Dog Lover Fetches $250,000 in Canine Clothing

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Dog lover fetches $250,000 in canine clothing. This is a fun one. A Minnesota woman turns her design hobby into trendy duds for the whole family, including furry companions. Indeed, wouldn't it be cool if your dog could go and fetch $250,000? Personally, I am more of a cat person, but if there was a dog that could go and fetch a lot of money, maybe I would change my ways, okay?

Until then, as is my habit, I'm gonna keep telling you about all the ways people are creating freedom for themselves, financial freedom, empowerment, and so on, through a money-making project. So this Minnesota woman, she's done very well for herself. She's actually gone through some transitions and such, but really scaled the business. So multiple six-figure canine clothing. How did she get this idea?

How did she then make it happen? And what might you take from the story? That's what we're all about here on Side Hustle School. I'll bring you that story right after this. [Music]

Gina Davis has always had an eye for fashion.

As a design student in college, she sold vintage clothes for quick cash and tried her hand at creating jewelry and clothing. Her favorite model was her very patient Pomeranian poodle mix, Thomas. Crafting custom outfits for this furry family member seemed to be just a quirky hobby, especially in Long Lake, Minnesota, where Thomas's trendy wardrobe stood out as an oddity. But one day, while stitching together a new outfit for Thomas, behind the counter at her women's clothing pop-up shop, a stranger with a connection happened to stop by. This woman instantly recognized the true potential for coordinated attire and accessories for pups and their humans.

Not only that, but she had a valuable connection. The woman introduced Gina to the curators of the popular Dogs of Instagram, which had at the time 4.3 million followers, who also retailed pooch apparel at their online store. Their quick request for inventory was the nudge that Gina needed to jump all in. With just $1,000 to invest in this side venture, Gina and her husband, Scott, quickly hired a few local seamstresses and stocked the first few hundred dog threads shirts, ranging from extra smalls for Yorkies, all the way up to a just right extra large for bigger hounds. Catching up as sales took off, Gina quickly put up a rough website and her own Instagram account, that would be shop dog threads, to show off new designs and bark-up demand.

More than a year into it, sales were enough that Gina took the risk and quit her day job to focus entirely on building the business. And when she turned in her notice, Gina's boss put her nerves into words. Do you have any idea how many dog shirts you'd have to sell per day to pay your salary? Well, this sparked a stubborn determination to put in the hard work and persist through the hurdles to turn the successful side hustle into a full focus. Dog threads revenue doubled year over year.

Gina and Scott, at the time of our last feature, were projecting total sales of $250,000. That would be annual, so $250,000 that year. While Gina is grateful to the warm reception from dog owners all over the US, she credits her success to starting slow and getting the product just right. She knew overproduction would be an expensive mistake. So with that first retail partnership, she committed to just dipping her toes in the water.

Then, after initial confirmation, those first sales, she went on to test a number of designs and patterns on dogs and their human owners, so she could invest in what her future customers would actually buy, love, and share. Recently, Gina brought home a new, less furry family member, their first child, Ziggy. Juggling parenthood and the non-existent maternity leave of a new business has presented a new challenge. Fortunately, Scott has kept his day job and was able to take advantage of three months of paternity leave to tag team the demands of the business and baby. As true animal lovers, Gina and Scott decided early on to donate a portion of profits to Secondhand Hounds, a Minnesota-based animal rescue.

They were also able to put a lot of remaining profits right back into the business, continuing to design hip sweaters, knits, and button-ups for classy dogs and their human companions. What can I say, friends? Go fetch that money. [Music]

Since the time of our feature, dog threads actually went on Shark Tank. They got some investment from Mark Cuban.

I was also looking to see where we at now. You can go to goodthomas.com. That is Gina's current website, I believe. She's got all kinds of products, the gift shop for dog people. So it's not just sweaters.

You can now buy just about anything. Anything you can imagine, including gifts for your favorite dog owner out there. There's so many ways to make money, right? There's so many different ways, not just to make money, but to create value, to make something that makes people's lives better. And then hopefully you get rewarded too.

That's the whole point. That's what we're all about here on Side Hustle School for 3,400 plus episodes and counting. You can hear all of them at the website, sidehustleschool.com. Download or stream as you wish. And of course, new episodes coming out every day.

New month right around the corner. I'm excited to bring you much more. My name's Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to Side Hustle School. [Music]