From Side Hustle to Multi-Million Dollar Business: 5 Lessons I Wish I Knew Sooner

When I co-founded what eventually became a multi-million dollar business, I didn’t have a clue how to start a business. What I did know was that I could solve any problem, one step at a time.

What started as a way to pay off my student loans quickly became a viral sensation; selling over one million dollars in revenue in the first year. I had no idea it would grow as big, or as quickly, as it did. What began as a simple idea turned into a product, and then a willingness to figure it out as I went.

Fast-forward, and that “little side hustle” turned into something I could have never imagined: a multi-million-dollar brand that changed not just my life, but the lives of thousands of customers and a team of people I got to lead. In under two years, we had a manufacturing facility with more than a dozen employees, shipping out hundreds (sometimes thousands) of orders daily.

Let me be real with you: there are things I wish I had known sooner. Lessons that would have saved me stress, time, money, and countless late nights and early mornings.

Here are five of the biggest:

1. Systems Save Sanity

When you’re in the beginning stages, it feels like you can keep everything in your head, whether it’s orders, inventory, customer questions, or marketing plans. I quickly learned, if you want to scale without burning out, systems are non-negotiable. Processes, automations, even simple spreadsheets, they don’t just make you organized, they make growth possible. The sooner you can adopt and embrace systems, the more quickly you can scale without being a human bottleneck. 

2. You Don’t Need to Do It All Yourself

At first, I thought I had to wear every hat: COO, customer service, HR, bookkeeper, shipping department. You name it, I did it. The truth? Holding on too tightly only slows you down.

The sooner you delegate and trust others, the faster you grow. Leadership isn’t about doing everything yourself. It is about empowering your team to function independently. Give them the right tools, set clear expectations, and provide timely feedback. When your team knows exactly what success looks like, they can do their jobs effectively, and you free yourself to focus on growing the business.

3. Numbers Tell the Real Story

When scaling strategically, knowing your numbers is crucial. Data, data, data. The more you understand about your business, the more effectively you can make decisions based on facts, not just gut feelings.

It’s not about being a “numbers person.” It’s about letting the data show you what is working and what is not. Your numbers are the story of your business in real time: sales trends, customer behavior, profit margins, conversion rates, and cash flow.

When you track these consistently, you can spot problems early, double down on what is working, and stop wasting energy (and money) on what isn’t. Numbers take the guesswork out of growth.

Think of it like this: passion is the spark, but your numbers are the roadmap. Without them, you might still move forward, but you risk heading in the wrong direction. With them, you can scale with clarity and confidence.

4. Your Energy is Your Greatest Asset

No one talks about this enough: you are the engine. When you are running on fumes, the whole business feels it. Your creativity slows down, decision-making gets harder, and even the simplest tasks start to feel overwhelming.

Protecting your energy isn’t optional if you want to grow a sustainable business. That means setting boundaries, saying no when you need to, and building a schedule that allows space for rest. It means paying attention to how you work best—whether that’s batching tasks, taking breaks during the day, or making sure you unplug at night.

Here is the truth I had to learn the hard way: rest is not wasted time. It is what allows you to show up as your best self for your team, your customers, and your business. When you take care of yourself, you are actually taking care of the business too.

5. Growth Requires Letting Go

This one was the hardest lesson for me to learn. The things that helped me get started were not always the same things that helped me grow. What worked in the beginning, does not always work when you are trying to scale.

Growth requires change. It requires evolving, pivoting, and sometimes walking away from systems, strategies, staff, or even vendors that once felt essential. Letting go of what no longer serves your business in that season, makes room for something better.

If you want your business to keep moving forward, you cannot hold on to every old way of doing things. The faster you learn to release what is no longer serving the business, the more space you create for new opportunities and bigger growth. 

Final Thoughts

If you’re in the messy middle of building your business, I hope these lessons save you some of the stress I carried early on. The truth is, business is a wild ride, but it’s also one of the most empowering journeys you can take.

Your dream doesn’t need to stay a side hustle, it can be the thing that elevates your life.

💡 If you’re ready to scale your business without burning out, I’d love to help. Book a discovery call to see how we can work together to elevate your business and elevate your life.