This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Kirstie Wang, proprietor and laminitis of A Jar of Pickles, nan stationery, accessory and gift marque that launched connected Etsy and is now a six-figure business.
Image Credit: Courtesy of A Jar of Pickles. Kirstie Wang.
What was your time occupation (or different sources of income) erstwhile you started your side hustle?
I started my side hustle successful college, and it grew pinch maine done jobs successful schematic design, UX creation and marque trading astatine really astonishing companies and teams astir nan Bay Area. I'll ne'er return for granted really overmuch it taught maine to study business practices from my broadside hustle while simultaneously learning firm strategy.
When did you commencement your broadside hustle, and wherever did you find nan inspiration for it?
While I was successful college, I recovered myself not paying attraction successful immoderate of my classes and school myself Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop instead. You cognize those group successful nan backmost of classes who are intelligibly not listening to lectures and doing thing else? That was me. I recovered designing logos and flyers for student groups measurement much absorbing than paying attraction to my professors (and I decidedly paid for it nan week earlier exams). As I designed casual day cards for friends, my roommates gave maine nan thought to start an Etsy shop — A Jar of Pickles was born.
When I listed my fewer paper designs connected Etsy, I thought I'd waste possibly 1 aliases 2 cards that year, but to my surprise, I sewage my first fewer orders wrong a fewer weeks. I didn't person inventory aliases immoderate benignant of system: I utilized recycled field newspaper arsenic packaging and took nan autobus down College Ave to a section people shop to person nan cards printed arsenic each bid came in.
After I graduated, I started my first full-time occupation on pinch astir of my peers while my mini Etsy shop passively existed successful nan background. I'd database a paper creation present aliases location erstwhile I had time, motivated by nan random orders I'd get. It became a rhythm of orders and effort: The much orders I got, nan much effort I wanted to put into Pickles, and it snowballed into a true, full-fledged side hustle.
What were immoderate of nan first steps you took to get your broadside hustle disconnected nan ground??
Marketing has been a necessity for uncovering customers since nan early days of nan business. My accent was much connected in-person trade fairs successful nan beginning, but since nan business has grown, I've been capable to attraction much connected online efforts and scope a wider audience, focusing mostly connected social media marketing. Instagram has single-handedly changed my business successful nan past fewer years. With nan accent connected Stories and Reels and connecting pinch group each complete nan world, we've really recovered our marque sound connected Instagram, which successful move has kept our reorder complaint hovering astatine complete 50% and built marque loyalty we wouldn't beryllium capable to anyplace else.
What were immoderate of nan biggest challenges you faced while building your broadside hustle, and really did you navigate them?
As a small business owner, you deterioration 5 cardinal hats per day, which tin get very overwhelming — but I've ever been very into making to-do lists and readying retired my clip successful bite-sized pieces. As my lists for Pickles grew longer, I pushed myself to find much businesslike ways to get it each done and not sacrifice surviving my life. I created workflows and process improvements for listing products, packaging orders and creating contented for Instagram, and I sewage faster astatine nan logistical tasks that took up truthful overmuch clip successful nan beginning. Integrating posting Reels and Stories connected Instagram into my regular business regular helped maine link pinch customers consistently and authentically by allowing maine to show a raw, behind-the-scenes look astatine what it's for illustration to tally my business. From that, I gained an incredibly loyal customer base, which is nan halfway of what keeps nan business running.
How agelong did it return you to spot accordant monthly revenue? How overmuch did nan broadside hustle earn?
A Jar of Pickles was very overmuch a broadside "when I person time" hobby until capable orders consistently gave maine six figures successful yearly gross a fewer years in. I ne'er intended for Pickles to turn that much, yet it did, each while I was moving full-time successful creation and trading astatine companies I loved and surviving a very afloat individual life.
But nan maturation to that constituent was decidedly incremental. I didn't dream of hitting six figures successful assemblage arsenic I was printing orders arsenic they came; each week, period and year, I conscionable pushed myself to turn a small bigger and strategize a scheme that was conscionable a small larger. Small, incremental stretches are what made getting to that constituent while moving full-time possible.
I group goals that were achievable pinch nan free clip that I had while moving a corporate job, and I deliberation that's nan champion proposal I tin springiness to anyone asking really to prosecute a business connected nan side: Just continually group mini goals and decorativeness them. It's easy to commencement an thought and person a cardinal things travel successful nan way, whether societal events, unexpected life circumstances, accent astatine work, individual doubts, etc. Pickles would person ne'er grown if I didn't complete moreover nan smallest tasks disconnected my to-do list, and those mini tasks person grown into immense accomplishments I'm really proud of. I learned a batch from moving successful nan fast-paced tech world of Silicon Valley — spell fast, and done is amended than perfect.
Image Credit: Courtesy of A Jar of Pickles
Why did you determine to return your broadside hustle full-time? What does maturation and gross look for illustration now?
I took my broadside hustle full-time 8 years successful erstwhile I couldn't grip some nan business and my firm occupation immoderate longer. Eventually, nan side hustle took much and much time, and I didn't want to sacrifice my weekends moving alternatively of spending clip pinch my loved ones. I made nan difficult determination to springiness up nan profession I was highly passionate astir because my broadside hustle had proven to beryllium connected a bully maturation way and was already hitting dependable profit.
I really counsel my coaching clients and mini business owners that they should effort to equilibrium their business arsenic a broadside hustle on pinch a firm profession for arsenic agelong arsenic possible: The learnings you get from watching and participating successful really a institution runs, strategizes and grows are invaluable erstwhile it comes to moving your ain business. But now that I'm moving for myself, I person to admit nan flexibility and state of mounting my ain activity schedule makes maine deliberation I could ne'er spell backmost to firm — truthful enactment pinch a full-time occupation arsenic agelong arsenic you tin to study arsenic overmuch arsenic you tin earlier you sensation nan state of moving for yourself!
What do you bask astir about moving this business?
There's ever thing caller to research and activity on. New opportunities travel to nan business, and it's thrilling to learn different skills, create caller systems and dream of what's up for nan business. I emotion that I person a imaginative outlet that's wholly my own, and I get to group nan pace, products and mission.
What's your proposal for others hoping to commencement successful broadside hustles aliases businesses of their own?
As entrepreneurs, we dream of what caller products we tin offer, what our dream merchandise packaging tin look for illustration aliases what our trading scheme should aspire to be. While it's awesome to support a database of caller ideas to pursue, it's much important to return what you're presently moving connected and make judge you're seeing it to completion. Don't fto "shiny entity syndrome" zig-zag your attraction truthful you decorativeness 10% of 10 projects alternatively of 100% of one. My norm is to fto myself activity connected "shiny entity syndrome" projects for 20% of my clip and 80% connected projects I've already group goals and tasks around. It's ever a bully clip to bespeak and group circumstantial goals to attraction connected for your shop.
This article is portion of our ongoing Women Entrepreneur® bid highlighting nan stories, challenges and triumphs of moving a business arsenic a woman.