Lately I have been hearing a lot about side hustles. From financial gurus to people’s personal stories, side hustles have been popping up everywhere. People are using side hustles to fund their retirement savings, save for a trip, or to subsidize single income families. What I really love about side hustles is the shift of goods and business from large corporate entities, to the hands of artisans and individuals. I love to buy goods from individuals working at their kitchen tables or in their basements, working to achieve their dreams. That has become easy to do thanks to businesses like Etsy and Shopify that give individuals the tools necessary to sell online. It feels like Farmer’s market meets technology.
I love making things and have always wanted to sell my goods. I never got past the initial steps before though. Until now. Here is how I got started.
I have always wanted a tattoo but have never quite figured out the design. This past summer I was sketching my design which was to be centered around a flower. The question was, what flower should I use? I wanted something with personal meaning. The first thought that popped up was a Lady Slipper. Lady Slippers remind me of my Dad and my family. I have a distinct memory from when I was quite little, where we were all walking in the forest and my Dad called us over to see a flower. It was a Lady Slipper and he explained how special and rare it was. Lady Slippers are also native to the interior of BC. It was the perfect flower. For me, it encompasses family, love, and my home. Warm memories of my family. It is special to find one as they are rare and beautiful, not often cultivated as they are difficult to propagate outside of nature. As I started sketching Lady Slippers for my tattoo design (which by the way I still haven’t gotten), I became inspired and started sketching all sorts of designs with Lady Slippers.
I found sketching to be quite relaxing, therapeutic even. I sketched in my scrapbook, on the back of mail, anywhere really. I sketched anything. Some sketches were good, some were not. But they all felt good. I started sketching on my laptop and converting my sketches into digital graphics.
Recently, I decided that I would make T-shirts with my designs for my side hustle! I looked on Etsy and found all sorts of wonderful T-shirts (my new source for cute and original T-shirts). I researched the printing process and found several local screen printing companies in Vancouver. I reached out to a couple of businesses and chose one to send my designs to. And guess what? I have two orders of t-shirts in print right now! I am just figuring out what colors to use for my third design! How exciting. I’m kind of proud of myself 🙂 It turns out it is pretty simple to sell on Etsy. As a small business, you do not have to register or pay taxes in Canada until you reach $30000 in sales (if you are starting a small business, please confirm the requirements… Don’t take my word for it!) I have already started working on my Etsy page. I hope to be up and running in the next couple of weeks.
So, are you thinking of starting a side hustle? Hopefully this inspires you to go for it!
Here are the mock ups of my two t-shirts.
