This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Katherine Watercutter, founder and CEO of the sportswear brand Golden hinge. Watercutter began as a side hustle at the age of 23. Today, Gold Hinge counts celebrities reminiscent of Kristin Cavallari and Kaitlyn Bristowe among its fans. The brand went viral during “TikTok”RushTok”, garnering 40 million hashtag views and multi-million sales.
Photo credit: courtesy of Gold Hinge. Catherine Watercutter.
What did your day job involve, when did you begin pursuing your side hustle and why did you turn out to be interested in entrepreneurship?
I used to be a sales representative for a distribution company that worked with kitchen and bathroom designers throughout Indiana (I studied architecture and interior design). I have been an entrepreneur from a young age; you have to have it as a a part of you to be willing to take the risk.
When did you begin your side business and where did you discover the inspiration for it?
I got here up with the idea in 2018 and began it in January 2019. There was really no inspiration – I assumed it might make me money quickly. But I used to be flawed about that.
What were the first steps you took to interrupt away from the game?
I arrange a Shopify store, created a website and Instagram.
What were the biggest challenges you faced in building your side team and how did you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges early on was money flow. I didn’t receive funding from external investors and began with a very small amount to speculate. So there have been a few times when I almost needed to close the door for money flow reasons. This taught me a very priceless lesson early on, as corporations often fail in the first 12 months when they run out of cash. I dealt with this by getting a bank line of credit and a business bank card, which helped with the funds, but I also almost exhausted them. Overcoming this challenge took a lot of discipline, learning, and watching the numbers until I saw more consistent growth and revenue.
How long did it take for you to attain stable monthly income? How much did the side hustle earn?
The side hustle didn’t earn anything. It was only after a few years of working full-time, putting in 80-90 hours a week, that I began earning money, and I didn’t pay myself until around 2021. It’s hard to say how long this required regular revenue, as revenues only picked up in the spring or summer of 2020, but then dropped again later that 12 months. It’s protected to say that 2021 was a 12 months where revenues were “steady” enough to feel protected where debt was paid off and things were heading in the right direction. This would mean a total of about three years (two years total at my company).
You have since turned your side hustle into a full-time business. What does revenue appear like now?
In 2023, we went from six-figure months to seven-figure months, and our total revenues reached eight figures.
What do you want most about running your individual business?
Being responsible for my on a regular basis life and future.
What is your advice for others who want to begin their very own successful side business?
My advice could seem cheesy, but don’t surrender. People as of late are impatient and sometimes surrender quickly when they feel like they are continuously failing. There were a few times I assumed I had hit all-time low and exhausted all options, but I discovered a way around it. I felt like I used to be continuously failing for three years, and I know many would have given up by then, but business is about solving problems.
This article is a part of our ongoing series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of being Young Entrepreneur®.
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