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What It's About
Marketer mixes things up and gets the party started with her custom confetti.
Business Model
Product
Skills Required
Creativity & Resourcefulness
Complexity
Medium
Profit Potential
Medium
Words of Wisdom
Jessica made herself a promise to not lose focus and to not get too comfortable. Her new job is a great opportunity to learn and grow, but ultimately, she would like to return to The Confetti Bar full-time at some stage. That means treating it more like a like side hustle again, working nights and weekend to restructure her business plan, and gaining clarity on how to grow it in a way that she’ll continue to enjoy.
Treating your business like a side hustle, even when it’s a full-time business, is a great mindset to have!
Fun Fact
Custom made confetti is not always made by machine but is sometimes hand cut! Jessica will combine different textures, shapes, and sizes into the perfect mix for her customers. Sometimes that means a product so complex that the only way to create it is with good old scissor cutting.
Notes from Chris
Episode 873
Many creators talk about their ‘muse’ as a source of inspiration that comes from an unknown place. It guides their minds almost automatically, telling them where to go and what to do to create their masterpiece. Jessica Huizenga’s muse must be a party animal because one day it told her to start a custom made confetti business… totally normal, right? When Jessica woke up with the idea, she took it straight to her husband. To his credit, he agreed to come along for the ride. He wasn’t about to be a downer when his wife was so enthusiastic. Jessica was working full-time in marketing but moved quickly. Within a few months, she had figured out how to make her inventory, and had a website up and running. She called it The Confetti Bar. The party was about to get started, and all on a budget of just a few thousand dollars. It didn’t take long at all for her to find customers. In fact, within a few weeks, she had her first cause for celebration and an order for a custom batch. She puts this quick win down to a very specific product, well marketed. That, coupled with a website that defined the product well and sold it as a fun alternative to standard confetti, did the trick. Within six months of launching the site, Jessica was partying hard—and was earning enough to quit her full-time job and go all in. A remarkable accomplishment for her first side hustle. Over the next few years, The Confetti Bar went from strength to strength. Revenue was raining down on Jessica with each and every order. She attracted the attention of some big brands that found her online, including McDonald's, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Dr. Pepper, who all commissioned her to create custom confetti for their events. Some of these companies placed large orders, all the way up to $14,000 for one event. Although that amount wasn’t typical, a big order like that could fund her operation for several more months. Jessica kept on this was for five more years all the way into 2018. For most of that time, she was having a ball. Each customer was a cause for celebration, and she felt like she was spreading happiness one little piece of biodegradable paper at a time. Somewhere along the way, the fun got away from her. The business became complicated and less fulfilling. What used to make her happy was bringing her no joy at all. And by early 2018, sales had slowed and Jessica felt burned out. She made the decision to return to full-time work, taking a position as Chief Marketing Officer for an online picture framing company. It was a hard choice, after being out on her own for so long, but it was the right one. She knew that she still loved confetti, and bringing happiness into peoples lives with her creations. But something wasn’t working, and she needed space, time and money to figure out what that was. She made herself a promise to not lose focus and to not get too comfortable. Her new job is a great opportunity to learn and grow. But ultimately, she would like to return to The Confetti Bar full time at some stage. That means treating it more like a like side hustle again, working nights and weekend to restructure her business plan, and gaining clarity on how to grow it in a way that she’ll continue to enjoy. It seems like a wise plan because as far as side hustles go, The Confetti Bar was a bonafide smash hit. At its peak, the business was making over $70,000 a year. Although things slowed quite a bit, they are starting to ramp up again. Right now, Jessica isn’t sure what the future holds, but she’s excited to find out. She knows that confetti will always be a part of who she is and what she does. Right now, she’s learning to balance the love of her art, with the practicalities of owning a business and working full time. Through it all, she’s still the life of the party.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- The Confetti Bar: Add a little color to your life—head on over to Jessica's website to get some confetti for yourself!
- WordPress: Jessica used WordPress to set up her website for The Confetti Bar, and here you can learn how to install your own WordPress site in 5 minutes
- Brooklyn Photographer Gets Paid to Throw Confetti at People: A former graphic designer turns a personal thirty-day challenge into a growing photography brand
- Candy Heart Hustle Becomes Six-Figure Second Income: After being unable to find branded candy hearts for a client, a marketing executive decides to create her own
- Curated Gift Boxes for Breakups and Baby Bumps: A breakup brings two sisters together to create one happy side hustle
Quote of the Day
"Start with a clear (and preferably simple) idea. It takes a lot more than that to run a successful business, but at the end of the day, if your idea isn't super clear, it will be that much harder to gain any sort of traction."
—Jessica Huizenga #SideHustleSchool
