#HANDMADESELLER 45
How I Manage a Career and Business
I’ve always been very into making to-do lists
and planning out my time in bite-sized pieces, taking advantage of whatever free time I had.
As my lists for Pickles grew longer, I pushed
myself to figure out more efficient ways to get it
all done and not sacrifice my job or living my
life. I created workflows and process
improvements for listing products, packaging orders, posting on social media, and I got faster
at the logistical tasks that took up so much time
in the beginning. Through that, I was able to
complete goals that would grow Pickles, such as launching into wholesale or sourcing new
products beyond greeting cards.
Today, A Jar of Pickles has somehow grown into a $38k revenue business carrying 150+ items,
selling in 50+ retail shops across the US, and regularly exhibiting at popular events like the Renegade Craft Fair. These numbers blow my mind every time I share them—I never intended for Pickles to grow this much, yet it has. And it’s happened all while I’ve been working full-time as a designer for companies I’ve loved, living a very full personal life with friends, and growing up through huge transitions like getting married.
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These numbers blow my mind every time I share
them—I never intended for Pickles to grow this
much, yet it has. And it’s happened all while I’ve
been working full-time as a designer for
companies I’ve loved, living a very full personal
life with friends, and growing up through huge transitions like getting married.
But the growth to this point has definitely been
incremental. I didn’t dream these numbers in
college as I was printing orders at Kinko’s;
each week, month, and year I’ve just pushed
myself to grow a little bigger and strategize a
little further into the future. Small, incremental stretches have made getting to this point while working full time within (relatively) easy reach. I set goals that are achievable with the free time that I have, and I think that’s the best advice I can give to anyone asking how to pursue a business on the side: just continue to set small goals and finish them. It’s easy to start an idea and have a million things come in the way, whether social events, unexpected life circumstances, stress at work, personal doubts, etc. Pickles would have never grown if I didn’t complete even the smallest tasks off my to-do list, and those small tasks have accumulated into huge accomplishments I’m really proud of. I’ve learned a lot from working in the fast-paced tech world of Silicon Valley— go fast, and done is better than perfect.