Tag: Wholesale

Account Manager Draws Income From Adult Coloring Books

What It’s About

Life organization products that are fun, playful, and colorful.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Need capital to launch a product? Consider crowdfunding but be aware that there’s a lot of research and work needed to launch a successful campaign. Consider this as a good option for funding and compare it to a more traditional option such as taking out a loan.

Fun Fact

Studies show that coloring, like meditation, offers many benefits including decreasing anxiety, improving mood, boosting creativity, and promoting mindfulness. Source: University of West England Bristol

Notes from Chris

Episode 1075

Cleveland-based Lora DiFranco is a creative person who enjoys spending time in nature. She also considers herself obsessed with self-improvement and goal-setting—sometimes, she admits, too obsessed. As you might imagine, these competing focus areas can sometimes create problems.

Lora isn’t alone. Working as an Account Manager for a branding and marketing studio, she’s surrounded by people just like her—free spirits who found themselves spending a ton of time staring at screens or working to cross everything off of their to-do list.

Lora wanted and needed reminders to slow down. When she searched for tools and couldn’t find exactly what she was looking for … she got to work making it. Free Period Press, her side hustle, creates products to help customers unplug and focus on what’s most important to them.

The first product was an adult coloring book. Why a coloring book? You see, looking to make friends post-college, a sometimes-daunting task when you leave the dorms, Lora started a monthly craft night at her house.

While the turnout was good, the result wasn’t what she’d hoped for. Many of her friends would say they didn’t have a craft, and instead brought their laptops. Staring at their screens was no way to build connection, so Lora quickly searched for a solution. She wanted something anybody could do, something that wasn’t too intense but still helps you unwind. Coloring books were the solution!

So when it came time to launch Free Period Press, these nostalgia-inducing pages would be her first product. To get started, she found a designer and then researched and determined startup costs would be about $5,500: $500 for the design, plus $5,000 to print the first run.

Lora had been fully self-funding her new venture with her weekly paycheck, so she decided to launch a Kickstarter. If successful, the campaign would not only validate a market for the idea but also provide the needed funds for printing.

The Kickstarter campaign was successful, raising all of the money she needed. A few months later, she was shipping out the first coloring books—and emboldened by the positive customer response, she immediately started thinking about the next product.

This started in 2013. Lora has now launched a new project nearly every year, many of them via Kickstarter. In 2015, she released five more coloring books. Then in 2016, she launched what’s become her biggest success: The Habit Calendar. In this calendar, you write the habits you want to track in the left column and check off the habits you’ve completed at the end of every day. The easy to use tool was a hit with customers.

All of the hard work has paid off. After earning $6,000 in her first year, annual profits were steadily around $10,000-$15,00 for several years, before increasing further.

Going forward, she plans to focus on increasing her social media presence, influencer marketing, and more direct to consumer tactics, which she’ll now have time to do with Free Period Press as her full-time focus.

One of the things she loves most about her side hustle is coming up with a new product idea, and then having the ability to bring it to market. She also loves seeing the enthusiasm and excitement in people’s faces when they learn about the product, giving her fuel to create even more.

 

 

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
"Starting a business is full of so many possible distractions, so start with one small step that feels right to you and focus on that."
—Lora DiFranco #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

Three Friends Step Up And Pull In Restroom Revenue

What It’s About

A simple solution that’s a step above the rest.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

When we spoke with Michael, he brought up the necessity of knowing when to continue and when it’s time to throw in the towel. A lot of really great inventions never see the light of day because they lack the tenacity to see it through! So, while it’s good to know when to quit, really give it your all for as long as you can.

Fun Fact

Handles on restroom doors can be a haven for bacteria like E-coli and viral infections like the flu. The humorous part is that most of us wash our hands right before we leave the bathroom, only to touch the filthy door handle undoing the hygenic step on the way out.

Notes from Chris

Episode 975

Mike Sewell was working for a cell phone company along with two friends, Ron Ely and Kelly Coddington. A part of Mike’s role at the company was to maintain the building they worked in. This meant he spent lots of time walking the halls and interacting with the staff. There were over 160 people working there so it was quite the job to keep the place going.

Mike noticed an interesting trait among the staff. Many of them used paper towels to open the door when leaving the restroom. It makes sense … after all, restrooms are dirty. Although most people wash their hands before exiting, not everybody does! In fact, research shows many restroom door handles are covered with bacteria.

The avoidance of dirty door handles was understandable but the solution the staff came up with, using a paper towel, wasn’t ideal. Mike knew there had to be a better way. So he, along with Ron and Kelly, made it a personal mission to find one. And so, during a long, hot summer, they got together to work on it.

They knew using hands wasn’t an option, so their attention quickly turned to ways in which the doors could be opened using your feet, which presumably would be covered by shoes. They went through a few versions that involved hooking the foot to the door or dragging it over something from the side. In the end, though, the solution lay in a counterintuitive idea.

Mike took a piece of C-channel steel and bolted it to the bottom of a door. By making the edge serrated, it allowed them to step down and pull the door open. It was a Eureka moment! They named their invention, the StepNpull® … that’s what it’s called; I’m not pulling your leg.

The three friends manufactured the product in their own garage. In that first year, they made several hundred units this way—not that they were counting their steps or anything. But it wasn’t sustainable—it was time consuming, costly, and hard to produce consistently.

However, it wasn’t until two years later, when things became overwhelming, that they took real steps to avoid the problem. At that time, the team was approached by a local manufacturer about taking on their production. They agreed, and that relationship enabled them to think big picture.

As things improved the product itself quickly became their best marketing channel. Word of mouth brought in more customers. It also resulted in them being stocked in stores like Lowe’s, Menard’s, McMaster Carr and online through Amazon.

As the number of outlets grew, so did the money StepNpull® was earning. As of today, what started as an idea to improve their own office has stepped up to become a real money maker. Each month, they generate $20,000 in sales with a profit of $7,000.

While not enough for them to quit their full-time jobs yet—they’re still working at the office where they conceived StepNpull®—it has allowed them to hire a part-time employee who takes care of their social media accounts as well as paid advertising on Google and Amazon.

Going full-time is definitely in their future plans. In fact, Mike, Ron, and Kelly see the StepNpull® as a path toward early retirement; they hope to have the business running without them or to sell it for the right price.

They’re proof that you can build a helpful, profitable side hustle as long as you keep a consistent effort every step of the way.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • StepNpull®: Step on over to Michael’s website to learn more about this problem solving solution!

 

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’m certain there are many great ideas and inventions, some better than StepNpull®, that never make it because the inventor stops short. I’m not saying never give up—it’s good to know when to throw in the towel—but you also have to be tenacious."
—Michael Sewell #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

Aerospace Apprentice Soars to Seven-Figure Sales Heights

What It’s About

A UK man goes from eBay to his own seven-figure e-commerce shop.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Ed encourages anyone looking to start a side hustle to look into e-commerce. He says that it has never been easier to break into than it is now with such an abundance of free guidance online from various sources.

And once you start, he says that you should test your ideas. Push harder on the ones that work, and drop the ones that don’t!

Fun Fact

Having perfected a process that easily scales, Ed likes to help other brands who are starting out and need to keep their production costs down, by offering his advice and warehouse services at a lower rate than many of the larger services.

As he put it, it’s important for him to give back to the industry that helped him realize his own dream of working for himself before he was 30.

Notes from Chris

Episode 971

Many people dream of working in the aerospace industry—if you aren’t in the clouds, traveling to your next destination, the next best thing might just be creating the machines that get us there. But for Ed Snelson, who landed an apprenticeship at Airbus UK with a year left at university, flying dreams were simply not enough.

Ed had also participated in a UK program called The Young Enterprise scheme, which aims to teach young people the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and career advancement through real-life practice.

After learning what could be possible, Ed knew that he would work for himself one day.

From his childhood bedroom at his parents’ house, after he spent 8-10 hours during the day at his apprenticeship, he would come home and spend 1-2 hours a night learning everything he could about selling online. He soon decided that the easiest way to enter the e-commerce space would be to start selling products on eBay.

But what was he going to sell?

He noticed that many sellers on eBay were listing items they found around the house, at flea markets, or shopping vintage thrift stores. Since Ed was already working a demanding full-time job, he didn’t have the time to source items from so many places. Instead, he focused on a market that was mostly for hobbyists and small businesses.

He began selling printed t-shirts, which he designed, with a unique twist. The shirts included funny one-liners and engaging sayings that could be personalized for the purchaser, by adding their name or a distinguishing feature. This made his inventory immediately more interesting than the bulk purchased graphic tees.

At first, he sold them individually off his personal eBay account, and he even surprised himself when he made sales on Day One.

Within a few months, he knew he was on to something. As demand grew, so did his confidence to invest a few hundred dollars into branding an official eBay store. This gave him a more professional look, in a sea of other sellers doing something similar, which boosted sales even further and allowed him to reinvest more.

He also realized that he was missing out on a large part of the potential profit by paying screen printers so much since each personalized item had to be custom produced.

Once he was able to put all his attention on his eBay store, his monthly revenues increased from a few thousand dollars a month to up to $10,000 per month. He was able to offer more designs, produce larger orders with a faster turnaround, and reply to queries more quickly. It was all the same work he had been doing before, he just had more time to do more of it.

In 2017, he won an eBay Business of the Year award after growing at a rate of 20-45% per month. By mid-2019, he had cleared £1.4 million pounds, with a forecast to sell £2.1 million pounds in 2020. That’s $2.5 million dollars!

As he’s continued to grow in sales, the business basics have remained the same. Providing high-quality personalized apparel and gifts to customers who want something a bit more special than generalized bulk items.

Having perfected a process that scales, he also likes to help other brands who are starting out and need to keep their production costs down. He does this by offering advice and warehouse services at a lower rate than many of the larger services do. It is important for him to give back to the industry that helped him realize his own dream of working for himself.

This former aerospace apprentice has come a long way from selling t-shirts in his childhood bedroom.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Signature Printing UK: Learn more about this highly successful retail side hustle over on Ed’s website!
  • Young Enterprise & Young Money: The U.K. program called The Young Enterprise scheme, which aims to teach young people the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and career advancement through real-life practice

 

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
"It was difficult working almost non-stop, but what encouraged me was knowing that I was pushing towards a place where I could quit my day job and turn my side hustle into a full-time role. The motivation for me was always to be my own boss, and have the freedom to make my own choices … I hated clocking in and out!"
—Ed Snelson #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

Art Student Turns Creative Process Into Thriving Business

What It’s About

A dye in the wool side hustle that brings new color to an art student’s life.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Mental health affects your whole life whether you want it to or not.

You can’t say, “I struggle with an anxiety disorder, but not during my work day.” Or “I have panic attacks, but I just run to the bathroom and hide for a while, and then it’s okay.” And if you don’t deal with the root problem, you’ll always be fixing situational issues that don’t end up bringing you real resolution. So, no matter whatever else is going on, make sure that you’re taking care of you!

Fun Fact

One of the dyes Lydia uses extracts pigment from red onion skins she collects from local farmers to create a pinky-red hue. But you see, Lydia is a bit of a color magician! If she adds a small amount of iron to it, that pinky-red hue transforms to an olive green. Abra-ca-dye-bra, right?! Okay, okay, even we know that was bad…

Notes from Chris

Episode 969
While attending The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Lydia Crespo took a class on natural dyes thinking it would add a skill to her portfolio. Little did she know, it would become her specialty. The first time Lydia experienced the dye process, her hands understood just how to use them. It felt like an extension of herself. Her interest increased even more when she learned the chemistry behind the art.

Lydia kept playing with dye formulas in her spare time and made many silk scarves in the process. Her school had a studio sale, so Lydia decided to try selling her scarves so she could make a little money to put back into her art. The scarves SOLD OUT! Lydia realized she might have something here and started a brand called Argaman&Defiance.

Why that name?

Well, it may have been destiny that Lydia works with dyes. Her name literally means “maker of purple cloth”.

When she was learning about making dyes, she tended to produce purple, but purple is considered to be a difficult dye to formulate. This led her to the Hebrew word “argaman”, which refers to the color range of crimson to purple. Defiance is the name of the town where she visited her grandparents and developed her love of nature.

Upon graduation, Lydia received a grant of $1,500 to help her continue in her artistic growth. She used the funds for her startup costs. She purchased a domain name, set up a website, continued her dye and textile education.

In order to grow Argaman&Defiance, Lydia applied to be in many pop-up markets. At first, she was rejected … but she kept applying. She was eventually accepted to the Dose Market in Chicago, where her scarves sold out again!

She then began selling wholesale to boutiques across the country. She traveled to sell at markets in cities where she thought people would buy her products and stayed an extra day to make contact with local boutiques. These efforts led to her first profitable year. Now Argaman&Defiance is in 60 boutiques around the US and Canada!

Being an introvert, Lydia originally thought working on her own was her ideal situation. But she started noticing after attending Chicago meet-ups with other artisan entrepreneurs she felt energized for the coming days. As she puts it, “There is so much failure, decision making, and isolation in entrepreneurship. It was nice to see other women and hear their stories of success and failure. It helped me understand that I am not alone and what I do is worthwhile.”

Two years ago, Lydia moved with her husband to St Louis, where Argaman&Defiance is housed in a local art centre. There she’s able to connect with the other artisans every day. She still gets plenty of alone time, but also finds that her mental health is much better working alongside friends.

One of the newer products Lydia is known for is a cozy sweatshirt with a modern tie dye effect. Lydia cuts, sews and dyes each piece by hand. In the winter of 2019, her cozy sweatshirts sold so well she couldn’t keep them in stock.

Last year Argaman&Defiance grossed $79,000 with a profit of $35,000. Lydia plans to continue making cozy apparel and sharing her art through local workshops. Because it’s now her full-time job, she started a new side hustle writing essays about the creative process.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Argaman&Defiance: Check out Lydia’s full, multi-hued lineup over on her website!
  • Shopify: Lydia used Shopify to set up her site for Argaman&Defiance, and they’re offering a 21-day trial and exclusive discount for all Side Hustle School listeners!

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
"Ask for help if you need it. There is NO shame in it. I don’t care if it’s emotional help, financial, or just someone to put a price tag on your items before an event. This is not a sprint—make sure you are not running yourself into the ground."
—Lydia Crespo #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