From Wantrepreneur to $150,000 in Revenue [How to Find a Business Idea]

Executive overview

Most side projects fail not from lack of effort but from building something nobody wants. Tom and his partner quit full-time jobs they hated, invested their $15,000 life savings in a self-care planner, and hit $150k revenue in year two.

The product filled a genuine gap — a wellness-focused planner that didn't exist. Growth came from micro-influencers, a standout return policy, Instagram storytelling, and a structured email onboarding sequence.

An idea is worth nothing without action — but a bad product won't be saved by hustle.

From idea to first sale

• Girlfriend couldn't find a self-care planner combining health, fitness, and mindfulness — decided to build it
• Previous side projects (EDM sample store, personal blog) failed due to poor product-market fit, not lack of effort
• Spent ~10 months from idea to product in hand: designs by August, printed by October
• Invested entire $15,000 savings with no pre-sales — bet on the product being genuinely useful
• Used a friend as designer; spent as little as possible on everything else

Getting the first customers

• Identified micro-influencers (5,000–10,000 followers) in the Australian wellness space
• Sent 100+ free planners with no-obligation pitches — no ask to post, just an offer to try
• Around 50% posted organically; micro-influencers responded well because few had received free products before
• Tapped their full personal network simultaneously
• Used KingSumo for giveaways and Sumo for email capture from day one

Growing past 100 customers

• Spotted a gap: no competitor offered a return policy — built a 60-day free-return policy instead
• Counter-intuitive result: 2% return rate in 2018, under 0.5% in 2019
• Better return policy reduces perceived risk for new customers who have no reason to trust an unknown brand
• Instagram ads with heavy testing drove consistent traffic; treated ad spend as iterative learning
• Alex became the face of the brand — daily Stories, Q&As, behind-the-scenes packing timelapses
• Instagram Ask a Question sticker generated replies that were reshared, deepening community engagement
• 95% of customers are female — having a relatable female founder front-and-centre reinforced trust

Email onboarding sequence ("VIP list")

• Called the email list a "VIP list" rather than a newsletter — framed as exclusive access
• Sign-up triggers: 10% discount on the store + entry into monthly free-planner draw
• Day 2: free ebook (150 self-care ideas, took two months to produce)
• Day 4: top blog posts, driving return visits to the site
• Day 6: product FAQ email with call-to-action — only sent if subscriber has not yet purchased
• Pop-up conversion rate: 15–18%

Mindset and lessons

• Start slow; took two full years before both founders quit their jobs
• Define roles clearly when working with a partner — took 18 months to get there
• Email people you can actually reach — Tom emailed Noah Kagan (not Tim Ferriss) and got featured on the podcast
• Persistence and a good product matter more than any single tactic