This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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Graphic design for dogs earns $84,000. Welcome friends and welcome listeners, episode 3,112 of the podcast. Going strong every day since January 1, 2017. And every Wednesday this year, we're bringing you some remixes of our best stories from the early years. So going way back to 2017, 2018.
A little bit of an update, a refresh. Each story is being re-recorded. We'll also include some new updates in some cases. And as I said, these are the best of the best stories. In this one, a graphic designer and pet lover unleashes a side hustle, bringing in more than $84,000 a year.
Why does she choose to specialize in dog businesses? Because she notices that there are a lot of graphic designers out there. And wouldn't it be cool to be, I'm the graphic designer for X, as opposed to I'm just a graphic designer. I make websites. Well, you can do much better.
You can specialize and you can probably make more money in doing that. You'll want to dog ear this episode. Stay tuned. Gonna bring you the detailed story right after this. [Music]
As a full-time graphic designer, Caleb Kipko knows a thing or two about branding and visual communication.
After a chance conversation with a photographer, she learned how to unleash her skills into a highly targeted market that fulfilled her craving for a new outlet for her ideas. Feeling uninspired by her nine to five and needing a new channel for her vision, Caleb decided to open her own design studio on the side. But because she was already in the business, she knew just how overwhelming the marketplace could be with seemingly endless competition. Still, she also knew how to stand out if she could define the right focus. So Caleb thought about different audiences to target.
She made lists. She talked to her friends, and she even talked to her dog about it. And that's when it hit her. It was a doggy dog world out there, but there were no graphic designers that targeted pet companies. This self-described crazy dog person knew that focusing on the pet industry would mean forgoing other projects, but it would also be a surefire way to stand out with both her design and the projects she would take on.
Therefore, Doc's designs, as she called it, morphed into her new hustle. She found her first client by accident. As Caleb describes it, it was a happy mistake. She happened to tell a friend that she wanted to start her own studio but hadn't actually done anything about it. That friend said he was photographing the launch of a new pet shop next week and offered to put me in touch with the owner.
The company didn't have any branding. Caleb knew she had the perfect opportunity and the perfect client. She rushed over after work to meet the owner who hired her on the spot. After that confidence-boosting first client, Caleb knew she was barking up the right tree. She began to spend evenings and weekends working on web design and branding for other pet stores and trainers, building her client base by reaching out to every dog-related store she could find.
Thankfully, with the power of the internet, anything is possible. Possible, you get it? Okay, Caleb joined pet-related and pet-preneur Facebook groups, offering her skills as a designer and dog lover. She landed several more clients through Facebook alone, and she didn't want to stop there. Cold emails became her next ticket to getting her foot in the door.
She spent a weekend emailing every dog store, veterinary office, dog walker, and dog trainer she could find. This outreach strategy paid off. She earned $20,000 in her first year on top of her full-time job. Once she got into it more, she began to earn an extra $7,000 a month on average. That is, in fact, $84,000 a year in side hustle income alone.
Now, like many stories, Caleb's side hustle wouldn't be as successful as it is now if she had waited for the perfect moment. She credits the fact that she launched herself into that highly specific target market without a plan as one of the main reasons why it's worked. And one of the best parts for her has been the opportunity to meet other people who love dogs just as much as she does. Every client has a story about their pet or pets, and Caleb loves hearing them. She's also been able to combine everything she loves into one life, dog's graphic design, the job, her side hustle, the financial freedom that comes with it.
All those things are now rolling over into one great package. [Music]
Well, Doc's Design is still going. Doc's.design, check it out. But since we first published this story, it turns out that Caleb has actually sold the business. I was looking a little bit on YouTube.
There's an interview with her talking to women who exit about how she actually went from side hustle. Then it became full-time. She began earning a lot more than $84,000 a year and then eventually sold the business. And now she's doing other things. So that's pretty cool.
You can check out her new work, consulting, speaking, and so on at CalebPepco.com. Congratulations, Caleb. What a wonderful story of having an idea, growing it, side hustle full-time, eventually exiting and moving on to something else. Life is all about doing things that you're excited for. At least that's what I think it should be about.
Things that you're excited for that hopefully make a difference in other people's lives as well. Listeners, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is so much better. I hope you'll do one thing today to get closer to a goal that you believe in. And I hope you'll continue to listen. My name's Chris Guillebeau.
This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
