This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features 27-year-old Valentina Zapata, a Las Vegas-based entrepreneur after The Shoe Game Co. Zapata's side hustle turned full-time gig, reselling sneakers, brings in more than $500,000 a month. Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

What was your day job (or other sources of income) when you started your job? side hustle?
I used to be a life insurance broker.

When you started yours side hustleand where did you find the inspiration for it?
It was the post-pandemic era; my girlfriend actually encouraged me to take it back as something positive to do on the side.

Connected: This former student and her roommate started a side hustle with just $2,000 each. Then it earned them nearly $600,000 — and counting.

What were some of the first steps you took to get yours side hustle from the ground?
We started with Instagram, then we went to Facebook Market and drove almost an hour for our first “flip”. And we just kept rinsing and repeating.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during your build? side hustleand how did you navigate them?
Learning what not to buy – what suits you – and that all “good deals” are not all good deals. And the biggest lesson we learned early on: spotting fakes! This cost us more money; however, we watched the video, learned, took the L's on the chin and kept pushing. Finally, as resellers, we are always struggling with sitting inventory. That was something we wanted to sort out – how could we sell and sell quickly?

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How long did it take you to see consistent monthly income? How much has he done? side hustle win?
We saw steady income at $7,000 per month, but it wasn't until we got into the live selling platform What not that things blew up for us. At that time we moved our operation to full time.

When and why did you decide to take it? side hustle full time? What do growth and revenue look like now?
We decided to take this side hustle full time within two months of being at Whatnot. We saw the reach and the community, and most importantly, we knew that the sneaker category at Whatnot was relatively new, as was direct sales, and we didn't want to lose it. We're doing over $500,000 a month in revenue – and we just signed and moved into our new 6,000 square foot warehouse. We now have seven employees in less than two years and have no plans to slow down.

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What do you enjoy most about running this business?
I like to see the team grows and their lives change around me as we do they work hard, and is rewarded. In addition to our team's profit, our community is very beautiful – it's much more than just selling.

What is your advice to others hoping to start successful side hustles or businesses of their own?
Build and fosters community – Everything else will follow. The only way to stand out in a digital age is to build a strong brand extension.

This article is part of our continuity The Young Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of being a new business owner.