Validating a Side Hustle

Hi—Dan here. A few months ago Justin Mares explored The Four Kinds of Side Hustles with us, and it quickly became one of the top Superorganizers articles of the year. Today, he's back—sharing how he validated the idea for a side hustle that eventually became Kettle & Fire one of the most successful bone broth companies in the world.

It’s 2014. I’m sitting in my HR rep’s office, resigning my 6-figure job. Two weeks later I’ll be out of the workforce, officially unemployed.

My dad says I should be nervous. Everyone says I should be nervous. But I’m confident I can make this work. Why?

Because in the month before I officially quit my job, I had systematically tested—and proven—demand for the idea that would become Kettle & Fire: a shelf-stable, organic bone broth company that now does well north of 8 figures a year in revenue. In the years since I quit my job, I’ve raised ~$20M to expand Kettle & Fire, and gotten the brand into 10K+ retail stores.

I did this without any experience in the industry, and, in the beginning, without a product. I did this with the expectation that the company would be a small business that would maybe make six figures in annual profit. 

Without any experience in the industry, and without a product, I was able to turn an idea into a side gig into a highly profitable company. I’m going to show you exactly how I tested and validated that idea.

FINDING THE IDEA

Since roughly 2010, I’ve been what I’d call 90% paleo: I usually eat according to a very strict diet (no grains or sugar, minimally processed foods) but have the occasional cheat day.