She Started Her Side Hustle With a Google Search — Then Made $11K in Month 1: ‘I Had Absolutely Zero Experience’

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Lauren Olds, 32, of San Diego, California. Olds is the director of relations for a software company building her collagen-rich tea brand LEEVA on the side. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
About two and a half years ago, I spoke it out loud for the first time: I wanted to start my own brand. After that, it took me over a year to develop the concept for LEEVA. I kept coming back to tea. I saw a gap in the market. Often, beverages marketed as “wellness drinks” were full of sugar, artificial sweeteners, and caffeine. Or they tasted terrible. 

I had a desire to find a way to blend function and indulgence. LEEVA is collagen-based with 10 grams of protein per serving. Collagen, the most abundant protein in our body, naturally decreases as we age. I wanted to create an experience that was not just functional but also crave- and ritual-worthy. 

When you open LEEVA’s bold-colored can, you smell the ginger and the bright, refreshing lemon. You can customize your flavor experience by adding more or less powder to intensify the kick of heat from the ginger. As you sip, you’ll feel a slight tingle on your lips and the back of your throat, and it warms you up from the inside out. 

First steps to start the side hustle, investment to launch

What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
My very first step was quite literally Googling, “How do you start a beverage brand?” Then I focused on product development and branding. Those two things were the most time-consuming and most expensive areas of the business I invested in to get to launch. 

Because I was (and still am) working a full-time corporate job while building the side hustle, I knew I would have to invest a bit more than most first-time founders to bring my vision to life. I invested in areas I either didn’t have time for or didn’t have the skills to execute on. Over a year, and over $80,000 later, I was able to launch LEEVA. 

Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful for you in starting and running this business? 
Because I had absolutely zero experience in the CPG and beverage space, I decided to invest in a six-month founders course that provided me with foundational knowledge of the industry. It was a small cohort of food and beverage founders who met every other week. We learned from industry experts who had either built their own company or supported specific areas of the business of other brands. 

Outside of that, the single most valuable resource I have is the community of other business owners and founders I’ve built. San Diego is crawling with entrepreneurs and creatives who strive to lift each other up and provide knowledge and guidance along the way. I’ve also met so many CPG founders on Instagram and TikTok who not only share advice, but also make you feel less alone on this journey. 

Navigating partnerships for maximum momentum

If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
When I first started product development and branding, I took a very casual approach. I didn’t have a timeline for the launch, so I frequently told my partners, “No rush.” I didn’t realize that these things take much longer than I thought they would. By the time we were wrapping up, I was itching to launch and get to the next phase. However long you think it will take, double it — and keep up the momentum.  

Building a side hustle in public comes with feedback

When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t? 
Starting LEEVA has been the most vulnerable thing I have ever done in my life. You pour your heart, soul and bank account into this dream that just started in your head. When you start to post on social media about what you’re doing, the day you hit “launch” on your website, the moment strangers try your product for the first time — everything you’ve worked up to is up for critique. 

I feel so unbelievably grateful that the response to LEEVA has been overwhelmingly positive from the start. But that doesn’t remove the fears and vulnerabilities you’ll experience. Every move and decision you make is up for public debate. Also, you’ll become a more public person, especially if you make founder-forward content. Your online presence skyrockets more than you might feel prepared for. People know more about you than you know about them. 

So much beauty and positivity can come from this, but it can feel overwhelming and exhausting at times. Feeling confident in yourself and in your business is key to navigating this with strength. 

Prioritizing transparency in customer relations

Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong — how did you fix it?
About a week after I launched, I started getting messages from my early customers that the safety seal had popped open in transit, and the LEEVA powder was leaking from the can into the lid. I was mortified. This was LEEVA’s first impression to the world, and my cans were showing up with powder everywhere. 

Fortunately for me, I have spent my entire career in customer relations, so I felt prepared to respond and show my customers that I would always take care of them. 

An essential step: diagnosing what went wrong

The first thing that I did was investigate what went wrong in the first place. I went back and forth with my manufacturer to identify the issue and ensure there were no safety concerns. Then inspected every single can that was still in inventory and carefully and safely resealed any cans that presented the issue. 

I made a Reel speaking directly to my customers identifying the issue, explaining why it happened, ensuring the safety of what they received and how I planned to fix it moving forward. And then I sent out an email to everyone who had orders, sharing a link to that Reel for them to watch if they were concerned. I offered to make it right for any customer who was disappointed in their experience. Not a single customer complained or asked for a refund. My guiding light in customer relations for LEEVA has been and will always be to prioritize honesty and experience every step of the way. 

LEEVA’s earnings and growth

What do earnings and growth look like for LEEVA?
Since LEEVA is still in its infancy (only three-and-half months old!) consistency isn’t a word I would use quite yet. But I have been absolutely blown away with the response. We closed out our very first month in business with over $11,000 in sales — and it’s only up from here. 

For the first few months in business, I focused solely on organic growth. I didn’t do a single paid ad, just organic social reach and showing up to as many pop-up events as possible. I wanted to see who LEEVA naturally attracted and to absorb as much knowledge about my ideal customer as possible. 

Now that I have a few months of that under my belt, I’m looking to grow with some paid strategy. Whether that be paid ads, paying for very specific vendor spots at events, or investing in bringing on support from people who know this industry the best, that’s LEEVA’s next step. 

If I play my cards right, LEEVA will be primed to close out at around $200,000 in revenue for the first year in business.    

Balancing the side hustle with a corporate job

How much time do you spend working on your side hustle on a daily, weekly or monthly basis?
During the work week, I probably spend four to five hours per day on LEEVA. A couple hours before I start my corporate job, and a couple hours after. On the weekends though, that ramps up a bit. Almost every single weekend I try to do a pop-up event which takes hours of prep work and several hours at the event itself. At this stage, I’m working seven days a week to make it work. 

That time is spent packing orders, making social media content, responding to emails from other brands, and having meetings with other partners. In the morning is when I like to work more on administrative work (mostly responding to emails, booking collaborations and events, restocking shipping supplies, etc). At night is when I find myself most creative. I spend that time coming up with social media content and marketing ideas. 

Flexing creativity and taking ownership

What do you enjoy most about running this side hustle?
LEEVA feels like a huge science and art project to me. It is something that is entirely my own, that came from my brain, that I get to make every decision for. The thing I enjoy the most about it is just that. I get to flex my creativity and push myself in ways I never would have been able to otherwise. 

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am the boss. If I don’t like something about how it’s going, I can change it. If I want to speak on a particular topic, I don’t need to ask permission. Being able to completely fly and make this something truly magical is what motivates me every single day. 

What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
This is not an original thought, but my biggest piece of advice is to be very clear on your “why.” Why do you wake up every morning and choose to invest time, energy and money on this business you’re building? What’s your vision for how you want your life to look like in relation to your business?

Take what you think you’ll experience, and multiply that by 10. Being incredibly clear about the reason you’re doing this will keep you going during the hardest moments. And the hardest moments aren’t always production issues or customer complaints. It’s getting up at 5 a.m. to prepare for an event. Or not seeing your friends for weeks at a time — not having enough time to cook a well-balanced meal. Those are the moments that will challenge you. But being able to see your future and where you want to be makes the hard moments worth it.

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Lauren Olds, 32, of San Diego, California. Olds is the director of relations for a software company building her collagen-rich tea brand LEEVA on the side. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
About two and a half years ago, I spoke it out loud for the first time: I wanted to start my own brand. After that, it took me over a year to develop the concept for LEEVA. I kept coming back to tea. I saw a gap in the market. Often, beverages marketed as “wellness drinks” were full of sugar, artificial sweeteners, and caffeine. Or they tasted terrible.