A savvy Scots mum has shared how she's managed to make up to over £90,000 a year by quitting her regular 9-5 job and setting up a side hustle online.
While many of us dream about setting up our own business to help control our finances, Anastasia Visnakova made that a reality after she quit her retail job at Debenhams to start selling handmade phone covers on Etsy.
The 33 year-old mum of one put her passion for art and design to good use by setting up the Happy Avocado store on the e-commerce website, alongside her husband, Robert Henson, 31.
Working straight from her living room in Glasgow - which helps cut costs on renting out an office - the savvy mum explained that she now earns thousands of pounds a year through the side hustle, despite not making huge profits in its first year.
Sharing her story with LatestDeals.co.uk, Anastasia said that the business initially only made £413 in its first year, but has seen sales grow up to almost £100k a year through loyal customers all over the world.
Initially beginning as a "one-woman operation", the savvy mum - who studied both art and design at college and photography at university- said that she was inspired to start her own business after watching tutorials on Youtube.
She revealed: "I watched some YouTube videos on making and selling phone cases and I was inspired to try it for myself. That’s how Happy Avocado Store was born.
"I started in 2016 reselling phone cases. Realising that the quality wasn’t up to the standard I wanted them to be, and wanting more artistic freedom, I started making my own cases.
"The first thing I did to start this process was research. Back then there wasn’t as much information about how to make phone cases as there is now. YouTube and forums were my best friends. I had to find all the machines, programs and supplies and learn how to use them."
Anastasia was then able to open up her first Etsy shop in 2017, where she said that one of the main obstacles she had to overcome was balancing a work/personal life balance after her having her daughter.
In a bid to help keep their costs low, the creative Scots mum and her husband make all the products themselves, as well as making their own packaging labels which has helped during the cost of living crisis.
The creative duo also decided to save money by working straight from home by working in their living room and converting one of their rooms into a home office, helping them to save on rent costs.
She also revealed that she decided to grow the business full-time after it started out as a hobby during her time working at Debenhams, before quitting another job that didn't work out.
The business, which got its first order within just seven days, now helps Anastasia and her husband to earn around £80,000 a year - with last year's profits pulling in a whopping £92,000.
She added that it has been "amazing" to know that people all over the world are buying their phone cases and that they have received lovely messages from repeat customers who are happy with their orders.
"We are very lucky as people still buy our products during the cost of living crisis, but we are starting to see some quiet periods and are still worried about what the future holds. We have returning customers every day, we know our product is good quality and we are not planning on raising the prices so we hope this will keep us going.
"My advice for those looking to start their own business is quite simple. Firstly, do your research. There is so much free information and there are a lot of helpful tools online. Secondly, make sure you’re doing something you actually enjoy. If you don’t like what you do you will give up sooner or later.
"Thirdly, just do it! It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just starting is the most important part. You will see what works and what doesn’t. Later you will evolve and get better. Put in the time and effort, and you’ll get there."
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