Do you happen to have an extra $8.46 in pennies? Maybe you could put it to use to create a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. At least that’s what Maury McCoy did. Maury works in the investment world, and spends much of his time pitching large endowments, foundations, and pensions. In industry terms, he’s what’s known as an independent third-party marketer.

But that’s his day job. When he’s not working, Maury sells an Abraham Lincoln portrait kit that can be filled in for only 846 pennies. The idea came to him when he read a story about a Florida father and son who had created a giant, wall-sized version.

Soon, Maury realized he had the makings of a Side Hustle. He created a print run of two thousand units of his new template. The printer set-up costs were $800. Whether he printed one or one thousand, so he figured he could drive each unit price down by ordering more volume. He called his creation: Penny Portrait. He spread the word through emails, message boards and forums. Soon thereafter, he posted on Amazon and now averages $40,000 annually in sales.

Quite the penny-pinching project.

Startup Costs: $800

Annual Revenue: $40,000

Website: PennyPortrait.com

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