This Aspect Hustle Highlight Q&A options Ruta Drungilaite, founding father of A Twist of Date, a enterprise that helps {couples} plan date nights with its digital choices — chilly case information, dialog starter playing cards, romantic board video games and extra.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of A Twist of Date. Ruta Drungilaite.
What was your day job (or different sources of earnings) once you began your aspect hustle?
After graduating with an economics and finance diploma on the age of 21, I took the “textbook” path of a graduate scheme in one of many massive banks in Canary Wharf, London. Since then, I’ve labored seven jobs throughout varied departments and enterprise models within the seven years I have been there, rapidly progressing up the “company ladder.” I specialised in monetary product administration, and my final function was as a VP senior product supervisor in funds improvements (rising fee acceptance options for company retailers).
When did you begin your aspect hustle, and the place did you discover the inspiration for it?
The thought for A Twist Of Date got here to me throughout one of many Covid lockdowns in 2021. We stay in London, so we’re often spoiled with regards to enjoyable issues to do. My fiancé and I’ve achieved all of it: hidden jazz golf equipment, secret cocktail bars, underground performs, wine and cheese tastings, comedy nights, a Horrible Histories boat tour, escape room-style outside meals maze, indoor mountain climbing, quirky artwork installations, driving vary and lots of extra.
Nevertheless, the lockdown took away all these decisions. Because of this, my fiancé discovered it arduous to give you distinctive date concepts, whereas my very own creativity was solely propelled by it. It dawned on me that there have to be different individuals on the market who additionally battle to give you artistic date concepts at residence (not only a film and dinner). So, I began to consider how I might clear up that drawback for {couples}.
What had been a few of the first steps you took to get your aspect hustle off the bottom?
My first concept was to create date night time containers delivered to you, which might have the whole lot set and deliberate for a romantic night at residence. I launched cocktail-making containers in February 2022 in time for Valentine’s Day and pottery workshop containers afterward. The containers included playlists, all of the instruments to make cocktails or pottery creations, deep dialog starters and different actions designed to deepen the connection along with your companion.
{Couples} beloved these containers, and I obtained quite a lot of good suggestions, however making the containers by hand was extraordinarily labor intensive, revenue margins had been razor skinny/nonexistent, and the amount of gross sales was not as excessive as I had initially hoped for. Finally, the date field concept was not a scalable or financially viable one for me to proceed.
Six months into my enterprise, I began promoting a PDF of 110 date concept playing cards, which {couples} might obtain immediately and print out at residence. As this concept went nicely, I pivoted my enterprise away from bodily date night time containers towards digital merchandise, increasing my vary with romantic board video games, chilly case information, escape rooms, dialog starters and extra. That is when my enterprise began to essentially take off, and I knew I used to be onto one thing.
What had been a few of the greatest challenges you confronted whereas constructing your aspect hustle, and the way did you navigate them?
Constructing my first enterprise has most likely been the toughest factor I’ve achieved in my life — and probably the most rewarding one, too. It has been an emotional rollercoaster of a journey with numerous challenges.
Listed here are a few of the fundamental ones:
- First product not being viable: As talked about above, my first concept of bodily date night time containers was primarily a loss and never financially viable or scalable. Even right this moment, our cabinets are crammed with a whole lot of mini alcohol bottles from the cocktail containers I used to promote! I might have given up at this level, however I made a decision to experiment and pivot, which has led me to digital date night time merchandise I promote right this moment, with greater than 5,000 orders positioned throughout 80 totally different nations.
- Information hole: More often than not, I did not know what I used to be doing, however I used to be keen to be taught and persevere. I did not have an enormous funds to start out with, so I’ve achieved the whole lot myself: coding my web site by trying to find solutions on YouTube, clumsily utilizing Adobe Illustrator to design my brand, writing privateness coverage, phrases and situations and different authorized documentation for my web site, creating and designing all of the merchandise with none expertise with Canva, studying to make TikToks and develop on social media — by no means having even used TikTok earlier than. All through my journey, I’ve all the time tried to embrace the mindset of I don’t know how to do that, however I am positive I can be taught.
- Attempting to construct the enterprise with a full-time job: There is no magic or secret right here — balancing my demanding day job and a enterprise has been very powerful. I attempted to work on my enterprise as a lot as I might on the evenings and weekends, however after a full day of “firefighting” at my day job, I used to be usually emotionally and bodily depleted, so it wasn’t all the time doable to work on my enterprise as a lot as I’d have favored to. I’ve needed to settle for that I solely have a lot power and time, and for this enterprise to be sustainable, I needed to prioritize my well being, psychological well being and total well-being, regardless that it meant that issues are transferring slower than I’d have favored to within the quick time period. I needed to be cautious to watch and spot any indicators of my psychological well being taking a toll attributable to overworking and prioritize taking relaxation in addition to doing issues that convey me power and pleasure. My strategy was prioritizing consistency of motion — making an attempt to do at the least just a little bit day by day to construct and develop my enterprise.
How lengthy did it take you to see constant month-to-month income? How a lot did the aspect hustle earn?
Within the first six months of launching my enterprise, my whole income was lower than £3,000 (about $3,800). Seven months in, I had my “Flirty Cube” printable board recreation go viral on TikTok, which introduced in over £700 (about $890) in simply three days, which is after I knew I used to be on to one thing and began to see extra development from leveraging natural social media to drive gross sales.
As my gross sales had been principally pushed by my movies going viral, the earnings ranges various considerably from month to month. I’m nonetheless engaged on diversifying my advertising and marketing methods and income streams to realize extra consistency in income.
Why did you resolve to go from aspect hustle to full-time enterprise? What does development and income appear like now?
I had greater than 5,000 orders from 80 totally different nations and made round £60,000 (about $65,000) in gross sales earlier than quitting my company 9-5, which reassured me that my concept solves a common drawback for {couples} all internationally. With the enterprise idea verified, I felt that I might make this enterprise work if I devoted my full consideration to it. I’ve constructed up my private financial savings to maintain myself for at the least the subsequent 12 months, after which I am hoping to be driving sufficient income to pay myself a wage that is just like the one I had with my job in finance. Leaving my well-paid job in finance is the largest danger I’ve ever taken, however I completely love the enterprise I’ve constructed and imagine that with consistency, self-discipline and a development mindset, I am going to have the ability to make it work.
What do you get pleasure from most about operating this enterprise?
Whereas my background is in finance, I’m naturally a really artistic individual. I like arising with new ideas for date concepts and bringing them to life.
What brings me probably the most pleasure is figuring out that each one my arduous work helps numerous busy {couples} from all around the world have high quality time collectively. The heartfelt buyer messages and opinions I obtain all the time make my day. {Couples} have informed me they’ve used my date nights to reconnect after having a new child or to find new issues about one another even after 18 years of marriage.
What’s your recommendation for others hoping to start out profitable aspect hustles or companies of their very own?
- Discover a ache level. I like to recommend an excellent e-book known as Jobs to Be Executed for each aspiring entrepreneur to study figuring out and fixing actual issues.
- Validate your concept. Each entrepreneur thinks their concept is implausible, however the one technique to confirm it’s to see if anybody is keen to pay for it and if it may be worthwhile. In case you’re seeking to give up your company job for a aspect hustle, I feel it is important to show your idea earlier than you do.
- Prioritize motion over perfection. Study to be comfy with releasing your concepts into the market and testing them earlier than they’re excellent. The extra messy and scrappy motion you’re taking, the faster you will get the suggestions you want and have the ability to be taught from it. There is no level engaged on perfecting your product for years simply to seek out out nobody needs it.
- Do one thing you are really taken with. Ask your self if your enterprise concept is one thing you really care about. In case you do, the setbacks and disappointments that you will encounter alongside the best way might be value persevering via.
- Embrace the development mindset. It is simple to fall into the sufferer mentality, blame the circumstances and really feel sorry for your self when issues do not go to plan, nevertheless it will not serve you nicely. Take possession of the failures and deal with what you possibly can be taught from them. Domesticate the mindset of curiosity and infinite studying.
- Keep true to your values. We see the stereotypical high-flying entrepreneur going with no sleep for weeks, working all hours of the day and having no time for a social life or relationships. Whereas this may work for some, I am an enormous believer in deliberately defining what success means to you personally and consciously selecting the worth you are keen to pay within the totally different features of your life to get there — as a result of I feel you are able to do something, however not the whole lot. I do know my well being and relationships with household, buddies and fiance all the time come first, and I am not keen to drop the ball on these features of my life, even when it means my enterprise may develop extra slowly.
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