At 6am, knee-deep in mud at Exeter race course car boot sale, Becky Chorlton secured the second-hand find of dreams. It was a Red Bull vintage leather jacket peeking out from under a pile on the floor. She paid about £40 for it and resold it at Fiorucci's flagship store in London for nearly £200.
Becky, now 28 and living in Cheshire, started her side hustle in 2019. After finishing her undergraduate degree at Exeter University, she moved home for the summer. She wanted to do a Master's but had no money. Her parents told her the bank of mum and dad was officially closed.
Weighing up her options at 22, Becky got inspiration from her own wardrobe. She realised that half the clothes she never wore still had tags or came from charity shops. She could probably get more money for them than what she paid.
Becky started selling her clothes on Depop. The first item she sold was a two-piece set for £35, and it sold straight away. She was hooked. Then she began going to the local car boot sale every weekend with her mum. She sold her whole wardrobe in a week and realised she needed to get creative to keep the side hustle going.
She would buy clothes for as cheap as possible, bring them home, wash, iron, sew, and remove stains. Then she modelled them, took pictures, and flipped them for a small profit. Sometimes she paid 50p or a pound for an item and sold it for £10 or £15 online. She invested that money at the next car boot sale to buy more stuff and keep expanding.
Later, Becky ventured to vintage wholesale and thrift events across the country. By the time she returned to university for her Master's, she was making around £70 a week by listing a piece every few days. She had a rail in her uni bedroom called 'the stock' that took up half the room.
Maintaining the weekend car boot tradition while studying for her postgrad, Becky would be there every Sunday at 1pm and visit charity shops. She faced some backlash for selling items on, but she accepts that some people might not agree with it. The money she makes reselling comes from the hard work of getting up early, going to car boots, preparing clothes, and promoting them.
Becky sees her work as an antidote to overconsumerism. She believes there are too many clothes on the planet and tries to be as sustainable as possible by finding homes for these items. One person's trash is another person's treasure.
During lockdown, in-person sales shut down, and profits came solely from online buyers. Becky started taking her side hustle seriously and set up social media. That year, working part-time, she made about £25,000. When she handed in her thesis, she started doing it full-time. Thus, Becky's Bazaar was created. It now has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram, bringing traditional car boots to new Gen Z customers.
Within six months, Becky had made a profit of over £10,000. Three years later, at 26, she had saved enough to put down a deposit on her first house. She never thought buying a home would be possible for her. She started the side hustle as extra cash for the summer six years ago, and now the turnover exceeds £150,000 a year.
With her partner, Becky put four years of savings down on a three-bed detached cottage in the North-West, which was on the market for upwards of £400,000. Built in 1903, the house has open and light rooms with dual aspect windows. She still cannot believe it is theirs.
Becky suggests young people speak with a professional who can advise on a clear financial pathway to becoming a homeowner. She naively thought a very large deposit was needed, but has since learned that only £10,000 is required to get on the property ladder. She also recommends that anyone saving to buy a house invest in a side hustle. Almost half of people are now turning to extra income to buy a house, according to new research by Santander.
For Becky, reselling was the side hustle. For others, it might be making items or doing gardening. Turning your passion into an extra source of income is great, but side hustles do not always become an overnight success. You have to dedicate a lot of time and effort. An easy way to stick at it is if it is something you genuinely love and feel excited about when you wake up. That is what did it for Becky.
