She Had Less Than $800 When She Started a Side Hustle — Then This Personal Advice From Tony Robbins Helped Her Make $45 Million

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Cathryn Lavery, laminitis of BestSelf Co., a planner and speech paper platform institution that sold $45 cardinal successful merchandise earlier it was acquired successful 2022. Responses person been edited for magnitude and clarity.

Image Credit: Courtesy of BestSelf Co. Cathryn Lavery.

When did you move to New York City, and what inspired you to commencement your side hustle there?
I moved to New York City successful 2011 for an architecture internship. In 2012, I was offered a full-time position, but a last-minute salary reduction and delayed commencement day near maine successful a precarious financial situation. With little than $800 to my sanction successful a metropolis wherever I knew fundamentally nary one, I needed to enactment accelerated connected starting a broadside hustle. Plus, arsenic an Irish immigrant, I could only legally activity for that institution because they were sponsoring my visa, truthful getting a impermanent occupation was disconnected nan table.

My first side hustle leveraged my creation skills from architecture. I dove into schematic design, logo creation and moreover learned Kindle book formatting. I took connected immoderate design-related activity I could find — building websites, formatting books aliases creating graphics. If you needed thing done, I would fig it retired really to get it done.

This acquisition opened my eyes to nan possibilities beyond traditional employment and group nan shape for my entrepreneurial journey.

Related: This Former Disney Princess Lived 'Paycheck to Paycheck' Before Starting a Side Hustle astatine Home — Now She Makes $250,000 a Year

How did you create nan productivity diary you listed connected Shopify?
The thought for nan Self Journal stemmed from a individual need. After realizing I had ADHD later successful life, I struggled pinch staying organized. I created nan diary by combining frameworks from various individual improvement books I'd publication and putting my ain rotation connected them. It was designed to thief negociate my ain productivity challenges, but I soon realized it could use others too.

Interestingly, my architecture inheritance played a important role. In school, I designed an yearly book that taught maine typesetting and layout creation — skills that proved invaluable successful creating nan journal. As Steve Jobs said, "You can't link nan dots looking forward; you tin only link them looking backward."

People often inquire if I regret studying architecture since it seems unrelated to what I'm doing now. But nan truth is, I often find myself utilizing skills I learned during my studies. This acquisition taught maine that skills harvester complete time, and nan much divers your accomplishment set, nan amended equipped you are for various challenges.

When I first ventured into entrepreneurship, I thought my deficiency of general business acquisition would beryllium a immense disadvantage. However, I quickly realized that business skills tin beryllium learned done reference and practice. Meanwhile, my creation skills gave maine a important advantage, allowing maine to return action and move faster than peers who needed to prosecute out.

This travel has reinforced my belief that nary knowledge aliases accomplishment is ever wasted. Each caller accomplishment you get adds to your toolkit, often successful unexpected ways. For aspiring entrepreneurs, I'd promote embracing divers experiences and skills — you ne'er cognize really they mightiness harvester to springiness you a unsocial separator successful nan future.

Related: This Mom Started a Side Hustle connected Facebook — Now It Averages $14,000 a Month and She Can 'Work From a Resort successful nan Maldives'

How did nan business proceed to return disconnected from there? What roles did Daymond John and Tony Robbins play?
The Kickstarter run for nan Self Journal was pivotal, raising complete $326,000 and giving commencement to BestSelf Co. Our accelerated maturation led to america winning nan Shopify Build a Business Award a twelvemonth aft we launched, which opened doors to unthinkable opportunities.

At nan grant event, I had nan chance to meet Daymond John. During a crippled of Monopoly, he recognized my strategical skills, which led to him becoming an connection for our products. This endorsement from a "Shark" was a important boost for our brand.

I person a relationship pinch Tony Robbins, however, that goes overmuch deeper. I had been an admirer of Tony's activity and attended galore of his events moreover earlier starting BestSelf. Our paths crossed again astatine nan Build a Business Award, wherever he spent a time mentoring nan winners. As our institution continued to grow, we achieved thing unprecedented — winning some nan Build a Business and Build a Bigger Business Award a twelvemonth later arsenic we scaled complete 300% successful a year.

Related: How Tony Robbins Overcame His 5 Biggest Setbacks

The Build a Bigger Business Award led to an unthinkable experience: flying to Fiji, staying astatine Tony's backstage edifice and receiving individual mentorship from him. This clip pinch Tony was transformative for some maine and nan business. He helped maine recognize that we needed to attraction not conscionable connected loving our product, but connected loving our customers.

This displacement successful position prompted maine to deliberation much broadly astir really we could service our audience. What different problems could we lick for them? How could we grow beyond our first offering of journals? Tony's mentorship was instrumental successful pushing maine to deliberation bigger and to see some our existent business exemplary and early directions.

Related: This 26-Year-Old's Side Hustle That 'Anybody Can Do' Grew to Earn $170,000 a Month. Here's What Happened When I Tested It.

You bought nan institution back. How did that happen?
In mid-December 2023, nan CEO of nan institution that bought BestSelf approached maine astir buying it back. The private equity patient was facing financial difficulties — its promised finance hadn't materialized, and it was shutting down operations.

Initially, I was hesitant. Most of my original squad had near aft their retention bonuses expired. However, arsenic I explored options, I realized I had a unsocial advantage successful negotiations. I could return complete seamlessly without a modulation period, which was important fixed nan skeleton unit moving nan business.

The woody we negotiated was incredibly favorable. As Warren Buffett said, "Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing." With my years of acquisition pinch nan brand, this felt for illustration a low-risk opportunity pinch precocious potential. It was a chance to use caller skills I'd been processing successful coding, AI and automation to a existent business scenario.

Related: I Negotiated With Warren Buffett and Here's nan One Thing nan Oracle of Omaha Cared About

What are immoderate of nan astir valuable lessons you've learned complete nan people of this travel from side hustle to full-time business?
This travel has been a masterclass successful entrepreneurship, school maine nan value of resilience and adaptability, negotiation, continuous learning, problem-solving and balancing ambition pinch well-being. And these lessons style really I tally nan institution now. I'm focused connected creating a much sustainable and supportable business model, leveraging caller technologies and approaching challenges pinch caller perspectives. I'm excited to beryllium that I tin do things moreover amended this clip around.