Tag: Plants

Houseplant Biz Blossoms for Hong Kong Transplant

What It’s About

A government employee finds harmony selling houseplants through Facebook.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

“When dealing with customers, don’t take it personally and don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment. Always remember that each customer has their own challenges in their own daily lives, so they may come off as a bit rude or unhappy.”

Fun Fact

Clara sometimes set up a booth at Washington, D.C.’s Eastern Market and she counts well-known politicians and others among her customers there. One actress even drove all the way from New York City for Clara’s houseplant sets!

Notes from Chris

Episode 1716
Clara Leung works as an accountant for the U.S. Department of Justice. She’s lived in Washington, D.C. for twenty years—but she was born and raised in Hong Kong. There, she learned ancient Chinese Feng Shui from her mother. For those who don’t know, Feng Shui is an ancient practice to help energy flow in and out within the home to improve people’s lives. Having houseplants helps promote more positive energy around the house.

In February 2018, Clara bought a huge plant from Facebook Marketplace for $50 and the baby stem fell off. She put it in a modern planter she had in storage and posted it on Facebook Marketplace, purely for fun because she didn’t have the space for it herself. She heard from a buyer within five minutes and sold the plant for $25: effectively a 50% savings on her own purchase.

Clara’s second customer bought a houseplant for her dying mother after hearing about the benefits of Feng Shui. That customer contacted her after a year with thanks and the news that her mother was living longer than expected. Was it the plant? Maybe, maybe not, but the point was that it made the customer feel better … and that matters.

Those positive selling experiences planted the seed of a new side hustle idea. Clara decided to combine her mother’s teachings of Feng Shui with houseplants. The money earned from those first sales went to buy more planters, so she didn’t have to spend any of her own money on startup costs.

In the beginning, she marketed the business entirely through Facebook Marketplace. It’s a popular platform for local buying and selling. Plus, she doesn’t have to pay fees on adding a shopping cart to her website.

Most of Clara’s plants sell for between $25 and $50. In the past several months, her side hustle generated around $4,000 in gross monthly income.

Going forward, Clara is exploring different ways of creating an online platform to share her passion for Feng Shui houseplants and add another income stream. She’s also considering a mobile shop that she can set up at farmers markets. She’s done farmer’s markets with a tent and a table but she’d love to have a mobile trailer or even a Volkswagen bus bursting with plants for sale.

 

 

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

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
"When dealing with customers, don’t take it personally and don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment. Always remember that each customer has their own challenges in their own daily lives, so they may come off as a bit rude or unhappy."
—Clara Leung #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!
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

TBT: Hydroponic Indoor Plant System Branches Out

What It’s About

This indoor plant system is in full-bloom!

Notes from Chris

Episode 1650

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 sex positive blogger who publishes a long-running site that reviews toys and other adult products. New direction this week: today’s episode, like 99.5% of Side Hustle School, is family-friendly … it’s also all about plants, which feels like 20% of Side Hustle School recently.

In this feature, we’ll hear from Dave Stevens, the founder of IG Works (Indoor Garden), offering smart indoor gardening kits for anyone who wants to grow fresh farm produce year round. They had a hugely successful crowdfunding campaign that we covered in Ep. 888.

That was all about the iHarvest, an amazing invention that allows you to grow up to 30 large plants in a small space. They claim that you can grow $1,000 worth of food in a year.

What’s happened since?

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

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • IGWorks: Learn more about this growing side hustle over on David’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

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: Pittsburgh Houseplant Merchant Blossoms During Pandemic

What It’s About

A house plant lover sets down roots with a new store.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1545

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.

Two weeks ago, we focused this episode around a guy known as the Plant Influencer. Naturally, we try to space topics out a bit, and I wasn’t going to do another plant story for a while but when I listened to the interview with Abi, I realized she had a really good story that I didn’t want to wait for you to hear.

After years of being part-time, she opened her shop in January 2020, and naturally was quite worried since that was the last normal month of life for most of us—but she ended up really turning things around.

Also, you always hear “find your niche” – but she found a good one! You’ll hear more about most of those things.

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

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Perrico Plant Co: Check out Abi’s growing collection of organic house plants on her 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: Plant Influencer Grows to Greatness

What It’s About

An unbe-leaf-able update.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1531

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

Last week, we heard from a North Carolina pastry chef who grows a retail shop in addition to her personalized wedding cake biz, all in the midst of the global pandemic. It was an uphill batter!

Today, in our latest feature, we’ll hear from a plant influencer in Toronto, Canada who offers corporate workshops throughout North America. His original episode was entitled “Plant Lover’s Tiny Terrariums Take Root on Instagram.”

What’s happened since? A lot! He’s had to adjust to his in-person workshops being non-existent all while corporate activity budgets are being cut. But he’s in it to win it, and we’re rooting for him!

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

 

 

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

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

Product Manager Profits From Carnivorous Plants

What It’s About

The world’s greatest resource for lovers of carnivorous plants.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

David has some great words about niche ideas: “By definition, niche hobbies have small communities supporting them. Word travels fast in small communities. Building positive relationships with members of your community is crucial in building and maintaining a good reputation. Overdeliver for your customers. Treat your vendors with respect, and try to find ways to delight them.”

Fun Fact

There are roughly 600 different species of carnivorous plants, some of which have come up with incredible ways to catch their prey. From a pitcher plant’s cup-shaped trap to the closing ‘mouth’ of a Venus flytrap these fascinating plants have become master hunters, without stepping so much as an inch from their roots.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1073

David Fefferman takes his hobbies seriously; he’s the type of person that doesn’t do anything halfway. When he becomes interested in something, it becomes an obsession. He’s also always been business-minded, even from a young age. In fact, his very first side hustle was selling Pokemon cards to fellow students in elementary school.

Around the same time that he was obsessing over Pikachu, he discovered carnivorous plants. They’re plants that obtain their nutrients by trapping insects and sometimes small animals, instead of from soil. The most famous is the Venus flytrap, but there are hundreds of other species.

His interest started when a friend brought one to school as a science fair project. That same day David begged his mom to take him to the nursery so he could get his own, and he was instantly hooked.

Over the years these fascinating plants became one of David’s true passions. He dedicated himself to learning everything there is to know so that he could grow many different types. Sure, that venus flytrap was the most popular, but he also ventured into Sundews, Pitchers, Cobra Lilies and dozens of others that most people have never heard of.

The community of growers helped David foster this hobby and turn it into a passion. As he got a little older he’d attend local meetups to learn more from experienced members. Within that group, he’d sell or trade drawings of plants to obtain species he desired but didn’t yet have.

Fast forward to 2017 and David was doing some online research regarding the plants. But he noticed it was hard to find useful information. Tips on how to grow the plants, what sort of nutrients they preferred and what climate they liked were severely lacking.

At the time, David was working remotely as a Product Manager for PayPal, a technical role in a large business. Gaining technical knowledge, and an ability to work remote were huge perks of the job.

He decided to use his technical prowess to create an online resource. Something with easy-to-digest info about everything related to all different species of carnivorous plants.

He registered the domain CarnivorousPlantResource.com … and it cost him almost nothing. Since he did all the work himself, his only costs were for the domain name and hosting, around one hundred dollars total.

He spent the next several months filling the site with content. His goal was to make this the only resource anyone would need to learn about the topic, a sort of Wikipedia for carnivorous plants. Something so useful that he himself would reference it when needed. A place to devour anything necessary to become a carnivorous expert.

Since there were very few quality resources online for this topic, Google began to reward David for his efforts with traffic through their search engine. On top of that growth, the online carnivorous plant community helped spread the word that David’s resource was THE place to go.

In 2019, so far David’s marketplace has generated over thirty thousand dollars in sales. He’s on track to earn commissions of over six thousand dollars by the end of the year and is confident that number will only grow in 2020.

From a childhood hobby, to a now successful side business. David’s story is proof that with a little effort and a lot of passion… anything grows!

 

 

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

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
"Building positive relationships with members of your community is crucial in building and maintaining a good reputation. Overdeliver for your customers."
—David Fefferman #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

Plant Lover’s Tiny Terrariums Take Root on Instagram

What It’s About

A terrarium building project takes root and grows!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

As a marketer, Jesse was able to use techniques he was already familiar with to get his name out there. One tactic that worked especially well was contacting aggregator accounts, which are accounts that curate content that isn’t their own. They need content to survive, so they’re always looking for new things to post, and it gives your account exposure.

Fun Fact

Every time Jesse makes a sale, he celebrates with his daughter, Grace. They start dreaming up ideas for the order, then go to the plant nursery to get some supplies. Grace always gets her own flowers!

Notes from Chris

Episode 858
When Jesse Goldfarb first started dating Lauren, the woman who would later become his wife, he also became interested in plants. Hanging out at her place, he noticed that she had two bonsai. Looking further, he saw that although they were beautiful, they also seemed a little unhealthy. After some research, he learned that all they needed was a trimming and an annual potting. He excitedly got to work and revived them both.

While he was glad they were back to health, he missed taking care of them. He felt this way for years, and finally, Lauren bought him a gardening magazine that changed everything.

As he was flipping through it, he noticed a section on container gardens and small terrariums. They were tiny enough that they would be cheap to make and only take a few hours to assemble. He could be creative and work with plants, but wouldn’t have to commit to a huge project. It was perfect.

Jesse rushed to the store to pick up some supplies and immediately got to work. He made one the first day, two the next, then went back to the store to stock up for making 10 more.

When his co-worker saw one that he’d planted on his desk, she asked if Jesse would make her one too. He said sure, that will be $40. Of that, $20 was spent on supplies, and the other half was profit.

Suddenly, Jesse’s plants became an office trend! As more and more people ordered them, he increased the price. He doubled it every order for the first three orders, but no one complained, because as time went on, the terrariums were becoming more complex and Jesse was getting better at making them.

Around this time, Jesse began an Instagram account where he posted pictures of bonsai for fun and had accumulated 4,000 followers. Jesse had a feeling that if he made an Instagram account for his terrariums, there would be just as a big of an audience—and a bigger audience meant more sales.

So, in November of 2016, he officially created his account called TeenyTinyTerra.

By doing this, Jesse soon racked up thousands and thousands of followers, all the way up to 30,000 at the time we worked on this episode. His sales increased and another money-making opportunity presented itself: sponsorships. For a price, Jesse would incorporate his terrarium designs with products from a particular company.

Today, only 15% of his profits actually come from selling terrariums. Another 20% is from the sponsored posts. But the biggest source of his profits actually comes from something entirely different. After his success on social media, Jesse found himself craving in-person interaction with his audience. He saw that other artists were doing workshops, and realized that he could start his own for terrarium building. By charging $150 per person, at 50-150 person workshops, he could make a lot of cash quickly. Now, this accounts for 65% of his profits annually.

By building up his audience on his Instagram account, Jesse was able to get his money-making ideas to the niche that would most likely be interested in them. As his hustle grew and he had more ideas, he already had a huge pool of people that could be his potential customers.

Last year, he made $10,000 from TeenyTinyTerra and has already made $7,000 the first four months of 2019. We can’t wait to see how Jesse continues to grow in the future.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • TeenyTinyTerra: Learn more about this growing side hustle over on Jesse’s website, and while you’re at it, check out his Instagram page!
  • WordPress: Jesse used WordPress to set up his website for Teeny Tiny Terra, and here you can learn how to install your own WordPress site in 5 minutes

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
"If no one is doing what you plan on doing, then jump in! Fail fast, fail cheap. And if something is not working and takes lots of time, then drop it and try something else."
—Jesse Goldfarb #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