Turn Your Side Hustle Into a $100,000/Month Business: Here’s How
Executive Summary
A Shopify Masters interview in which the host talks with Julie Brown, co-founder with Jeremy Watt of Province of Canada, a bootstrapped Canadian lifestyle brand making hoodies and caps in Canada. Brown describes starting with 1,500 dollars as a side hustle alongside their design business, how Shopify let them sell online, a near-bankrupt moment followed by their first 100,000 dollar month, running paid ads for the first time, and growing the team to 22. Sponsor: Shopify, which presents the show (a free Shopify trial is linked in the description). PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, a section on Shopify and the side hustle, a section on the low point and first 100,000 month, the closing and the description, and does not cover every exchange in the roughly 34 minute interview. All numbers and views are the speakers' own claims and are not independently checked. This is a brand story, not financial or legal advice.
Key Takeaways
A personal reason
The host says Brown's small Canadian hometown lost two factories and 3,000 jobs at once, and Brown wants to bring well-made Canadian products to this generation.
Starting small
The host says the brand is bootstrapped and was started with only 1,500 dollars.
Shopify and the side hustle
Brown says Shopify let her and Jeremy Watt, both graphic designers, run a side hustle brand alongside their design business and sell online when that was hard for small businesses.
A low point
Brown says a near-bankrupt moment was among their lowest, and an old boss told her it might turn out to be one of the best things that ever happened.
The first 100,000 month
Brown says after that they had an amazing holiday season with their first 100,000 dollar month.
First paid ads
Brown says they had never done online advertising and used that month's runway to hire a company and try paid ads for the first time.
Growing the team
Brown says the team has grown from four to eight to 22, which makes close relationships and culture harder to maintain.
The Conversation Breakdown
A personal reason
⏱ Untimed topicThe host says Brown's small Canadian hometown lost two factories and 3,000 jobs at once, and Brown wants to bring well-made Canadian products to this generation.
Starting small
⏱ Untimed topicThe host says the brand is bootstrapped and was started with only 1,500 dollars.
Shopify and the side hustle
⏱ Untimed topicBrown says Shopify let her and Jeremy Watt, both graphic designers, run a side hustle brand alongside their design business and sell online when that was hard for small businesses.
A low point
⏱ Untimed topicBrown says a near-bankrupt moment was among their lowest, and an old boss told her it might turn out to be one of the best things that ever happened.
The first 100,000 month
⏱ Untimed topicBrown says after that they had an amazing holiday season with their first 100,000 dollar month.
First paid ads
⏱ Untimed topicBrown says they had never done online advertising and used that month's runway to hire a company and try paid ads for the first time.
Growing the team
⏱ Untimed topicBrown says the team has grown from four to eight to 22, which makes close relationships and culture harder to maintain.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Use your skills for yourself - Brown's turning point
Their design and e-commerce skills combined into a brand of their own.
Take the chance instead of turtling - Brown's lesson
Act through fear rather than withdrawing at a low point.
Reinvest a good month - Brown's approach
Use a strong month's cash to test new channels such as paid ads.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Look at how your professional skills could build a side brand of your own.
- ✓When cash is tight, decide whether you are acting from fear or from a chance worth taking.
- ✓Use a strong sales month to test one new channel in a controlled way.
- ✓Treat all numbers as the speakers' own claims and check them before relying on them.
Notable Quotes
“It was our first $100,000 month.”
“It was probably the most intense 6 to 8 months of our lives and we had a baby.”
“Bringing that to this generation I feel is like all I want to do.”
The One Thing to Remember
Province of Canada's co-founder explains, in her own words, how a 1,500 dollar side hustle grew into a seven-figure made-in-Canada brand.