An American Mom of 5 Fell in Love With a Product Overseas. She Turned It Into a ‘No-Brainer’ Side Hustle Seeing $7 Million Annually.

This Side Hustle Q&A features Colleen Sundlie, 50, of Moscow, Idaho. Sundlie is simply a mom of 5 and laminitis of Date Lady, a statement of better-for-you integrated day products including syrups, spreads, sauces and sugar. The products are manufactured successful a installation based successful Springfield, Missouri. Sundlie has grown the business for 15 years. Date Lady exceeded $2 cardinal successful yearly gross successful 2021, deed $6.8 cardinal wrong the adjacent 4 years and is anticipating $10 cardinal this year. Responses person been edited for magnitude and clarity. 

Image Credit: Date Lady. Colleen Sundlie.

Discovering the magic of dates abroad

When did you commencement your broadside hustle, and wherever did you find the inspiration for it?
Years ago, while surviving overseas successful Al Ain, UAE for my husband’s work, I came crossed a marketplace trading axenic day syrup. Dates are very overmuch a portion of the civilization there. Everywhere you spell you are offered dates and Arabic coffee. The malls and section souks were besides afloat of varieties of each kinds, very different from what you spot present successful the U.S., wherever astir group person only tried the 2 main day varieties. 

The fateful time I spotted day syrup connected a marketplace shelf, I pulled it disconnected to investigate. The Emirati ladies opinionated astir who were admiring my babe successful tow started telling maine it would beryllium bully for my babe and astir really their ancestors had utilized it for galore years. I took it location and was blown distant by the spirit profile. The much I researched it, the much I realized that it had a really precocious nutritional value. 

When we moved backmost to the states, I couldn’t find it anywhere. That was the infinitesimal I knew I had to fig retired a measurement to bring the day syrup we loved to the U.S. It seemed for illustration a no-brainer for the American market, and I needed to beryllium capable to bargain it locally myself! 

Image Credit: Date Lady

Launching a broadside hustle pinch astir $60,000

What were immoderate of the first steps you took to get your broadside hustle disconnected the ground? How overmuch money/investment did it return to launch?
First, we researched the market to make judge a marque wasn’t already doing it. The only spot I could find it was successful obscure import stores, and it often contained sugar, which it did not need. My hubby and I flew to Nuremberg, Germany for BioFach (a awesome natural/organic nutrient show) to meet our first imaginable supplier and past to Dubai for Gulfood. I deliberation we spent astir $5,000 for that travel and astir $60,000 to bring our first shipment into the U.S. and create a mini abstraction to vessel it.  

Are location immoderate free aliases paid resources that person been particularly adjuvant for you successful starting and moving this business? 
Friends, family and our section bank! All were truthful supportive and backed america not only pinch enthusiasm, but besides pinch finance — and I’m judge it seemed for illustration a beautiful crazy thought to immoderate of them.

Image Credit: Date Lady

Building pinch nary task superior aliases exit strategy

If you could spell backmost successful your business travel and alteration 1 process aliases attack to prevention you time, power aliases conscionable a headache, what would it be, and really do you wish you’d done it differently?
We’ve been blessed to return it slow and study arsenic we go. Sometimes I deliberation we should person taken task superior aliases really laid retired our exit strategy from the beginning, but the truth is that I’m not judge the marketplace was arsenic fresh for america past arsenic they are now, and it was a engaged play of life, truthful I’m not judge we could person handled the unit anyway.

Growing slowly allowed america to really fig retired really to make things activity and flight a load of debt. When we made a mistake, location wasn’t arsenic overmuch connected the line, and each small correction we made on the measurement has played a domiciled successful greater occurrence because we’ve learned from it. I’m not judge I’d alteration a thing.

Entering ceramic and mortar comes astatine a cost

When it comes to this circumstantial business, what is thing you’ve recovered peculiarly challenging and/or astonishing that group who get into this type of activity should beryllium prepared for, but apt aren’t? 
Playing successful ceramic and mortar comes astatine a awesome cost. It’s existent that you tin get successful beforehand of market buyers without hiring a income personification aliases broker, but erstwhile trying to scale, brokers bring relationships and worth that travel pinch years successful the business that you do not have. You whitethorn person the astir absorbing merchandise successful the world, but unless you are consenting to put costs towards slotting (placement) fees, trading promotions and supply a free lawsuit of merchandise for each shop starting out, your chances are slim. Then erstwhile you get into the stores, you must activity pinch distributors, which brings much disbursal and fees to the table. 

Can you callback a circumstantial lawsuit erstwhile thing went very incorrect — really did you hole it?
We processed 60,000 pounds of dates successful California and ended up pinch a syrup that was higher successful a people occurring acerb than normal and thing for illustration the day syrup we knew and loved from the Arabian peninsula. Being a young company, it seemed for illustration a immense loss. It was still an absorbing product, precocious successful nutritional value. Instead of going to waste, I started experimenting pinch it. I ended up pinch a BBQ condiment that I was really excited about. I was already utilizing day syrup to create recipes for my family, truthful it was not difficult to create it. And it became 1 of our leader products. 

Image Credit: Date Lady

Consistent revenue, past a $2 cardinal breakout year

How agelong did it return you to spot accordant monthly revenue? What does maturation and gross look for illustration now? 
We saw accordant gross wrong the first twelvemonth but it took america a fistful of years to become profitable. 

By 2021, Date Lady yearly gross had surpassed $2 million. Over the adjacent 4 years, that grew to almost astir $7 million. Our extremity for this twelvemonth is $10 million. 

Navigating motherhood and business

How overmuch clip do you walk moving connected your business connected a daily, play aliases monthly basis?
It depends a batch connected what is going connected astatine location for me. We person 5 kids, and location are schoolhouse activities, sports, etc. I person ever tried to activity astir that, truthful astir apt very unconventional, but it has worked. A emblematic time lately looks for illustration getting the kids retired the doorway for school, sitting down to drawback up connected emails, a gathering aliases two, reference group astatine the school, stepping our Mastiff who is missing the kids astatine school, hitting immoderate email again, slamming retired a bid of chair testing for a caller merchandise we’re moving connected and past schoolhouse prime up. I will usually cheque email erstwhile much successful the evening and sometimes do a small much chair testing aft everyone’s successful bed. 

Image Credit: Date Lady

What is your champion portion of specific, actionable business advice?
Really dial successful connected the cost of equipment sold (COGS) and laic retired your projections and expenses for the adjacent fewer years. Make judge you spot profit successful your future. Stay existent to who you are. For example, we ne'er utilized a look provided by consultants to nutrient our products; we produced them successful my kitchen. Most companies would not see this moreover an option, but it has allowed america to create unsocial products without emblematic flavors and additives, and that has really go portion of our success. 

This Side Hustle Q&A features Colleen Sundlie, 50, of Moscow, Idaho. Sundlie is simply a mom of 5 and laminitis of Date Lady, a statement of better-for-you integrated day products including syrups, spreads, sauces and sugar. The products are manufactured successful a installation based successful Springfield, Missouri. Sundlie has grown the business for 15 years. Date Lady exceeded $2 cardinal successful yearly gross successful 2021, deed $6.8 cardinal wrong the adjacent 4 years and is anticipating $10 cardinal this year. Responses person been edited for magnitude and clarity. 

Image Credit: Date Lady. Colleen Sundlie.

Discovering the magic of dates abroad

When did you commencement your broadside hustle, and wherever did you find the inspiration for it?
Years ago, while surviving overseas successful Al Ain, UAE for my husband’s work, I came crossed a marketplace trading axenic day syrup. Dates are very overmuch a portion of the civilization there. Everywhere you spell you are offered dates and Arabic coffee. The malls and section souks were besides afloat of varieties of each kinds, very different from what you spot present successful the U.S., wherever astir group person only tried the 2 main day varieties. 

The fateful time I spotted day syrup connected a marketplace shelf, I pulled it disconnected to investigate. The Emirati ladies opinionated astir who were admiring my babe successful tow started telling maine it would beryllium bully for my babe and astir really their ancestors had utilized it for galore years. I took it location and was blown distant by the spirit profile. The much I researched it, the much I realized that it had a really precocious nutritional value.