From Selling Fruit Flies to a $10K Month in sales — But Now What?

[Alekqqqq]

Hey everyone!

It’s been over a year since I first read TMF , and I have to say, no other story has resonated with me as deeply. Since then, I’ve been thinking every day about creating something of my own and just taking the leap—worst case scenario, it doesn’t work out, but that’s not the end of the world. I’ve read the book five more times since then, trying to truly ingrain the author’s mindset into my thinking.
At first, I had several ideas—most of them pretty bad—but I knew that taking action was the most important step. So, I decided to start with something simple and familiar: terrarium keeping. I noticed a demand in this niche market and began selling flightless fruit fly cultures. After listing them on marketplaces, I made my first sale the very next day. I kept going until the end of 2024, reaching 80–120 orders per month and likely maxing out the potential for this niche. I became the second-largest seller of this product.
This experience showed me how powerful e-commerce can be—it allows you to reach a wide audience with even the most niche products.
Shortly after earning my biotechnology degree, I landed a full-time job and officially registered my own business (November 2024). I didn’t have a concrete plan yet, but I knew I wanted to build something in this industry. After extensive research, I found a promising niche—bacterial bio-preparations for septic tanks and wastewater treatment. These products sell in large quantities year-round, so I decided to secure my own inventory.
I reached out to 14 companies, but only two were open to working with me. One of them invited me to their headquarters to discuss the terms—they are actually the exclusive distributors for my country. Thanks to my background in this field, I was able to present myself well during the negotiations. Two weeks later, in January of this year, I received my first batch of products. I wrote up descriptions, listed them online, and launched sales.
In the very first month, I sold most of my inventory, generating nearly $10,000 in revenue from 230 orders. I was surprised by how quickly I gained traction. However, after deducting all costs—marketplace fees and other expenses—I was left with just around $300 in profit (which was actually slightly less than what I made selling fruit flies).
Low margins and tough competition selling the exact same product made me realize how far my current business is from a true Fastlane. Even if I scaled it to $100,000 in revenue, the profits still wouldn’t be meaningful.
I started drawing inspiration from other entrepreneurs on this forum, like fastlane_dad, NeoDialectic, and, of course, MJ’s advice. That’s when I realized that the key to higher margins in e-commerce is differentiation—creating my own brand and adding real value to the product.
The company I currently work with is in the process of rebranding some of their other biological cleaning products and claims I’ll get better margins on those. However, I’m questioning whether this is the right path. Should I focus on building my own brand now and find a manufacturer to produce a private-label product for me? Or, given my expertise, should I attempt to develop my own product from scratch?
I’ve noticed that several private-label brands already exist in this market, and they all likely come from the same manufacturer. In this situation, is it still worth investing in my own brand, or is this industry already too saturated, meaning I’d be better off searching for a different niche?
I have just under $20,000 saved for business development. I know what I’m doing right now isn’t fully aligned with the CENTS principles, but I wanted to take action as soon as possible.
What do you think guys?

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

The problem is the food chain.

You aren't at the top.

You're in the middle where the pie has already been sliced and diced.

should I attempt to develop my own product from scratch?

There is the essence of the Fastlane.

Not repping some manufacturer's product, who can turn around and sell the product to 10 other people.

 

[wanttogofaster]

Not repping some manufacturer's product, who can turn around and sell the product to 10 other people.

Respectfully, aren't some respected members of this forum killing it doing just this?

I 100% agree that creating new products or services is a great way to do it, but many companies make billions (mostly) selling other's products.

He says he has 20K. I understand it depends on the product or service he wants to offer, but just as an example, I've looked into food products and physical plastic products, and neither one of them would cost less than $10K to develop.

Between recipes & first test batches for a single food product (x2 for each different flavor), to 3D drawings, prototypes and molds for injection molding (manufactured in Asia), you are looking at 15K+ before you even have a sellable product. Not saying there could not be other cheaper products to develop, though, this is just my experience so far.

Now, I'm not saying go and put your logo on the first product you find on Alibaba, but I would still try selling something as a great way to get your feet wet and also, hopefully, raise the capital needed to pay for your own product's development costs - hoping that they're successful and not a waste of your money.

 

[amp0193]

Any reason not to expand out from what was already working (fruit fly cultures), into adjacent things that those customers might also want? Other things related to terrarium keeping?


Why did you leap into something completely different?

 

[Alekqqqq]

Thanks for your responses guys.

The problem is the food chain.

You aren't at the top.

You're in the middle where the pie has already been sliced and diced.



There is the essence of the Fastlane.

Not repping some manufacturer's product, who can turn around and sell the product to 10 other people.

You're right—I think dealing with so many middlemen doesn't make much sense in terms of profitability. I can reduce the ammount of selling if its not profitable, but still have this inventory as a future promotion for my own products, i mean leaving flyers about my products inside the packages.

Respectfully, aren't some respected members of this forum killing it doing just this?

I 100% agree that creating new products or services is a great way to do it, but many companies make billions (mostly) selling other's products.

He says he has 20K. I understand it depends on the product or service he wants to offer, but just as an example, I've looked into food products and physical plastic products, and neither one of them would cost less than $10K to develop.

Between recipes & first test batches for a single food product (x2 for each different flavor), to 3D drawings, prototypes and molds for injection molding (manufactured in Asia), you are looking at 15K+ before you even have a sellable product. Not saying there could not be other cheaper products to develop, though, this is just my experience so far.

Now, I'm not saying go and put your logo on the first product you find on Alibaba, but I would still try selling something as a great way to get your feet wet and also, hopefully, raise the capital needed to pay for your own product's development costs - hoping that they're successful and not a waste of your money.

I think I can try both options—finding a company to manufacture a product for me while also developing my own from scratch in my garage (I have a lot of space). This way, I can see which option performs better.

Any reason not to expand out from what was already working (fruit fly cultures), into adjacent things that those customers might also want? Other things related to terrarium keeping?


Why did you leap into something completely different?

I decided to give up selling fruit flies because it was too time-consuming and had little potential for scaling. The market was also too niche. I spent a lot of time preparing food media and assembling the colonies, which made it difficult to see long-term growth potential. Additionally, shipping live insects is much more problematic than shipping a ready-made product.
I considered adding other feeder insects to my offer, but that would still involve breeding and selling live insects, which I see as a low-potential venture. I could also add terrarium accessories to my product line, but I see many stores that already stock them, making them easily accessible.
Biological preparations seemed like a much more promising business to me—with a larger, growing market each year. Plus, I have expertise in this field, which is why I decided to give this niche a try.