More than 305,000 US workers will lose their jobs in 2023 amid a surge in mass layoffs affecting the tech industry and beyond, CNBC Make It reported.
Scott Goodfriend of Meta was one of those people. After being fired from her “dream job” as an augmented reality producer at a tech giant, she was faced with an important decision: work for another company or start her own business.
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A good friend chose the latter. The entrepreneur had been running his side hustle Ultimate Food Tours out of New York for years, with the business taking a leap after reworking his offering and listing it on Airbnb experiences in 2021.
Goodfriend’s food tour side hustle grew from $30,000 to $200,000 a year.
Goodfriend said Ultimate Food Tours earned about $30,000 a year to juggle his 9-5 weekend role. entrepreneur.
According to Goodfriend, “sweet, sweet irony”? He never intended to turn his passion project into a business; in fact, when people first encouraged him to sell his tour, he was put off by the idea of creating a website and marketing the service.
However, since Goodfriend committed to turning the side hustle into a full-time venture, Ultimate Food Tours has tripled year-over-year to nearly $200,000 a year by April 2024.
Related: ‘I was just in a rush’: She won more than $300,000 in gifts last year — and it all started with a side hustle
Goodfriend is not alone in his journey from layoff to side hustle success. Earlier this year entrepreneur talked to two other side hustlers who had built businesses with significant profits after losing their jobs.
El Ghatit’s sentimental side hustle earned $350,000 in 2023 and has earned more than $700,000 this year.
In 2006, Illinois resident Alaa El Ghatit was working in IT when she got the idea for LifeOnRecord, a business that lets anyone celebrating a birthday, wedding or other special occasion call with stories, memories and well wishes.
A few months later, El Ghatit was fired and focused more on his side hustle. While some orders came in, it wasn’t enough to support his family, so nine months later he started a new job and continued to work at LifeonRecord on the side.
LifeOnRecord earned $100,000 at its peak, El Ghatit said entrepreneur. El Ghatit left the corporate world behind to become a full-time entrepreneur in 2022. In 2023, LifeOnRecord brought in $350,000 in revenue; As of February 2024, the business was poised to more than double that revenue.
Related: She Started Side Hustle That Made Over $1 Million in Year 1: ‘Show Your Best Life’
Ugalde’s side hustle went from $2,500 in the first month to nearly $3 million in annual revenue in 2024.
Carlos Ugalde is another entrepreneur whose layoff inspired the growth of a side hustle.
When Las Vegas, Nevada-based Ugalde lost her job as a copywriter and landing page designer at marketing company Google in December 2018, she chose to start a side hustle that would become a print-on-demand clothing brand. Chingasos house.
Ugalde opened a Shopify storefront, created about 10 basic designs, integrated it with print-on-demand platform Printful, and started running ads on Facebook. Ugalde said the business made $2,500 in the first month, $11,000 in the second and $54,000 in the third. entrepreneur. In 2023, House of Chingasos generated almost $3 million in revenue, an increase of nearly 70% over 2022.
Related: Best Friends’ ‘Scrappy’ Side Hustle Leads to Product On Track for $1M Annual Sales: ‘It’s rare to find someone with the same passion’
“There are many stories of individuals winning astronomical sums.”
Building a lucrative side hustle can pay off big time—and provide financial security outside of a 9-5 paycheck—but the road to success is often harder than it seems.
“While there are many stories of people winning astronomical sums, such cases are extremely rare,” admits El Ghatit. “Usually, progress is slower than expected, like a ‘two steps forward, one step back’ dance.”
El Ghatit’s best tip? Be kind to yourself, focus on principled work (which takes patience and time) and “use your day job for its intended purpose” – reduce your financial risk while building a sustainable business.