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☕️ Selling $3,000+ From A Hotel Room
How an NBA star leveraged the pandemic to start his million-dollar coffee brand
Dyani Janga
February 07, 2025
During the pandemic, the NBA hosted their playoffs in a different fashion than the usual: The Playoff Bubble.
Outside of not being able to go out and party, the NBA players complained about one other thing…
The Bubble’s coffee sucked.
But one player, Jimmy Butler, did the unthinkable; while getting ready to depart to the Disney resort the players resided at, he brought his Coffee Beans and Espresso Machine.
Butler saw a void and started selling his better-quality coffee for $20/cup straight from his hotel room to his colleagues.
☕️ Building The BIGFACE Brand
While this side-hustle could’ve just stayed in the Bubble, Jimmy Butler decided to transition his hotel room coffeeshop into an entire brand, naming it BIGFACE.
But unlike most celebrity ventures, Jimmy is actually building BIGFACE as a real entrepreneur.
Instead of slapping his name and face on the products, he’s putting in the real work.
He’s diving deep into the culture, sourcing high-quality beans, and building a brand with real substance. By traveling to coffee farms, partnering with top-tier roasters, and even joining Shopify’s creator program.
While other NBA players use their off-time to relax, Butler is out building a brand that could outlast his playing days.
I wake up in the morning excited to train an go work out. Then I want to hurry up and get home so I can practice my bartending
I could see Jimmy Butler being a member of the Life After Five community. Because right after his job is finished, he starts working on his business.
He’s busy enough practicing, lifting weights, playing games, and talking to press.
So how in the world would he be able to build full-out brand aside from all of the time & energy consuming work he does?
Let’s go over it.
💸 Selling $3,000+ From A Hotel Room
Jimmy Butler was able to sell over $3,000 from his hotel room because of three major components.
Problem
Every business solves a problem, Butler’s empire started with a simple one—the Bubble’s coffee was terrible. He solved it for others by offering them coffee from his machine.
Person
The people he sold to were other NBA players, with an average minimum annual salary of $898,310. So an NBA player spending $20 on coffee is like a normal person spending $0.88 on coffee.
Pricing
Knowing his customers were rich, wanted good coffee, and had no other option but buying it from him—he could easily charge $20 or more for his coffee.
I want you to understand The Millionaire Math on this hustle…
3,000 ÷ 20 = 150. Jimmy Butler only sold 150 cups of coffee and made three grand.
But to make $3,000 from average priced coffees ($5) you’d need to sell 4x more units.
3,000 ÷ 5 = 600.
🔑 Key Take Away
Sell the right product, to the right people, at the right price—and watch your profits skyrocket.
Jimmy Butler sold the right product, to the right people, at the right price. Making a coffee would’ve costed him less than $2 a pop, meaning he’d profit $18 from each sale.
The smart entrepreneur positions his offer in places where it’s most needed and prices it appropriately.
📖 Book Bit
The easiest way to make more money is to charge more.
$100M Offers - Alex Hormozi
Instead of trying to sell hundreds of cups at $5, Butler made way more money by selling the cups at $20.
👞 Action Step
Identify the problem you're solving, and ensure you're offering it to the right person at the right price.
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