This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Katherine Watercutter, founder and CEO of the Activewear brand The golden hinge. The waterworks began business as one side hustle when she was 23. Today, Gold Hinge counts celebrities including Kristin Cavallari and Kaitlyn Bristowe among her fans. Brand went viral on TikTokRushTokTrending, garnering 40 million hashtag impressions and multi-million sales.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Golden Hinge. Katherine Watercutter.
What was your day job when you started? side hustleand why did you get interested in entrepreneurship?
I was a sales rep for a distribution company working with kitchen and bath designers around Indiana (I studied architecture and interior design). I have always been one entrepreneur since young; you have to have it as part of you to be willing to take risks.
When you started yours side hustleand where did you find the inspiration for it?
I got the idea for it in 2018 and started it in January 2019. There wasn't really any inspiration – I thought it might make me quick money. But I was wrong about that.
What were some of the first steps you took to get your hustle off the ground?
I started one Shopify save and created a website and an Instagram.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while building your side hustle and how did you navigate them?
One of the biggest challenges in the beginning was cash flow. I received no funding from outside investors and started with very little to invest. So there have been a few times where I've had to close due to cash flow. It taught me a very valuable lesson early on because businesses often fail in the first year when they run out of money. I did it by getting a line of credit from the bank and a business credit card, which helped with the funds, but I also almost maxed them out. It took a lot of discipline, learning and looking at the numbers to navigate this challenge until I saw more consistent growth and income.
How long did it take you to see consistent monthly income? How much has he done? side hustle win?
The side hustle gained nothing. It wasn't until a few years into my full-time job, devoting 80-90 hours a week, that I actually started making money, and I didn't pay myself until 2021. It's hard to say how long it took for steady income because it wasn't until the spring or summer of 2020 that the income picked up – but later that year, it fell again. It's safe to say that 2021 was the year that income was actually “consistent” enough to feel safe where the debt was paid off and things went in the right direction. So that would be a total of about three years (two years all in my business).
You have since turned yourself around side hustle into a full-time business. What does the income look like now?
During 2023, we went from six-figure months to seven-figure months and our total revenue reached eight figures.
What is your favorite thing about running your business?
Being responsible for my everyday and my future.
What is your advice to others hoping to start a successful side hustle of their own?
My advice may sound as unpleasant as it seems, but Do not give up. People in this day and age are impatient and sometimes give up quickly when they feel like they keep failing. There have been a few times when I thought I had hit rock bottom and exhausted all options, but I found a way around it. I felt like I was constantly failing for three years and I know many would have given up by then, but business is about solving problems.