Sophie Riegel got her side hustle off the ground without spending a dime. Now she makes more money thrifting clothes than she does at her full-time job.
What To Know: Riegel launched a side hustle selling thrift clothing online as a freshman at Duke University in 2020. Last year alone, she did $123,800 in sales and she has booked more than $192,000 in net profit since she started the venture, according to CNBC.
The 23-year-old got the idea for her side hustle when she was trapped at home in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She found a few old items from her childhood bedroom and netted approximately $200 selling them online. That’s when she decided to expand the operation.
Riegel began searching local thrift stores for clothing that could be flipped for a profit online. Riegel found she could buy T-shirts for about $1 and sell them for close to $10. Within weeks, she was selling about $50 per day.
She began researching reselling tips on Alphabet Inc’s GOOGGOOGL YouTube in an effort to grow the business. She spent countless hours watching clips from other resellers, learning what brands to look for when thrifting and how to go about selling online.
Riegel now sells around 10 items a day on online marketplaces like eBay Inc EBAY, Mercari and Poshmark, bringing in between $400 and $500 in revenue per day. She works about 25 hours per week on the side hustle in addition to her full-time job as a writer and mental health coach.
“I wouldn't do anything else. I love it so much. It makes me so happy,” Riegel said.
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Riegel further grew her side hustle by paying attention to restocking schedules at her local thrift stores so she could avoid looking through the same items repeatedly. By doing this, she gained access to better reselling opportunities. She once bought an old Chanel purse for $2 and sold it on eBay for $1,000, she said.
Riegel’s reselling side hustle accounted for about 70% of her total income last year. She’s considering hiring employees to help with photographing and listing items online so she can focus on finding items in thrift stores.
“Technically, the thrifting takes the most time. But it doesn't feel like work to me,” she said.
Riegel is also finding other ways to grow her side hustle, which is currently bringing in more than $10,000 per month in revenue. She started posting instructional videos on YouTube and selling services as a reseller coach.
She doesn’t have any plans to slow down anytime soon because ultimately, it makes her happy and “You can’t put a price” on that, she said.
This story is part of a series of features on the subject of success, Benzinga Inspire.
Photo: Pexels from Pixabay.
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