This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Today's story is especially inspiring. There's about a chef who sets out to reinvent the humble apron, growing it to a multi-million dollar company while still working in restaurants at night. Of course, she eventually retires from working on restaurants to focus on her multi-million dollar company. But as I said, a very inspirational journey. And if you imagine something very simple, like a simple product, like an apron, can this in fact become a seven figure business?
Can it actually kind of reinvent or reinvigorate the whole product line? In fact, that's exactly what happened. I first recorded a version of this story back in 2018. We are re-recording it now as part of a newly updated series. Line Chef makes millions cooking up apron empire.
That's what you're gonna hear about today. Hopefully a point of motivation and gentle encouragement for you to take action on your ideas as well. I'm Chris Guillebeau, your host of "Sidusle School." The story is coming right up. [Music]
People in the cooking industry work incredibly hard for their money. They've got long hours, missed holidays, nonstop heat.
And the last thing a cook should worry about is replacing a flimsy apron. They need gear that works as hard as they do. And that brings us to Ellen Bennett, hustle personified and her reimagined chef's aprons. At age 18, Ellen left Los Angeles for a two month trip to Mexico City that became four years. She attended culinary school and paid the bills by side hustling, renting out every square foot of her apartment, teaching English, translating, even announcing lottery numbers.
It was a crash course in resourcefulness. Back in LA, she joined Baco Mercat, a Spanish fusion restaurant downtown. After two and a half years on the line, an opportunity appeared. The chef and owner was fed up with flimsy, ill-fitting aprons and wanted a more functional, durable version for his staff. And this was Ellen's pain too.
Straps slipping, pockets tearing, fabric wilting under a dinner rush. She pitched him, "Let her make the aprons." She'd wear them herself and iterate until they were right. He said yes and placed an order for 40. One problem she had never sown. Determination filled the gap.
She bartered dinner for a friend to draft a pattern, pulled $300 from her savings and negotiated every step she couldn't do herself. Soon her brand, Headley and Bennett, delivered the first batch. This is all sounding great so far, but feedback after the first shift was brutal. In fact, the chef said, "These aprons suck. "Tell me how you really feel," she asked.
But Ellen didn't fold. She remade 20 aprons, burning through profit by adding a better build and a unique strap system the company still uses. Round two was much better. The chef said, "Thanks, these are great. "Now get back to work." Abrupt perhaps, but it lit a fuse.
Someone believed in her and she'd made something that restored dignity to a cook's uniform. Ellen calls it a calm knowingness. Headley and Bennett was real and she would lean in. Legitimacy came next, a business license, a bank account. She still didn't sew, but she designed.
An LA shop handled production while she sold wherever she could, especially at farmer's markets. Volume Snowballed, one of the shop's sewers quit to work for her exclusively, producing full-time from home. Those markets created an apron squad, hundreds of chefs and home cooks who spread the word from kitchen to kitchen. By the end of 2012, she had leased a 400 square foot office she could barely afford. On move-in day in early 2013, her exclusive sewer didn't show.
Overwhelmed, he bowed out. Now it wasn't shocking perhaps as a two person team they'd been turning out about 200 aprons a week. Ellen regrouped, found new sewers and kept going. By the first anniversary, she'd sold thousands. Beyond markets in the online store, she hit industry events and asked famous chefs what they wanted.
She folded their feedback into the line and landed marquee customers like Martha Stewart and David Chang. Demand outgrew that tiny office, triggering three moves to larger warehouses over the next three years. All the while, Ellen still worked nights on the line. Days were for aprons, evenings for service. She'd say goodbye to her staff at the studio and run to be staffed for someone else.
Finally, by late 2015, the dual life was unsustainable and she chose to follow the company full-time. Her company. Today, Headley and Bennett operates from a 17,000 square foot warehouse in Los Angeles, sells millions of dollars worth of aprons each year. Those farmers markets are a memory. Most sales now come through their online store or via custom orders with wholesale, William Sonoma and Whole Foods among them coming online.
Her product philosophy has stayed simple. Functionality first, dignity always. The distinctive strap system solved slip and sag. Heavier fabrics, reinforced pockets and smarter patterning made aprons that survive prep, service and cleanup without stretching into a mess. And the brand is growing up.
What began as an apron company is evolving into a kitchen lifestyle label aimed at bringing simplicity and functionality to everything a cook touches. Wholesale puts the gear where chef shop, direct to consumer keeps the dialogue and the iteration alive. Ask Ellen for the metaphor and she'll give you this. An apron is to a chef what a cape is to a superhero. With the right equipment, they can do great things.
Headley and Bennett started with a half baked idea and no sewing skills, got scorched on the first batch but kept going until the fit, function and feeling were perfect. For cooks who live on their feet, that's the gear they deserve. And that's the business Ellen Bennett built. Be sure to check out headleyandbennett.com. In addition to aprons, they sell knives, linens, tools, apparel.
They also do collabs. They have a sale. They have all kinds of stuff going on. They really have grown up but still very much focused on serving people. Ellen Marie Bennett, Ellen Bennett also has a book, "Dream First, Details Later, How to Quit Overthinking and Make It Happen." Hey, what a great title.
I need to learn how to quit overthinking myself. She also followed this four part plan, product first, understand the audience, build structure, then grow the business that is very much aligned with the side hustle school philosophy. And so I salute Ellen and everyone else out there who is pursuing a dream, hoping to make the world a better place, do something for themselves. And as I sometimes say, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is so much better. Hope you will take action today.
I hope you will be encouraged, be inspired, be motivated, but also go out and do something. Go get to work. Just like the chef told Ellen, and she certainly did. All right, friends, that's all for today. But of course, new episodes come out every day.
The complete archive of the podcast, 3,000 plus episodes, available for free at sidehustleschool.com. And I hope you'll subscribe or follow for new episodes. My name is Chris Guillebeau. You are listening to "Side Hustle School." [Music]
- From the Onward Project.
