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In this post, you’ll learn how to start an e-commerce business and take it from 0 to $10,000!  

I’ll warn you right now that this side hustle may come off as too good to be true or a “get rich quick” strategy.  It's not that this side hustle isn't either of those things, as much as it is a fast-paced plan of action.  Because this hustle is based on trends, the selling periods are short and the money tends to come quickly.  

On the consumer end, we are used to seeing trends all of the time.  They become super hot and popular, we all buy in, and a month later the trend is over.  Some examples of fads include fidget spinners, crocs, and “boots with the fur”.  All of these products got massive attention and everyone wanted to buy them all at the same time.  That being said, good luck trying to sell a fidget spinner today; as soon as the hype dies down, the window to sell is gone.  

I’ve already talked about a business model called dropshipping.  If you haven't read Day 12’s post over this side hustle, you can view it here.  Marketing on a trend uses a very similar strategy as dropshipping.  The only difference is this side hustle involves buying in bulk.  Remember that capitalizing on a trend requires the seller to find the product, promote it, and ship it to the buyer all within a short amount of time.  

One of the very first trends that I documented had to do with the Women’s March and pink beanies.  As a symbol for the cause, many marchers and supporters bought pink beanies with ears on them.  So, when I saw this event being talked about on the news, I knew that I needed to get in on it.  

Before I give you the full details of my experience, I would like to warn you that marketing on politics is a very touchy subject.  It’s very hypersensitive.  Marketing on politics is something I no longer do because, now that out of my scrappy days, it involves too much drama for me.  

My Experience:  Pink Beanies

Day 1 -- Monday, 11:39 a.m.

On my first day of sales, I had already made over $1,000 by 11:39 a.m. all from pink beanies with cat ears on them.  I was amazed!  Besides my record-number sales, my day was really unproductive because I was glued to my phone listening to ka-ching after ka-ching roll in.  

That afternoon, I started to take notice of my analytics.  I was watching customers, in real-time, arrive at my site, browse my product, and end up on the checkout page.  Within less than 48 hours I had made $2688.02 with an average of 15 people on my site at any given time.  But how long would it last?

Day 3 -- Wednesday, 5:00 p.m.

Day 3 rolled around and I was certain that the pink beanie trend was dying out.  With just 1 sale all day, I was ready to bring my campaign to a close.  But then, right around 10 p.m. I had a surge of orders!  I’m talking $700 in revenue that I only paid $5 to promote.  I was shocked, to say the least.  

The two ads I used were the sole generators of my sales.  One was placed on Google and the other was on Facebook.  I found it interesting that my Google ad was slowly increasing in cost per click but on Wednesday it suddenly dropped from 35 cents to just 4.  This was really good news. 

Day 4 -- Thursday, 10:02 p.m.

As day 4 came around, my total sales were up to $4,211.95.  I started the day with $185.88 and 26 live site viewers at one point.  As I was laying in bed that night (yes, I went to bed before 10 p.m.), I noticed my phone was going off like crazy.  It was 10:02 p.m. and I had made just shy of $2,000 in sales on day 4 alone.

Isn’t that wild?  To sell a seemingly ordinary product and make thousands of dollars from it within just a few days is unheard of!  

Marketing on a trend like this one is all about finding data.  If you are out of touch with what’s going on in the world, you’ll never make it big doing this side hustle.  

My Experience:  Dog Masks

In 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles went on to the super bowl to challenge the New England Patriots.  This was the first time in 24 years that they had advanced to the final championship game!  Because of this, the Eagles were called the “underdogs”.  They took this term and ran with it thus deeming the dog mask as their game day symbol.  Eagles fans everywhere were searching to find these masks!  I knew I had to get in on this trend!  

Within 5 minutes of launching an ad, I had 53 people on my site and over $700 in sales!  I set my campaign on broad match with keywords like “underdog mask”, “eagles dog mask, and “german sheppard mask”.  I was getting sales on sales on sales!  

I ordered 150 units the night of my launch.  By 10:30 the next morning, I had to go back to the manufacturer and buy more to fill my orders!  I wanted to order them ASAP so that I could ship them out in time for people to get them before the Super Bowl.  If I shipped them out too late, I would have gotten massive returns.  

 

My stats were amazing to me!  I solely used Google Ads to promote the masks and had over $4,000 in sales within 24 of launching the campaign.  My conversion rate was at 8.23% and I had 161 orders.  

Three days later, my masks arrived.  This was the most nerve-wracking part of the whole campaign.  What if they didn't come as advertised?  What if they were a scam?  I had to act really fast on this trend and I had to take a risk on the product quality.  Lucky for me, the masks turned out to be dope!  Even better yet, I ended up selling out at 450 units later that day!  

My next task was to fill all my orders.  I called up some buddies, ordered some pizza, and we got to work!  Self-fulfillment is kind of annoying, but hey, it’s not a bad problem to have! 

The total sales for the campaign ended up being $11,523 after a few returns.  Of that total, my profit was around 50% or 60%, so just about $6,000.  Fascinating, isn’t it? 

Sourcing Products

One site I love to use for dropshipping and trend campaigns is called Alibaba.  It is basically a one-stop shop where you can get any product you could ever imagine.  Alibaba’s products are sourced from all around the world, not just China.  The only catch with this website is that you must purchase in bulk.  Let’s take a look at a product example…

I’m guessing that a ring light like the one above would sell at a store like Target or Best Buy for $50 at the cheapest.  When bought in bulk, you could get this product for just $15-$17 a unit.  That being said, 100 units at $15 apiece is a pretty hefty chunk of change.  I recommend only purchasing items like these if you are marketing on a trend and can forecast your revenue.  The last thing you want is to be stuck with a whole bunch of ring lights that you cant sell.   

When sourcing products, always be sure to check out the manufacturing facility.  If there are no photos, ask the manufacturer to hop on a FaceTime call.  This hustle isn’t just about making money; sourcing ethical products extremely is important.  You never want to support unsafe working conditions or sweatshop-style manufacturers.  

 

Key Takeaways

I love sharing these examples with you because they show the hustle in the term “side hustle”!  When you see influencers on the internet who brag about going for $0 to 10K, their stories seem fake; I’m always skeptical when people say it.  Because I have this video footage, I hope to prove to you that you too can make money from this hustle. 

That being said, here are the 4 main steps and elements that should be executed in order for this side hustle to work...

1. There must be a trend.  Luckily, there are trends happening literally all of the time.  
2. You must find a product to go with the trend.  If it’s not a direct product like the pink beanies or german sheppard mask, it’s not game over.  You simply need to be a little more creative.  I recommend creating a t-shirt with a certain catchphrase or saying that summarizes whatever event is trending.  
3. The product needs to be sourced.  I love using the sites Aliexpress and Alibaba to source my products.  Be sure to check out reviews, manufacturer information, product images, shipping times, etc. before purchasing.  
4. Sell the product!  Later on in this course, we will talk about a variety of ways you can go about this.

The next time that a trend happens and you find yourself in it, I hope you take a step back and think “woah, how can I participate?!”.  

Who here has watched or read every single lesson?  Comment below!  Who thinks this side hustle is perfect for them?  Comment below as well!  

Thanks for reading!

Peace and God bless.  

 

For the complimentary worksheets and resources, go to adrianbrambila.com/30days.

I make new content every single week, so be sure to subscribe to my Youtube and follow my Instagram @brambilabong and TikTok at @AdrianBrambila. I also have tons of resources and courses on my website that you won’t want to miss. Head over to www.adrianbrambila.com to learn more about what I do and how I live a financially free life.