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What It's About
A basic, everyday item grinds out huge profits and creates loyal customers.
Business Model
Reselling
Skills Required
Resourcefulness & Research
Complexity
Medium
Profit Potential
High
Words of Wisdom
Raj says his success has largely been due to his customer-driven approach and deeper messaging. From the post-purchase emails, to the way his team responds to support requests, to the written content on the website, to the social media giveaways—all of it builds an ecosystem of value, care, and passion that encourages customers to use their coffee routine to appreciate the little things in life.
Fun Fact
Legend has it that 9th-century goat herders (circa 800 A.D.) noticed the effect caffeine had on their goats, who appeared to "dance" after eating coffee berries. A local monk then made a drink with coffee berries and found that it kept him awake at night, thus the original cup of coffee was born.
Notes from Chris
Episode 591
Raj Jana was just like a lot of us. He was knee-deep in student debt to the tune of $50,000, helping out his parents, and he working hard to climb the corporate ladder as a petroleum engineer at Chevron. Trying to please the corporate overlords day-after-day was exhausting, and Raj dreamed of stepping out of the rat race. He wanted to work for himself, move back to Houston to be with his long-distance girlfriend, and stop sacrificing his happiness for the sake of an MNC. Raj began reading books and going through courses on internet businesses. He dabbled with a few ideas but eventually landed on private labeling products to sell on Amazon after meeting someone who’d had success in the area. Making coffee by hand was one way Raj centered himself each morning. He was passionate about good coffee, and wondered if he could capitalize on the growing specialty coffee movement for his hustle. He researched possibilities on Kickstarter, Amazon, and other platforms to see what kinds of devices were selling really well, and the answer was clear: coffee grinders. Not the big, bulky automatic ones, but a small, handheld, manual one. It would be small, lightweight, used frequently, and sell in the $20-30 range. It could also act as a gateway product to selling something else in the future. And it was perfect for selling on Amazon. At the time, there was a generic coffee grinder that was selling well on Amazon, and it had zero branding on it. The company that sold it had no website. When Raj saw the same design on Alibaba, the idea clicked: he would use that existing design to create his own grinder that he would promote with creative, passionate branding. After a couple weeks of confusing emails and a few phone calls, Raj found a manufacturer that would make 200 units to start off—just a $1,000 investment on Raj’s end. And thus, JavaPresse sprang to life with the turn of a sharp steel blade. Continually waking up at 5 AM to work on his hustle was rough, but his morning routine of making coffee, writing a gratitude list, and making a plan for the day helped him through. This routine set Raj up for success each day by keeping him focused and centered. A few weeks after Raj placed his order, his grinders arrived at Amazon’s warehouse. It was go time. A lot’s happened since then. JavaPresse now has three additional coffee products and a monthly coffee subscription. He’s still selling over one hundred grinders on Amazon per month, has fulfilled two wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation with donations, and generated over $300,000 in profit last year. He’s brewed up a business, a lifestyle, and a mission all in one… and it hasn’t felt like a grind. Pour us another cup, Raj! Here’s to your hustle.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- JavaPresse: If your morning routine could use a little less drag and more grind, head on over to Raj's website to pick up one of his coffee grinders!
- Alibaba: The platform that Raj used to locate a manufacturer for his coffee grinders
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- 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
- Accountant Earns $233,751 Reselling Items He Buys at Walmart: A young accountant learns the art of reselling, purchasing textbooks, dental floss, and Cheerios from retail stores in bulk—then earns hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit by selling it online
Quote of the Day
"Build habits and routines that allow you to work on your side hustle consistently, and consistently invest in books/reading/audio that help you grow your mindset from employee to entrepreneur. Changing your internal identity is one of the biggest drivers for my past and continued success."
—Raj Jana #SideHustleSchool
