I was very eager to find a way to make some extra money as a stay-at-home mom. In a past life, I worked as a teacher, but I had been out of the work force for over 18 years. I also had a schedule with my daughter that made a 9-5 job impossible.
Armed with the internet, I started Googling away (not sure if this is a verb, but let’s say it is). I was also all over Pinterest, and I was devouring all of the articles about side hustles. Take a survey for cash? Sign me up! Unfortunately, I found out pretty quickly that I was not qualifying for a lot of the surveys, so I lost interest pretty quickly. Blogging had peaked my interest, but the thought of baring my soul to others seemed far worse than facing a tiger in the wild. I tabled that one. I was (and still am) a huge fan of Amazon, so when the thought of selling on their Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) program was listed as a possibility, I dove in head first.
I read some articles on FBA, and then I read some more. I could purchase things at a discount and resell them on Amazon for a profit. It seemed perfect for me! I am always out and about doing errands, and I love a good bargain. I could do this! My confidence and desire were at all-time highs. So, I created my own LLC. This sounds complicated, but it took all of 10 minutes as I just needed a Tax ID# for my Amazon FBA account. I also downloaded a few apps that were recommended, and I was off to the races!
In my travels to find the best deals, I ended up at Big Lots, Target, Wal-Mart and the like. I was having fun! It was work for sure, but I was enjoying being productive with the idea of a full-time income soon to head my way. Any minute now, right? Reality started to kick in soon after. One of the main problems I began to see crop up was that I was prohibited from selling A LOT of merchandise. There are quite a few rules about what an FBA seller can and cannot sell. That great sale on Barbies at Wal-Mart that is almost too good to be true? Sorry, you can’t sell them. Legos on clearance? Nope. No can do. That Mr. T action figure? Congratulations it is your lucky day! You can sell that. Now just find one of the 10 people on Earth that still desire this, and you are on your way!
Slowly, I began to see that all of these rules were hindering my success quite a bit. Determined not to quit, I bought a software program to help with on-line selling analytics. I thought this would help shave some time off of my current process of going store to store.
I found some products from Wal-Mart on-line that I could resell. They were music instruments in sets of 10 at a great price, and they were selling on Amazon for a pretty good profit. Sounds easy, right? However, once I ordered them and they shipped to my home, time had passed. Unfortunately, time is the enemy here. I then had to log them into my FBA account, ship them off to different Amazon Fulfillment Centers, and they had to be processed. Guess what? That takes time. By the time they were up and running on Amazon’s website, the profit was less than expected and I was lucky to break even.
During this time, I had also decided to make some extra money selling things from my home on a site called Mercari. Each time you log on to check your items, a ticker at the top shows what has sold in the last 30 minutes. What I noticed every time was that this unique kitchen pottery was ALWAYS selling. I had never seen this stuff before. What was it? Why was it selling like hotcakes? Sorry, but I am assuming here that hotcakes sell very well.
This was my introduction to the world of Rae Dunn. If you are not familiar, this ceramic ware is pretty popular. There are lots of mugs, cups, canisters, plates etc. with large lettering and cute sayings. The more I read about it, the more I became obsessed with it! I wanted to make money selling Rae Dunn! What I loved about it that was different from Amazon FBA was that the fees were a straight 10% (lower than Amazon), and I could ship straight from my home, cutting the timeline and maximizing my profit.
I found out that Rae Dunn was ONLY sold at TJ Maxx, Home Goods, and Marshalls. That definitely added to the allure because if you don’t live near one off these stores, you are out of luck. I also learned through trial and error that not all pieces are created equal. Anything with LL (large letters) sells very well. Some of the trendier items that seem unique are just not as popular. Also, being one of the first to market with her newest pieces is very important. Prices drop quickly.
What I liked about being in charge of my own inventory was that I was in control of what I had and what I could sell immediately. I could go to Home Goods in the AM and have my products listed within minutes as it was so user friendly to list them. A few pictures, a description, and everything was ready to go.
I also found that I loved hunting for the unicorn pieces of Rae Dunn, I loved the products she created, and I loved the buyers. They were so thrilled to purchase these items to add to their collections, and I felt really good making it happen. I also took a lot of pride in wrapping each piece well, including a thank you note with each item, and shipping as quickly as I could. It was at this point that I realized that this was not work to me, it was fun! This was my niche!
What was really important in my side hustle growth was recognizing when something was not working, and then shifting gears. Having extra money in the bank is a great feeling. All in all, I made several thousand dollars over the course of about a year selling Rae Dunn. It is several thousand dollars that I didn’t have before. But what I gained was more important than money. I was feeling worthless for not making my own money, even though I was working 24/7 as a mom (unfortunately, my kids negotiated a very low salary for my contributions, so that amount was negligible).
When I finally took the reins and started to do things on my own terms, I slowly began to see my confidence grow. I was good at something. I could make money. People were happy with my service and commitment. So, even if your side hustle is not working the way you want it to, don’t be afraid to shift gears! Some people swear by Amazon FBA, and that is awesome for them. But it was not fulfilling for me (excuse the pun). Knowing when to shift your thinking and your side hustle to work for you is the key to much more than money! There is no time like the present. Do your research, face your fears, and find a side hustle that works for YOU!
