Mompreneur Grew Her $400 Final Paycheck to $5,000 a Month on Etsy

This article is part of Fud’s Meet the Mentor series, where experienced and proven side hustlers talk about their experiences and share personal advice to start, sustain, and scale your business. 

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Megn Alia’s story is about evolution. Through challenges and setbacks, she kept ablaze her fire within. A great example of turning breakdowns into breakthroughs.🔥

She began her journey in sales, jumping from selling cosmetics she was told to love to overpriced vacuum cleaners. But her fear of speaking up didn’t go well with the work. 

She then ventured into real estate which only lasted a couple of years due to the market crash in 2008.📉

As she settled on a career in Property Management, she found out that she has Dysautonomia. An illness that ended her corporate journey which took 15 years and two degrees to build.

Worse, she did not qualify for long-term disability benefits from Social Security.

Incidentally, her son was struggling with school and bullying. It was a difficult time for Megn and her family.

Thankfully, she was able to pull herself out of this pit and back on track.

When she received her last paycheck of $400 from short-term disability insurance, she decided to reinvest it in herself.💯

✨Megnetik was born.✨

Megn was making soap bars on the kitchen island while homeschooling her 12-year-old son. It rekindled her relationship with him, improved his grades, and he started to make friends again. 

Megnetik carried two soap scents: Brazilian Orange and Espresso. They launched these on Etsy in September 2022 using photos Megn took from her phone.

Nothing was sold for several months.👀

In March 2023, Megn took her products to the local farmer’s market.

Her tactic? To engage with every person who walks by the booth and urge them to smell the soap. She sold a few bars there.💸

Then, something amazing happened.🤩

Megn learned A LOT about her customers. She listened to their stories, noted their preferences, and answered their questions.🔍

Many were looking for a Lavander scent, which Megn developed and returned with it the next month.🙌

Interest in the brand increased which directed a lot of traffic to the Etsy shop.

And that got the ball rolling.

Megnetik scored its first sale on Etsy in April and after a month, online sales tripled.🚀

It may be Megn’s personality, her genuine interaction with the customers, or letting people see, feel, and smell the products that helped grow sales. It also boosted Megn’s confidence.🔑

Within 6 months, Megnetik’s sales were averaging $800 per month on Etsy while the revenue at the farmer’s market was at $175 a week.💸💸💸

Still, it wasn’t enough to make up for her lost corporate job.

With limited funds, the process does take a little longer but the end result will be the same. Megn stayed dedicated to the hustle and believed in her brand. 

She researched more about the industry, listened more to her customers, created more scents (twelve of them!), and expanded to facial oils, candles, and wax melts.💯

At the moment, Megnetik products are available in four customer retail shops in Texas and Utah. They opened their first owned retail store in March 2024 and are expected to open another in May.

Business is on fire!🔥🔥🔥

Now, Megn is one of the mompreneur mentors on Fud where she develops a 6-step guide to building a successful business from the ground up.🎯

Here, she shares the challenges, successes, and tips on how to balance managing a business and family life.

What were your goals when you started Megnetik? Did it change now?

I started with small goals. Something I can actually achieve in a short period of time. I wanted to get something out there and think about logos and websites later. See what sells.👀

As this goal was achieved, the next step was to make what was selling, better. Adding some mica powder for color, and gold flakes to add value. Once our product was retail-worthy, our goals changed.🎯

As the business grew, so did the next goal. My type of industry is ever-changing and you’ll need flexibility to roll with it.

Once I started making products tailored to the customers, growing sales took us to our current goal, to open our own retail store.🛒

What do you love most about working on your side hustle or business?

What I enjoy most about my business is that it’s something I have a passion for that can also make us money. In addition, Essential Oils ease migraines. Working with them daily has been healing for my body and mental health. 

Hearing positive feedback about the benefits others are experiencing with either our presence at the Farm or the product itself boosts morale to keep on going. 

How do you balance working on Megnetik and your family life?

This is the advantage of Momprenuers. I’m allowed to be home with my son and husband 24/7, cooking fine meals, and pouring scented candles in the same living space.

But building a business does have its work cut out for it. You’ll catch me on the phone or laptop most of the day - purchasing materials, making FUD guides and videos, and updating inventory on E-Commerce sites.💻

The trick is to have a set family time where all the electronics are turned off. Although home, I can be stuck in work mode from 6 am till bed every day. There is no family value in that. I see to it that I set some time out each day for my family, individually.👪

Nothing is more important than this time with them. Business comes and goes but your family does not.❤️

How does your daily routine look like? How many hours do you work in a day or week?

You want honestly? From the moment I wake up, I check orders and messages.📧 Throughout the day, I’m researching the market, aligning prices to be competitive, and making Tiktok videos to promote stale listings.📸

In the beginning, it was 7 days a week. Only because I couldn’t go back into the workforce so making this company profitable was my only choice.

As we developed and learned one person cannot work 24/7, I set out some peaceful times during the day when I stop to focus on family, friends, or myself.

I have a “break” chair in my bedroom. A space away from “work”, to just sit, close my eyes, and focus on breathing in through the nose and out of the mouth.🧘‍♀️

Then when I feel refreshed, I go back to painting gold on Sunflower soaps.🌻🧼

What is the best advice or lesson you would like to share with moms or dads who are aspiring entrepreneurs?

Consistency, resiliency, and learn to laugh.

(1) Be Consistent in your work. If you’re creating a product, design it alike each time. If you’re selling a service, consistently show up on time, smile, and be grateful. If you messed up, take responsibility and STILL give them the same level of product and service you would a full-paying customer.⭐

Once, we set up a sale and offered free shipping but forgot to exclude international shipping. When we got an order going to Australia, we still processed it and shouldered the shipping costs even if the payout was zero.

A few weeks later, the same company reordered. This time, we do not have a sale and shipping is on them. If I had canceled their previous order, I wouldn’t have made another sale from them.✨

(2) Our kind of resiliency is the process and eventual outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or life-changing experiences. 

When building a business, not every idea is going to be the golden ticket. You’ll be faced with needing to let the idea go vs. innovate it.

When faced with failures and challenges, look at the bigger picture. Taking a break during these moments may sound crazy but these are the times you most need it. When our minds are sound and calm, we can tackle the challenge from a different perspective.🧘‍♀️

(3) Learn to laugh at what’s not fair and mistakes made. My Dad told me since I could remember, “Meg’s, Life isn’t Fair”. 

We took this approach when making soap.🧼 Our first few bars started to get molds in a couple of weeks. The natural topping used was moist and oxidized.

Instead of giving up on it, we researched ways to avoid it and with every pour, it was improving. They are now made to order, 100% fresh, and get to the customer within 3 days of pouring.🚚 

What inspired you to join Fud as an Expert and Mentor?

I was inspired to join FUD because I believe there are 1 Million ways to make money in this world. Not all of them are 9 to 5. I wanted to explore other options, seek what’s trending, and use this knowledge to grow my business. But the more Workshops I joined, the more I wanted to reach out to others with what I’ve learned.

In the beginning, we had YouTube videos. They show us the solution but never tell us how to get there. Apparently, that’s a “Trade Secret”.🔒

Well, no more! FUD is the type of platform where you learn exactly what you need at the moment you need it. And building our program had this at the forefront. Real, valuable content that you can utilize today to see results.💯

What can we learn from you as an Expert and Mentor on Fud?

During our 6-Step program, you’ll navigate efficiently to avoid costly mistakes. You’ll start from the top and pass the “learning” journey others had to take to bring this value to you.

Our goal is to start your business today with little to no investment. Save money where it can be saved now.🎯

The most important step is starting.

In our first FREE Step, we learn what sells. We talk about what has been proven to fly off shelves via experience in Pop-Up Shops, Farmer’s Markets, Art Markets, Retail Stores, and E-Commerce.

Step Two. Getting shipping Quotes and Purchasing items to resell.🏷️

Step Three is our most popular. This guide is packed full of tricks to get you into E-Commerce as Free as possible. Making your own labels, pop-up shops, and cost-saving tips.💸

Step Four is a deep dive into Advertising. If and when it’s needed, how to pick up the Etsy algorithm to eventually stop spending on Advertising.📱

In Step Five, we learn the importance but also the patience needed in Networking. Here we teach the 20% rule of Opinions. We share a frustration-free method on how to take 1-star reviews and turn them into repeat customers.

We guide you with a few videos on how to take $100 and turn that into $1,500 within 14 days!🚀

Finally, Step Six. This FREE guide is our mental health workshop called “Flexibility”. Learn how to stay on your journey even when the road is blocked and unpaved. 

My 12-year-old son has been following our FUD 6-Steps to build a business of his own. He recently launched his first idea, reselling 3D Anime Posters. (Update: He out-sold Megnetik that day!👀)

Learn more about Megn’s 6-step guide by subscribing to her membership program and follow her at the Fud app to get updated on her latest tips and videos.

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Read more on Fud’s Meet the Mentor series:

Sadie Pegues-Hall: A Passion-Driven Businesswoman and Live Selling Host

Elliot Rost: A Successful Reseller Flipping Unique Items for a Profit

Joe Martine: A Native English Speaker with a Distinctive Approach to Teaching ESL

Kevin Dooley: Serial Entrepreneur Turned Freelancer, Business Mentor & Coach

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