I started a side hustle from my kitchen and was able to quit my job after a year – now I make £300k… here’s my advice
WHEN Teyoshe Smith started flogging charcuterie boards on Facebook two years ago, she had no idea she was sitting on a six-figure business.
But within the first seven months, she made an eye-watering £65,000 and was ready to leave her corporate job to go full-time with her side hustle.
The 43-year-old would spend her hour-long lunch breaks personally delivering hand-assembled charcuterie boxes in her car.
The entrepreneur initially started making table-long spreads of cheeses, meets and crackers for family gatherings with her sister-in-law.
By May 2022, they started selling them to other people on Facebook Marketplace.
The first batch, made in Teyoshe’s kitchen, was modest compared to her current ones, she told CNBC.
Her business, called Bite by Bite & Co, soon expanded its operation to a nearby church kitchen while.
During this, Virginia, US-based Teyoshe was still doing her full-time job as a project manager at Capital One.
The side hustle brought in £65,000 ($84,000) in revenue during its first seven months.
This pushed Teyoshe to quit her corporate job – just one year after starting Bite by Bite & Co.
Last year, the company raked in £292,395 ($379,000) through its storefront in Richmond, Virginia and commercial kitchen in Atlanta, Georgia.
Teyoshe even hopes to open two additional franchise locations later this year.
“To my core, I love entertaining, I love hosting, I love giving everybody a good experience,” she told CNBC.
“That’s just me, bottled up.
“You could just put me on a shelf and sell me.
“It’s what I’m here on this earth to do.”
Side hustles in numbers
Based on new research from Finder, an estimated 22.8 million Brits are using side hustles to top up their income.
Among those aged 18-23, 68 percent have a side hustle in 2024.
Those aged 24-42 aren’t far behind, with 65 per cent having an additional source of income.
Side hustles are less popular among older generations, with 40 percent of those aged 43-54 having one.
Whereas 23 percent of people aged 55-73 and just 7 per cent of those aged 74 and over are earning extra cash this way.
Teyoshe was told she was moving too fast in the first year, but she didn’t let outside opinions slow her down.
“The feedback I was getting was I was moving a little too fast,” she added. “I just didn’t really listen.
“Things were happening organically and falling in my lap.
“If things are working, I’d rather just keep going until I run into a stumbling block.”
Business Advice
For anyone else looking to set up or even go full-time with a side hustle, Teyoshe offered some advice.
“You have to research and understand every part of your business,” she said.
“When you get approved for an LLC, no one checks to see if anyone else already has that name.
“I originally started with the name ‘Grazing Crazy’ and got sued.
“I had to rebrand and hire a lawyer.
“Make sure you have your bank account set up correctly, educate yourself about your taxes and check with accountants and lawyers to make sure you’re protected from a legal and financial standpoint.”