Interview by Generation Si! Turning a Creative Side-Hustle into a Full-Fledged Business
Generation Si! interview by Giovanna Drpic, click image above for complete interview.
PREVIEW
HOW DO YOU VIEW HUSTLING?
Do you see yourself as a hustler? Does that bring good or bad connotations to mind?
Giovanna Jaspid didn’t really know what being a hustler meant – until she started hustling herself – selling custom-made, decorative pillows and taking on interior design projects.
“I have a lot of respect for hustlers. Because it’s a lot of work and you have to learn so many things.”
Giovanna in her element - creating custom pillows
THE TIP JAR (tips provided courtesy of Giovanna Jaspid)
FOR CREATORS, BEST WAY TO TEST MARKET YOUR PRODUCT:
“Try Etsy… To begin, Etsy is a really good place to put your product out there and see if people like it. See what feedback you get. And it’s very economical. It’s very cheap to open a store on Etsy.”
“There are fees. But at least it’s a starting point. Once you decide you’re going 100% [with] your product, start your own website.”
Note: This week, thousands of Etsy sellers are striking to protest the company’s increase in transaction fees, etc. According to Tech Crunch, Etsy says the fee increase will go towards improving support-related services for sellers, as well as for marketing and site security upgrades. As is my usual policy, I do not take a position on things like this. But I wanted to address it since Etsy is in the news. Besides, I always want you to have as many facts in front of you as possible before you jump into anything. As for Giovanna Jaspid, she said she recommends Etsy when you are just starting out. She only has a quarter of her products on there, at this point, because she is established enough now to have her own website. But she acknowledges that, for those just trying to see if their product is worth pursuing full-time, the customer traffic you get on Etsy is hard to beat.
HOW LONG DO YOU DO MARKET TESTING?
“It has to be at least a couple of months… Show [your product]. And show your energy.”
Jaspid says it’s important you tell people you made the product or how you made it (for ex.: cooking).
SINGLE GREATEST FACTOR IN MAKING IT HAPPEN:
“I think persistence and hard work…Every day, a small task. Every day… Even if it seems like a meaningless task, tomorrow, it will be something bigger.”
BIGGEST SURPRISE:
“I was right that I can build something.”
“I was [selling] at home for the past six years… My company [now] has an actual space. I’m in the space right now. It’s like wow. It’s real. It’s real. It can happen.”
The dream of a dedicated office space comes to life for Giovanna
LOTS OF QUESTIONS
Jaspid also learned really fast all the questions that a hustler needs to answer.
It wasn’t enough that Jaspid knew she wanted to make custom pillows with her mom, Ana, who is a seamstress.