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What It's About
A music retail shop employee picks his own instrument to strum high notes of profit.
Business Model
Reselling
Skills Required
Research & Marketing
Complexity
Medium
Profit Potential
Medium
Words of Wisdom
Your experience could be a valuable side hustle idea waiting to happen. Hear from Dave, “Look for opportunity within your own area of expertise. Thanks to my decade plus in this industry, I have a great network of friends that own or manage music stores across the country that were willing to take a chance and stock a new brand.”
Fun Fact
The ukulele originated in Hawaii and closely translates to the Hawaiian word for ‘jumping flea’. While the ukulele is experiencing a surge in popularity right now it isn’t the first time this instrument has captured our hearts. In 1915 and 1935 ukuleles grew in popularity, directly after times of financial hardship in the USA.
Notes from Chris
Episode 1221
In the fall of 2015, Canada was staring down the barrel of a recession, and Dave Simpson was concerned. Money was tight and jobs were being cut, one of which was his wife’s. Luckily for Dave, he kept his job throughout the turmoil. This was partly due to a true recession never taking place, and part due to the fact that he was an expert in his field. He’d spent the previous ten years working in the musical instrument industry and he knew about everything from acoustic guitars to xylophones. With his eyes open, opportunities presented themselves. One of these opportunities came through Dave’s employer, a retail chain specializing in high-end guitars sourced from overseas. As part of that job, he had the opportunity to visit China and Japan to source new products. It was there that Dave began tuning up a new idea. He was convinced his side hustle should be related to his area of expertise, and the suppliers he was meeting could make any instrument someone might need. Around the same time, he’d learned of Fulfilled by Amazon, a platform where sellers offer products directly through Amazon and they ship them on your behalf. Dave figured, if he could find the right instrument and couple it with FBA, he’d be well on the way to achieving his goal . The only thing left to decide on was which musical instrument to sell… … and Dave landed in the ukulele. He loved the instrument and knew from experience that most ukuleles sold were bad quality and designed to be more of a toy than a high-end instrument. For a name, he picked Honolua Ukuleles, a Hawaiian name in honor of the instrument's birthplace. Soon after he placed his first order for sixty instruments. Dave had plenty of contacts in the industry, so he knew he had a good shot at other stores stocking his ukuleles. Soon, his first batch of sixty were accounted for. It was time to take the profits and keep riffing. In 2019 alone, Dave sold over one hundred and twenty thousand dollars worth of ukuleles, forty thousand of which is profit. For now, he’s still working his day job—although that may change in the near future.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Pick up your own ukulele from Dave's online store, HonoluaUkuleles.com.
- Hawaiian Native Teaches Virtual Ukulele Lessons: A Hawaiian goes all-in on the popular instrument of the islands, touring Europe and teaching virtual lessons by Skype.
- Guitar Player Chalks Up Success to Enjoying the Process: A systems administrator and lifelong guitar player generates thousands per month writing about his musical hobby.
- Guitar Builder Carves Out Woodworking Moneymaker: A California guitar builder finds a way to put spare materials to good use, earning an extra $2,000/month selling retro clocks and classy guitar stands.
Quote of the Day
"Look for opportunity within your own area of expertise. Thanks to my decade plus in this industry, I have a great network of friends that own or manage music stores across the country that were willing to take a chance and stock a new brand."
—Dave Simpson #SideHustleSchool
