This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Santa's secretary sees seasonal surge. Hey friends, what's up and welcome to Side Hustle School. Welcome as well to Throwback Thursday. Every Thursday we take a look at someone whose story has evolved since we first featured them. Last week we heard from a side hustler whose passion for fitness transformed into an affiliate marketing blog. That guy is doing really really well. Today
we're going to hear from the Letters from Santa operator. We featured her a couple years ago. Her side hustle has experienced significant growth in the past two years. She was really happy to make $1,000 the first time she did the project. Just kind of a fun thing and she now earns more than $25,000 each holiday period. She's also got it dialed in. Her systems are basically set up to
where it's kind of a turnkey process. It doesn't take a ton of work. At least it doesn't take a ton of setup. She just kind of gets right back to it each year. So let's hear the update from Sarah. I'm going to pass the microphone to her. I'll
be back at the end with a few brief comments. These past few holiday seasons have been a whirlwind for my Letters from Santa business, so there's a lot to update you on. To recap, what started as a small side gig has snowballed into an operation that's keeping Santa's mailbag full and merry. The pandemic was a big part of what drove the growth. With families separated and many holiday traditions on hold, parents were desperate for ways to keep the Christmas magic alive. Suddenly my personalized Letters from Santa weren't
just cute keepsakes. They were lifelines to normalcy and joy for many children. Then in 2022 orders tripled from the previous year. I went from writing 200 Letters to over 600. Last year the demand kept growing. I introduced new options
like video messages and small gifts directly from the North Pole. This expansion pushed my revenue to just over 25,000 for the season, a far cry from the $1,000 I made in my first year. The most unexpected development has been the rise in orders for adults. Grown children are ordering Letters for their parents, spouses for each other, and friend groups for their annual Secret Santa exchanges. It seems the joy of receiving a personalized Letter isn't limited to kids. Managing this growth hasn't been without challenges. I've had to
streamline my process investing in a better website and order management system. I've also hired seasonal help, my niece and nephew, fittingly enough, to assist with order processing and mailing. Probably the most interesting thing about the business is the intense seasonality. From November to mid December it's all hands on deck. I've had to become an expert in time management, balancing this side hustle with my regular job and family commitments. But
then of course after Christmas there's literally nothing to do for 10 more months. I've thought about exploring ways to expand the business year-round, for example with birthday letters from fictional characters and back-to-school encouragement notes. I'm a little torn at the moment, but maybe that's just because I'm in the midst of this year's intense phase. So for now as I begin to close out another holiday season, I'm grateful for this unexpected journey that's allowed me to play a small part in keeping the magic of Christmas and the lost art of letter writing alive. Hey Sarah, thanks so much for sharing those updates. Really appreciate that and
what a fun seasonal business. We've actually had a couple of different people doing variations of this business. I think I may have actually profiled one of them in the 100 Side Hustles book. It's an interesting little business model that doesn't need to be confined to just one person. And then it might also inspire somebody else to do something different, right? Which is why we share
all these little case studies. Listeners, let me know what you think, who you'd like to see featured. If you have a question or an update, sidehustleschool.com. This was episode 2,903. It's my privilege and honor to make the podcast for you. I so appreciate you listening and I hope you'll subscribe or follow. Come
back for more. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. From the Onward Project. From the Onward Project.
