1538: Girl Scouts Are Better Hustlers Than Cub Scouts - And What It Means For Your Business by Nick Loper

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Work Daily. Girl Scouts are better hustlers than Cub Scouts and What It Means For Your Business by Nick Loper of SideHustleNation.com.

[00:00:10] Like I've mentioned, I've got a soft spot for cold collars and a warm place in my heart for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. So combine the two and I'm already pulling out my wallet.

[00:00:20] Scouting was good to me and actually one of my earliest businesses was selling candy at summer camp.

[00:00:25] So the other night our neighbor's grandson came by in his Cub Scout uniform, almost too shy to even speak, to sell some popcorn products as a fundraiser.

[00:00:33] Happy to support, we ended up with a $20 bag of caramel corn.

[00:00:37] I had a little bit of sticker shock but figured it was a small price to pay to support our neighbor and the Scouts.

[00:00:43] The whole thing got me thinking about how the Girl Scouts are a million times better at this fundraising hustle.

[00:00:48] And it's not like their model is a huge secret. The boys can learn a thing or two from their peers.

[00:00:52] Here's my advice for the Cub Scouts and how the concept applies to your side hustle.

[00:00:58] Too much transparency can be a bad thing. In this case, the package says 70% goes to local scouting.

[00:01:05] What they're trying to say is thank you for supporting our cause.

[00:01:08] But when your charity runs on volunteer and child labor and you still have a 30% overhead, that's not impressive.

[00:01:16] The result of this statement is reinforcing in the customer's mind,

[00:01:19] Hey, you just paid three times more for this than it's worth, sucka!

[00:01:22] Your customer already feels good about their purchase, otherwise they wouldn't have made it.

[00:01:26] There's no need to remind them of the hefty markup.

[00:01:29] Instead, you know what the Girl Scouts put on their cookie boxes?

[00:01:32] The five skills the cookie program develops that girls will use throughout their lives.

[00:01:37] Goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics.

[00:01:42] Boom! Delicious cookies and helping young women learn five important life skills.

[00:01:47] Better messaging, right?

[00:01:48] But your side hustle probably can't rely on cause marketing, so what's the takeaway?

[00:01:54] To focus on the benefit during and after the sale, not the price.

[00:01:58] Can you imagine in your customer messaging,

[00:02:00] Thank you for your order, 70% of your purchase today is going directly to my bottom line.

[00:02:05] Um, okay?

[00:02:07] They don't care what your margins are like, only about the value they get from doing business with you.

[00:02:13] Simplify the menu

[00:02:15] When we were presented with our options,

[00:02:17] we were handed a two-sided, fold-out brochure with at least a dozen different choices,

[00:02:22] all with different price points.

[00:02:23] And yes, they all said the pass-through dollar amount as well,

[00:02:27] further complicating the menu.

[00:02:28] It was overwhelming.

[00:02:29] And sure, there are probably an equal number of flavors of Girl Scout cookies,

[00:02:33] but the prices don't vary much box to box,

[00:02:36] and pretty much all the boxes are the same size.

[00:02:39] It's much easier to make a decision when some of the variables have been removed for you.

[00:02:44] Thin mints only come in one size box,

[00:02:46] whereas the caramel corn had different size packages and add-in options.

[00:02:50] For side hustlers, we're seeing the power of the shrinking menu

[00:02:54] in the rise of productized service businesses,

[00:02:56] in specialized freelancing, and in single-use apps.

[00:03:00] Offer some lower-tier price options

[00:03:03] The least expensive thing I spotted on the menu was $10,

[00:03:06] and normally I'd be all about going for the higher price points.

[00:03:10] But think about it from the customer perspective.

[00:03:12] If the average order is going to be $20 regardless,

[00:03:15] I'm a much happier customer walking away with four or five boxes of Girl Scout cookies,

[00:03:20] Samoa's baby,

[00:03:22] than I am with one bag of caramel corn.

[00:03:24] There's more perceived value because I got more stuff.

[00:03:27] The simplified menu and lower price points encourage sampling,

[00:03:31] multiples,

[00:03:31] and may even result in higher average order values

[00:03:34] as people are encouraged to add just one more box

[00:03:37] because it's not that much more money.

[00:03:39] In my painting business,

[00:03:40] I remember taking on some smaller jobs,

[00:03:43] like decks, trim, pressure washing, etc.,

[00:03:46] because it would give me an in into a neighborhood.

[00:03:48] If we did an awesome job,

[00:03:49] maybe we could plant a yard sign out front,

[00:03:51] score a reference letter,

[00:03:52] or even earn a referral.

[00:03:54] Make it a thing

[00:03:56] This one is hard to explain,

[00:03:58] but Girl Scout cookies are definitely a thing.

[00:04:01] Cup Scout caramel corn?

[00:04:02] Not a thing.

[00:04:03] My take?

[00:04:04] If I was going to insist on selling food as a fundraiser,

[00:04:07] I'd try and sell something scouting or outdoor-related.

[00:04:11] Trail mix,

[00:04:11] beef jerky,

[00:04:12] s'mores?

[00:04:13] But it doesn't have to be food at all.

[00:04:15] How about some emergency preparedness kits?

[00:04:18] Or a service?

[00:04:19] Our troupe collected people's Christmas trees the first week of January.

[00:04:22] People actually look forward to Girl Scout cookie season.

[00:04:25] That's how powerful a thing it is.

[00:04:27] That's the kind of pull you need behind your brand

[00:04:30] to make a successful fundraiser year after year.

[00:04:32] The Girl Scouts have managed to turn a commodity product,

[00:04:35] cookies,

[00:04:36] into a thing,

[00:04:37] which isn't easy to do.

[00:04:39] Think of that in terms of your side hustle.

[00:04:41] Are you positioning yourself as the only reasonable choice

[00:04:44] for the product or service you offer?

[00:04:46] After all,

[00:04:47] the Girl Scouts have a monopoly on Girl Scout cookies,

[00:04:50] just like you should aim to have a monopoly on your service

[00:04:53] in the eyes of your customers.

[00:04:54] There's no one else

[00:04:55] who can get the job done like you.

[00:04:57] The bottom line,

[00:04:59] Girl Scout cookies are a $700 million a year business.

[00:05:03] I couldn't find any data on the Cub Scouts popcorn business.

[00:05:06] Sorry, fellas.

[00:05:07] Ladies win this round hands down.

[00:05:14] You just listened to the post titled,

[00:05:16] Girl Scouts are better hustlers than Cub Scouts

[00:05:18] and what it means for your business

[00:05:20] by Nick Loper of SideHustleNation.com.

[00:05:23] And thanks to Nick for letting us share his post.

[00:05:25] Nick retired from corporate America at age 25

[00:05:28] and is now a full-time entrepreneur involved in a variety of projects.

[00:05:32] He's also the host of the podcast,

[00:05:34] The Side Hustle Show,

[00:05:36] which is for part-time entrepreneurs looking for actionable tips to start or improve their businesses.

[00:05:41] It's a great podcast and you can usually find it in the top charts of the business podcast

[00:05:46] in Apple Podcasts.

[00:05:47] It's definitely worth checking out.

[00:05:48] And the blog is great too, of course.

[00:05:50] Come by SideHustleNation.com for a lot more

[00:05:53] and to show your support for Nick Loper.

[00:05:55] He and the rest of our contributing authors always appreciate it.

[00:05:58] And that's going to do it for today.

[00:06:00] I thank you so much for being here and listening all the way through

[00:06:02] and I will be back with you tomorrow for the Tuesday Show

[00:06:05] where your optimal life awaits.