Tag: Reselling

Car Enthusiast Races Towards Reselling Success

What It’s About

A reselling side hustle that’s really racing to the finish line!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

From time to time, we look at a reselling side hustle that uses drop shipping where the seller never holds any inventory.

Tim’s model is different because he’s actually the importer himself. This requires a lot more work, but it also has the potential to be more sustainable since he controls so many more of the variables.

Fun Fact

In 1896, in England, a design for a car that could be assembled at home was developed. In the USA, in 1912, one particular kit car could be bought for $140.

Notes from Chris

Episode 717

Tim Trampedach is a self-proclaimed car and motorsports nut. So much so that 5 years ago, he decided to build his own kit car called a SuperLite Coupe. A kit car is an automobile sold as a set of parts that the buyer assembles into a functioning vehicle. Kits can vary widely in the amount of assembly required.

Currently, most kit cars are replicas of well-known and expensive classic cars, such as the Porsche 550 Spyder or Lotus 7. You can definitely say for this type of vehicle, some assembly is required!

When Tim was building his own kit car in San Francisco, he decided to import the seats from a company in the UK called Tillett Racing Seats. Tim’s Coupe was limited on what model seats would fit in the car—but Tillett fit the bill. He also chose Tillett because he knew someone else who had successfully installed the seats in their car.

But importing such an item overseas can be difficult. The seats are bulky and there can be a long factory lead time—up to 14 weeks. Why not just buy from somewhere in the USA? At the time, there was no one in the country who stocked the seats. Tim knew if he could bring inventory stateside and have them ready to ship, there was a demand for such a product. He recognized this as a potential business opportunity.

Tim reached out to Tillett about importing and selling the seats here in the US. He started slowly—these are a big ticket item, and not simple to store—for most it’s not feasible to keep a large number of bulky race car seats stashed around their home! The seats start at around $900, and most customers buy a pair.

At the start, Tim would sell 3-4 seats per month on average. He met lots of cool people, got to hear about their cars, and would help them troubleshoot when they had problems. As a part-time business, Tim estimates he generated $40,000 in annual sales with an approximate 35% gross margin. It was the perfect side hustle for a car enthusiast to earn some extra cash to fuel his own car hobby pursuits.

Earlier this year, Tim decided to turn his side hustle into a full-time online auto racing parts and gear business—on his website, Torqued. His rationale for doing so involved several key points. The opportunity with Tillett was getting bigger and required more of Tim’s time. Timing was also right for his family since his wife recently gave birth to their son. She is returning to work and this will provide them with a steady income.

Tim feels that Torqued is the perfect fit for his varied skills. He has enough technical knowledge to mostly build the website himself. He knows how to build a great user experience through his work in product management. He’s naturally very organized, which lends to running an efficient warehouse. And his knowledge in motorsports allows him to provide excellent customer service in such a niche market.

You could say that he’s is racing towards his own finish line!

 

 

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
"I provide all the help I possibly can, both pre-sale and after-sales support. You live and die by your reputation in such a niche business."
—Tim Trampedach #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

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


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To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Music Lover Strikes Chord with Guitar Flipping Hustle

What It’s About

A flipping side hustle that’s music to our ears!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Reselling is a great side hustle option, but you want to do this with items that cost a decent amount so that you can walk away with profit.

Fun Fact

To celebrate the first guitar sale she had, Mark got a new tattoo. It was of her favorite cat, Victor.

Notes from Chris

Episode 713

29-year-old Daniella Flores is already a seasoned side hustler. She’s been doing it for years. It all started as a way to help her pay off her debt, but has since evolved to serve a greater purpose. That purpose is to live a more sustainable life, and eventually gain financial freedom.

So, it came to no surprise when Daniella’s wife, Mark, began experimenting with a side hustle of her own.

Mark has been in the music scene for years, and she especially loves guitars. In fact, she says it’s kind of an obsession. And, as a self-proclaimed “collector of things,” she ended up accumulating a lot of guitars through the years.

We all know that life can have ups and downs financially. During one of the dry spells, Mark decided to sell some old guitars that she had bought, but had no use for anymore. This gave her the extra boost of cash she needed.

As this went on, Mark realized that she could make even more money if she restored pieces of the guitars. With just a few fixes, like simply replacing a rusty screw and doing a quick paint job, the price could go up by 40%.

This got her gears turning. What if she bought and flipped guitars as a side hustle? She already had plenty of inventory on hand, and it would give her an excuse to buy more guitars!

This was perfect for her: Mark could buy a guitar she was interested in and enjoy it for a while. Then when she was ready to sell it, she could flip it and end up making money from the process. It was music to her ears.

She started by selling some of the guitars that she already had. Then she began scouring websites like eBay and Craigslist.

With her extensive knowledge of guitars and the music community, she had a pretty good idea of which ones would be high ticket items. For example, brands like Gibson and Fender are huge hits in the United States, since they’ve been in the country for over 100 years.

Mark began flipping guitars a year and a half ago. As she’s learned how to fine tune her hustle, she now makes at least $1,500 from flipping guitars … and that’s on a bad month. She makes $3,000 or more on a good one, which are usually around the holidays or in the summer, when people are wanting to pick up a new hobby.

Mark also says that there is no “trick” for what she’s doing. She says that it takes research and asking yourself how you can be competitive in a market. Like all side hustles, it’s necessary to find out what people are willing to pay for the product and how much your time is worth.

As her hustle grows, she and Daniella are excited to see what progress will occur this holiday season. Both of them now have side hustles that are bringing in $2,000 or more a month. It looks like this couple struck the right chord.

 

 

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

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
"Never give up or give in to bullying. Be aware that some people are trying to take advantage of you and hammering on the fact that they know you are trying to make a buck. Never do business for free."
—Mark Flores #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

Dog Stocking Hustle Earns Husky Payoff

What It’s About

A holiday-themed side hustle worth howling about.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

If you’re thinking of doing something similar, Jeff suggests that you try to find a niche that isn’t overly competitive and go after it. And don’t forget to do your research!

Fun Fact

Jeff spent 15 hours uploading all of his products to eBay. He figured it’d be another great channel for growing sales, but that season he made a stunning one sale on the platform. Whomp whomp…

Notes from Chris

Episode 692

Jeff Moriarty has been in marketing for 17 years, but he’s not stuck in the old ways of doing things. He’s adapted over the years to become a master of SEO and has a knack for pay-per-click advertising—and these two skills led him to the seasonal business that would become his new side hustle.

One of Jeff’s clients at his agency sold dog supplies. Leashes, food bowls, that kind of thing. But you probably would never have guessed the top seller…

Dog Christmas stockings. Yup! Stockings outsold everything else—and by a significant margin.

Jeff was the only person in the company working with this client, and his SEO strategy was really paying off. The company was getting more and more traffic, but the owner wasn’t into it. It was getting harder and harder to compete with Amazon, and margins were already slim, so he decided to exit the business and closed his e-commerce store in 2014.

Jeff felt like he had a secret. None of his coworkers knew how well the store had been doing from the stockings. Should he go for his own dog Christmas stocking business?

Jeff didn’t really see himself as a side hustler. He liked the marketing agency life, and it seemed like adding another responsibility on top would just be too much.

But then he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Weeks and months went by. Every now and then he’d look around the search rankings to see if any other stores were dominating the Google rankings using his strategy—and every time he did, the entrepreneurial flame burned a little brighter.

Sure, there were other stores selling dog Christmas stockings, but none of them seemed to really have a dedicated, mindful strategy—either that or they just didn’t know how to execute… but Jeff did.

The trick that worked for his former client wasn’t trying to rank for broad phrases like “dog Christmas stockings”. The trick was targeting very specific phrases, like “basset hound Christmas stockings”. And while no more than a few hundred people were searching these breed-specific phrases each Christmas season, he knew that once he had a couple dozen breed options up, he’d be able to bring in a significant amount of organic traffic. These people were also willing buyers.

Finally, a full year after his client closed up shop, Jeff gave in. The opportunity was just too good, the strategy too obvious (he’d already made it work in the past, after all). But he didn’t want to end up with tons of product in his garage, and he didn’t have a lot of money to invest, so he decided to go with a business model he’d been hearing a lot about for the past few years: drop shipping.

His store, Dog Christmas Stockings, launched in the Fall of 2015.

It was finally time to execute the SEO strategy he’d been brooding over for the last year. And he had to do it quickly—the prime stocking buying season was just a couple months away.

42 product pages and a couple weeks later, organic traffic started trickling in. It was slow at first, but as Jeff checked his search rankings daily, he became more and more excited.

That November, Dog Christmas Stockings made its first sale, and its second, and its tenth. By Christmas, Jeff had sold over $1,000 worth of product. His own cut after the drop shipping fees was just a small portion of that, but it was more than enough for the work he put into it—and he knew he could do better next year.

As we roll over into the holidays, he’s pumped to see how 2018 turns out. His pages are ranking higher than ever, crushing the competition with three years of solid history, and he’s got some extra products he’s trying out this year.

Jeff is hilariously nonchalant about the whole thing. As he likes to say, “It beats wasting the night on the couch.”

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Dog Christmas Stockings: Looking for a stocking for your that special furried friend? Head on over to Jeff’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

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
"I would personally like more seasonal businesses. Work hard for a couple months, then take it easy, work hard, take it easy. It’s honestly not too bad. I really work on increasing positioning year round, and then when the holidays hit, I get to see the fruits of my labor."
—Jeff Moriarty #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

Business Analyst Creates Budding Side Hustle

What It’s About

A reselling side hustle that’s really up in smoke!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Stone says it can be a challenge to choose which products to sell, especially in a diverse and discerning market. So he tries to choose something for everybody: The luxury boutique item customer, the fiscally aware customer, the uninformed customer, and of course, the practical, everyday customer.

Fun Fact

Did you know that beer and cannabis are cousins… in the plant family? The hops that are used to make beer are in the same family of flowering plants as cannabis. Cannabis is also one of civilization’s earliest crops, along with grain, and has been harvested for at least 6,000 years. Seems like the seeds have been firmly planted.

Notes from Chris

Episode 686

Stone Everett, a business performance analyst from Orlando, Florida, has always had a side project up his sleeve. For as long as he can remember, he’s been coming up with ideas to make pocket money.

He taught himself how to build websites from watching YouTube videos and tried a few projects to test out different ideas. They were slow-burners at first, but eventually, they started to bring in some additional income for him before he lost interest, or the ideas became dated with time. He knew that cannabis was a trend that was on the up-and-up, especially as more states legalized the drug and the stigma around usage lessened.

However, he didn’t have any interest in becoming a seller of cannabis itself—it was when he noticed a burning hole in the online cannabis accessories market that Stone realized this could become a new source of income for him.

He called his latest project Relief Treats. His goal was to create an online directory of cannabis-related accessories that he would either resell himself or just earn commissions from customers he referred.

This way, he doesn’t have to have a full inventory of products, nor does he need to be responsible for sending anything out to customers.

As Stone puts it, “My dropship model makes my inventory possibilities practically limitless so there’s almost no additional cost to appeal to as many demographics as possible.” The broad array of products set him off to a blazing start.

He says that, even though there’s a lot of competition, he stands out because his content is always fresh, valuable, and engaging, and his products are attractive.

While Stone says growing his side hustle is pretty dope, he admits that it can be tough to balance his personal life, full-time job, and Relief Treats. But, at the end of the day, it’s worth it as it’s already bringing in an additional $1,200/month in profits—approximately a quarter of the income his full-time day job provides.

His next big move is to grow his side hustle into a flowering business. He wants to expand his product selection even more, especially as states continue to legalize cannabis. Relief Treats might be a budding enterprise now, but he has high expectations for the future.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Relief Treats: Treat yourself—snag a new piece over on Stone’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
"The best part of my experience so far has been growing from a personal and business standpoint. When I saw my first sale it motivated me to work even harder. It was like rubbing sticks together to make fire and seeing my first signs of smoke. Now I just want to go harder and faster."
—Stone Everett #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

Dutch Engineer Sells TableTop Games for Second Income

What It’s About

When headaches strike, this engineer finds pain relief in the form of a side hustle.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

The one thing Dennis has learned from this whole side hustle experience is that it’s good to have a plan. That means thinking ahead about what’s might be next and working to future-proof yourself against any unforeseen problems.

Fun Fact

Good Look Gamer sells games and accessories for popular card and tabletop games like Magic The Gathering and Warhammer. But don’t be fooled, with millions of players worldwide and tournaments with up to $50,000 prize money they’re anything but child’s play.

Notes from Chris

Episode 684

Dennis Michels grew up playing card and tabletop style games. He found himself interested in the strategy of the games as well as their collectible nature. It was an enjoyable hobby that kept him occupied for hours on end.

But, as the game of life rolled its dice, Dennis found himself playing less and less of the games. His enjoyment never waned, he just found it hard to find the time with so many other commitments.

It’s not that he lives a bad life. Dennis works as a professional audiovisual engineer at a Dutch university. He’s well paid, likes his colleagues, and he enjoys the work. It’s just that he had a simple plan for his life—and when it was working out, he never thought something might go wrong and throw a kink into things.

But as the universe reminds us from time to time, even the best-laid plans go awry. One morning, Dennis woke up with a terrible headache. He put it down to a bad night’s sleep and assumed things would wear off during the day after he took an aspirin.

He went to work… and things didn’t wear off.

In fact, it got a lot worse. Over the next three days, Dennis’ headache got so bad that he had to call in sick. The first of many sick days over the next eight months. He saw doctor after doctor and specialist after specialist but none could tell him what was wrong and why the headaches persisted.

He figured he needed to start working on a side hustle. His goal was to build something that would give him a cushion from having to work a full-time job, a sort of financial safety net. After sitting at home and worrying about his job and income for a while, Dennis put two and two together. Why not start an ecommerce store selling the things he loved?

He’d call it Good Look Gamer. An online store selling card and tabletop games and accessories.

For the launch, Dennis decided to list a few popular games that could be placed on pre-order and hope to sell a few. That way, he could take money from his customers before having to buy the actual game from the distributor. Dennis shared his store online and with luck, a few orders started trickling in. He purchased the games from a distributor on release and shipped them to his happy customers.

He used the profit to purchase more games to stock the store with additional products. Since Dennis is a gamer himself, he chose only products he thought looked cool and skipped on the ones he wouldn’t play himself. This approach has worked as slowly but surely more orders started trickling in. Just enough to encourage him to keep going on.

So, where exactly is he at financially?

Well, Dennis is making at least 500 Euro profit per month. That money is made from roughly 50 to 100 sales per month. He sells everything from deluxe game sets where he might make 30 Euros down to individual playing cards for a euro each.

So far, the additional income from Good Look Gamer has given Dennis the confidence to change his working hours from 40 hours per week to 32. Since his online store is still growing, he is already planning a transition down to 24 hours per week.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Good Look Gamer: Looking for some tabletop games of your own? Head on over to Dennis’ website!
  • WordPress: Dennis used WordPress to setup Good Look Gamer, 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

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
"When you get right down to it, a goal without a plan is just a wish."
—Dennis Michels #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

College Student Pays Off Loans by Flipping Classic Video Games

What It’s About

There’s more than nostalgia hidden in those old game cartridges!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Why is this a good market? Well, Cesare operated using the “sell what you know” principle, but I’m going to offer some contrarian advice: sell what people buy.

Whether you like a particular market or not, consider these qualities of the video game market: 1) there’s a large user base, 2) they are used to spending money, 3) there’s an established marketplace for buying and selling items, and 4) there’s a global supply chain that lends itself to arbitrage opportunities.

Fun Fact

You might have already known Super Mario Bros. was the first video game to be made into a movie. But did you know that an up-and-coming actor named Tom Hanks campaigned for the role of Mario? At the time, Nintendo execs worried he wouldn’t have enough box office clout to carry the film.

Notes from Chris

Episode 679

Cesare Esposito was born in 1986, the year after the Nintendo Entertainment System [NES] launched in North America. I remember that time very well myself. I was 7 years old, and when I got a Nintendo, my life changed. I spent hours upon hours playing the very early NES classics: SMB, Duck Hunt, Excitebike, Ice Climber, and the list goes on all the way to Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy and more. Video games affected and shaped my entire childhood—so when I stumbled on this story, of course, I paid attention.

I’m about eight years older than Cesare, but we’re in the same generation—his life was also shaped by games. Growing up, he played the NES, then the SNES, on and on through many different consoles. In fact, at one point he owned a dozen video game consoles and thousands of games. I thought I was hardcore. I had maybe 5 systems at once… obviously, I tip my hat to Cesare.

This podcast is not about video games, so let’s fast-forward a bit. Cesare was in college and had also just gotten married. He worked the usual part-time jobs, and he was one year from earning a degree in geographic information systems, but he also had a student loan of $4,000 that was bothering him.

A lot of people listening probably think that a loan of $4,000 is no big deal. I understand that—but let’s focus on what his problem was and how he solved it.

First, he realized he had a ton of inventory just lying around that he could potentially sell. He began with listing those games on eBay, Craigslist, and another auction site that no longer exists. By doing this, he improved his process. He was really excited about gaming, so when he wrote his listing titles and descriptions, that passion shone through.

He began going to yard sales and flea markets. Inevitably, most of them—at least the larger ones–would have at least some games for sale.

Once in a while, he’d hit the motherlode, like when a family was selling more than 100 classic NES games, as well as a comprehensive collection of Activision games for the classic Atari 2600 system.

Most people don’t know much about what these old games are worth. And to be fair, it’s not like all of them are worth a lot of money—most of them aren’t. Knowing how to spot the diamonds in the rough collection of cartridges was Cesare’s competitive advantage.

He kept buying and selling, and within 2 months, he’d mad enough to pay off that $4,000 loan that was bothering him. He kept going, earning between $1,000 and $3,000 a month for most of the rest two years. After that, he moved on to other things.

However, he likes the fact that even though he’s not gaming as much now, he still has this knowledge he can use to make extra cash whenever he needs to or whenever he has extra time.

 

 

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 you’re not sure what kind of side hustle to launch, start with what you know. You’d be surprised to see how far it can take you."
—Cesare Esposito #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

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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

Boston Designers Open Authentic Arts & Crafts Shop for Visitors

What It’s About

Two friends bring the best of Boston local to 20 million the world over!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

It’s no small thing to start a retail shop and operate it for three years while you’re also running a design agency. And this is why it’s good to start with a pop-up shop. Also, leverage your contacts! You can’t do something like this on your own and without a lot of resources … $25k isn’t much for a project like this. Their greatest asset was the relationships they had.

Fun Fact

Here are a couple facts about Beantown that you may not know:

1. You won’t find any “Happy Hour” signs in the local Boston pub. The typical post-work drink deals have been banned since 1984.

2. A favorite American sweet snack for decades, the Fig Newton, is actually named after the Boston suburb of Newton, Massachusetts.

Notes from Chris

Episode 676
Susan Battista and Fritz Klaetke love Boston almost as much as they enjoy working with each other. They’re both senior partners at the creative agency Fritz founded in college, Visual Dialogue. Over the years, the pair have started a number of side hustles outside their day jobs.

It was on a trip to Fritz’s native Detroit that they would find their next big idea. Wandering down the high street, they came across a unique little shop which showcased local artist’s creations. They had trinkets and t-shirts and tasty treats which really represented the region’s history and culture.

They felt that their beloved Boston needed a similar type of shop. Every tourist-centric shop focused on cliche stuffed lobsters and your usual sports t-shirts. There was nothing which represented and championed the life, history, art, and culture of this beautiful and important city.

When the pair returned home, they began to look at why a shop like this didn’t exist, and it quickly became clear. The cost of rent in Boston’s most trafficked locations was too high for local artists to sell their goods, which forced them to sell hours away in far-off suburbs, away from the eyes of most visitors.

Susan and Fritz decided to create a shop which brought out the best of Boston to those visitors. They would set up a store somewhere with high visibility and enable artists to share their wares. They gave the concept a name—1630 Boston, after the year the city was founded—and set about putting their plan into motion.

To test their idea, they decided they would create a pop-up shop. They’d run it for a weekend in a prime location and see if they gathered interest. If not, they could walk away knowing they tried.

They looked to their client base at Visual Dialogue and approached a property management company they’d been working with. They were able to land a weekend-long spot—in a location which usually costs $20,000 a month—on Boston’s Newbury Street.

With the property in place, the official date of the pop-up was set to five weeks away, in November of 2015, which gave them a strict deadline to hit. They had no inventory, no POS system, no merchandising and no website.

When the weekend finally rolled around, the pop-up was a resounding success. Local people and tourists alike were drawn to the shop to see what they were selling, both out of curiosity and a desire to buy. The pair had an antique bell on their desk which they rang every time they made a sale, and they found themselves ringing it a lot. That is … until someone asked if they could buy it.

With the initial success, Susan and Fritz knew they had an idea they could move forward with.

The startup costs for 1630 Boston were around $25,000. This was made up of money they saved, and what they reinvested back into the business. And their profits average at approximately $10,000 per month.

Looking to the future, 1630 Boston is going to build more of an online store presence to increase their reach and make Boston’s art, culture, and history available to people all over the world.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • 1630 Boston: Learn more about Boston’s nearly 400-year history through the products on Susan’s website that showcase the history, intellect, pastimes, and local lore of New England’s cultural capital

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
"Shadow someone who is doing what you’d like to do so you have a better sense of ‘all the hats’ required."
—Susan Battista #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

Minnesotan Opens Private Campground in Her Backyard

What It’s About

A chocolatier discovers a side hustle in her own backyard.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Robyn’s experience can be summed up in four words—use what you have. Take stock of the things and skills that you possess, and you’ll find that there’s a lot you can do. And if utilizing your backyard as a campground is at the front of your mind, just make sure to check that you don’t run afoul of any laws or regulations!

Fun Fact

Platforms like Airbnb and Hipcamp make payment and marketing easy—all you have to do is take pictures and create a listing and everything else will be taken care for you. It’s not just for renting out traditional homes either; Airbnb allows you to host experiences created by you. As Robyn says, you don’t have to do all the heavy lifting by yourself.

Notes from Chris

Episode 668

Robyn Dochterman wasn’t expecting to come up with a new idea for a side hustle. But while listening to 70s music on a normal day, inspiration struck. James Brown sang that “You’ve got to use what you’ve got to get what you want,” and this was just the line for her situation.

At the time, Robyn needed some money. Her puppy had broken his leg keeping the world safe from an evil mop at doggie daycare. The surgery he needed was expensive and she didn’t want that sitting on a credit card costing her interest.

James Brown’s words told her that the answer was sitting right in her backyard.

The chocolate shop she owned kept her exceptionally busy in Fall and Winter, but sales slowed down with the summer heat. Robyn and her partner Deidre owned 5 acres of land near the St. Croix River in Minnesota. This land was just two miles away from a state park, which was almost always full of campers. It hit her then that this was an opportunity she could take advantage of.

The campgrounds near the state park were always full and there were no inexpensive motels nearby. What was stopping her from hosting her own private campground?

This was her chance.

Robyn didn’t come up with a completely novel idea, but the manner in which she executed her plan is perhaps one of the biggest reasons she has been successful. She made use of her well-located and spacious land, turning it into a private campground. But Robyn also knew that this wasn’t enough to build a business on and she needed to build a unique selling proposition for the St. Croix Valley Sweet Spot to take off.

Of course, Robyn knows that the nature of camping meant that revenue would vary greatly by season. During the summer months, she has been able to average $800 a month in extra income. She also began selling firewood as a side, side hustle.

Moving forward, Robyn is planning to turn an unused chicken coop into a micro-tiny house that she’s calling “The Roost”. She’s pitched camp on her idea and is doubling down to ensure that she can create the best experience for adventurous travelers. Her advice—and that of the singer James Brown—is to “always use what you have.”

 

 

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
"I’d urge anyone to think through what they have already available and how they could monetize it."
—Robyn Dochterman #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

Chemical Analyst Strikes a Side Hustle Match(Stick)

What It’s About

A side hustle that’s truly on fire!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

So here’s a challenge for you: take note of some of the random items you encounter through your day. See if you can figure out where they come from.

Imagine that you had to find a way to either buy them or commission them or make them yourself—how would you do it?

Fun Fact

Everyone has that one friend who collects matchbooks from restaurants. “Phillumeny” describes the people who collect them, and other match-associated things.

Notes from Chris

Episode 665

They say that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And, in Melissa Moore’s case, where there’s fire, there’s a side hustle. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the chemical manufacturing senior analyst is also a lifelong candle and incense lover.

Her side hustle is matchsticks and the paper you strike them on. You know the striker strip on the side of matchboxes? Well, she imports them by the sheet (about the size of a piece of paper, US letter size) and sells them online on Etsy, Amazon, eBay, and my own website.

In addition to generic ones, she also cuts them down into various sizes to create more artistic strikers—circles, squares, rectangles, etc., as well as hearts, moons, letters, and even outlines of US states. The sheets and the die-cut shapes have an adhesive backing, so they function like stickers.

How did this come to be?

For years, Melissa tolerated tacky lighters and ugly matchboxes to help fulfill her candlelit dreams. But when she took a casual wander through stacks of homemade pottery at an arts festival, an idea sparked in her mind.

While perusing oil warmers, she noticed that there was a small compartment on some of them that could be the perfect size to hold matches. The clay also gave it an easy striking surface. It was while staring at the oil warmer that Melissa realized that all she really wanted was a cute container to hold her matches in and complete her candle collection.

So, she turned to Google to start searching for match holders. But all she could ever find were dingy antiques or flimsy plastic ones, which just wouldn’t do for her modern decorative needs. After many days, and even more refined search terms later, Melissa found the perfect jar size for her grocery store-sourced matches.

But just because she had the matches, and a nice container to put them in, did not mean her work was done just yet. She still needed a way to light those matches. Sheer willpower wouldn’t do the job, so Melissa went back to the drawing board to figure out how to source striking paper that she could stick onto her jars.

A few weeks after that she got her first paper delivery in the mail. A Sunday afternoon crafting session later, Melissa had glued the paper to her containers, filled them with matchsticks, and realized that she couldn’t possibly be the only person who needed an answer to the inevitable matchstick/container problem in their lives.

The side hustle fire was lit—she called it Strike a Match.

That was seven years ago. It’s been a slow burn since then, Melissa now brings in about $3,500 in monthly revenue. Her profit margins are almost 50%, which means she’s making just under $2,000 in profit each month. Since people use striking paper and matches for a plethora of reasons, like gifts, emergency supplies, or to pair with antique match holders, Melissa has pretty steady sales through the year.

Melissa realized how fragmented the matchstick industry was because there wasn’t one ‘go-to’ destination, so she set herself the goal of making the purchasing experience easy and fun. It’s an additional bonus that it’s given her the freedom to spend more time with her family.

Sounds like she’s on a hot streak.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Strike a Match: Looking to light a fire of your own? Head on over to Melissa’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
"The best way to brainstorm side hustle ideas is not to try to think of side hustle ideas, it’s to look for problems that you can solve—preferably problems you have yourself."
—Melissa Moore #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

UK Sales Manager Calls Shots With Photographic Film Shop

What It’s About

A snapshot of an online photographic film shop—it’s a family affair!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

This is clearly a subculture, and if you’re going to market to a subculture you have to really understand it. Customers have the potential to be loyal and order frequently, but only if they trust you.

Fun Fact

The first partially successful photograph was made in approximately 1816. The photograph was not permanent, and eventually became completely darkened by the overall exposure to light.

Notes from Chris

Episode 647

Did you think it was no longer possible to buy film to take pictures? Or that it was not possible to have that film developed into print pictures? If so, think again! Analogue Wonderland is an online store specializing in photographic film. It stocks over 180 different types of newly produced camera film, and a few related accessories like cases and retrievers—items which are small and fit well in the same shipping package.

The store’s founder, Paul, has been a film photographer for almost a decade. Because of his first-hand knowledge of using film for photography, he is very familiar with the market. He knows the needs of photographers, and this real life experience also made him aware of the gaps with the retailers and brands currently serving the market.

For many years, it was just a minor annoyance to Paul that there was no ‘one-stop shop’ to buy items he needed for his much-loved hobby. However, minor annoyance turned into a huge time waster when he was trying to stock up on products before going away for three months.

He spent hours trawling through numerous websites to find all the items he needed. This was the moment he had the realization that he couldn’t be the only film photographer struggling with this. Surely others would also benefit from having that one-stop shop where they could find all their film necessities.

And Paul had learned that frustration is often a sign of a business opportunity.

To start, he asked fellow film photographers lots of questions regarding how they went about buying film. What he found out was that others were just as frustrated as he was. Everyone had stories of having to look endlessly for their favorite brands. Or having to pay import costs from other countries. Or the need to keep spot-checking eBay and hoping they could get what they needed. That’s when he realized there was a serious gap in the market.

Analogue Wonderland went live on May 18, 2018. For the month prior to opening, they ran a launch campaign with a manufacturer-sponsored giveaway. People entered the giveaway by signing up with their email. This really drove interest and raised awareness.

When they launched at 8 am they sent out an email announcement. They had $2,500 in sales in the first 30 minutes! There was no time to do anything other than fulfilling orders and replying to email and social media messages. That evening Paul and his mom went to the pub to celebrate but says they both fell asleep after one drink. The side hustle way can be intoxicating.

Four months after opening, they hit £10,000 in sales ($16,000). Paul says neither he nor his mother needs the money right now, so they are reinvesting their profit into marketing to grow the business. That way, if in the future, either one of them needs the cash or more freedom, the business is bigger and healthier.

For Paul, the best part of the experience has been ownership of the business. Every decision is yours alone. He likens it to playing a video game—but this is one that pays YOU to play it. He says you try things, like Shopify and MailChimp, and suddenly you’re connected with people from all over the world who see what you’ve built—it is “addictive and highly enjoyable.”

You could say he’s calling the shots in a market that was unexposed. But we’ll see what develops next.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Analogue Wonderland: If you have a love of old school photography, head on over to Paul’s website to check out his offerings!
  • Shopify: Paul used Shopify to setup the website for Analogue Wonderland, and they’re offering a 21-day trial and exclusive discount for all Side Hustle School listeners!
  • Go-To skin care & These Are Things: Two more e-commerce websites that (like Paul) focus on selling products while still providing a great experience

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
"Don’t expect overnight success—as with most side hustles you’re not going to have tons of money to spend on a big splash awareness campaign—so understand and appreciate that the legwork you’re putting in will pay off, but (most likely) not for weeks/months down the line."
—Paul McKay #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