“If you live happily, money will come along with it.” Vienna Hintze, a 29-year-old American woman, said when talking about her flower truck business.
Initially, selling flowers from a truck was just one of Hintze’s side hustles. However, like many others, her passion for the side business and optimistic outlook on its prospects led her to decide to give up her original main job.
According to data from financial services company Bankrate, nearly two-fifths (39%) of American adults have side hustles. This approach not only allows you to earn extra income but also gives you the opportunity to try something you enjoy without losing your primary source of income. When a side hustle succeeds, some people choose to quit their original jobs and turn the side hustle into their main gig.
In 2017, after graduating from Syracuse University in New York City with a major in advertisement and marketing, Hintze worked at a company for three years. However, she felt the need for a change in 2020. She then ventured out on her own, establishing her own digital marketing agency. Yet, she still found herself yearning for more.
Subsequently, she came up with the idea of starting a flower truck business and decided to name the company “Main Street Flower Truck,” after the street she grew up on. In August of last year, while operating her digital marketing agency, Hintze started selling flowers from her small truck. As the flower truck business began to thrive, she became busier, making it harder to continue with the marketing work.
She realized she had to make a choice between the two. By February of this year, she decided to give up the marketing business and focus all her time and energy on developing the flower truck business. She was determined to leverage her skills in advertising and social media marketing to promote her flower truck brand.
“Some of my content started going viral online, which felt incredible to me because it was my first time marketing my brand, and it was the most authentic thing I’ve ever done,” she said.
By April of this year, she saw the fruits of her labor; in May, her flower truck brought in about $16,000 in revenue, and in June, she earned tens of thousands of dollars. Of course, as fresh flowers are seasonal, her income fluctuates monthly.
Starting a flower truck business posed unexpected challenges for Hintze. For instance, as the flower business required certain costs, she needed to experiment to determine the right pricing for each bouquet to make a profit. Initially, she sold a large bouquet of flowers for $7, mainly to prove that people would buy flowers.
“That day, I definitely lost money, but it’s okay,” she said.
Hintze’s flower truck business generates revenue through various means, including participating in temporary events, corporate bookings, party and wedding reservations, and video shoots. The prices of her bouquets range from $10 to $75. She also customizes bouquets based on customers’ preferences and personalities. Moreover, she rents out her green little truck to companies or individuals, some of whom rent the truck with fresh flowers, while others opt for the truck without flowers.
For Hintze, turning a side hustle she has great passion for into her main business has brought her much happiness.
However, faced with a variety of side hustles, many aspiring side hustlers are unsure of what to choose. Alice Everdeen, who has experience in starting side businesses, told “CNBC make it” that figuring out what ideal side hustle to pursue may be easier than you think—and it only takes 15 minutes.
She mentioned that when helping people determine what side hustle to pursue, she asks them to list out two sets of things: their skills and what they’re good at, and what they enjoy, their passions, and hobbies. Then, “I have people look at both lists and try to merge them together.”