Melissa Ben-Ishay’s “love language” has always been baking. So, when she was fired from her advertising job at age 24, following her passion into business seemed like an ideal opportunity. Her brother Brian Bushell encouraged her to seize it. “We wound up creating an incredible product that makes people happy during good times and bad,”...
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Melinda Spigel, the designer and founder behind the jewelry brand Melinda Maria. Nearly two decades ago, Spigel was hand-beading pieces at her local Starbucks and competing on game shows for seed money. Now, her side hustle turned full-time business sees multimillion-dollar sales each year, and her pieces are worn...
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features LeAnn Darland, 38, of Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Tara Hankinson, 37, of Bronxville, NY. Darland worked in finance operations at Google and Hankinson in customer experience strategy for The New York Times when they started the homebrewing side hustle that would become TALEA Beer Co. Responses have been edited for...
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features 26-year-old Emely Cepeda, a Boston-based dental student who earns extra money with the online marketplace Taskrabbit. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. Image Credit: Courtesy of Emely Cepeda What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?I started tasking when I was...
In 2009, 18-year-old Amanda Zuckerman was shopping for college dorm room supplies with her mother Karen when “[they] were really surprised to find that stylish twin XL bedding and everything that you need for outfitting and organizing a small space was practically non-existent, and was not sold in one place,” she says. So, in the...
Former NFL linebacker Brandon Copeland saw his mother stick to a tight budget while raising him and his brother. She could afford to put them in sports and “make magic happen on Christmas” by sacrificing other small luxuries: candy in the checkout aisle or a soda from McDonald’s. One day, I want to have money,...
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Cathryn Lavery, founder of BestSelf Co., a planner and conversation card deck company that sold $45 million in product before it was acquired in 2022. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. Image Credit: Courtesy of BestSelf Co. Cathryn Lavery. When did you move to New York City,...
Despite mass layoffs in recent years, the tech industry still has major appeal for job applicants seeking generous salaries; it’s not uncommon for entry-level roles at big tech firms like Google and Facebook to start in the six-figure range. Of course, those attractive salaries and other benefits often mean serious competition for the role, particularly...
Katie Lefkowitz, founder and CEO of “superfood-infused” candy bar company Harken Sweets, was a self-proclaimed “Snickers fanatic” for most of her life. However, when health issues and a colon cancer scare “flipped [her] world upside down,” she started considering food as medicine — and experimenting with the concept in her kitchen. “I wanted to recreate...
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Victoria Carroll, a U.S.-based professional voice actor who created a full-time career with the freelance service platform Fiverr. Image Credit: Courtesy of Fiverr. Victoria Carroll. What was your day job (or other sources of income) when you started your side hustle?I was living abroad in the Czech Republic and...