Happy Thursday!

I'm building a private community called TKOwners for people who want to turn all these insights into real businesses. We have a slack channel where we drop insane AI tools and possibilities everyday. If you're serious about staying ahead of this AI revolution, check it out at tkowners.com. It's where the hundreds of action-takers hang out.

Okay, let’s get into it.

I heard about a business a couple weeks ago that I was not expecting to get this fired up about. A woman in Austin quit her corporate job last year. She had no business plan. No investors. No real idea what she was about to stumble into. She just had a creative itch and desire to bring people together.

Month one: she had 50 customers. Month two: 107. Month three, a video went viral and she jumped to 1,200. By month six, she was at 4,100 paying subscribers doing almost $50,000 a month in recurring revenue. Roughly $25,000 to $30,000 in profit. Her startup costs were basically zero.

The business? A snail mail subscription. She sends people a physical envelope once a month with a few pieces of original art, a recipe card, some stickers, and a handwritten letter. No app. No software. No warehouse.

As fast as AI is growing, people are craving something to offset it. Something human and tangible. Something they can hold in their hands and know that a real person touched it. This business is a small act of defiance against the digital everything era, and people are paying for it.

Her name is Hannah and her company is called The Tiny Project. It’s brilliant, takes no real start up costs and anyone can do it. I am going to walk you through exactly how to start your own version of this business. And if this idea speaks to you, go watch/ listen to the full interview with loads more information on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.

Hannah's niche is creative women who love art, community, and tangible goods. But that's her lane. Yours could be completely different.

Think about what you're already passionate about and then ask yourself if there's a community of people who would love to receive something physical in the mail every month.

You could do a snail mail club for:
-classic car lovers with a hand-drawn illustration of a different car each month
-one for golfers, hunters, or survival enthusiasts
-architectural drawings of famous places around the world with historical facts included
-a fictional story that unfolds over the course of a year, one letter at a time
-Poems
-Murder mysteries your subscribers have to solve
- Stuff geared towards kids? Huge opportunity. Think Kiwi Crate but shrunk down to fit inside an envelope
-one for men…honestly I think this is a wide open market because there's a loneliness epidemic happening and a thoughtful letter in the mail could do more good than people realize

Be specific. Don't try to be everything to everyone. Pick a niche you genuinely care about, because your authenticity is the product. People aren't just buying paper goods. They're buying a connection to someone who cares about the same things they do.

Speaking of finding your niche and communicating to a captive audience, I sold a digital product to you guys earlier this month and made almost $3,000 in the first 24 hours. No ads, no algorithm. I sent an email, you opened it, and a lot of you bought. That's the power of owning your list.

I'm able to do all that because beehiiv is so much more than a newsletter platform. You can sell digital products directly to your subscribers with zero commission. You can set up paid subscriptions where they don't take a cut of your revenue, which is really rare. And they added dynamic content so you can show different offers to different subscribers based on who they are.

The analytics keep getting better too. I use the data constantly when pitching sponsors. Real numbers, real engagement, real proof. Most creators are still trying to monetize on platforms that could delete them tomorrow. beehiiv lets you build the audience and monetize it, all in one place.

Go to beehiiv.com/chris and use code CHRIS30 for 30% off your first three months. Don't sleep on this.

Hannah keeps every envelope under one ounce so she only needs one forever stamp, which is 78 cents right now. The moment you go over that threshold, your postage jumps to around $3 per letter and your margins evaporate.

What fits inside a one-ounce envelope: a postcard or art print on one side with a written message on the back. A recipe card, tip sheet, or some other piece of useful content. Two to three stickers depending on size and weight. One surprise paper goodie that changes every month, like a collage pack, a bookmark, or a small craft. And then your personal letter. Hannah writes hers like a journal entry. Vulnerable, real, human. A note from a real person hits different right now, and your subscribers will feel it.

Your total cost per envelope should land around $3 including the stamp. If you charge $8 to $11 per month, you're looking at roughly 70% gross margins before labor. That math works at almost any scale.

You don't need a fancy tech stack on day one. Hannah started with a basic Shopify setup for recurring subscriptions. You could also use beehiiv for paid newsletters, Patreon, or even a simple Google Form paired with Stripe.

Make it dead simple for someone to sign up and get charged automatically every month. Recurring revenue is the whole game here. You want subscribers, not one-time buyers.

One mistake Hannah made early on was creating a waitlist with a Google Form that didn't mention the subscription cost money. A bunch of low-intent people signed up thinking it was free. Be clear about the price from the jump. People who pay attention and still sign up are your best customers.

OpusClip just launched Story Mode, a new AI tool that turns ideas, audio files, or transcripts into full fledged, killer videos. It's insanely good.

The videos come out clean, polished, and consistent from start to finish. Right now it's 100% free, and they are running a challenge: Generate any video using Story Mode, post it to a public instagram page or this X contest thread, and tag the official account @AgentOpus

The top 10 videos, by total likes, each win $1,000.
No editing skills needed. Just test it and post. You have nothing to lose and everything to learn. Try it here: http://opus.pro/agent

Hannah found every single one of her customers through free organic content on TikTok and Instagram. Zero paid ads. Here's what actually worked for her.

She filmed a video of herself telling her husband about the idea. He didn't get it. He looked confused. That video went viral, hitting 1.1 million views, because it was real and hopeful. People call this type of content "hopecore," and it resonates because the internet is starving for something genuine.

You don't need a viral video to get started though. You need consistency. Post about your process. Show people what you're making. Tell them why you're doing it. Share your wins and your mistakes. Hannah's second-best-performing video was about spilling red wine all over 1,200 letters right before ship day. Her subscribers loved it. Some were actually excited to find wine stains on their mail.

Your goal for month one is 50 subscribers. That's $400 to $550 in revenue depending on your price point. Not life-changing money, but it's proof of concept. Hannah said those first 50 people made her feel more fulfilled than anything she'd done in corporate America.

You need a system for packing hundreds or eventually thousands of envelopes in a condensed window each month. Your first few months, you'll be doing this yourself or with friends and family. Good. The fact that every letter is hand-packed is part of what makes this special.

Hannah started out on her own but now has a crew of six people that can pack about 1,000 letters in two and a half to three hours. That's roughly 18 person-hours per thousand letters.

Do everything in batches and in steps. Stamps first, then address labels, then stuff the contents, then seal. Assembly line style. One week per month dedicated to production and shipping. The rest of your month is spent creating next month's content and growing your audience.

Hannah went from 50 subscribers in August to over 4,100 by February. Month over month, her growth looked like this: 50, then 107, then 1,200, then 2,500, then 3,200, then 3,700, then 4,100.

The 1,200 jump came from that viral video. But the sustained growth came from something more important. Consistency, authenticity, and a product that people wanted to share with friends. Her monthly churn is only about 5%, which is phenomenal for a subscription business.

Hannah turned down advertisers who wanted to put ads in her letters. She could have made more short-term money, but it would have destroyed the trust she built. But depending on your niche, sponsors could become an integral part of it.

At 50 subscribers paying $11 a month, you're bringing in $550 with about $400 in profit. It's a hobby that pays for itself and then some.

At 500 subscribers, you're at $5,500 a month with roughly $3,500 in profit after materials and some help from friends. That's a real side income.

At 2,000 subscribers, you're looking at $22,000 a month with $12,000 to $15,000 in profit. That replaces most people's full-time salary.

And at 4,000 subscribers like Hannah? You're pushing $44,000 a month with $25,000 or more in profit. Her market penetration is about 4,000 people out of 180 million potential customers in the US alone. The ceiling is enormous.

So go pick your niche. Design a simple first envelope with whatever you're passionate about. Set up a basic subscription page. Film yourself making the first batch and post it on TikTok or Instagram. Tell people why you're doing it. Ship your first 10 letters, even if they go to friends and family.

Don't overthink it, just start. Hannah had the idea on a Tuesday and launched a week later. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

And again, if this idea speaks to you, go watch/ listen to the full interview with loads more information on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.

Have a great week!

Chris

P.S. I share deep dives on business ideas and complete playbooks three times a week on YouTube and every podcast platform.