Hello contrarians,
Today’s idea is called The $2 Study Guide Store.
Grab a coffee. ☕
First, a nurse’s story. Then, the business you could build from it.
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⚡ Quick facts
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📖 How one nurse made $2 million from $2 pages
It started with her own study notes.
It’s June 2020, and Stephanee Beggs has just finished nursing school.
To become a nurse, she has to pass one big exam.
So she studies, and makes her own notes.
Then she starts selling those notes online, on Etsy, in a store called RNExplained.
She posts videos on TikTok too, and the store takes off. 📈
Her prices:
$2 for one sheet.
$30–40 for a bundle.
$150 for everything.
Get this: about two years later, she tells Fox Business she “surpassed $2 million in profits last year alone.”
Holy moly. 😳 $2 million, from $2 pages.
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💡 The opportunity
Pharmacy technicians have a big exam too, and every new class needs what Stephanee gave nurses.
Pharmacy technicians are the people behind the pharmacy counter, counting pills and filling prescriptions.
To get certified, they have to pass one exam, run by a group called PTCB.
About 49,000 people take it every year.
Only 69% pass. So about 3 in 10 fail. 😬
Here’s the thing: the exam changed in January 2026.
Some topics were removed.
A new one was added: the federal rules for tracking drugs from the factory to the pharmacy.
Books and flashcards made before 2026 teach the old exam.
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👉 The idea: sell study guides for pharmacy technicians.
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✅ Why this could work
Three reasons there’s real money here.
Someone already made millions with this model, and others keep making money from exam notes.
Stephanee, about $167,000 a month in profit. Her Etsy store passed 85,800 sales by October 2026.
Medical students in Toronto sell their exam notes as a book, Toronto Notes, raising $220,000 to $280,000 a year for their school.
PharmacyGuides sells notes for the pharmacist exam on Etsy, with about 4,000 sales.
The exam isn’t going anywhere.
It’s been given every year since 1995.
Even in a slow year, about 31,000 people take it. In a busy year, about 55,000.
Every year, a brand-new group has to pass it. 🔁
And it’s growing: 43,206 people took it in 2023, and 49,253 in 2025.
People already look for help, a lot.
The numbers are just below. 👀
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👉 Want to check these numbers? Each one has a source link in the last section, “📎 The sources.”
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📊 More proof people want this
Specific proof first, then the big picture, then their own words.
People already pay for help:
A one-page laminated PTCB reference card on Amazon has 3,928 ratings, at $6.48.
Amanda PharmD’s paid PTCB course on Udemy has 2,685 students, at $99.99.
The top PTCB apps charge up to about $96 a year for full access.
YouTube: 183 study videos for this exam, with more than 9 million views and more than 11,000 comments.
23 of those videos have over 100,000 views each.
The most-watched free practice test has more than 660,000 views.
“I passed!”: under the 15 most-watched videos, more than 260 comments say the person passed. 🎉
Apps: about 40 study apps for this exam on the iPhone App Store.
The top seven have almost 12,000 ratings between them.
Books: more than 45 study books for this exam.
Google: “ptcb exam test” gets 5,400 searches a month.
Podcasts: only 3 show up when you search Apple Podcasts.
When we checked in October 2026, almost nobody taught this exam by audio. 🎧
The big picture: the US has about 471,000 pharmacy tech jobs. 💰
About 44,700 of these jobs open up every year, so new people keep arriving. 🔁
What they say: “taking my exam in two days and i’m so scared”
A comment under a popular YouTube study video for this exam.
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👉 Thousands of people study for this exam every year, and they’re already looking for help.
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🔍 Who’s already doing it
A few players, and a clear gap next to them.
Stephanee sells only to nurses, and she’ll likely stay there.
She’s a nurse, and her whole brand is about nursing.
Pharmacy is a different job, so she’s unlikely to start selling guides for it.
One pharmacist already teaches this exam on YouTube, and she’s good.
Amanda PharmD has about 99,700 subscribers.
Her videos are long: a 90-question practice test, and a math series that runs more than two hours.
When we checked in October 2026, two small Etsy shops sold PTCB guides.
PharmPop sells a $23.99 binder, and Capsulecramrx a $4.49 guide.
Each reached a few hundred sales within about six months.
That’s proof buyers pay, with plenty of room left.
Here’s what we couldn’t find, when we checked in October 2026:
Short study guides, one topic per guide.
A short video explaining each guide.
$2 a guide, like Stephanee’s.
🔎 Check the market yourself in 2 minutes: run Part 0 of the prompt below.
Your AI searches Etsy, YouTube, Amazon, and the app stores that day, and tells you: early, growing, or crowded.
Early? Start now.
Crowded? Good news: it means people buy. Pick one narrower group of test takers (Step 5).
A crowd isn’t a deal-breaker. You win by serving one group better, not by being first.
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👉 That gap is your way in.
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🤖 Why AI won’t replace it
AI gives them answers. You give them a way to pass.
Being right. Every guide is checked twice: by a fact-checker, then by a strict teacher.
A quick ChatGPT answer gets no checks, and one wrong drug fact can cost them the exam.
Judgment: you know what matters.
A nervous student doesn’t know what to ask.
You pick the topics the exam actually tests, and point out the traps.
The format: one page, one topic.
ChatGPT gives a wall of text.
Your guide gives a clear layout, a memory trick, and one worked example, on a page they can print and stick on the wall.
Fun and visual. A one-minute video for each guide makes a dry topic easy to remember. 🎬
Ready when they’re scared. The night before the exam, they want the answer in two minutes, not a prompt to write.
Proof people pay for the format: a $6.48 laminated PTCB card on Amazon has 3,928 ratings.
The same facts are free online.
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👉 Turns out, people pay for the format, not just the facts.
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💵 How much you can make
Here’s the math.
3,000 buyers is about 6% of one year’s test takers.
The $40 assumes most buyers pick a bundle, not single $2 guides.
If it doesn’t work out, here’s all you lose:
About $0.60 to list three guides on Etsy, at $0.20 each.
One month’s subscription to an AI app, like ChatGPT or Claude.
One week of your time.
Did this one make you think “wait, I could do that”?
Then keep scrolling. The whole build plan is below. 👇
If not, no worries. See you next week with a new idea.
That’s it, my fellow contrarians! 🙌
Yours ‘helping you find ideas that already make money’ Vijay Peduru 🦸♂️
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🧰 Want to build it? Here’s everything else.
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Step 1: 🛠️ Make the guides
You don’t need to know anything about pharmacies to start.
Get the list of exam topics.
The group that runs the exam, PTCB, publishes the full list for free.
It covers things like the most common medicines and what each one treats.
It also covers pharmacy math, like working out how many pills last a month.
And the rules for medicines that need extra care, like strong painkillers.
Turn each topic into a one-page study guide.
Your AI writes it, using only official sources.
Start with three guides, and add more every week.
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Step 2: 🔍 Check every fact
You don’t need to work in a pharmacy. You need AI that writes, then checks its own work twice.
🖊️ The writer. It writes each guide from official sources only, like the exam’s topic list and DailyMed, the government’s library of drug labels.
🔍 The fact-checker. A second pass opens every link, and confirms each fact says exactly that.
🧐 The critic. A third pass hunts for mistakes, and works every math problem again from scratch.
Optional: pay a pharmacist once to review everything before you launch.
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👉 The prompt already follows three safety rules: official sources only, a “not medical advice” line on every guide, and your own store name.
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Step 3: 🏪 Open your store
Price them like Stephanee did, and put them online.
Set your prices.
$2 for one guide.
$30–40 for a group of guides, like all the pharmacy math.
$150 for everything.
Pick where to sell.
Etsy is where Stephanee sold hers.
Gumroad or your own website work too.
Write your listings using the words test takers actually search for, like “ptcb exam.”
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Step 4: 📣 Get your first buyers
Short videos bring the buyers. Stephanee’s store took off from TikTok, not ads.
Make a one-minute video for each guide.
Explain the one topic in plain words.
Your AI can write the script for you.
Post one video a day, for 30 days.
End every video the same way: “The guide for this is in my store. It’s $2.”
Turn every question into the next video. Your buyers write your topic list for you.
Give one guide away free, in exchange for an email address.
Talk to teachers. Pharmacy tech training programs teach whole classes who all take this exam.
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Step 5: 🏃 Eliminate competitors
If ten competitors copy you, here’s how yours stays ahead.
Make your guides for one type of student, not everyone taking the exam.
For example: people retaking the exam after failing once.
Or people switching careers in their 40s.
Or people whose first language is Spanish.
When a guide feels written just for them, they pick yours over a general one.
Be the face. People buy from a person they’ve watched for months.
Collect screenshots of passing scores. Every one a buyer posts is proof for the next buyer.
Promise free updates when the exam changes again.
Start early. Your store collects reviews every month. A store that opens later starts at zero.
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Step 6: 🎲 Make it bigger
Every required exam has the same setup: a public topic list, and a new group of people every year.
Open the same store for other required exams: paramedics, dental hygienists, pharmacists, respiratory therapists.
Three stores at about $10,000 a month each is about $360,000 a year, before fees.
Over three years, that’s about a million dollars. 🎯
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🗓️ Your first week
Steps 1 to 4 fit into seven days. 🚀
By day 7, you have a store, three guides, and three videos.
The prompt below has six Parts, and they’re not the same as the Steps above.
Day 1 (Step 1): Run Part 1 of the prompt (it’s below). Pick your first ten topics.
Days 2–3 (Steps 1 and 2): Write three guides with Part 2, then check each one with Parts 3 and 4.
Day 4 (Step 3): Write your listings with Part 5, then open your store with three guides at $2 each.
Days 5–7 (Step 4): Write a script for each guide with Part 6, and post one video a day.
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🏄 How to use the prompt
One prompt does all the AI work, in six parts, plus a quick market check (Part 0).
Part 1 — Plan the topics. Turns the official exam topic list into about sixty one-page topics.
Part 2 — Write a guide. Drafts one page on one topic, and names the source for every fact.
Part 3 — Check every fact. Opens every link and confirms each fact matches the page.
Part 4 — Find the mistakes. Reads it like a strict teacher, and works every math problem again.
Part 5 — Write the listings. Writes your store listings, using the words test takers actually search for.
Part 6 — Script the video. Turns a guide into a script under one minute.
Run it your way:
Part by part (the default): it pauses after each part, and you type “next” to go on.
All at once: say “run all six parts.”
Just one part: say “only do Part 3,” or any part you need.
The full prompt is just below, under “📋 The prompt.”
🎙️ Talk to your AI sidekick, don’t type.
Turn on voice mode, or use a dictation app like Wispr Flow.
Say it messy. The AI sorts it out.
Turn it into a skill, so you never paste it again.
Paste the prompt into Claude or ChatGPT, and say: “Turn this into a skill I can save.”
Install once, use forever.
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📋 The prompt
The prompt (copy it into Claude or ChatGPT, fill in the INPUTS part, and run it your way)
CONTEXT:
- You're my study-guide partner. Together we'll build a store of one-page study guides for the PTCB exam, the pharmacy technician certification exam.
- This prompt has six parts, in order.
- Run it the way I ask:
- If I say nothing, go one part at a time. After each part, show me the result, then stop and wait. Move on only when I type "next."
- If I say "run all six parts," do them all without stopping.
- If I say "only do Part 3" (or any part), do just that part.
- If a part needs something from me, ask for it before you start that part.
- Use only official sources, like the PTCB topic list and DailyMed, the government's library of drug labels. Never invent a fact. If you can't find a source, leave the fact out.
- If you can't open a link I give you, ask me to attach the file instead.
=============== INPUTS — edit these, or just run as is ===============
The exam:
{e.g. the PTCB pharmacy technician certification exam (PTCE)}
The official topic list (paste it, or attach the file):
{e.g. the PTCB exam content outline: https://ptcb.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/PTCE-Content-Outline.pdf}
Who the guides are for:
{e.g. people retaking the exam after failing once}
My prices:
{e.g. $2 a guide, $30–40 for a group of guides, $150 for everything}
======================== END OF INPUTS ========================
THE PARTS:
Part 0 — Check the market today.
This part needs web search (turn on search in ChatGPT or Claude). Search for study help for my exam and, for each place, give the count, the three biggest with links, and their prices:
1. Etsy shops selling study guides for this exam.
2. YouTube channels teaching it.
3. Study apps on the App Store and Google Play.
4. Study books on Amazon.
5. Podcasts about it.
Also find the date of the latest exam update on the official site. Then tell me: early (few sellers), growing, or crowded, and which group of test takers looks least served (for example: retakers, career changers, Spanish speakers). Give a link for every number. If you can't open a page, say so. Never guess a number.
Part 1 — Plan the topics.
Turn the official list into about sixty one-page topics. Show which part of the list each one comes from. Pick the first ten to write, and say why. Say clearly which reasons are your guess. Mark any topics that are new in the 2026 exam.
Part 2 — Write a guide.
Ask me which topic to write first. Then write one page for someone with no pharmacy background:
1. The topic in one sentence.
2. The key facts, as short bullets, each with its source link.
3. One worked example, step by step, for any math topic.
4. Three practice questions, with the answers at the bottom.
5. This line at the very bottom: "For exam study only. Not medical advice."
Part 3 — Check every fact.
Now act as a separate fact-checker who didn't write this guide. Open every link. Mark each fact: matches the source, doesn't match, or has no source. For each problem, show what the source actually says. Then give a fixed version of the guide.
Part 4 — Find the mistakes.
Now act as a strict teacher grading the guide before any student sees it. Work every math problem again from scratch, and don't trust the guide's answers. Flag anything that would confuse a beginner, and anything that could be read as medical advice. Then give the final guide, with every fix made.
Part 5 — Write the listings.
Write store listings for Etsy, Gumroad, or my own site, using the words test takers actually search for, like "ptcb exam." Give a title, a short description, and tags for each guide, plus a bundle listing that shows how much buyers save. Never use the exam board's name or logo as my store name. Never promise a passing score.
Part 6 — Script the video.
Turn the final guide into a one-minute video script, under 150 words:
1. The first line: the question a nervous test taker would ask.
2. The answer, in three short beats.
3. One quick example.
4. The closing line, word for word: "The guide for this is in my store. It's $2."
When all six parts are done, ask if I want to repeat Parts 2 to 6 for the next topic.⠀
📎 The sources
Every number above, with where it came from.
Stephanee’s profit · Number: “surpassed $2 million in profits last year alone” · Source: Fox Business, February 2023
Her prices · Number: $2 a sheet, $30–40 bundles, $150 for everything · Source: Same article
Pharmacy tech exams in 2025 · Number: 49,253, with a 69% pass rate · Source: PTCB
New PTCB shops · Number: PharmPop: 619 sales, 6 months on Etsy, $23.99 binder · Capsulecramrx: 428 sales, 5 months, $4.49 guide · Source: Etsy: PharmPop and Etsy: Capsulecramrx, October 21, 2026
The exam change · Number: Updated topic list from January 2026; some topics removed, drug supply-chain rules added · Source: PTCB
Stephanee’s store today · Number: About 85,800 sales; rated 4.9 · Source: Etsy: RNExplained, October 21, 2026
Toronto Notes · Number: “Our donation to the Faculty is typically between $220,000 and $280,000 annually”; almost $3.7 million in total · Source: University of Toronto, January 2019
PharmacyGuides · Number: About 4,000 sales · Source: Etsy: PharmacyGuides, October 21, 2026
Exams by year · Number: 31,107 in 2001, 55,443 in 2010; 951,639 in total from 1995 to 2018 · Source: PTCB statistics
Exams by year (recent) · Number: 43,206 in 2023; 46,725 in 2024; 49,253 in 2025 · Source: PTCB: Credentials by the Numbers
Laminated PTCB reference card · Number: 3,928 ratings, $6.48 · Source: Amazon, “Pharmacy Technician – PTCE: QuickStudy Laminated Reference Guide,” October 21, 2026
Amanda PharmD’s course · Number: 2,685 students, $99.99 · Source: Udemy, October 21, 2026
PTCB app prices · Number: Pocket Prep yearly $95.99; PTCB Mastery yearly $89.99 · Source: US App Store, October 21, 2026
YouTube study videos · Number: 183 videos found by YouTube search for this exam; more than 9.3 million views; more than 11,700 comments; 23 with 100,000+ views · Source: YouTube Data API, October 17, 2026
Free practice-test views · Number: More than 660,000 · Source: YouTube, October 2026
“I passed” comments · Number: 264 of 1,420 comments under the 15 most-watched videos say “passed” · Source: YouTube Data API, October 17, 2026
Study apps · Number: 40 results for “PTCB” in the US App Store; the top seven exam apps have about 11,900 ratings combined · Source: App Store search, October 17, 2026
Study books · Number: 46 results for “PTCB exam” in Open Library, editions from 2007 to 2024 · Source: Open Library, October 17, 2026
Google searches · Number: “ptcb exam test” 5,400 a month · Source: Ubersuggest, US, October 2026
Podcasts · Number: 3 results for “PTCB” in Apple Podcasts search · Source: Apple search, October 17, 2026
Pharmacy tech jobs in the US · Number: About 471,200 in 2025; about 44,700 openings a year, on average, over the next decade · Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Comment: the fear · Number: “taking my exam in two days and i’m so scared” · Source: YouTube comment, 2024
Amanda PharmD · Number: About 99,700 subscribers · Source: YouTube, October 2026
Etsy listing fee · Number: $0.20 per listing; 6.5% transaction fee · Source: Checkout Page, 2026 Etsy fees guide
The official topic list · Number: Effective January 6, 2026; four areas, with pharmacy math (including days’ supply) under Order Entry and Processing · Source: PTCB content outline