‘Anyone can do it’: This 30-year-old quit her job for a side hustle that now brings in seven figures a year. Here’s how

Jocelyn Elizabeth ne'er expected a $5 church-sale lamp to alteration her life.

In 2011, the Pennsylvania ma was moving part-time arsenic a selling head erstwhile her begetter showed her a lamp helium had recovered astatine a religion gait merchantability and noted that a akin lamp was listed for $70 connected eBay, according to CNBC Make It.

The pursuing weekend, Elizabeth headed to a thrift store with her lad successful a stroller, hoping to flip her ain bargain finds for other income. (1)

She didn’t cognize it astatine the time, but that experimentation would go the instauration of a seven-figure business. Today, the 37-year-old runs Crazy Lamp Lady, a thriving YouTube channel, and NikNax, an online thrifting marketplace that hosts much than 5,000 sellers.

NikNax unsocial brought successful much than $5.2 cardinal successful gross truthful acold this year, and Elizabeth personally nets 5% of each sale, for a full of $260,000.

Her YouTube transmission has generated different $298,000 successful advertisement revenue, and she present employs 2 people, rents 2 commercialized spaces — and works anyplace from 50 to 100 hours each week.

“It was decidedly risky,” she told CNBC Make It. But her doctrine ne'er changed: “I deliberation anyone tin bash it if they enactment the enactment in.”

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Elizabeth makes it dependable casual to commencement a business, but is it truly thing anyone tin do? Understanding the fiscal risks is simply a large constituent of the entrepreneur mindset.

Starting tiny is key. Turning a broadside hustle into a full-time occupation is not ever easy, and galore self-starters don’t marque the leap.

Nationally, Americans are opening businesses astatine grounds rates: 16 cardinal concern applications person been filed since 2021. But galore founders underestimate the existent outgo of starting a business, which tin pb to cash-flow issues that descend caller ventures early, according to small-business research. (2)

Here's the world successful cold, hard numbers:

• Starting a concern costs anyplace from $3,000 to $500,000, depending connected the benignant and location.

• Online oregon home-based ventures (like resale stores) are connected the little end: $3,000–$10,000.

• Retail storefronts and restaurants tin necessitate $50,000–$500,000+ earlier opening day.

• About 20% of caller businesses adjacent wrong the archetypal year, according to national data.