This Aspect Hustle Highlight Q&A options 27-year-old Valentina Zapata, a Las Vegas-based entrepreneur behind The Shoe Game Co. Zapata’s aspect hustle turned full-time gig reselling sneakers sees greater than $500,000 income a month. Responses have been edited for size and readability.
What was your day job (or different sources of earnings) while you began your side hustle?
I used to be a life insurance coverage dealer.
When did you begin your side hustle, and the place did you discover the inspiration for it?
It was the post-pandemic period; my girlfriend really inspired me to select it again up as one thing optimistic to do on the aspect.
What have been a few of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the bottom?
We began with Instagram, then we went to Facebook Marketplace and drove nearly an hour for our first “flip.” And we simply saved rinsing and repeating.
What have been a few of the greatest challenges you confronted whereas constructing your side hustle, and the way did you navigate them?
Studying what to not purchase — what sits — and that every one “good offers” usually are not all good offers. And the largest lesson we discovered early on: recognizing fakes! This value us probably the most cash; nevertheless, we watched movies, learned, took the Ls on the chin and saved pushing. Lastly, as resellers, we’re all the time battling sitting stock. This was one thing we needed to resolve — how might we promote and promote quick?
How lengthy did it take you to see constant month-to-month income? How a lot did the side hustle earn?
We noticed constant earnings at $7,000 a month, however it wasn’t till we received on the live-selling platform Whatnot that issues exploded for us. That is once we shifted our operation to full-time.
When and why did you determine to take the side hustle full-time? What does development and income appear like now?
We determined to take this aspect hustle full-time inside two months of being on Whatnot. We noticed the attain and neighborhood, and extra importantly, we knew the sneaker class on Whatnot was comparatively new, simply as live-selling was, and we did not wish to miss it. We’re doing over $500,000 a month in income — and simply signed and moved into our new 6,000-square-foot warehouse. We now have seven staff in lower than two years and don’t have any plans to decelerate.
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What do you take pleasure in most about operating this enterprise?
I really like seeing the team grow and their lives change round me as we work hard, and it pays off. Along with our crew successful, our neighborhood is so lovely — it is a lot extra than simply promoting.
What’s your recommendation for others hoping to start out profitable aspect hustles or companies of their very own?
Construct and drive community — all the pieces else will comply with. The one solution to stand out in a digital period is constructing a powerful brand reach.
This text is a part of our ongoing Young Entrepreneur® sequence highlighting the tales, challenges and triumphs of being a younger enterprise proprietor.