This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Melinda Spigel, designer and founder of the jewelry brand Melinda Maria. Nearly two decades ago, Spigel was clapping hands at her local Starbucks and competing on game shows for seed money. Now, she side hustle returned full time business sees multi-million dollar sales each year and her pieces are worn by celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Taylor SwiftSelena Gomez and more. Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Melinda Maria. Melinda Spigel.
What was your day job or main occupation when you started your side hustle?
Mine side hustle started early in life. I was designing jewelry at a very young age and sold my first pieces in high school. Of course I misjudged it and probably lost money, but I was obsessed with jewelry, stones, and anything I could make with my hands. Growing up, I had many side hustles as a makeup artist, TV production assistant, and jewelry maker. I was happy doing all three, but my passion was really jewelry design.
When you started yours side hustleand where did you find the inspiration for it?
I fell in love with jewelry and everything related to it at a very early age, probably around the age of 10. I would go down to the local bead store, Rings & Things, where I would spend every penny of my babysitting money. get materials to make pieces. I feel blessed that I had the passion and obsession for it. The inspiration only came from the sheer joy it gave me creating the pieces, and later, when I started selling them, an added bonus was loving how they made people feel when they wore them. The only thing I want my kids to find is something they love so much they can't wait to wake up the next day, and it keeps them up at night thinking about it because they love it so much!
What were some of the first steps you took to get yours side hustle from the ground?
I quickly realized that I needed to grow, but I didn't have the business acumen to institutionalize FInanCInG – So what does one do? You go on game shows! I went on a series of game shows and won, like Hollywood Squares, The price is right and a dodgeball contest to get some of the money so I could drop my side hustles and just focus on jewelry. Rule number one of an entrepreneur: Be nimble, nimble and nimble.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Melinda Maria
of product-market fit it was a gradual process and it started to occur to me that there was a demand for the things I was creating. At the time, it was mostly wholesale, so I gathered my samples and went door to door, and within a week I think I had a purchase order from five of the best stores in Los Angeles for about $30,000. We quickly established wholesale stores in New York City and Los Angeles and opened many accounts. With this income I was able to hire some employees in the next few years, but I kept a very lean team to grow with retained earnings.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during your build? side hustleand how did you navigate them?
The list could be endless, but the biggest challenge was the confidence to take the plunge into business. It really only took one person (my now husband!) to believe in me. Some say the best way to build a business is follow your dreambut this is not always realistic because when it is a hobby there is no pressure, but as a business it is crazy pressure. Recognizing that most of the pressure was self-imposed insecurities and having the courage to push through it was a huge challenge.
Surrounding yourself with others who have faced challenges and don't have egos is essential to the natural maturation of the business. However, a more specific challenge for me – because I was originally an artist and did not go to business school (although I have since attended a CEO program at Harvard Business School) — was understanding the basics of business finance.
How long did it take you to see consistent monthly income? How much did the side hustle earn?
Consistency is a subjective matter; to date, there is no guarantee of stability and things can be unpredictable. Embracing uncertainty, being agile, thriving as a student of the industry, and obsessing over customer feedback are things that have been instilled in me since day one. The mark was seen slowly, consistent growth from the beginning, as the initial objective was not to rise to the top, but to create a brand aesthetic that could stand the test of time and be something that I could always find satisfaction in, even in the face of great challenges.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Melinda Maria
I didn't start this company to make millions of dollars – I started it because I was obsessed with jewelry, which made me happy. Money didn't drive me at all; the quality of the brand and making something that I love and that made people happy was my biggest driver. I fell in love with business creativity. The brand went from nothing to $1 million, then $2 million, then $3 million, and so on in a fairly linear fashion. But in the beginning, it was maybe $200,000, but I just paid myself enough to survive. I moved into a room with my little sister's friend and sold my car to get an old used car to lower my overheads. I paid myself a nominal amount to pour everything back into the business. I did this for many years. We would grow maybe 10% year over year, but I wasn't thinking in those terms then because I was just interested in building a brand, paying my bills and doing something I loved. It was probably not until 2015 that I started getting better at the business side.
Can you tell me about your experience transitioning the business from side hustle for full time business?
Experience was everything setting realistic goals and never forgetting that I wanted to enjoy the journey and the process, not necessarily having an end financial goal. That ethos still rings true today, and although the business is much bigger than it was when it was a side hustle, it's always been a fun experience to learn and create – but always a hustle as you want to build a lasting brand and not just a quick financial success.
The experience today still feels like it did when I transitioned to Melinda Maria full-time: a fun, challenging and rewarding experience, as it has been a harrowing journey along the way with lifelong lessons learned. One of the biggest transitions was managing people and feeling responsible for them. This was a different stress than just providing for myself. I take it very seriously that people have bills and families to provide for.
What does growth and revenue look like these days?
Growth in brand awareness and income remains stable even today. We are on track for over $30 million this year with healthy profitability. The focus is on profitability, because we chose not to just go for growth and add additional pressure. So year-over-year growth is more in terms of revenue numbers, but growth in important areas like awareness, charitable efforts and our team's ability to embrace our brand mission to discover the fun side of fashion , I think it is exceeding the income. the numbers. Being more successful means we have to give back to charities and reward our customers with things like our Live at Five giveaway, which has been our brand ethos. Last year we were able to give away $2.5 million worth of jewelry to our customers, which I think is pretty fun!
Image Credit: Courtesy of Melinda Maria
What do you enjoy most about running this business?
Creation while learning. All businesses learn things not only about the business or industry, but also about the power of a strong mission-focused community and team. I am constantly inspired by employees, roller coasters of industry trends and even competitors who continue to show that we are all in this together. Despite all the challenges, what you learn is much more rewarding than the size of the company, and the journey to do it with a strong inner network makes it even more fun today.
What is your advice to others hoping to get started successfully? side hustle or their full-time businesses?
Everyone says, “Follow your dreams or passion“, but that doesn't always translate into lasting success. Define what success looks like in your mind, which can include much more than just revenue and company size. Let go of your ego and realize that it's usually a combined effort of a great success.the network of people and facing adversity that will help you achieve “success”. Create something that will allow you to enjoy the journey along the way, as that journey can be long and no amount of financial success will replace the satisfaction of feeling that you have grown as an individual. Finally, if your version of success means being in it for the long haul, then be authentic to your vision and be okay with carving your name into a small slice of a very large pie, rather than try to dominate it immediately.
it Women Entrepreneurs® article is part of our ongoing series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.