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What It's About
A trip to Aruba leads two high schoolers to an unlikely (and lucrative) side hustle.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
Doug advises several young entrepreneurs and always recommends two things: that they carry a notebook with them at all times to jot down their thoughts or ideas, and that they talk about their idea or side hustle as much as possible before diving into it so they can get important feedback on whether their idea is actually needed and can generate a profit.
Fun Fact
Doug was barely 18 when he began promoting events, and he discovered that nightclubs were the perfect setting for promoting and selling his budding watch brand. They’d sell a few hundred watches a night in addition to what they made at the event: they’d charge a cover at the door and receive a percentage of the bar from the owner. So we’re talking $25 ticket sales for 500 to 600 people who typically spend between $25 to $150 at the bar each night, as well as a few hundred watch sales. Doug said he was making more than any college kid he knew!
Notes from Chris
Episode 275
Doug started his side hustle in an unlikely place—while on vacation in Aruba with his best friend Brendan. The security guard at their hotel was wearing a brightly colored watch with a silicone band. Doug had never seen a watch like at in the U.S. before, so he asked the guy wearing the watch how much it cost. The security guard told him he could have it for $5. Doug and Brendan thought it would cost around $20 and told him they’d be happy to pay the full retail price. The security guard told them the watches were only $3 in the shop down the street. When Doug went to the store, he found dozens of interchangeable bands and faces—and sure enough, they were $3. The watch had the website ss.com imprinted on it, so when Doug and Brendan went home, they contacted ss.com and learned that they were not planning to enter the U.S. market. They offered to provide them the licensing rights to manufacture the product and sell it under their own name at no cost, so long as they used them as a manufacturer. They got started by marketing and selling them at the high school they were enrolled at, but what started as a modest school side hustle for Doug and Brendan quickly developed into something so much more. After getting celebrity endorsements through YouTube influencers, the DBFLY Watches brand grew. Doug even got the watches distributed in Shop-rite and Urban Outfitters using connections he had with people in the retailing industry. Doug and his cofounder made about $20,000 in profit from the watch company before they decided to switch their attention to their new startup, University Beyond. Not a bad little side hustle—especially for a couple of teenagers! Don't you think it's time for you to start your new side hustle? MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:- DBFLY Watches: While Doug and Brendan are no longer in the watch selling biz, you can still check out the watch brand they started on this website
- University Beyond: The startup that Doug and Brendan run now that serves as a marketplace for students and brands to connect and collaborate
- ss.com: The manufacturer for the DBFLY watches that allowed Doug and Brendan the option to sell the watches under their own name free of charge
- ShopRite & Urban Outfitters: Two of the retail stores that Doug and Brendan sold their watches out of
- How To Find a Manufacturer or Supplier for Your Product Idea: Learn more about how you can find a manufacturer for your product
- Nomad Family Cooks Up $40,000 Profit With Houseware Import Business: A traveling family creates a houseware reselling business using the Fulfillment by Amazon model, with profits going straight to their travel fund
- Man Buys 100 Animal Skulls from Bali; Turns $10,000 Into $60,000: Fascinated by Balinese culture, a San Francisco native starts an import business to help preserve traditional art
