A STORE manager quit her job to resell second-hand clothes – and now earns up to £3,900 a month.
Stephanie Thornsburg, 43, ran a thrift store for 16 years – before turning her side hustle of selling her old clothes online into a full-time career.
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She started out listing the clothes in her closet – but now makes a living buying and selling second-hand items.
As well as being able to pay herself a salary, Stephanie also uses it to support her two sons, aged 23 and 18, with her husband Luke, 44, a setup leader.
Stephanie, from Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, said: “I make money by spending time digging and finding the treasures – and then putting them on the second-hand market.
“I was also ready to be my own boss – really take the leap.
“I managed other people for 16 years, after a while it got a little tiring.
‘Now, I’ve never been happier – I’m helping to promote slow fashion and I have a lot of free time on my hands.’
The mother of two has always worked in the second-hand industry.
She was the first person to open a “brick-and-mortar store” in her area.
Time-consuming work
Stephanie ran the store for 16 years and often felt like she had to give up her free time to help.
“My children were eight months and five years old at the time,” she said.
“I started as a store manager and ended up becoming district manager.
“When you’re a coach, you’re the one who has to come in and take care of things.
“I had to work on many of my days off and work a lot of overtime.
“Even if I wasn’t at work, you still get calls and you’re still needed.
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The Five Easiest Side Hustles
- Walk with dog
- Nanny
- Selling clothes on Vinted or Depop
- Start a YouTube or TikTok channel
- Tutoring
“You would get questions at any time of the day.
“I’ve also had some crazy emergencies – like a kid who accidentally crashed his car into the front of our store.”
Other full-time clothing retailers used to come to Stephanie’s store looking for “stock” – which inspired her to make the transition.
She said: “Resellers would mainly come to our women’s and designer stores.
“People bought our stuff to try to sell it and make some money.
“It piqued my interest that people can do this themselves – they don’t have to work for anyone.”
Starting your own venture
In 2020, Stephanie began selling the clothes from her wardrobe as a side hustle – before branching out into other items purchased from second-hand stores.
It took her four years to earn enough money to replace her nine-to-five income.
She initially started with a profit of £780 a month and now has a turnover of £47,000 a year.
“The trick is knowing which brands sell well,” she said.
“The money comes in when you discover what these pieces are.
“Size is a huge component for me.
Now, I’ve never been happier – I’m helping to promote slow fashion and I have a lot of free time on my hands
Stephanie Thornsburg
“The average size for a woman in the US is 16, so I often find that sizes 10 and up perform best.
“It took me a whole year to make $1,000 (£780) to $2,000 (£1,500) – per month doing this as a side hustle – now it’s $4,000 (£3, 1 thousand) to US$5 thousand (£3.1 thousand) 3.9 thousand).
“I’ve managed to earn what I earned at my old job – but I’m my own boss and continuing to grow.”
Best selling items
Stephanie said her best-selling brands tend to “shock” friends who ask – as they are all on the streets.
She said: “These are things that people wear every day – but the three main brands are J-Crew, Madewell and Athleta.
“My best seller has to be a J-Crew cashmere sweater, they always look great.”
The saver has much more time available since she started working for herself – and now that her children are grown, she invests this time in herself.
How to start your own business
Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis has revealed his tips for budding entrepreneurs:
- One of the biggest barriers aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners face is a lack of confidence. You must believe in your idea – even more than that, be the one who bores your friends to death with it.
- Never be afraid to make decisions. Once you have an idea, it is the confidence to make decisions that is crucial to starting and maintaining a business.
- If you don’t take calculated risks, you will be stuck. If a decision turns out to be wrong, identify it quickly and resolve it if you can. If that fails, find someone else who can.
- It’s okay to not get it right the first time. My experience of making bad decisions is what helped develop my confidence, making me who I am today.
- Never underestimate the power of social media and remember that the Internet has leveled the playing field for small businesses.
- Don’t forget to dream. A machine can’t do that!
She spends her free time training others in resale full time – as well as filming training videos.
“My son is a full-time nurse,” she said.
“And my daughter is 18 years old.
“I no longer have young children, so I can spend my free time on myself.
“Reselling used to be my hobby, but now I spend time putting together coaching videos.
“I have experience in training – and I’ve learned so much from reselling that I thought I’d share my journey.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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