I’m 23-year-old and my uni room side hustle brings in £100k a year – you can start with as little as £3.50
A 23-YEAR-old has revealed how she started her side-hustle for next to nothing and she brought in nearly £100,000 last year.
Sophie Riegel decided to make a bit of extra cash selling old clothes that she didn’t want from her wardrobe.
After making $200 (£157) she chose to reinvest the money and buy some quality pieces from thrift shops to sell on for a profit.
Speaking to CNBC Make It, she said: “I’ve been a thrifter my entire life, because I don’t like spending money. I’d much rather spend $5 (£2.50) than $100 (£78.55) on a pair of pants.
“[In terms of the thrifting], you can start with as little as $5. You get one good thing for $5 and you’ve got more money already: $5 turns into $20, turns into $100.
“If you start with your own stuff, you need $0.”
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She quickly learned the best way to make profit and has turned her passion into a lucrative side hustle since 2020.
Sophie advised: “I followed tons and tons and tons of other resellers on YouTube. I spent hours and hours learning brands, learning how to use all of the platforms. I’ve learned the strategies of each of the stores I go to, and figured out when they put out the new shoes when they do X, Y and Z.”
Last year Sophie brought in nearly $123,800 (£97,242) in revenue and in the past four years, she’s raked in over $192,000 (£150,812) in net profit.
In that time, she estimates she has forked out $50,000 (£39,274) on thrifted clothing to sell.
Her other costs include postage and petrol money when she is sourcing clothes.
She also has to factor in that online marketplaces keep between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of her sales.
The best part of Sophie’s venture is that she set it up in her university room, where she graduated last year with a degree in psychology.
At the time squeezed around 200 items in her bedroom ready for selling, but now she has a storage unit with around 1,300 clothing pieces.
She is now working fulltime as a professional life coach, writer and speaker, and says her thrifting side hustle will be around 50 per cent of her earnings this year.
I’ve been a thrifter my entire life, because I don’t like spending money. I’d much rather spend $5 (£2.50) than $100 (£78.55) on a pair of pants
Sophie Riegel
Sophie lists around 10 to 20 new items each day and said the key to being successful is to be “consistent.”
Although she’s happy with what she’s achieved, she can see the benefit in taking on some employees in the future to do jobs she doesn’t want, such as “shipping, listing and photographing.”
But right now, she wouldn’t change a thing.
Are you taxed on side hustle earnings?
PLENTY of households are taking on side hustles such as babysitting or setting up an eBay store to boost their earnings.
And luckily, you can use a "trading allowance" which means you don't have to pay tax on any yearly gross income of £1,000 or less.
However, if you do earn over the £1,000 threshold, you will have to declare it to HMRC.
You can claim a trading allowance via Self-Assessment on the government's website.
First, you need to inform them you're a sole trader and tell them how much you earn in income, when you started and who you are.
HMRC will then send you a UTR number, which you can use to submit a Self-Assessment tax return.
The tax year runs from April 6 to April 5 of the following year, and the deadline to pay is the following January 31.