This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Gia Mezz, 28, who is based in Los Angeles. Mezz taught herself graphic design and started fashion brand LEAU as a side hustle. Now a full-fledged business, LEAU boasts nearly $10 million in lifetime sales. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. Image Credit: Courtesy of LEAU What...
Tag: Women Entrepreneur
Side Hustle: She Made Over $300k in a Year Wrapping Gifts
When Michelle Hensley, now founder and CEO of luxury gift basket and wrapping company Nifty Package Co., lost her husband, a pastor, to cancer in 2014, she was 50 years old and “had a complete identity crisis,” she says. Image Credit: Courtesy of Nifty Package Co. Hensley’s husband had handled their finances while she ran...
She Started a Business With $300 and Grew It to Over $50M
Bobbie Racette, founder and CEO of virtual assistance company Virtual Gurus, didn’t always have a clear sense of how her story would unfold. She didn’t necessarily envision a chapter on becoming an entrepreneur — but it would turn out to be one of the most important ones. Image Credit: Courtesy of Virtual Gurus. Bobbie Racette....
She Started an 8-Figure Business After Near-Death Experience
“I always wanted to make a difference,” Emily Hikade, founder and CEO of luxury sleepwear and home company Petite Plume, tells Entrepreneur. “I wanted to make a change. I wanted to do something that meant something.” Image Credit: Courtesy of Petite Plume. Emily Hikade. Growing up in Central Wisconsin, Hikade was curious about the world...
Harvard Grad’s Side Hustle Will Earn Up to $10M This Year
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Maura Duggan, founder and CEO of Fancypants Baking Co. The CPG cookie business sees top-line annual sales ranging from $5 million to $10 million and is available in over 1,750 retailers, including Central Market, Gelson’s and Mother’s Market. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. Image Credit: Courtesy...
She Built a Multimillion-Dollar Business After Getting Fired
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,”...
Her T-Shirt Side Hustle Led to a DM From Levi’s and $400M
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Michelle Wahler, co-founder and former CEO of activewear brand Beyond Yoga. Wahler launched Beyond Yoga with Jodi Guber Brufsky in 2006. Years later, Levi’s reached out to Wahler via LinkedIn direct message, ultimately acquiring the company for $400 million in 2021. Under Wahler’s leadership, Beyond Yoga achieved 19% year-over-year...
She Started a Business That Earned Over $30M Last Year
There’s no shortage of boulangeries in Paris, Johanna Hartzheim, co-founder of bakery delivery subscription company Wildgrain, tells Entrepreneur. “It’s such a cultural thing to have a fresh baguette. You buy a baguette every day, fresh croissants on every corner. It’s always warm because they churn bread so much that [every time] you go in, [it]...
She Took Her Creative Side Hustle From Nothing to Over $30M
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...
Goldman Sachs Recruit Wants Women Leaders in the Boardroom
Women drive 70%-80% of consumer purchasing, and companies with at least one woman on their board have a higher return on equity than those that do not, the Women on Boards Project states on its website — yet women occupy just 20% of board seats globally and aren’t expected to reach gender parity for decades,...