‘MY LOCKDOWN HOBBY SOON SOLD OUT’ ‘I MAKE CASH FROM SECONDHAND STYLE’

Georgia Humbert, 22

works for a financial marketing consultancy in Boston and New York

side hustle Co-founder and CEO of Smoothie London

turnover £6,000 to £10,000 a month

It began as a lockdown project in June 2020. I had been sent home from Exeter University. I was just about to start an internship at Warner Bros in London and I had a month off, so I started handmaking gold-plated huggie hoop earrings with leopard, shell, crystal and flower charms. I’d never done it before, so I just googled it and used trial and error. I had five designs, about six pairs of each one, and sold them for £20 a pair. They didn’t sell out, but they sold quicker than expected.

At first it was a hobby, but as soon as I handed in my dissertation this spring, I committed to growing the brand. Getting the first 50 customers was easy, finding the next 100 not so much. I started a Tiktok account and that’s when the business really took off. A few of my videos went viral, then all of my sales were coming from the app.

When I released my first collection in May it sold out immediately, and there has been an ongoing stream of sales since. Restocks sell out on the day – it’s hard to keep track. I’m growing quickly and I’m lucky my customers talk to me and tell me what they want. I even had a pop-up in John Lewis in August.

I invested £120 of my savings in Smoothie (smoothielondon.com) and for the first year and a half, I was working long hours for no financial reward. Seeing my hard work pay off has been worth it. While I still don’t pay myself a proper salary, as I prefer to invest the profits back in the business, I know it’s there if I need it.

Nicola Stark, 20

studying history of art and English at Edinburgh University

side hustle Selling secondhand clothing on Depop

turnover Around £2,000 a month

I started selling my old clothes on Depop (depop.com/glownic). Then the pandemic happened. I was at home in Fife and I started taking it more seriously. I was getting good traffic on the app, so I began sourcing more items online similar to my style. Previously I found clothing in charity shops, but it got competitive – other sellers did the same. Now I do a lot of my sourcing abroad and from vintage wholesalers. They have big sales you can handpick from – it takes time but you can find niche items that other people don’t sell.

I get a lot of requests for camisoles, mesh and club wear. I have around 400 items stored in my room; about 60 per cent has been uploaded to Depop, the rest I’m saving to put on the app later, or for pop-up events. I keep an inventory by taking pictures, and I colour-code all the items in storage boxes.

I benefit from sustainable fashion being so popular now. Most of my customers are from London, Edinburgh and Manchester because the secondhand fashion communities are big there. Every two months or so, I do an affordable drop on Depop with items under £20 and can sell around 40 in one day. A big part of these sales come from people who bundle items to get a better deal.

I also started organising pop-up events – about ten so far – and earn between £1,400 and £2,000 from these. It helps me to support myself. Most of my student loan will be going towards utility bills this winter.