This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
I love a good story about someone's second act, or in some cases, someone's third act. We have a lot of listeners out there of retirement age or approaching that age who don't want to just stop working. They understand that work doesn't have to just be a chore, something you kind of get through to get on with the rest of your life, but it can actually be something that is meaningful, makes up an important space in your life. And if all of a sudden you just completely cut it all out, you might not be that happy. At some point in the program, I may have mentioned my grandpa.
This is my grandpa Bill, and he is passed on now, but he was in the Merchant Marines for a while. Then he had a 20 year career working at NASA, which my dad later followed in his footsteps and did that. But my grandpa retired pretty early, like he worked for 20 years, but once he retired, he was still fairly young. And if I recall correctly, he had to retire, it was like a mandatory retirement thing. But then after that, he didn't really do a lot.
And he just kind of worked in the garden, which is fine, but he basically did that every day for years and years. And several of us in the family later said, he may have actually been happier because he wasn't always that happy. He may have actually been happier if he had been able to have a second act. But now at that time, in that generation, it wasn't so common. Like you looked forward to that retirement, and then that was it, you were done, and you just kind of went on with the garden or whatever it was.
And that's why I like hearing stories of people who are just kind of rethinking that and re-evaluating and saying, okay, what is it that I really want to do with my life? Now in this story today, a nonprofit consultant begins to make journals for fun, like handmade journals, but ends up using her hustle to transition into retirement. The extra $10,000 a year she earns helps with expenses, and she also likes how it keeps her active. So like many of our stories, it shows how having a side hustle, the right kind of side hustle, the one that is right for you, can have a lot of different benefits. Stay tuned.
I will tell you all about it. Back in 2012, Donna Erickson needed a change. There was nothing wrong with her job as an organizational development consultant, but it didn't give her a chance to work with her hands or unleash her creativity. 20 years earlier, she had learned how to bind books, and she realized that this could be the perfect way to fulfill her maker tendencies. She decided to create her own refillable journals with recycled materials like license plates and old cowboy boots for her hard pound covers.
Later that year, she wandered into a store in her hometown of Missoula, Montana called Upcycled. All of their products incorporate recycled materials in some way, and Donna couldn't help but think of her journals. She struck up a conversation with the owner, and soon enough, she was bringing her journals to the store so he could take a look at them. He offered to sell them on consignment. In this model, Donna would get 40% of the retail price whenever they sold.
She quickly agreed, and the journals went on sale soon after. Donna realized that her fun craft project could be more than that. It could actually be a profitable side hustle. Could be something that went beyond just a hobby. She began applying to arts and craft shows.
There was a big one that happened twice a year in Missoula. She was rejected from the winter show, but pressed on and was accepted to the one the following summer. As the years went on, Donna applied to more and more shows, and at some point she was selling so many journals that she felt a need to sit down and decide what her brand really was. She made a choice that from then on, all of her covers, not just some of them, would be made of recycled materials. A moment of serendipity also occurred around this time.
A friend who worked at the U.S. Forest Service gave her some old leather law books that would have otherwise been thrown into a landfill. She ran with the idea, and they eventually became her most popular item. After she made the switch to covers being completely made from recycled materials, the response to her products greatly increased, along with her profits. In 2016, she made $2,500 from her hustle, which was now called Just My Type.
From there, she amped up the business by creating a website, a more professional-looking booth for shows, and hired a graphic designer. It all paid off because her profits jumped to $10,000 the next year. And that was, in fact, a pivotal year for Donna. She had slowly been taking on less work at her day job, and decided now was the time to retire. While she could have retired without this project, it was Just My Type that has allowed her and her husband to have more disposable income.
They have a new level of autonomy that allows them to live their retirement to the fullest, particularly funding their desire to travel more. The one limitation is that from June to December, during craft fair season, there are certain dates that they must be in a particular place. So far, it's been easy for them to schedule camping trips and visits to their grandchild around those dates. Donna says that as a retiree, the benefits also reach beyond the money. Having a side hustle just keeps her busy.
Not only does she love creating and making things with her hands, but the business has allowed her to continuously learn and grow. In fact, she believes this is part of the reason she's been successful. When she runs into old customers at art shows, she loves being able to show them the newest item or design that she's made. In her words, it doesn't work to just keep bringing the same old thing year after year to the same show. She also says that if you want to do this, it's important to create something you've never seen before, or at least is somewhat different.
There are all kinds of journals out there. We've actually featured a number of journal stories on the show, but very few are hardbound. And hardly any are made of recycled materials, especially materials like old cowboy boots and license plates. She loves the thrill of the hunt for new items to upcycle, and it also fits with her ethics. For Donna, a side hustle isn't just about the money, it gives her a sense of purpose.
It allows her to connect with other creative people, and it offers her plenty of opportunities to grow or slow down to suit her lifestyle. But before I wrap up, I do want to give a shout out to everyone else out there who is pursuing that second act, third act, fourth act, whatever it is. You are definitely, definitely not alone. The entire decade plus that I have been writing and sharing online in one form or another, I remember pretty much from the very first month of writing my first blog posts, I started hearing from people who would say, "Oh, you know what? I'm probably your only reader who is 70 years old," or whatever the number is.
It's not the number so much as the belief that I am somehow different, or that I am somehow out of the range of being able to pursue an unconventional life, or to change the direction of my life, or to be intentional. Like I said for 10 years now, I've been hearing this over and over, "I must be the only person that comes to the World Domination Summit. I must be the only person that is interested in travel hacking, or listens to your podcast every day from this generation." Again, you're not alone. Being willing to change and do something for yourself is courageous, regardless of your age. I was thinking in particular of a good friend of mine who has been emailing me for many years, Lorraine Wright.
She is the professor emeritus of nursing from the University of Calgary, and after having a multi-decade career as a nurse, has now spent the past 34 years, I believe, if this information is correct. I'm looking at her website now, on a quest to visit 100 countries. She's been to 78 so far, made more than 300 presentations, and the purpose of her journey is to learn about illness, suffering, and illness beliefs, and then offer her knowledge to other professionals in healthcare. So Lorraine, if you're listening, thank you for inspiring me for the past decade with all your emails. I'm going to be around the world somewhere and writing my newsletter from whatever country.
She would say, "Oh, hi, Chris. I'm teaching in the Philippines," or, "I'm in Thailand. I'm going to Bangladesh," you know, wherever. So it's just one person, but I think she's representative of a lot of other people out there, or, as I said in the beginning, to those who aspire to that kind of life or that kind of intentionality. Whatever it is, whatever it looks like for you, because of course, it's all up to you.
It's your choice, your goals. My goal with the show, with the program, with all of my work is to support that in some fashion or another. So that's my little soapbox for today. Again, shout out to Lorraine. Big shout out to Donna.
Thank you for letting us share your story. Listeners, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better. Find the show notes for today's episode, including links to these awesome upcycled journals. Just go to sidehustleschool.com/853. That is episode 853.
We'll also link up Lorraine's blog now that I think about it, and anything else that I mentioned in the episode. All right. Thanks so much. I'll be back again tomorrow, and I hope you will join me. My name is Chris Guillebeau, this is Side Hustle School.
From the Onward Project.
