I started a side hustle for some extra cash and now it’s a £2m business – my top tips, and how you can do the same
A WOMAN has shared how she turned her side hustle into a £2 million business.
Jamie Stark Inlow loved her job working in higher education, but after giving birth to a son, realised that a 9-5 was no longer cohesive to her life.
The 32-year-old became sick of having to send her son to childcare really early in the morning and pick him up late at night so decided to move back to her hometown and buy a mini-farm.
One day, Jamie, from Virginia USA, was looking through the house above her neighbour’s barn and decided it would make a lovely Airbnb.
Speaking to CNBC’s Make It, she said: “So from there I wrote a business plan to my neighbour, and asked him to give me $2,000 to furnish the barn.”
She drove all over Virginia picking up furniture from Facebook Marketplace and, once the barn was finished, listed it on Airbnb.
The mum then began creating a website, and decided to pursue her dream of doing property management for short-term rentals.
Jamie is now the owner of her own company Be Still Getaways which manages over 120 short term rental properties.
Six of these properties are commercial motels or inns and two of them are wedding venues.
Her company handles property maintenance, hospitality and listing assistance.
Jamie continued to work her higher education job for three years whilst managing Be Still Getaways.
Then, she started to match her salary, so decided to quit her job.
Jamie’s husband has also recently quit his teaching job, and is now employed as Be Still’s full time maintenance man.
“He literally mows grass for 50 hours a week, which he really enjoys”., she said.
The business owner said that her number one piece of advice for anyone thinking of getting into property management is that you need to fully dive in and commit to it.
She added that it is her dream to write a book sharing advice on how to get into the business.
How to start your own business
Dragon's Den star Theo Paphitis revealed his tips for budding entrepreneurs:
- One of the biggest barriers aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners face is a lack of confidence. You must believe in your idea — even more than that, be the one boring your friends to death about it.
- Never be afraid to make decisions. Once you have an idea, it’s the confidence to make decisions that is crucial to starting and maintaining a business.
- If you don’t take calculated risks, you’re standing still. If a decision turns out to be wrong, identify it quickly and deal with it if you can. Failing that, find someone else who can.
- It’s OK not to get it right the first time. My experience of making bad decisions is what helped develop my confidence, making me who I am today.
- Never underestimate the power of social media, and remember the internet has levelled the playing field for small businesses.
- Don’t forget to dream. A machine can’t do that!
“It wouldn’t just be a book about helping others in the industry, but it would also be about all of the fun and drama that unfolds”, she said.
“There’s so many hilarious things that happen every day that you could totally do a reality show or book on”.
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