Finding Customers For My Side Hustle

Today I’m sharing some of my thoughts about finding customers as I begin turning my hobby, or a part of it, into a supplemental income for retirement. I’m hopeful that thinking out loud will help you and me. First, I’ll start with a brief description of where I am right now in this endeavor, then I’ll share the steps that I’m currently taking or considering. I’d like your thoughts about what I’m going to share and I hope that you’ll be inclined to share your aspirations for your hobby, retirement income supplement or side hustle.

Brief Description:

I’ve made the decision to supplement my retirement with my hobby of sewing with quilting as my primary interest and focus of the offer. I’ve already asked myself some basic questions and taken steps in this direction. I’ll share with you a couple of big steps that I’ve taken a little later.

Now, where will those perfect customers come from with dollar bills ready to come my way? I’ve been thinking a lot about my hoped for customers and come up with some pretty interesting questions.

What is my main challenge in finding customers?

I believe the main challenge is identifying the ideal customer. It’ll be difficult to effectively reach the right audience and meet their needs aka offer something they want to buy if I don’t know my ideal customer. How can I share with other people what I do if I don’t know how or when to insert it into casual conversations with friends, neighbors, and even new acquaintances? Does it make sense to mention what I do in conversation with people who don’t know what I’m talking about?

In my experience, timing is important. The audience is important. The method of reaching out to people, in person or through some type of media is important.

How can I advertise to them and where should I advertise or go to promote myself effectively without knowing my ideal customer? Is advertising going to be an effective way for me to market what I offer? How do I promote myself, if not through advertising and one-on-one conversations?

Can I effectively come up with a product to offer my customer without knowing who the customer would be?

Some people come up with a product and then try to figure out how to market it.

Some people look at potential customers and try to figure out what they would be willing to buy.

My approach is a hybrid concept to blend both the product first and the customer first. My belief is that general product concept will help identify potential markets, especially if I’m looking at customers who are into my hobby or enjoying the same interest. It gives me a starting point that might be challenging to come up with otherwise. Then I can tweak my product for them.

Do I have a customer solution in mind to offer?

Is my idea a reasonable idea in the market? My idea for a product is something that other’s offer and I’ve even used this myself. I’ve paid for this in years past so I know there are people making some sort of income from this service. I’m not sure what to expect on a part-time basis which is where I want to live in the big scheme of things. I don’t have any desire to trudge into a full-time commitment.

Why does the customer need my solution? When I looked at myself in answering the question, I realized there are different levels of skill in my hobby and different goals. The “why” could have more than one answer.

Lack of skill or ability to produce the desired outcome.
Lack of tools so the challenge is greater to achieve the desired outcome.
Lack of space to house and use the ideally chosen tools.
Lack of financial resources to purchase the required tools for the outcome.
Lack of time to go down a path that could be outsourced.
Lack of desire or preference to spend resources on other options.

Who is my ideal customer?

As a starting point, I wonder if I’m the ideal customer. Personally, I’ve decided that I must be a potential customer for my little hobby business. The reason is simply a necessity to understand what my customers might be interested in as an offer. Since this is my hobby that I’m using to supplement my income in retirement, it would be easier for me to understand the journey and my potential steps forward if I was the ideal customer.

What do I mean by potential steps forward? As the ideal customer, I know what my journey is through the hobby. For example, in the sewing realm, there are beginners who buy beginner friendly sewing machines. Once you learn new techniques beyond the basic sewing skills, you begin to understand the features and limitations of your sewing machine. As you start to gravitate toward a certain style or set of skills, a new sewing machine or other tools and supplies might be the solution to your problems.

Am I far enough down the path to turn my hobby into income?

How am I similar or like the ideal customer for my little venture? When I asked myself the question, I realized that I am the ideal customer and I have needs. As the ideal customer, I know the path that I’m on and the pain points or the problems that I run into as a quilter. I see that my peers have the same problem. The solution isn’t easy to solve without assistance or investment.

That is where I see potential income. If the solution was easy, nobody would need what I offer. If the solution was cheap, nobody would look for alternatives.

The solution to the problem is currently being solved mostly by other hobbyists and a couple of corporations in the industry. But the solution is human intervention heavy. In other words, there are things that can’t be automated yet. That’s great for me as a person who wants to supplement my retirement income. Who needs a corporation grabbing up all the customers?

How many potential customers are there for me?

Several factors determine the size of the market for my product.

Pricing is obviously going to be a factor. That’s pretty much assumed on anything you do. People have their own ideas on value and their own personal financial capabilities.
My skill will be important. First, I must be able to offer a product that won’t disappoint and it must be priced according to what I can deliver. More advanced skills can be charged at a higher price and the market looking for more advanced skill levels are also knowledgeable enough to appreciate a higher price point.
Location goes along with both skill and pricing. If I’m functioning at a higher skill level, then I might be able to work with customers using shipping or long-distance delivery methods. A lower skill level on my part might cause customers to balk at the price if there are additional costs like shipping or add-ons.
I think that if my skill is not very good at all, there will be no customers. As my skills improve, so will the number of customers until my skill level requires an exclusive customer to appreciate it. Then I might have to offer a product that is not up to my potential to make sure I don’t price too many customers out of reach of my product.
The number of customers in the market is huge with new hobbyists discovering and learning every day.
Modern quilters incorporate new technology and new visions into the hobby. It is no longer simply a utilitarian pursuit, although many quilters want to make quilts with functionality as a primary purpose. Creativity and enthusiasm for artful design are important to quilters as much as community connections.

Business Concept:

My business concept is to help quilters finish their quilts by providing longarm quilting machine services.

Will I be able to find customers as a “new” longarm quilting business?

I believe that my current skill level will be helpful to beginner and intermediate level quilters. As I learn more about longarm quilting, I will advance beyond my current skill level.
There are many new quilters seeking affordable options for finishing their quilts so they’re seeking or open to discovering help.
Longarm quilters face the same dilemmas other people face:
- Changing health can lead to cutting back on services.
- Retirement to pursue other goals.
- Relocation and changing circumstances.
Modern quilters want to take advantage of technology, including the tech that will produce a better outcome.
Some quilters are either not ready to advance their skills yet or do not feel confident so outsourcing might be reasonable.

What advantages does my micro-business have over larger organizations?

My advantages goes back to the concept of customer need. Large organizations offer products for mass consumption to keep prices as low as possible. In my goal of supplementing my retirement with my hobby, I’m looking at the variety of customer’s ideas and goals. Everybody has their own ideas. Mass production might not be for all.
I’m also looking at their interest in turning over something they might have spent hours working on to a shipping service. Handing over something you’ve spent hours working on to a human being who cares about it is preferable every time.
Connecting with other community members, like myself, is a great thing when we’re sometimes struggling to find friends and ways to help neighbors rather than corporations.

Uniqueness plays a role within the quilt community. If we all wanted pretty quilts, then we could run out to a department store and grab one of the mass-produced options. Unique quilts include the choice of materials, techniques, and stories behind the finished product. A quilted solution can be mass produced or it can be a very personal and creative result.

Big Steps Taken So Far:

There are essentially four steps that I’ve taken so far to turn this idea into a reality.

Run the idea past my spouse for support. Since this is a supplement to my retirement, it wasn’t that difficult to get agreement. He wants me to be financially happy and enjoy what I’m doing.
Purchase equipment that will be sufficient as I learn and establish myself as a resource in the quilting community. I bought a longarm sewing machine and the rest of the equipment that goes with it.
Begun learning to use the equipment and developed a plan for growth and sharing my existing skills and experience.
Put the house on the market to get closer to an active community for learning and offering services as well as services like equipment repairs and maintenance and materials other than online only resources.

I don’t think that any of my thoughts about supplementing my retirement with my hobby are unique or even unusual. I do believe that when you’re in the throws of making something happen, its easy to forget and overlook the most important ways to get there.

Today, I’m sharing my thoughts on getting customers. We’ll see how it turns out.