This entrepreneur made millions selling katanas

GM. This is Work "After" Work, the newsletter that serves out goodies like Portillo’s on a Friday night.

“#8 - Behold! Your delicious fate!”

Happy Friday Eve! Here’s the docket for today:

• ⚔️  The Mini Katana Guy

• 😂 Meme of the day

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THE MINI KATANA GUY

Mini Katana to Freeze Dried Candy

Today I want to tell you about a guy who:

• Is 31 years old

• Got one billion views across social media to promote his e-commerce brand

• And grew it to $10-$20 million in just 2 years

Interested?

Well, let me introduce you to Isaac - the mini katana guy. Here’s what his katanas look like.

A pretty cool product but he had one HUGE problem. He couldn’t advertise it. Spoiler alert… Facebook doesn’t allow you to sponsor weapons.

But he turned this disadvantage into his advantage. How? Organic content. 

Isaac already had a really cool product. A huge samurai sword? Count me in. So he made content and gave the sword to creators to make content with.

2 years and a TON of videos later, his YouTube and TikTok channels have gotten over one billion views and amassed 12 million followers… and he started 2 years ago 👀

This product crushes it. $10 - $20 million a year in revenue is nothing to sneeze at.

But who’s really buying 2 katanas?

But for real, it’s a one-time purchase - not the best e-comm brand since there’s no repeat purchases. 

So he’s moved on. He made millions with his last business. So what new business has he chosen with this new-found e-comm knowledge?

Freeze dried candy. Something I talked about 12 months ago! So I hope you hopped on this trend while it was just getting started!

Why freeze dried candy?

A few reasons:

1. You can get repeat customers

2. It's not terribly complicated (you just need a machine and some packaging)

3. It’s a great business to run ads (organic and paid)

Think about all the fun videos you can make like creating new candy creations, showing the freezing process, taste testing, asmr since the candy is so crunchy, etc.

And I dig some digging, this trend isn’t going away anytime soon.

#freezedriedcandy has 174k posts and over 2 billion views on TikTok. 

So how can you start your own freeze dried candy business to get in on the action?

Here’s how:

You'll need:

• A freeze dryer. Prices range from $2.5k to $5k, depending on the machine's size and brand. If you're just getting started, a mid-size freeze dryer should suffice (Per Reddit, this technology isn’t very good yet. Could be another opportunity 👀)

• Storage space for ingredients/unprocessed candy and packaging (bags, containers, heat sealer, or printer)

Note: Some states have special kitchen standards for various food processes so check your state's laws before investing in costly equipment. 

The freeze dryer does the bulk of the job. So all you have to do is:

• Cut the treats into small chunks. You can skip this step if the candy already comes in small sizes

• Pre-freeze the treats. Again, not necessary if you’re freezing shelf-stable sweets

• Place the treats on the freeze-drying tray. Space it out evenly to speed up the drying process

• Leave it to work its magic for 15-20 hours and voila, you have a product ready for sale

What’s next? Marketing your new candies!

Once you've mastered the art of producing freeze-dried sweets, it's time to package and sell them on social media, online marketplaces, or at a local farmers market near you.

How to market your candies

#1 Sell on social media

Since the #freezedriedcandy has over 2B views on TikTok, it's a great platform to start on. Set up a page, create content about the cooking process and your products, and let your followers know your treats are ready for orders.

Kaitlyn Tilghman of Harrisburg Treats got a freeze dryer to make healthy snacks for her family and stumbled into this great side business making her hundreds of dollars a month. How? Facebook!

Same play here. Set up an account, post videos of your products, and offer to ship them to your customers.

#2 Use online marketplaces

Weekly searches for freeze-dried candy on Amazon were at ~10k this month alone. People are used to only buying on Amazon. 

🔥 Create an Amazon seller account
🔥 Add your products
🔥 Advertise your offers

The other way is Etsy. It has 94M active buyers and with my growth tips, you may stand out and outsell your competitors 😏

The best part about this business is the product’s long shelf life. Since it's freeze-dried,  the candy can last up to ~25 years with proper storage. So experiment as much as you want; the candies aren’t going anywhere.

Can you freeze-dry other stuff? 

Heck yeah! You can freeze-dry pretty much anything from meats to fruits and even ice cream. According to Jungle Scout, monthly searches for "freeze-dried food" are up 50% over the last few months.

Since everyone appears to be making freeze-drying candies, consider other areas with less competition. For example, these freeze-dried yogurts generate $446k+ monthly on Amazon, per Jungle Scout.

Other ideas include:

• Freeze-dried organic fruits

• CBD edibles and treats

• Vitamin-packed foods

• Freeze-dried pet food

Because a freeze dryer is so expensive, offer as many freeze-dried treats as possible besides candies. You might find a super in-demand niche that no one is going after yet.

Explore, get creative, see what works, and you'll be on your way to building a solid side business just like Isaac did!

And that’s all from me. If you have any questions reply to this email.

Happy hustling! 💪 

MEME OF THE DAY

fr 😂😂 

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.