This Facet Hustle Highlight Q&A options Nikki Seaman, the 29-year-old, Atlanta, Georgia-based entrepreneur behind olive model Freestyle Snacks. Study extra about her work trip, right here. Responses have been edited for size and readability.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Freestyle Snacks. Nikki Seaman.
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What was your day job or major occupation whenever you began your facet hustle?
I used to be on an externship from my administration consulting job at Bain & Co, main particular initiatives at Whisps Cheese Crisps.
When did you begin your facet hustle, and the place did you discover the inspiration for it?
The thought of Freestyle Snacks happened in 2021. I discovered inspiration in the course of the pandemic, as olive bars in grocery shops shut down, and I used to be compelled to get my olive repair from the standard olive aisle. The “eyeballs” in a jar simply weren’t reducing it for me when it comes to high quality and comfort. So I made a decision to create a neater, extra pleasing approach to eat olives.
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What had been a few of the first steps you took to get your facet hustle off the bottom? How a lot cash/funding did it take to launch?
I began by specializing in client information. I lived in Mintel stories, and I ran a bunch of surveys to pressure-test if there was actual demand. I’d stand within the olive aisle on the grocery retailer and interview olive-lovers about their preferences. After calling over 200 co-packers, I used to be capable of finding a associate to deliver my imaginative and prescient for Freestyle Snacks to life. Together with our packaging design, supplies and first manufacturing run, I spent round $50,000 in financial savings to get to market.
Are there any free or paid sources which have been particularly useful for you in beginning and operating this enterprise?
Regardless of the business, discovering a group and different founders to talk with is invaluable. After I was first getting began, I’d stack my Fridays with conferences with different CPG founders to see what I might study from their wins and their errors. For my business, the Startup CPG group is a superb place to search out different like-minded people who’re keen to assist and assist. In operating the enterprise, one useful resource that has been unimaginable for us recently is TikTok — it’s free natural attain to thousands and thousands of potential prospects, and we’re investing loads of time on this platform.
For those who might return in your small business journey and alter one course of or method, what would it not be, and the way do you want you’d finished it in another way?
I’d have taken extra time to construct a stronger bench of part-time assist earlier. At first, I used to be doing all the pieces from delivery samples to managing QuickBooks and answering buyer emails at midnight. It was, after all, scrappy, nevertheless it was additionally draining and unsustainable. Trying again, I might have introduced in inexpensive assist sooner to unlock my time for the highest-impact work. A few of my finest hires are my digital assistants; they honestly save me a lot time, and the enterprise could not run with out them.
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In relation to this particular enterprise, what’s one thing you’ve got discovered significantly difficult and/or shocking that individuals who get into any such work needs to be ready for, however probably aren’t?
Retail distribution sounds thrilling, however it’s extremely operationally intense. From logistics coordination to managing distributor deductions to planning for promotions, it’s a fixed problem. It may be costly to get your product on the shelf, and that is only the start. The true enjoyable is available in ensuring the product is definitely promoting off the shelf.
Are you able to recall a selected occasion when one thing went very fallacious? How did you repair it?
We had just a few operational hiccups very early on. One nightmare was once we acquired our newest packaging order from our provider, and there have been holes within the packaging close to the resealable zipper. We did not understand this till after we might packed 1000’s of merchandise. Fortunately, we had been capable of expedite a brand new order of packaging and examined it totally, and now we’re hypervigilant about all suppliers we work with.
How lengthy did it take you to see constant month-to-month income? How a lot did the facet hustle earn?
Since I did not go the farmers market path, we examined product-market match by placing the product on-line and seeing if it bought. Inside our first two days of launch, we bought over $10,000 value of olive snacks. I began seeing constant income solely after the primary 12 months, as soon as our merchandise landed in main retailers and demand was a bit extra predictable.
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What does progress and income seem like now?
Freestyle is now in about 5,000 retail places, together with Complete Meals, Goal, CVS, Harris Teeter and Large Meals, and we’re simply getting began. We’ve seen robust retail velocity and six-figure month-to-month gross sales, with progress pushed by expanded retail distribution and a excessive repeat buy price in our present retail footprint.
How a lot time do you spend engaged on your small business on a every day, weekly or month-to-month foundation? How do you construction that point? What does a typical day or week of labor seem like for you?
This began as a facet hustle however rapidly became a full-time job and extra. I now work on Freestyle full-time, usually from my residence workplace and typically out of our storage, which has develop into overflow storage. I work just about seven days every week, with the weekends being lighter. I really like to make use of the weekends for catching up on admin work or inside initiatives and conducting retailer visits. My days fluctuate however often embody a mixture of operations, gross sales outreach and technique, content material creation and workforce administration. I additionally attempt to carve out time for artistic and strategic pondering so I don’t get caught in execution mode.
What do you take pleasure in most about operating this enterprise?
I really like creating one thing from nothing and seeing individuals genuinely take pleasure in it. It by no means will get outdated when somebody discovers Freestyle Snacks and shares what a necessary snack it has develop into for them, whether or not they’re diabetic, in search of a low-calorie snack or simply craving a great olive. The very best is all the of us we have transformed to the darkish inexperienced facet, who used to hate olives till they tried Freestyle!
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What’s your finest piece of particular, actionable enterprise recommendation?
So as to succeed, it’s essential have grit, ardour and perseverance. You’ll face many rejections, must navigate operational challenges and typically really feel just like the world is crumbling round you. Entrepreneurship is a rollercoaster. I like to remain grounded by specializing in being 1% higher every day. These incremental enhancements to the enterprise actually add as much as one thing unimaginable.
This text is a part of our ongoing Younger Entrepreneur® collection highlighting the tales, challenges and triumphs of being a younger enterprise proprietor.
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