Yahoo Finance From side hustle to $500k 'dog-run' business
Two years ago Ben Whyatt decided to make some extra money by selling pet treats as a side hustle.
He works full time in food manufacturing but has spent the bulk of his spare time building up his side gig on a shoestring budget.
Central to Whyatt’s vision was injecting a bit of humour into the stilted world of pet food products.
“The whole premise is that it's a dog-run business,” Whyatt said.
“There's already a lot of pet brands out there that, as you know, are created by humans,” he joked.
His Doggylicious dog treats, which are made using human-grade ingredients, are now stocked in Coles, Catch.com and Pet Circle.
He hopes to keep growing the business that’s approaching $500,000 in sales. The plan is to hit $1 million next year so that he can quit his job to run his business full time
Outsource as necessary and manage your time wisely
Whyatt used freelancing platforms like Fiverr to find help for jobs such as web development and graphic design work.
He said outsourcing to experts really helped speed things up.
Time management is also key when trying to grow your side hustle.
“You can do a lot of stuff when you don't watch TV,” he quipped.
Breaking into the pet food industry
Whyatt said that the industry is dominated by a couple of key players, including Mars - a company better known for its chocolate - and only recently have smaller outfits been able to break into the market.
Some of the newer players have tapped into elevated status of man’s best friend, Whyatt explained.
”Things are changing from when dogs were being kept outside and treated as just an animal that you had,” he said.
“Now, they are part of the family, and people are spending a lot more money to care for them.”
Good instincts key to getting a business off the ground
Whyatt is one of many brave Australians who started a new business during the pandemic.
Data from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission showed that business registrations actually rose during this disruptive period.
GoDaddy Australia managing director Tamara Oppen told Yahoo Finance that “passion drive and mindset” tend to be more important than qualifications, skills and funding when it comes to starting a side hustle or business.
According to a recent survey of 1,000 entrepreneurs by the domain registration company, 85 per cent said instincts were important in their decision to start a business.
“Whether it’s the decision to start a side hustle or business, or to overcome roadblocks, we found that instinct is a crucial and common trait for Australia’s entrepreneurs.”
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