovered plant species in Madagascar for National Geographic. He needed a break and was starting to burn out, and it was here that his hustle idea came to him.

A friend from back home called up. “I just bought an expensive pair of handmade English dress shoes, but they’re killing my feet,” his friend said. “Why can’t my dress shoes feel good?”

It was just the type of challenge Justin was looking for—and he threw himself into it. He gave himself 90 days to dream up a design, find a manufacturer, and create a prototype. Since he was already somewhat connected in the industry, it wasn’t hard to find a manufacturing partner. He went to the shoe capital of Mexico: Leon.

Somehow, he had a prototype in his hands 90 days later—and it was just what he had imagined.

He named his future brand Wolf and Shepherd to convey the ambition of the brand (the wolf), as well as its mission to guide and protect the foot (the shepherd).

The problem was, Justin only had about $15,000 to his name to invest, but the minimum manufacturing cost was $60,000. He needed to raise money, and a lot of it.

It wasn’t easy convincing people to buy a pair of shoes before trying them on, but somehow, after four grueling weeks of calling and emailing and selling and selling some more, he had 600 pre-orders.

It certainly wasn’t always easy, and Justin faced many challenges along the way, but to date, Wolf and Shepherd has sold over 200,000 pairs of shoes and has retail partners all over the country. And Justin still isn’t done yet. He’s thrilled about a brand new product launch next year and a big-time brand ambassador that’s going to lead the marketing. We’ll put our feet to the floor and tread lightly!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

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 don’t feel I was timid when starting Wolf & Shepherd, and if anything, it was completely the opposite. I firmly believe that confidence and perhaps a bit of naivety that ‘this will work out’ helped me push through all the unpredictable variables and roadblocks that typically KO a startup."
—Justin Schneider #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Get Your Logo Today With Logojoy!

Side Hustle School is brought to you by Logojoy, an online tool that uses artificial intelligence to help you design a beautiful, custom logo.

Try Logojoy today and get 20% off any logo package when you visit logojoy.com/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

Dog Lover Fetches $250,000 in Canine Clothing

What It’s About

Matching outfits for dogs have owners going mutts!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Gina recommends considering motivation when it comes to their hustle ideas. “I was so unhappy at my full-time job before leaving and decided to work as hard as I needed to to make our business successful enough to pay my salary. I remember my boss said to me before I left… “Do you have any idea how many dog shirts you’d have to sell a day to pay your salary?” As you could imagine, she lit a bit of a fire under my ass :)”

Fun Fact

Excited from the reactions in L.A. and New York, Gina, Scott and Thomas (their modern mutt and the face of Dog Threads) initially tried to drum up local interest by wearing coordinated shirts from their inventory out on the town. After getting a lot of sideways looks and laughs, Gina realized that Minnesota wasn’t quite ready for furry fashion.

Notes from Chris

Episode 700

Gina Davis has always had an eye for fashion. As a design student in college, she sold vintage clothes for quick cash, and tried her hand at creating jewelry and clothing. Her favorite model was her very patient pomeranian poodle mix, Thomas. Crafting custom outfits for her furry family member seemed to be just a quirky hobby, especially in Long Lake, Minnesota, where Thomas’s trendy wardrobe stood out as an oddity.

While stitching together a new outfit for Thomas behind the counter at her women’s clothing pop-up shop, a stranger with a connection happened to stop by. This woman instantly recognized the true potential for coordinated attire and accessories for pups and their humans.

And she had a valuable connection. The woman introduced Gina to the curators of the popular Dogs of Instagram (4.3M followers), who also retail pooch apparel at their online store. Their quick request for inventory was the final nudge that Gina needed to jump all in.

With just $1,000 to invest in their new side venture, Gina and her husband Scott quickly hired a few local seamstresses and stocked the first few hundred Dog Threads shirts, ranging from extra smalls for Yorkies all the way up to a “just right” extra large for bigger hounds.

Catching up as sales took off, Gina quickly put up a rough website, ShopDogThreads.com, and her own Instagram account (@shopdogthreads, with more than 55k followers) to show off new designs and bark up demand.

More than a year into it, sales were enough that Gina took the risk and quit her day job to focus entirely on building the business. When she turned in her notice, Gina’s boss put her nerves into words: “Do you have any idea how many dog shirts you’d have to sell a day to pay your salary?”

That sparked a stubborn determination to put in the hard work and persist through the hurdles to turn their successful side hustle into her full focus. Dog Threads revenue has doubled year over year, and Gina and Scott are projecting total sales of $250,000 this year.

While Gina is grateful for the warm reception from dog owners all over the U.S., she credits her success starting slow and getting the product just right.

As true animal lovers, Gina and Scott decided early on to donate a portion of their profits to Secondhand Hounds, a Minnesota-based animal rescue. Thanks to Scott’s full-time income, they are able to put the remaining profits right back into the business, continuing to design hip sweaters, knits and button-ups for classy dogs, and their humans. Go fetch that money!

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Dog Threads: Checkout Gina and Scotts incredible lineup of dog clothing at their website.
  • @shopdogthreads: Follow Dog Thread’s pawsome Instagram account with more than 55k followers.
  • Secondhand Hounds: Learn about and consider supporting this great animal rescue program.

 

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 think so many people have great ideas and they just can’t, you know, wrap their brain around that it doesn’t have to be perfect. Like, you gotta start somewhere, and starting is the hardest part."
—Gina Davis #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

Engineer Earns 7-Figures from “Crowd-Purchasing” Project

What It’s About

A “bulk-purchasing” hack scores big profits.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Ron suggests that you find a good partner and don’t go it alone. Warn your significant other that it’s going to take up time. Your customers and partnerships are precious.

Fun Fact

The first item sold on GroupGets, a thermal camera component, has over 60 uses. One use for thermal cameras is the attachment to a drone and use in search and rescue efforts. Another is detecting “motorized doping” in bike racing.

Notes from Chris

Episode 698

Back in 2013, Ron Justin was in need of a specialized electronics item that was only sold in lots of 1,000. But Ron didn’t need 1,000—he only needed one. In search of a “crowd-purchasing” platform, he was shocked to discover that no such thing existed. The major crowdfunding sites at the time were only for new product ideas, not things that were already made. So he convinced his friend Kurt to help him build the site GroupGets.

Usually, when an item is bought in bulk, you pay a lower price per unit. Think of when you buy a large pack of toilet paper or paper towels – you pay less per roll than if you purchased just one roll. Now, through GroupGets, people can have this same type of purchasing power for any type of item. With GroupGets, you purchase the item in bulk with your other group members. YOU are only buying one item. Each group member gets their one item at the better, bulk price because they are one in a group.

But Ron and his business partner aren’t selling toilet paper. Their group buys are mostly for new and high-end electronics. Naturally, these items have higher price points—which makes sense, because people are looking for deals on them.

Here’s how GroupGets works: If you want to buy something that is typically only available in bulk or is cheaper if buying in bulk, you can start or join a campaign on GroupGets to purchase the item. Others who might also be interested in purchasing that same item join in and the items are bought in bulk, by GroupGets, at that lower price. GroupGets then divides up the units, collects the money from individual buyers, and ships to the buyers.

For example, the “Zubi Flyer”, an educational toy with a retail price of $130, is listed on the site for $65 with a “target” of 50. So 50 buyers are needed before GroupGets puts in the order. When they reach 50, they order the units, ship them out, and each buyer pays $65 for their item.

The company’s income is generated from a percentage of sales. When a manufacturer ships directly to the buyers, GroupGets takes a 10% cut. If GroupGets does the shipping, they take 20%. Startup costs were $5,000. Since inception, the company is making 7-figures in profits.

 

GroupGets also sells custom electronic accessories and software. If a product does well on their group buy site, they stock it in their online store. The item may be produced by GroupGets, or by someone else. Very boutique in the electronics world, the store is kept mainly as a convenience for repeat customers who are willing to pay retail and not wait for the group buys.

Ron invested just $5,000 to start this multiple 7-figure business. However, of those costs, $4,000 went to hire a contractor to handle the site’s payment system. His thinking was that if they had the reputable payment logo on their site, this would build user trust.

Ron continues to work his job, which he admits can be a challenge since this business has grown so much. Still, he says, “this is how I’m wired. I don’t want to choose between one or the other—so I don’t.”

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • GroupGets: Learn more about Ron’s crowd-purchasing platform.

 

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
"Money is not the only metric of success for a side hustle. You will meet way more interesting people than if you don’t do one."
—Ron Justin #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Consolidate With LightStream!

Side Hustle School is brought to you by LightStream.

Have you ever looked at your credit card statement and been shocked by the interest rate? LightStream offers Credit Card Consolidation loans from 5.89 percent APR with Autopay.

Get a special discount on top of LightStream’s already low rates! 💳 Visit LightStream

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

Magician Brothers Make Money Appear From Playing Cards

What It’s About

Presto! Twin brothers create a magical hustle featuring playing cards.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Find something you LOVE and have it be a way you can make a difference in the world. For us, we love our products and we believe they will inspire people to be curious.

Fun Fact

Twelve years ago, Dan and Dave were shipping everything out of their house. That was hard, so they finally decided to hire a fulfillment company. However, when they got their bill for the shipping and packing it was a shock. They were oblivious to the terms which resulted in zero profits from the deck they’d just created. Despite this setback, they decided to create another deck (they kind of had to) and press on!

Notes from Chris

Episode 697
TTwin brothers Dave and Dan Buck have loved magic as long as they can remember. Growing up they shared a bedroom, they shared the same interests and hobbies, and they started learning magic at the same time.

Wanting to practice on the go, they each carried a card deck with them everywhere they went. Entrepreneurs at heart, they made their first product to sell when they were 15, which was a booklet on sleight of hand techniques for magicians.

However, back then, their website had no way for them to accept online payments. So, they had a page that listed their address for people to send them a check and presto… their parents drove them to the post office to ship out orders.

This led to the creation of DanAndDave.com in 2007. It catered to magicians and served as a lab for them to try new ideas, create instructional videos, and—critically—offer playing cards for sale.

Over the years, their playing card collection had grown substantially. People seemed to really like the deck they featured. In 2007, world-famous magician David Blaine had just released his own playing card deck. This got the twins thinking, “If he has his own deck, we should have one too.”

So, in 2008, they began designing and selling their own decks along with promoting the decks of other popular brands they liked. The first deck they designed was a set of two called Smoke and Mirrors (because they’re twins).

In 2012, they decided to create a site focused solely on selling playing cards. More and more companies were designing premium decks and their popularity was skyrocketing.

So, with the same ease as a three-card Monte setup, they created a Shopify account for what they called Art of Play. They used their existing inventory from DanAndDave.com to feed into their new site.

The brothers have since partnered with artists and designers from all over the world in developing their own brands of playing cards and decks. They’re constantly looking through graphic design books and blogs for inspiration.

Collaborating with popular YouTubers, posting regularly on Instagram and partnering with some well-known playing-card Facebook pages have all been instrumental in building awareness around Art of Play.

The twins typically release one deck per month. Business has grown so much that they have seven people working for Art of Play currently. The income earned from AOP pays their salaries along with the salaries of their employees.

Since producing their first deck in 2008, they’ve sold several million of them. Their business has allowed them to make a living doing what they love, support their families and give back to communities and non-profits. Their partnership with 1% For The Planet helps plant trees around the world.

Profits for these two prolific prestidigitators aren’t disappearing, and neither is their interest in spreading the love of magic. Since expanding into puzzles, games, and novelty items, they’ve also been able to pull a rabbit from their hat and reach an even wider audience.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Art of Play: Checkout Dan and Dave’s full lineup of decks, puzzles, and games at their website.
  • Shopify.com: The e-commerce platform Dan and Dave built their website on.

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
"Find something you LOVE and have it be a way you can make a difference in the world. For us, we love our products and we believe they will inspire people to be curious."
—Dan & Dave Buck #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Get Your Logo Today With Logojoy!

Side Hustle School is brought to you by Logojoy, an online tool that uses artificial intelligence to help you design a beautiful, custom logo.

Try Logojoy today and get 20% off any logo package when you visit logojoy.com/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

Proud Mainer Brings Whoopie Pies to the World

What It’s About

A sweet and creamy treat becomes a stay at home mom’s Maine hustle.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Marcia was always trying to improve on the traditional recipe and create new flavors. As a consequence, her Whoopie Pies were a huge hit. She was constantly receiving requests to bake more. Many of her friends wanted to buy some as gifts for THEIR friends.

Fun Fact

Cape Whoopies are baking up a serious amount of pies! Current operations include making 3, 80 quart batches of filling and as many as 4, 80 quart batches of cake batter and baking, filling, bagging and tagging all of it. They get every product into the freezer within an hour of baking so it’s ready for shipping.

Notes from Chris

Episode 696

For many years, Marcia Wiggins was a stay at home mom with two young kids and a pilot for a husband. In the little spare time she had, she taught aerobics at the local gym. But in 2012, things changed for Marcia. Both her kids had grown up and moved away to college, her husband was often away and there’s only so many gym classes someone can go to. She had a lot more time on her hands.

This new found free time stirred something in Marcia, and she was inspired to pick up an old hobby. She began baking delicious treats for friends. More specifically, she started baking Maine Whoopie Pies: a delicious single serve treat of a dollop of cream pressed between two small cakes.

It was the latter point that got Marcia’s mind baking. The Whoopies were already a great hobby, but perhaps should could transition them into a new side hustle.

Just like that, fresh out of the oven came her new venture, Cape Whoopies. Her mission was to share the most delicious Maine Whoopie Pies made with the highest quality ingredients with people all over the country.

From day one, Marcia knew that shipping posed a problem. How would she keep the pies looking great and tasting fresh during postage? They would also need to tolerate both hot and cold conditions in transit.

To try and solve this problem, Marcia contacted a packaging expert. Together, they devised a test to ship sample pies across the country to see if they remained intact. The expert recommended the type of packaging required to ship the pies safely.

Next, she needed an online presence so that people could order. She decided to create an online store using Shopify. Once up and running, she took high quality pictures of her Whoopies, and added several plugins to entice website visitors to buy… and then to gently upsell them.

By mid 2016, Marcia had been at work for a few years and was generating a few thousand dollars a month in revenue. That year, she was contacted directly by Amazon to list her pies on their site. She jumped at the chance, and once again, demand increased.

As luck would have it, a solution was about to present itself. She met a coffee roaster while working out of the shared space. They were both growing fast and, as a consequence, were looking to move to a larger space. Together, they decided to rent a storefront, roasting coffee in the front, and baking delicious whoopie Pies in the back. At more than 5,000 square feet, the space symbolized how much Cape Whoopies planned to grow.

It was the beginning of a match made in heaven, and the next phase of Cape Whoopies could start baking. And like baking a cake, profits began to rise.

The launch of the brick and mortar location caused quite a stir. The grand opening occurred in May 2018, but for months beforehand Marcia was warming up her existing customers to excite them for the launch. She built up hype on social media and in the local press.

This new exposure led to huge sales, which, believe it or not, haven’t slowed down since. The brick and mortar store, which was never expected to be the main source of income, now makes up nearly 50% of total sales. The remainder of the sales are generated through the Cape Whoopies website as well as Amazon.com and Goldbely.com, an Etsy-like marketplace for designer foods.

The business continues to flourish. Margins are strong in the neighborhood of 50-60%, and Marcia is currently bringing in $25,000/month! All those pies can’t be baked by Marcia alone so she now has employees.

Marcia has gone from scooping and baking all the cakes herself, to having her husband help out, to now having a team of five working together to bring Cape Whoopies Pies to the world.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Cape Whoopies: Order your own tasty whoopie pie from Marcia’s site.

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
"I keep my focus and don’t fall for mixes or products that may make things easier but ultimately affect the taste. So, my tip for anyone is to keep your focus on your original goal…it’s always the best."
—Marcia Wiggins #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Get Your Logo Today With Logojoy!

Side Hustle School is brought to you by Logojoy, an online tool that uses artificial intelligence to help you design a beautiful, custom logo.

Try Logojoy today and get 20% off any logo package when you visit logojoy.com/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