The Side Hustle She Started After Age 60 Hit $2 Million and Landed in Starbucks: ‘Time to Realize My Own Dream.’

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Theresa Burnley, 65, of Milford, New Hampshire. Burnley was the proprietor of Wiley Road Foods, which creates and manufactures different clean-label baked equipment for brands for illustration Trader Joe’s and Milk Bar, erstwhile she started her protein-bite brand, Circ, connected the broadside successful 2023. 

At the extremity of 2024, Burnley near Wiley Road Foods to attraction connected Circ full-time. Today, Circ offers six flavors of macromolecule bites. The marque saw astir $2 cardinal successful gross past twelvemonth and is disposable successful complete 13,000 unit locations nationwide, including Starbucks and Walmart. Responses person been edited for magnitude and clarity. 

Image Credit: Circ. Theresa Burnley.

A life of wellness and nutrition inspires a broadside hustle

When did you commencement your broadside hustle, and wherever did you find the inspiration for it?
As a runner my full life and a mother to 3 assemblage athletes, I person ever prioritized health and nutrition. After 16 years moving behind-the-scenes to guarantee different people’s brands tasted amazing, I yet decided it was clip to recognize my ain dream of building an independent earthy nutrient marque pinch my family. 

I was inspired to create Circ aft realizing really antiquated the macromolecule barroom abstraction had really become. The barroom shape nary longer met the functional needs of really group eat today: grazing, connected the go, GLP-1s, information control, etc. 

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?
Because we didn’t trust connected a co-packer, we could constitute our ain script. We had taught ourselves to make ball-shaped nutrient moving for Milk Bar. Our R&D squad were pastry chefs, not nutrient scientists, truthful they knew really to make nutrient that group love. But our innovative packaging, which took a mates of years to develop, was really transformative. We worked to accommodate packaging instrumentality to shape the packs, which clasp 5 macromolecule bites, and past pinch worldly suppliers to create the resealable lid. All-in, we invested complete $1 cardinal successful process and merchandise development.

Image Credit: Circ

Navigating manufacturing and brand-building

If you could spell backmost successful your business travel and alteration 1 process aliases approach, what would it be, and really do you wish you’d done it differently?
We approached Circ arsenic a shaper that has its ain marque and complete clip realized that we’re now a marque that has its ain manufacturing. If we had it to do again, we’d attraction connected brand-building earlier.

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? 
There are hundreds of grounded user brands each year. You publication astir the winners, spot them connected shelves and successful your feed, and I deliberation a batch of group think, How difficult tin it be? Even pinch a differentiated merchandise that meets a user need, going from zero to 1 is very hard.  You request a precocious tolerance for pain.

Can you callback a circumstantial lawsuit erstwhile thing went very incorrect — really did you hole it?
Knock wood, I wouldn’t opportunity thing has gone very wrong. But when you’re a shaper and not conscionable a brand, you person to woody pinch the beingness world of trucks that don’t show up, machines that break, materials not to spec. A instrumentality for managing each of them is keeping slack successful the system: other capacity, spare parts, buffer inventory, comfortable lead times.

Image Credit: Circ

About $2 cardinal successful gross pinch a 4X expected tally rate

How agelong did it return you to spot accordant monthly revenue? What does maturation and gross look for illustration now?
We were fortunate to get immoderate early unit placements and had dependable gross soon aft we launched astatine Expo West. But it takes longer to go profitable. By manufacturing ourselves, we initially look higher fixed costs than a co-packed brand. But astatine scale, manufacturing ourselves will springiness america a important costs advantage. We did astir $2 cardinal successful top-line gross past twelvemonth and expect we will 4X our run-rate this year.

How overmuch clip do you walk moving connected your business connected a daily, play aliases monthly basis?
In the very beginning, arsenic a side hustle, it was minimal. I was moving different business, and we were processing packaging, machines, branding and product. Initially, there’s a batch of waiting time. But erstwhile Circ started to summation traction, we sold our bakery business. Now, I’m full-time increasing Circ. It reminds maine of erstwhile I had babe twins. The institution can’t tally itself yet. I’m responsible for everything; the days are long, but it’s very rewarding.

Image Credit: Circ

No 1 will understand your business for illustration you do

What do you bask astir about moving this business?
Hearing from our customers! We’ve been embraced nationwide since Circ’s inception, and location is thing for illustration receiving rave reviews from those who emotion each our marque embodies. I particularly emotion proceeding from parents who show maine astir really Circ is “the only patient nutrient their kids will eat.”

What is your champion portion of specific, actionable business advice?  
Mentors and organization tin beryllium a bully root of perspective, but arsenic a founder, you yet person to clasp the symptom of hours, complexity and rejection. No 1 other will walk one-tenth of the clip you do reasoning astir your business, and nary 1 tin ever understand it arsenic well. You person to perceive to each of the voices astir you, but yet ain it completely.

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Theresa Burnley, 65, of Milford, New Hampshire. Burnley was the proprietor of Wiley Road Foods, which creates and manufactures different clean-label baked equipment for brands for illustration Trader Joe’s and Milk Bar, erstwhile she started her protein-bite brand, Circ, connected the broadside successful 2023. 

At the extremity of 2024, Burnley near Wiley Road Foods to attraction connected Circ full-time. Today, Circ offers six flavors of macromolecule bites. The marque saw astir $2 cardinal successful gross past twelvemonth and is disposable successful complete 13,000 unit locations nationwide, including Starbucks and Walmart. Responses person been edited for magnitude and clarity. 

Image Credit: Circ. Theresa Burnley.

A life of wellness and nutrition inspires a broadside hustle

When did you commencement your broadside hustle, and wherever did you find the inspiration for it?
As a runner my full life and a mother to 3 assemblage athletes, I person ever prioritized health and nutrition. After 16 years moving behind-the-scenes to guarantee different people’s brands tasted amazing, I yet decided it was clip to recognize my ain dream of building an independent earthy nutrient marque pinch my family.