In 2023, more than 305,000 American workers lost their jobs during an increase in mass layoffs that affected technology industry and beyond, CNBC Do it reported.
Meta WORKER Scott Goodfriend was one of those people. After being fired from his “dream job” as an augmented reality producer at the tech giant, he was faced with an important decision: go work for another company or build his own business.
The good friend chose the latter. The entrepreneur ran his own Ultimate Food Tours has been hustling out of New York City for years, with a spike in activity after it reworked its offering and listed it on Airbnb's 2021 experiences.
Goodfriend's food tour side income grew from $30,000 to $200,000 per year
Like a weekend rush for his 9-5 The role, Ultimate Food Tours earned about $30,000 a year, Goodfriend said entrepreneur.
“Sweet, sweet irony,” according to Goodfriend? He never set out to transform his passion project into a business; in fact, when people first encouraged him to sell his tour, he was put off by his idea building a website and service marketing.
However, once Goodfriend undertook to return it side hustle into a full-time venture, Ultimate Food Tours tripled in size year-over-year – to around $200,000 in annual revenue as of April 2024.
Goodfriend is not alone in his journey from vacation to work side hustle success. At the beginning of this year, entrepreneur spoke to two other shamers who built substantial income businesses after losing their jobs.
El Ghat's sentimental rush earned $350,000 in 2023 and is on track for more than $700,000 this year
In 2006, a resident of Illinois Alaa El Ghatit was working in IT when he came up with the idea for his business LifeOnRecord, a service that lets people call in stories, memories and wishes for someone celebrating a birthday, wedding or other special occasion.
A few months later, El Ghatit was fired and focused more on him side hustle. Although some orders came in, they weren't enough to support his family, so he got a new job nine months later and continued to work on LifeonRecord on the side.
LifeOnRecord made $100,000 at its peak as a side hustle, El Ghatit said entrepreneur. El Ghatit left the corporate world behind to become one full time entrepreneur in 2022. In 2023, LifeOnRecord brought in $350,000; as of February 2024, the business was set to more than double revenue.
Related: She started a side hustle that made more than $1 million in 1 year: 'Manifest Your Best Life'
Ugalde's side hustle went from $2,500 in the first month to nearly $3 million in annual revenue by 2024
Carlos Ugalde is another entrepreneur whose layoff inspired side hustle growth.
When Ugalde, who is based in Las Vegas, Nevada, lost his job as a copywriter and landing page designer at a Google marketing company in December 2018, he decided to start a side hustle which would become his brand of printed-on-demand clothing, Chingaso's house.
Ugalde opened a Shopify storefront, created about 10 basic designs, connected it to the printful on-demand platform Printful, and started Running Facebook ads. The business made $2,500 in the first month, $11,000 in the second and $54,000 in the third, Ugalde said. entrepreneur. In 2023, House of Chingasos reached almost $3 million in revenue, a nearly 70% increase over 2022.
“There is a flood of stories about individuals making astronomical sums from side hustles.”
Building a side hustle entering a profitable business can pay off big time – and provide financial security outside of the 9-5 salary – but the road to success is often harder than it seems.
“Although there is a flood of stories about individuals earning astronomical sums from side hustlesuch cases are extremely rare,” admits El Ghatit. “Usually, progress is slower than expected, like a 'two steps forward, one step back' dance.
El Ghat's best tip? Be kind to yourself, focus on a first principle business (which takes patience and time) and “take advantage of day job for its intended purpose” — reducing your financial risk while building a business that will last.