A savvy side hustler has revealed how she ditched her nursing job to re-sell items for a profit and now makes up to £11,800 ($15,000) a month.
When Laura Cano started to become overwhelmed with mounting debt and fees for her three children’s sports clubs, she longed for a way to make a little extra cash on the side,
The former nurse, who spent 13 years in the industry, began flogging her family’s used clothing, toys and shoes online and soon, amassed enough to pay off all her bills, as well as go on their first holiday together.
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After seeing the success of her savvy side hustle, the mum-of-three began buying secondhand goods from thrift stores and yard sales before reselling them for profit.
Now, she and her husband, Mark, 40, have quit their careers and become full-time resellers.
“I think our families thought we were a little crazy to quit our jobs to do this weird business of selling used items to people online,” the 40-year-old, from Austin, Texas, told Absolutely Business.
“We were nervous because we were leaving very stable, cushy jobs to build our business from the ground up and having to figure everything out on our own.
“But I felt very stuck in my position and I wanted to make more money.
“I didn’t have a passion for it anymore and I knew I had to find a way to someone replace that income.”
Laura began by reselling items sporadically whenever they needed a bit of extra cash, before investing her time and money properly in January 2022.
At this time, her husband became interested, and the pair joined forces to turn the lucrative hack into a full-time business.
She said: “I was making double my nursing salary.
“We were able to build up several thousands, then invest that in more inventory.
“In the last year, we started buying liquidation pallets so that we can get brand new inventory at a lower price and then we resell that as well.“
Laura claims they spend only £390 ($500) per week on buying goods to sell, turning it into £11,800 ($15,000) profit.
In May 2022, she quit her role to pursue reselling full-time, with Mark joining her a month later.
In a bid to inspire others, she’s sharing their journey with her 43,000 followers on Instagram, (@wildandalmostfre) – but not everyone agrees with the unusual role.
Laura said: ”The negativity for the most part that I get around our reselling content is that I need to get a real job.
“Or that I am taking away inventory or clothing from less fortunate people that need those items and if I am purchasing them, there’s not enough for inventory for everyone.
“We honestly need more resellers to help recycle clothing and items so that they can get another life and not be dumped in a landfill.
“So I am proud to say that I help recycle a small amount of clothing, shoes, and purses in our country, but it is just a drop in the bucket of how much the clothing industry has on our environment.
“My favourite sales are saving vintage pieces that are decades old from being sent to the landfill, and they get to be reloved again.
“I am also very proud that we have helped over 600 people start their own reselling business to make an extra income for their family, to pay down debt, or just create an extra income stream.
“That gives me a lot of purpose and makes me really happy that we can help teach others what we’ve been able to do for our family.”
Now, they’re looking toward the future and are constantly reviewing how to keep their small business ticking over, while also highlighting how important buying secondhand is.
She added: “Our goal for this year is to increase our presence on the WhatNot platform, which is a live auction selling site.
“We continue to shop at thrift stores as well to keep our online reselling business going and have created a reseller guide to help people learn exactly how we have built our six-figure business in just under a year.
“I hope to highlight the need for shopping secondhand to support small business growth, and also help the environment as well.”
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