Who knew ice could make you rich?

GM. This is Work "After" Work, the newsletter that's all about making your side hustle as entertaining as a stand-up comedy show – and hey, we promise the punchlines will pay off!

It’s Taco Tuesday! Let’s boogie:

• 🧊 The booming ice cube business

• 😂 Meme of the day

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TURN ICE INTO COLD HARD CASH

Remember the days when ice cubes came from those trusty Dollar Store trays? I mean, they got the job done, but oh boy, how times have changed.

These past few years, people have gone crazy with the ice in their drinks making all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Even Buddha isn’t safe!

The other day, I went to my cousin's house and he was raving about this new ice tray mold he got, which he was convinced made his drink taste 10x better….

And you know what? He wasn't wrong! I did some digging and found out that the size and shape of the ice cube in your drinks can impact the overall taste and mouthfeel of the drink 🤯

But here's the scoop (pun intended): In 2020, a staggering 51% of Americans were ice-obsessed, and with the scorching summers we've been having these past few years, that number's probably off the charts by now.

With the demand for ice being at an all-time high, it’s no surprise that the interest in ice molds and trays is growing.

Notice how nobody brings those basic gas station ice bags to parties anymore? People want to WOW everyone with their ice game and the numbers reflect this.

Don’t believe me? Look at this chart from Google Trends.

It’s seasonal but ice is on the rise, and I’m here to show you how to turn this cool trend into some seriously hot profits!

Here’s how to get started

#1 Sell on Amazon

You can sell custom ice molds on Amazon. I found this one which retails for $11.99. It has over 6,000 reviews (meaning they've sold a lot!) and estimates 4,470 sales per month.

And the crazy part is I did some digging and found the same mold on AliExpress for a mere 99 cents! 😲 

I bet that’s what this vendor is doing. Buying them in bulk for something like 80 cents and selling them for $12! That’s some fat profit margins.

Here’s the thing: You could sell the custom ice molds on Amazon, but that's what everyone else is doing. So, competition could be high.

What I suggest you do is to sell it on TikTok Shop.

TikTok Shop is a shopping feature that lets you display and sell products on the app. You can sell through Lives, in-feed videos, and the product showcase tab.

And TikTok makes it extremely easy to shop in the app. Legit 2 clicks and it's ordered!

To set up your Shop, you have to register via the TikTok Seller Center. But keep in mind that it’s only available in the US, UK, and some parts of Asia, like China and Thailand.

Once you’ve been verified, you’ll be able to add your products to TikTok Shop.

So, when you make a video about your product, the link pops up right on the screen, and your customers can click on it and shop.

Here’s how it looks in TikTok:

If you've got the knack for persuasion (and I know you do), people can buy in just two clicks. Less hassle, more sales!

I went ahead and checked the #icetok on TikTok just to see if people are interested in the ice mold trays, and to my surprise, it currently has over 1.6B views and 30k+ posts. That's a lot of ice enthusiasts!

Now, I know that starting a new business requires capital. But what if I told you there’s a way you can do without it?

#2 Dropshipping

I suggest starting off using the “Dropshipping” business model where you buy products only after you get a sale and ship them directly to customers. No hefty upfront costs here.

So you could buy one, make videos using the product, and put the link in your videos. I’m thinking a bunch of fun ones with different drinks viewers can make themselves.

When you score a sale, head to AliExpress, find a cheap listing, order it, and ship it out.

Pro tip: Find a U.S. supplier to keep those shipping times as quick as possible.

When it works out (and trust me, it will), you can scale up to buying in bulk from Alibaba, enjoying even juicier discounts!

#3 Get creative

If you want to stand out even more, offer custom molds!

One idea is to sell custom ice molds of the alphabet. Parents would love this for their kids and even some ice enthusiasts since they aren’t so common (yet).

You could reach out to a supplier on AliExpress that makes custom ice molds, and ask them to create one for you. The possibilities are endless.

If you use TikTok Shop to sell your products, you get real-time feedback from comments on your videos.

Simply ask your audience what new designs they want to see and go from there!

MEME OF THE DAY

not AI telling us we’re getting friend zoned 😂😂 

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And that’s a wrap ladies & gents!

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.