This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Friends, listeners, community, welcome to Side Hustle School. My name is Chris Guillebeau. Welcome as well to Throwback Thursday, our weekly segment where we take an in-depth look at someone whose story has evolved since we first featured them. Now we have been on a roll of good features here. We have had the founder of Mozart for Munchkins.
This is a group that provides concerts and musical experiences for children of all ages in New York City. We've also had a land surveyor who changes careers when he discovers an accidental side hustle painting signs and murals. You could say it's a sign hustle, but it's also a full-time six-figure business. And today in our latest feature, we'll hear from Marcy Hight in Silver Spring, Maryland. And Marcy does a lot.
Marcy, I've got a long list here, she runs an animation production company called It's Real Entertainment. She is also a professional voice actor. And in her spare time, she's the founder of Cutie Foodie. Cutie Foodie, a kitchen tool collection that makes cooking fun. Now she also notes here that she doesn't call it her side hustle, but part of her overall business, which is kind of like me.
I've got a bunch of projects. I don't really think of them all as compartmentalized or my side project, my side side project. I tend to think of everything in some sort of aligned, integrated fashion, which sometimes is aligned and integrated and other times isn't. But that's enough about me. We're gonna hear today from Marcy.
So let's focus on her. I'll come back at the end with a quick wrap-up. Marcy Hight. [Music]
Hi, my name is Marcy Hight and I'm located in Silver Spring, Maryland. I was originally featured on episode 936 where we talked about my side hustle, Cutie Foodie.
Cutie Foodie is a kitchen tool collection designed to make kitchen time fun for everyone. I myself love cooking, but whether someone does or doesn't or has a challenging time in the kitchen for whatever, the reason cooking is a life scale. So it's really important to feel comfortable preparing food. So I created these engaging and accessible kitchen tools that are adult size and super kid friendly. Everyone can use them.
They have soft sensory friendly handles. They have braille on the measuring pieces. They have bright and lifelike colors that appeal to picky eaters and non picky eaters too. So when you're more involved in your food prep, you're more likely to be adventurous with food and make healthy choices too. So they're really designed to just be inclusive and make a fun time for everybody in the kitchen.
So I wouldn't actually call Cutie Foodie my side hustle actually. It's a big part of my main hustle. My production company, Israel Entertainment, evolved out of all the things I had been doing and continue to do. And everything falls under that umbrella, the voice work, the writing and producing on behalf of my company and work for clients, all of that. So when I was first featured on the show, it was actually only shortly after I got my first shipment.
So much has happened since then. I'm working on our next products as well as tweaking the ones that are already out there. Time, and that's really the only way to do this. You learn what works best. In my case, I was originally selling the products as seven piece sets.
I've discovered that my products sell well as individual items all year and the full set sell buster and gift times. So I sell them both ways. Cutie Foodie has made its way around the world at wholesale to Gourmet Housewear stores as far away as New Zealand. And I get so excited when I get those orders because it's exotic. And domestically across the United States.
So they're in Gourmet Housewear stores across the United States. So at the retail level, we sell through the website which has been updated since we first spoke. We sell through Amazon. And also as of pretty recently, we're selling on Etsy too. We've also made a habit of donating product to nonprofits with cooking programs for kids.
And that has been extremely rewarding. The biggest challenge I'm currently facing these days is really time and balance. Running a growing business is bottom line, very hard work. You are the everything to the business. Even if you've delegated well, you are the real heart.
I mean, when you're the real heart of the business, there's a lot of pumping that has to happen from all different directions. And that takes up time. Certain things can easily be delegated, but others, it's not as simple. Like for example, maintaining a presence and promoting on social media is like a job in itself. But hiring someone to handle it is kind of risky because so much of social media is not just purpose, but it's authenticity.
And no one can speak your voice as well as you, especially in a young business. So that's really been something I'm dealing with. So if I give advice to anybody who is considering doing this, I'll repeat what I said last time since I think it's really important. The unexpected will come up, whether it's specific to your business or something unrelated in your life that will modify your timeline, accept that it's part of the path that means okay, and that you will get there. There'll be bumps in the road for sure.
But even before getting to the bumps, have a clear vision of what you want your product to be or your service to be and why. And I'll add to that, to be open to the opportunities that come your way as a result of your efforts while staying true to your passion. Another thing is listen to your customers. Feedback should always be welcome. It will guide you in the best, best way.
Your story is crucial to your brand success. This is so true. And the best part about your story is that you already know it. It's your story. How did you ask yourself like, how did your business come to be?
How did it evolve? Why? Who are the main players? What motivated you? It's very interesting to people, to your customers and to those who aren't your customers.
Yet people love to hear a story. So tell them yours. [Music]
Awesome, thanks so much to Marcy for sharing those updates with us. I wanna encourage you listeners, check out her website at qdfoody.com. It's just like it sounds qdfoody.com or on Instagram at guess what, qdfoody.
Let me know what you think and who you'd like to see featured from our archives of more than a thousand stories. If you have a question or update for us about your hustle, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. That's all for today. I hope you will subscribe or follow and come back tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau.
You're listening to Side Hustle School. [Music]
