This Side Hustle Q&A features Kirstie Wang, owner and founder Jar of Cucumbers, a stationery, accessories and gift brand that launched on Etsy and now has six-figure revenues.
Photo: Courtesy Jar of Pickles. Kirstie Wang.
What was your day job (or other sources of income) when you started working on the side?
I started my side hustle in college and it has grown with me through working in graphic design, UX design, and brand marketing at some truly amazing firms and teams throughout the Bay Area. I won’t ever take for granted how much business practices have taught me by working on the side while learning corporate strategy.
When did you begin your side business and where did you discover the inspiration for it?
When I used to be in college, I didn’t concentrate in any of my classes and as an alternative studied Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. You know those people at the back of classes who clearly aren’t listening to the lectures and are doing something else? It was me. I discovered designing logos and flyers for student groups a lot more interesting than taking note of my professors (and I definitely paid for it the week before exams). While I used to be designing casual birthday cards for friends, my roommates gave me the idea to begin an Etsy shop and the pickle jar was born.
When I listed some of my card designs on Etsy, I assumed I’d sell possibly one or two cards this 12 months, but to my surprise, I received my first orders inside a few weeks. I had no supplies or any system: I used a recycled campus newspaper as packaging and took the College Ave bus to a local print shop to print the cards after each order.
After graduating, I, along with most of my peers, took my first full-time job while my tiny Etsy shop existed passively in the background. When I had time, I’d post a card design here and there, motivated by the random orders I receive. It became a cycle of orders and effort: the more orders I received, the more effort I desired to put into Pickles, which turned into real, full-fledged extra effort.
What were the first steps you took to interrupt away from the game?
Marketing has been a necessity in acquiring customers since the starting of the business. In the starting, I focused more on in-person craft fairs, but as the business has grown, I have been in a position to focus more on online activities and reach a wider audience, focusing mainly on social media marketing. Instagram has single-handedly transformed my business over the past few years. With an emphasis on Stories and Drums and by connecting with people around the world, we truly found our brand voice on Instagram, which in turn maintained a repeat order rate of over 50% and built brand loyalty that we would not have been in a position to achieve anywhere else.
What were the biggest challenges you faced in building your side team and how did you overcome them?
As a small business owner, you wear five million hats a day, which might be very overwhelming – but I’ve all the time really enjoyed creating to-do lists and planning my time in small chunks. As my pickle list grew, I forced myself to seek out more efficient ways to do all of it without sacrificing my life. I created workflows and process improvements for listing products, packing orders, and creating content for Instagram, and I used to be in a position to get through logistical tasks that were initially time-consuming more quickly. Incorporating posting Reels and Stories on Instagram into my each day business routine has helped me connect consistently and authentically with my clients, allowing me to offer a raw, behind-the-scenes look at what it’s wish to run my business. Thanks to this, I have gained an extremely loyal customer base, which is the basis for the company’s operation.
How long did it take for you to realize stable monthly income? How much did the side hustle earn?
The pickle jar was largely a side hobby, “when I had the time,” until enough orders gave me consistently six-figure annual income for several years. I never planned for Pickles to grow as much because it did, and yet it did, throughout my time working full-time in design and marketing at firms I loved and leading a very full personal life.
However, the development up up to now has been decidedly gradual. I didn’t dream of constructing six figures in college by printing orders as I went; with each week, month and 12 months I just forced myself to grow a little and come up with a plan that was just a little bit greater. Small, gradual stretches made it possible to get up to now while working a full-time job.
I set goals for myself that may very well be achieved in the free time I had during my corporate job, and I think that is the best advice I may give to anyone asking learn how to run a business on the side: just keep setting small goals and hitting them. . It’s easy to spark an idea and have a million things get in the way, whether it’s social events, unexpected life circumstances, work stress, personal doubts, etc. The pickles would never grow if I didn’t do my best to finish even the smallest tasks of things to do, and these small tasks have turn out to be huge achievements that I’m truly pleased with. I’ve learned a lot working in the fast-paced tech world of Silicon Valley – act fast and the final result is higher than perfect.
Photo: Courtesy Jar of Pickles
Why did you select to handle your team full-time? What does growth and revenue appear like today?
I took on a full-time side hustle eight years after I could not pursue business and corporate work. Eventually, side hustles were taking over more and more of my time, and I didn’t need to spend my weekends working as an alternative of spending time with my family members. I made the difficult decision to depart a profession that I used to be extremely passionate about because my side business was on a good growth path and was already generating consistent profits.
In fact, I counsel my coaching clients and small business owners to attempt to balance their business as a side hustle with their corporate profession for so long as possible: the lessons you draw from observing and participating in how a company operates, strategizes and grows are invaluable when it involves running your individual business. But now that I’m working for myself, I need to admit that the flexibility and freedom to set my very own work schedule makes me think I’ll never have the option to go back to a corporate job – so stay at your full-time job so long as you’ll be able to, to learn as much as you’ll be able to before you experience the freedom of being self-employed!
What do you enjoy most about running this business?
There is all the time something latest to find and work on. New opportunities are opening up for the company. It’s exciting to learn different skills, create latest systems, and dream about what’s next for the company. I really like that I have my very own creative space and can set the pace, products and mission.
What is your advice for others seeking to start a successful side hustle or their very own business?
As entrepreneurs, we dream about what latest products we will offer, what the packaging of our dream product might appear like or what our marketing plan should appear like. While it’s great to maintain a list of fresh ideas to pursue, it’s more vital to take what you are currently working on and make sure you see it through to the end. Don’t let the “shiny object syndrome” get your attention so that you just complete 10% of 10 projects as an alternative of 100% of one. My rule of thumb is to permit myself to work on “shiny object syndrome” projects 20% of my time and 80% on projects around which I already have goals and objectives. It’s all the time a good time to reflect and set specific goals for your store to focus on.
This article is a part of our ongoing Women Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.