Side Hustle

I can’t honestly remember a time since my husband and I have been together where he didn’t start a little side hustle.

Shortly after we first met he had started his record label Squadron Records ( he is totally going to get me for that one). He started that side hustle in college. I also remember I was there helping him design his first CD cover. He would get me side gigs designing other aspiring artists CD covers. At that time I was deep into the graphic design scene.

That however, soon went to the back burner because we needed to focus on our little family we started. We ended picking up multiple jobs and switched our schooling to nights. We just didn’t have any time to keep that dream of his going.

A few years after our son was born my husband started a vending company. This one he had started with our 5 year old son. They had candy vending machines across the Cedar Valley. He would take our son with him to fill the machines. This hustle fizzled out after time was stretching a little thin and profits just were not there. I at this point was not fully involved. Our son had taken on the partner role into the family side hustle business.

Then there was one of my favorite side hustles my husband and son started by accident.. I remember coming home one Saturday afternoon from work to our house in Waterloo to see a line of kids outside of our house and my son and husband grinning from ear to ear. My husband had purchased a little cheap single serving snow cone maker with some simple syrup and our son setup a little table outside the house selling snow cones. These two even came up with a special add on called “Pucker Power”, it definitely fit its name and I got a chuckle hearing kids ask for it as a snow cone topper! This was the start of something pretty special. My husband and son decided to take this show on the road and created Arctic Snow. This was a family business and was something we did together as our son grew up. We had it going for a few years up until I accepted a job in Chicago. We had a mobile trailer that was one of Ryan’s first DIY projects. Man… I wish I knew then what I know now.. We sold everything so we could start this new adventure for my career.

Now that I am looking back I realize that the side hustles stopped when we left home. Iowa was the spark. I just never realized it until recent.

Now we are back home and down to what I see as our last and final side hustle. This time we are in it together with equal passion. The question is can we turn this side hustle into something full time?

The side hustle I am referring to is Mad Acre Farms. This hustle hits a little different. We are putting everything we have into this to make something out of it. You could say we are obsessed. What I also find pretty ironic is that we are likely going to implement vending machines in to allow people to feed the animals here at the farm. We have also tossed around the idea of a podcast in the future. Now this isn’t no Squadron Records but it is a close as we may get! We have also discussed bringing back Arctic Snow to the property. Funny how things come full circle isn’t it!?

Our life’s journey has lead us to where we are at today. Each adventure had a purpose in our life that would later resurface with the greatest potential.

Moral of the story… Don’t be afraid to dream big because of the fear of failing. You will never know what your journey has in store for you if you don’t take the risk. ♥️✌🏼 -Jamie