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What It's About
Temporary tattoos help women feel confident in swimwear after surgeries.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
When we talked to Denise, she had some fantastic advice for new side hustlers:
"Many experts talk about the necessity of having a good business plan, but sometimes the planning prevents you from doing. Just go out there and start. Start small, but start. Once you've gotten your toes wet, you can do a bit more planning. Also, really research and decide if your side-hustle is viable. Too many people have bad ideas and don't know it."
Fun Fact
Denise and Amanda state that their biggest clients at the moment for TuckTats are tummy tuck patients, but they're also discovering a large market for their products with those who have had breast reconstruction. Apparently, certain procedures take tissue from the abdomen to reconstruct the breast, and their temporary tattoos help hide this as well.
Notes from Chris
Episode 965
People often make New Year’s resolutions at the start of the year, only to have them fade away shortly thereafter. But not these two friends. In 2014, Denise O’Connell and Amanda Hudson were making plans for the rest of the year and realized that they weren’t interested in working for “The Man” any longer. Although they each had a side hustle of their own, it wasn’t enough for them to leave their day jobs. This was when they stumbled on a problem that they both faced. Having recently undergone stomach surgery, Denise had a large scar across her belly and was wondering how she could go about disguising it when wearing a bathing suit. Amanda had previously had surgeries that left her with the same issue. Denise realized that there were two options in front of her:Option #1: She could wear a “grandma suit” and cover everything up—but that was far from the most fashionable option.
Option #2: As crazy as it sounded, she could get a tattoo to cover it up. But a tattoo was also out of the question since the surgery area was still tender. It made Denise cringe just imagining them scraping across her scar with a tattoo needle. Plus, what if she hated the results? She’d be stuck with it forever...
Amanda felt the same way about her body. Together, they decided that they would come up with their own line of temporary tattoos. TuckTats became the colorful, inky solution to their problems! As their tattoos were targeted at women who had gone through surgery, Denise started by joining Facebook groups for people who had plastic surgery or were contemplating it. She contacted the administrators of these groups and asked nicely if she could post stories of how she covered up her scars—no links or sales pitch included. With her request was okay-ed by the administrators, her posts started to garner personal messages from members who wanted to learn more. These members turned into TuckTats’ first customers. Since then, she has remained active on Facebook groups and has even identified brand champions who talk about the product without any prompting. Word of mouth has since became a secondary channel in which TuckTats would get customers—no paid advertising needed! Amanda and Denise have since started to become profitable with over $15,000 in net income so far. As they continue to expand and serve different market segments, they’re leaving their mark (and ink) on a lot of people. Even though they still work for “the man”—Denise as a multimedia producer for a bank and Amanda as a communications professional)—they no longer complain about it. They say that the side hustle makes it a lot more tolerable.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- TuckTats: Interested in learning more about this decorative, side hustle solution? Tuck on over to Denise and Amanda's website!
- Shopify: Denise and Amanda used Shopify to set up their site for TuckTats, and they're offering a 21-day trial and exclusive discount for all Side Hustle School listeners!
- Farmer Makes “Tater Tats” for All Your Produce Tattoo Needs: When a running joke doesn’t end up running its course, a side hustle seed takes root and begins to grow
- Personal Problem Leads to Profitable Project: Thousands of women struggle to pee while wearing shapewear after a surgery. This side hustler and her product designer husband invent a no-mess solution!
- “MOMBOX” Subscription Offers Postpartum Recovery Products: Happy Independence Day! After a difficult shopping experience, this new mom creates and sells her own products to aid in postpartum recovery.
