Double down on 1 side hustle or start another?
Hey Indie Hackers!
I've been working on Wongo Puzzles (http://wongopuzzles.com) for about a year now. I delivered my first batch of wooden puzzles to customers in June of last year after a modest $1K Kickstarter. Sales were really stagnant at about $2-4K / mo with OK profit margins. Direct to consumer shipping is expensive!
I invested a bit in on-marketplace advertising (mostly Etsy) and learned more about SEO. My revenue jumped to $30K in November and $25K in December. It's quieted down since the holidays, but I still managed $10K+ in January.
I'm working full time in software and am getting the itch to get back out there on my own. Wongo Puzzles is working well, but the margins have been cut thinner to grow the business and I can't support myself on them. I'm trying to decide whether or not to really go all in with Wongo or explore other opportunities in tandem.
Here's my thinking:
- There is more room to grow with Wongo. I have a tiny Amazon presence, but am the #1 seller on Etsy in my category.
- New designs always bring customers back. I currently have 5 puzzles and can design 2 new ones every quarter.
- Most of my growth work will increase volume, but decrease margin. I'll need to really grow the business to feel comfortable with it as my only support.
- I have a really wide skill set and actually have had my career in software development so I'm not sure I'm maximizing my potential
- I've learned a TON about designing and manufacturing physical products. I'm at an advantage here to launch more of them.
I'm really curious how all of you would approach this! What questions would you be asking? What would trigger you to take the leap?
Much appreciated.
You know the variables better than any one. Think through it and make a decision. I personally would try and push it big. See if you can get big Amazon presence before pivoting. I'm not into puzzles, but I know people are and these look really good.
fyi fb started service me ads for competitiors I guess
puzzlecolours.com
finecraftpuzzles.com
kurben.com doesn't even exist? smells like scamming mass spam
sunnyplease.com
cocomaking.store
IDK if you know them and others, might find some inspiration for example the puzzlecolours has the discounting nice and clear for quanities
and they both have nice vids/animated gifs both in the ad and in the site
Have you tried playing with prices? increase base price up to 45/49 for example
Bundle discount, sell more items/sale, save on shipping.. (IDK what your average items/sale, is it close to 1?)
Subscription for puzzel of the month/querter? to get some continuity/residuality... I know it's going to be low, but gives you some strengh knowing you presold the next design already...
How about trying for the company branded gift sector?
Have you considered licensing and doing some branded ones?
Is the 2 design/quarter a financial limit for inventory? or is it something you can streamline / use some outsourcing to speed up?..
Or is it around manufacturing setups?
Possibly also think how you can push them into centeral places for people to see them first time... would pushing some even for free to toy libraries?.. not sure where people that like games and puzzles frequent where they see such stuff, cause it's not really for small kids right... can only think of gaming stores at the moment...
Have you considered trying to wholesale some? push to speciality gaming stores ... (that reduces the cost of shipping, due you'd sell in wholesale price you can push volume...)