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What It's About
The world's greatest resource for lovers of carnivorous plants.
Business Model
Blog
Skills Required
Research & Marketing
Complexity
Low
Profit Potential
Medium
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:
- CarnivorousPlantResource.com: Looking for a hungry plant for yourself? Check out David's website.
- Gardening Mama Monetizes Frugal Living Blog: By focusing on a specific group of readers—and understanding their core needs—a blog about natural living and saving money earns $3,000/month.
- Plant Lover’s Tiny Terrariums Take Root on Instagram: When one man’s love for terrarium building blooms, he uses his marketing skills to make $10,000 and become a “plant influencer.”
- Money Grows on Moringa Trees: After recovering from a chronic illness through the power of plants, a woman trades in hedge funds by day and healing powders by night.
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
