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What It's About
A Side Hustle School listener pads her pocketbook and comes out smelling like a rose!
Business Model
Product
Skills Required
Experimentation & Bootstrapping
Complexity
Medium
Profit Potential
Medium
Words of Wisdom
Sarah's first product run was a great opportunity for her to get feedback from friends and, more importantly, complete strangers. She used all the feedback they gave, especially the constructive bits, and continued to iterate on the product until she landed on the final scent and formula that she sells today. As Sarah told us, “this was a crucial step since up until that point, I was the only one using it. I am a sweaty chick and very active so I'm a good test subject, but deodorant is a product that works differently for everyone, so I needed to bring others into the process.”
Fun Fact
Everyone’s body odor is unique and one-of-a-kind, almost like a fingerprint! Everyone’s scent depends on different factors, like diet, DNA, and stress levels. Each person’s smell is a reflection of what they eat and is part of an ancient communication system with fellow humans and animals.
Notes from Chris
Episode 509
You know the saying, "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself"? That saying can apply to so many things, even, as Sarah Moret found out, natural deodorant. Sarah is currently the head of business development for a biotechnology company, but she had previously worked in venture capital for five years. During those years, she saw tons of seed-stage companies (the ones just starting out) trying to raise money and give away 30% of their company’s equity just for a chance at funding. But, as an investor, she knew that a lot of businesses don't need $1M in venture capital funding to get started. They just need some cash and a day job to keep them going until their business starts earning money. During this time, Sarah was also on the hunt for a natural deodorant that didn’t have harmful chemicals, parabens, and aluminum, but nothing seemed to work for her. She was frustrated by the lack of options, especially after she had tested just about all of them. Sarah decided to do what any Pinterest-crazed millennial would do. She decided to try making her own, and she called it Curie. Sarah gathered recipes from the internet, stocked up on ingredients, and turned her kitchen into ground zero. She spent 10 months working on the formula, and asking everyone around to “smell me, please?” But, at long last, she had cracked the code. It’s a little citrusy, contains a hint of floral, and a lot of freshness. Sarah officially launched Curie in April after testing her product for a few months and doing a limited production run of 50 units in December. Once she sold out of the initial product run, which she sold to her friends, family, friends of friends, and even a few Instagram followers, she took their feedback and used it to finalize her formula. Everything from the consistency and scent of it to the amount of baking soda it contained (a concern for those with sensitive skin) was carefully noted and used to create something that would truly sweat equity. It turns out that she had all the right ingredients in her side hustle for success. In her first week, Sarah brought in $1,500 from sales of her natural deodorant, and her profit for the month of April came out to around $5,500! Sarah has come a long way since testing deodorant formulas in her kitchen and making her friends and family smell her after a workout. While she couldn’t share more about it just yet, Curie’s future looks bright (and lightly scented). We think she’s off to a scent-sational start!MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Curie: If you're interested in this sweet smelling side hustle, you can learn more over on Sarah's website!
- Ep. 3 - Candy Heart Hustle Becomes Six-Figure Second Income & Ep. 205 - “Mommee Coffee” Becomes a $20,000/Month Side Hustle: Two of Sarah's favorite Side Hustle School episodes that motivated her to take action
- Itchy Honeymoon Shaves Way To $100k Pubic Oil Income: Three friends embrace the reality of pubic area discomfort and build a skincare business from scratch, turning it into a six-figure side hustle despite the skepticism of literally every person they talked to
- Holiday Body Butters Become $1,000/Month Side Hustle: An entertainment industry professional transforms her body butter holiday gifts into a quickly growing Etsy store and craft show side hustle
- Florist & Sculpture Professor Make Presidential Lip Balm: Adventures in creating homemade presents for friends and family lead a Beyoncé-obsessed duo to lip balm world domination. Bonus: learn Abraham Lincoln’s favorite dessert recipes
Quote of the Day
"When my first order came in, I freaked out because I didn't have any inventory yet. I sent an email asking the customer if they were okay waiting 2 months for their product or if they would rather have their money back. They said they'd wait. Turns out they’re glad they did!"
—Sarah Moret #SideHustleSchool
