The creator regularly makes thousands of dollars buying and reselling fashion.
This business — which started as a side hustle for Kelsey Mikula while she was in college — is now a full-time job, generating an average income of $12,000 a month.
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Kelsey started selling used clothes while studying animal science at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia to make a little extra money.
After graduating in 2020, she was unable to find work, so she took a position as a secretary at a hospital and continued buying and selling clothes on the side.
During that time I was able to pay off my $80,000 student loan.
She then quit her office job to focus on her side hustle.
Read more about side hustles
“I didn’t start taking it seriously until 2020 when I finished university and couldn’t get a job in my specialty,” she said.
“It's been crazy how much things have grown since I've been working full time.”
In addition to paying off her student debt, her job also allowed her to purchase the car of her dreams – a Ford Explorer.
Find your favorite
The 27-year-old Pennsylvania businesswoman gets her stock from local thrift stores and charity shops, including Goodwill and the Salvation Army.
You then sell them online on Poshmark, Mercari, eBay, and the social marketplace Whatnot.
Kelsey spends an average month of about $3,000 on clothes that she resells for $15,000.
It's a job she enjoys: “I work for myself, I have a lot of free time, and it's good for my mental health to do something I really want to do.
“I've also streamlined my business in such a way that I can earn a full-time income some weeks when I'm not working full-time.”
Among her greatest finds are a 36-inch Pooh Teddy Bear, which she sold for $160, and a Christian Dior jacket, which she bought for $10 and then sold for $700.
Write on time
As she gained experience in her work, Kelsey added another line to her work, branching out into content creation.
Side hustles and tax implications
Additional income you earn from side hustles may need to be reported to the IRS.
If you receive more than $600 in total payments from a selling platform like eBay, the site will issue you a Form 1099-K to use on your tax return.
Individuals must calculate their adjusted gross income, taxable earnings, and deductions for the year.
Once they have that, they can use Form 1040-ES to calculate estimated taxes.
Now she is also teaching her skills to other people.
“My main source of income is still reselling, but creating content and teaching people how to resell is bringing in money.”
“You have to be productive if you want to see money coming to you,” Kelsey advises anyone thinking of making a similar move.
“Reselling is a performance-based job, so if I did my best throughout the entire month my numbers would go up.”
She has the following tips for wannabe fashion moguls:
- Check the history of items sold
- Find out how quickly items sell
- Don't go straight to the thrift store, start with your own stuff
Meanwhile, a fashion co-founder was rejected by Shark Tank four times, but she created the best-selling beach bag anyway.
Lush Décor founder Jenny Jing Zhu has turned her shipping business into a successful soft furnishings company that generates $100 million a year.
