This Aspect Hustle Highlight Q&A options Kelly Bozigian, 32, of Boston, Massachusetts. She and her husband, Colt Bozigian, run Coastal Caviar, a home made jewellery firm that includes attraction necklaces, bracelets and extra. Responses have been edited for size and readability.
Picture Credit score: Coastal Caviar. Kelly Bozigian.
What was your day job or main occupation if you began your facet hustle?
Previous to leaving my full-time job this previous February, I labored as an affiliate inventive director on the TJX Corporations for the TJ Maxx model. Colt nonetheless works full-time in software program gross sales.
When did you begin your facet hustle, and the place did you discover the inspiration for it?
I initially had the concept for Coastal Caviar in June 2023. We had been truly on the seaside, and I used to be scrolling by my cellphone looking for a attraction necklace for an upcoming trip. I used to be telling my household how loopy it’s that I can not discover any mainstream retailers promoting attraction necklaces — a method I had a intestine feeling can be the subsequent massive craze.
I ended up ordering from a girl on Etsy — screenshotting and circling the charms I preferred, messaging forwards and backwards along with her to finalize the design. It was a fairly tedious course of. That is after I had the epiphany: There needs to be a greater approach. I stated, “I’ve a enterprise thought — we have to construct an interactive web site the place you possibly can drag and drop the charms and see your creation in actual time.” In that second, Coastal Caviar was born.
Individuals all the time say that the perfect companies come up out of fixing an issue. Entrepreneurial in spirit, I’ve all the time been ready to have that “aha” second after I realized there was a necessity in my very own life I may resolve with a services or products. A lightweight went off in my mind on the seaside that day, and I knew that this was it. The important thing to our enterprise was not essentially the necklace itself, however the on-line expertise and what we now seek advice from as our “attraction builder.”
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Coastal Caviar. Kelly and Colt Bozigian.
What had been among the first steps you took to get your facet hustle off the bottom?
Imagine it or not, by the point we received dwelling from the seaside, I might bought a site identify and began designing the web site. I discover that for lots of people, taking motion behind an thought is the toughest half, and all of it feels too daunting. I’ve all the time been a bit impulsive (a great and unhealthy factor!) and have a “simply get it accomplished” mentality, which positively helped us get this off the bottom rapidly.
Are there any free or paid assets which have been particularly useful for you in beginning and operating this enterprise?
Upwork is your pal! We had been capable of develop a fancy, interactive web site with our “attraction builder” at a comparatively low price by discovering the appropriate companions on Upwork. It takes trial and error, however gifted individuals are utilizing the platform.
For paid assets, I am additionally a member of a contract group known as Freelance Founders. I joined in 2022 after I was freelancing within the digital advertising and marketing and social media area in hopes of touchdown purchasers. Satirically, I now use it far more to rent expertise myself for Coastal Caviar. In case you’re not an professional in one thing, outsource it.
In case you may return in your corporation journey and alter one course of or strategy, what wouldn’t it be, and the way do you want you’d accomplished it in a different way?
I want I had extra religion in Coastal Caviar being profitable. Though we began engaged on the enterprise after we had the concept in June 2023, we launched in January 2024. I by no means anticipated the extent of success we’d see that first month, and did not have the stock or any processes in place. On the time, I used to be hand-making each single necklace with not sufficient stock to fulfill orders. We had been pulling all-nighters to maintain the enterprise operating. Three months later, we had been arrange with a producer in Rhode Island, and life received a bit simpler, however I might do something to return in time to be ready for what was to come back.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Coastal Caviar
Are you able to recall a selected occasion when one thing went very improper? How did you repair it?
We have positively made errors alongside the way in which. This previous January, a big influencer reached out to us asking if we bought bag charms as a result of she wished to share them in an upcoming TikTok video that very same week. We had been truly creating bag charms as a brand new product, however they weren’t prepared. We rushed the launch to coincide with the influencer’s put up, and the bag charms took off in a single day.
Sadly, as a result of we rushed the product growth course of, we realized the rings we had been utilizing to affix charms weren’t robust sufficient. It resulted in an enormous headache when it comes to customer support, nevertheless it additionally broken the belief we have now with a really loyal buyer base. We have since mounted the product, however I worth the connection we have now with our shoppers greater than something and need we had taken extra time to get it proper.
How lengthy did it take you to see constant month-to-month income? How a lot did the facet hustle earn?
The month we launched to the general public in January 2024, we had fairly prompt success, which I acknowledge is uncommon and an enormous blessing. I began a TikTok collection the place I might movie myself making a attraction necklace for a selected influencer. My first video was for certainly one of my favourite influencers, Alix Earle, and he or she noticed the video and requested me to ship her the necklace. Colt whipped out his cellphone to movie me reacting to her sending me a direct message, and we posted my response on TikTok.
My response video received over 2 million views, and Alix’s video received over 9 million views. Inside our first month, we had accomplished over $100,000 in gross sales simply from the attain on TikTok.
What does progress and income seem like now?
We have seen fairly speedy progress, and we credit score lots of that to the TikTok platform. Inside six months, we had hit $1 million in gross sales with none paid promoting. Now simply over a 12 months from our launch date, we have accomplished over $2 million in gross sales.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Coastal Caviar
How a lot time do you spend engaged on your corporation on a every day, weekly or month-to-month foundation?
I am typically working a 12-hour day, virtually seven days per week. It is positively a grind and has been the toughest factor I’ve ever accomplished in my life. That being stated, when it is your child, you’ll do completely something to see it succeed, so I do not thoughts it.
What do you get pleasure from most about operating this enterprise?
I really like sharing our journey on TikTok and connecting with our neighborhood by social media. Though we’re working continually, it actually would not really feel lonely as a result of we have now hundreds of individuals cheering us on on-line. Given the non-public nature of the product, girls have shared their hardships and tales with me and expressed how a lot the jewellery means to them.
Our social media paperwork lots of the behind-the-scenes of rising this enterprise, and many ladies have messaged me to inform me that I’ve impressed them to start out their very own enterprise as effectively. That is introduced me probably the most pleasure!
What’s your finest piece of particular, actionable enterprise recommendation?
Do not overthink it if you’re getting began and simply put your self on the market. I feel that individuals usually maintain themselves again from launching a enterprise as a result of they overthink it and really feel they want each element of the marketing strategy discovered earlier than launching. My finest recommendation is simply to place your services or products on the market and see what occurs. I used to be lucky to find product-market match virtually instantaneously due to the attain that TikTok has. One put up instantly validated our enterprise thought, and all the opposite logistics may be discovered as you develop and scale.
