Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Jayson Su is still around 21 years old. However, he has been able to earn US$ 38,000 (around Rp. 600 million) a day.
This started in October 2021. At that time the TikTok video went viral, about the LED bar-coated rearview mirror, and started to attract the attention of the masses.
Siu himself is actually a freshman at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He often spends time doing business, making light-up stickers with LED support for vehicles.
But it was initially just a side job. Unexpectedly, this went viral and was watched more than 9 million times.
His business Invalid.jp also made a profit of up to US$ 38,000 per day after that. In 2022, in total, his business revenue will reach US$ 512,000.
“About 30% of that revenue is profit,” Siu estimates CNBC Make It, quoted Thursday (2/11/2023).
Now, he has done it Invalid.jp The main job. He works 40 hours per week.
Previously, he ran the business out of his parents’ two-bedroom apartment in Honolulu. But now, he rents a special warehouse for his work.
“I’m always stressed,” said Siu again.
“This is not just a home business [orang tua] … Now this really has to work,” he stressed again.
Starting from high school
Actually Siu started Invalid.jp from high school, currently working at a valet company. Initially he wanted extra money to buy accessories for his own car, the Nissan Rogue SUV.
Stickers are indeed popular among friends. He then spent US$300 from his savings and bought a vinyl printer for the same amount.
He then sells the stickers for US$3 to US$5. each to their friends on Snapchat.
Siu also tried to switch to something more expensive to earn money. That means he needs to sell a more profitable product.
While researching, he came across an LED backlit rearview mirror on Instagram. “I could be the one selling this,” he recalled thinking.
He ordered a rearview mirror for US$20 from a factory in China. Then he opened the glass and installed LED lights inside, along with his most popular stickers.
The sticker says “drive safely”. The backlight made the sticker visible when he replaced the glass.
A friend told him he could increase sales through TikTok, so he started posting videos “as often as possible.”
When the purchases start coming in, this is the turning point. Siu saw that this was not just sideline into a real business.
“Yo, maybe this could become a real business,” he added.
After that, he suddenly became a hit on social media. What he uploaded turned out to be viral.
Advertising on Social Media
From there, he turned to social media advertising for more consistent sales. He said he still had to try hard.
“I wasted thousands of dollars,” Siu said.
“I barely broke even, even losing money for several months. It was very unmotivating,” he added.
Ads on Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter, now known as X, don’t seem to be helping its sales. So he reallocated his marketing budget to TikTok, Google, Facebook and Instagram.
“The quality and reach of the campaign has increased,” he said.
New product
After that, Siu added a new product line. Such as cupholders, visors and number plates.
Initially, he bought them wholesale, customized them, and resold them for a profit. However, the two products that are most in demand are stickers and LED rearview mirrors.
This led him to combine the two to create a sticker that lights up. It is customizable and can change color when controlled with a small remote.
Siu said he will not stop exploring. According to him, until now he is still trying new ideas for his business.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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