The simplest $30k you'll ever make
ft. a cardboard box and an eBay account
The nation’s largest unconference was last weekend in Minneapolis. Instead of high-brow keynotes, sessions are led by regular people from the local tech community. While talks about AI and the job market filled the theater rooms, my favorite was a down-to-earth maker chat in a satellite office.
The simplest $30k playbook
It was called “Bootstrapping Your E-Commerce Empire Side Hustle With No Money,” led by Jonathan Spaulding. He walked us through how to find a niche, set up a no-frills store, and ship, all without spending a nickel.
There were some pragmatic cost-saving tactics, like 3D-printing custom products and offering only small items to minimize shipping. What I enjoyed the most, however, was how simple he kept his operations.
His go-to-market involved walking around his house with a cardboard box, adding things that he didn’t need, and listing them on eBay that day.
For market research, he asks coworkers what small items they recently bought and makes them for less with his 3D printer.
To fulfill orders, he gets a bundle of USPS boxes and puts them in his home mailbox.
For support, he responds through the eBay mobile app during downtime.
However indignant the e-com gurus may feel about these elementary strategies, they work for him. This side hustle nets Jonathan $30k of yearly profit.
That headline isn’t going to make him HackerNews famous. But so what? That’s a year’s tuition. Runway for a startup idea. $66k in 10 years at 8% growth. An epic vacation. Enough Claude credits to create a custom C compiler. It also fits his lifestyle by allowing him to work from his phone and stay home with his family.
Why simplicity sells
Our feeds are so good at convincing us that we need more information before we’re ready to do things in the world. We need to watch the next video, finish the course, or get a few more years of experience before starting something new.
People like Jonathan prove them wrong.
You can just do things.
Yes, right now.
Really, it’s that simple.
Not easy, but simple.
This is especially true for engineers, who have more agency than ever. We don’t need to learn a new framework, refactor the API (again), or wait around for a job offer.
We just need to walk around our metaphorical house with our metaphorical cardboard box and sell things to people who want to buy.
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