Meet the woman who has made an impressive $22.5k from her side hustle of flipping furniture – in less than nine months.
Aside from her regular 9-to-5 job, the young lady made money on the side to supplement her income to ease pressure off her normal bills.
Claire McCann, 27, began reselling furniture while moving house.
Her first sale was a desk – which went for more than she bought it for.
Claire then realized there was money to be made for furniture.
So she invested in a lock-up and started buying and selling in her spare time.
And, in just nine months, Claire says she has now made a profit of $22,500.
Claire, a school psychologist, from San Francisco, Calif., said, “In nine months, I’ve spent $44K and sold $68K worth – so my actual profit after paying for gas and on-demand pick-up service is $22.5k.
“The biggest impact for me is it’s allowed me to pay off some student loans,” McCann said of her side hustle. “But further than that it’s just impacted my confidence, and I’ve surprised myself. I never thought I’d be able to do anything like this.
She spent money on furniture she could turn around and would market her furniture sites on other sites.
“It felt so great to be able to enjoy and treat myself in things that were important for me, but my big target was empowering women that they can have more control and more financial freedom. I’ve made so many mistakes along the way, and I’ve lost money on things that I definitely thought would sell. It was a lot of trial and error. But I try to target really trendy and stylish pieces. I’m always on the trends and seeing what people love and looking for that sort of stuff online and scooping it up.”
This allowed her to produce selling skills on the side as she would work her. This is a great benefit for people like her to gain skills if people like her were to change careers.
“Buying in bundle has helped me a lot as well. Going on Craigslist and scooping up a bunch of things and offering people a deal for a bundle,” Claire said of how she acquires her product. “You have to have a third eye too. The first 100 pieces were big trial and error.”
Claire used the money from her first sale to buy a table and chair set for $65, which she sold for $300.
She then went from there and has sold over 200 items, generating a tidy profit.
Claire’s side hustle has taken her all over San Francisco, which she says made her “fall in love” with the city.
Claire says her side hustle can be “quite passive” as a lot of time is spent online trying to find the next deal.
She said: “I wake up at 6:50 a.m. and see if I have messages from potential buyers.”
San Francisco is one of the most expensive cities in the country that includes high rent. It helps her to ease the expenses on the side.
“I spend about an hour seeing what’s been posted overnight. I go to work and then on my lunch-break I keep searching for stuff,” Claire said of her success. “And then after work I go back and answer questions for people and look at what’s trending. I probably spend about five or six hours a day on this.”
Side hustles have been lucrative for regular 9-to-5 workers like Claire that involves spending money and making a presentation online that is marketable.
“You can do it as you’re watching TV, it’s not like having a side hustle like delivering stuff.”
After acquiring a new piece of furniture, Claire styles the item in her apartment which she says is “super important”.
“The set-up makes the most difference to a good sale. People want to see things set up in a neutral background or a trendy rug underneath,” Claire said about her grind. “You’re showing people how it could be styled but not alienating too many people.”
Furniture is a major essential that help people make money as it facilitates paying the bills.
Managing a regular job and a side hustle can be tough, as passion is the biggest key to making money.
“When I first got the garage, it was tough to figure out why things weren’t selling, and it was because people don’t want to see it on a concrete floor, so I got some wallpaper and a nice rug and then things began to sell.”
“Staging is super important, but I find people can pretty blunt on these online marketplaces so what I try and do is give good customer service.
“I want them to feel like they’re getting as good as or even better than what they’d get from a store”
Claire has come across some beautiful pieces and says it’s hard not to keep everything.
But the constant rotation of furniture allows her and her partner to “rent” items temporarily.
She said: “I love furniture design and styling. I think that’s how I know I should probably sell it if I want to keep it.”
Some of Claire’s flips:
- West Elm leather recliner: bought for $250 sold for $750
- West Elm media console: bought for $650 sold for $1,700
- Two gray lounge chairs: bought for $625 sold for $1300
- Yellow joybird couch: bought for $400 sold for $1,000
- Desk: bought for $100 sold for $350
- Claire’s first flip: table and chairs bought for $65 and sold for $300
Produced in association with SWNS Talker
