![]() I'm in talks with a local monument company to start updating shared headstones in cemeteries. If I were in my 30s, I would probably gear up and do big headstones for cemeteries. I can make a good living shipping everything the way we do now. She makes a few hundred bucks a week, and instead of paying for daycare, stays at home with her kids. My daughter-in-law, who helps us design the stencils, was a stay-at-home mom and wanted something to do. My daughter wasn't happy with where she worked at the time. I'm my own boss, which has its downfalls. I like to sleep in and work into the evening a little bit. I work 75 feet out my back door - it's freed up so much time and given me the opportunity to just be with my family a whole lot more. My wife, daughter and daughter-in-law, we all work about five hours per day now. How has creating pet memorials full-time impacted your work-life balance? I'll go out and there'll be a sticky note that says, "Dad, you need to pour seven beige stones today." She keeps me in line on what needs to be done. We've sold thousands of dollars' worth since. She came up with an idea for a concrete mold shaped like a dog bone. We would just sit there and talk about things and brainstorm. In the beginning, my wife and I would meet my daughter Kristen for lunch, one day a week. But if you let everybody have a part it in, things can run smoothly. If you have an alpha personality and are really assertive, it might clash with some of your family members. Have you had to set any boundaries working with your family? But by result, if you serve more people, you make more money. I think those things had a lot to do with the direction I went. Then, my friend Carlos lost his dog Molly. Just little memorial pieces that turned out really nice. I started making things, like concrete crosses, 3D roses and plaques. My mom passed at the end of 2020, and my dad and I were taking it really hard. It's just a matter of having the passion for it. That's for cement molds and sandblast equipment. I'd say you need $10,000 or less to get started. Here, he discusses how he built his business, why he likes working with family members and what you might need to replicate his success.ĬNBC Make It: Do you think your side hustle is replicable? What do you need to get started? About two-thirds of that is profit, Melton estimates, and he's on track to make roughly the same amount this year. Last year, the four-person operation brought in more than $207,000 on Etsy, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. Now he works fewer hours and spends them with his family, after hiring his daughter and daughter-in-law last summer. In May 2022, his Etsy shop brought in nearly $20,000, and Melton left his full-time job. ![]() ![]() As his side hustle grew, revenue started pouring in - so he used a combination of proceeds and savings to invest another $51,500 in other tools, like a sandblaster, granite saw and chisel, and laser engraver.ĭon't miss: This 59-year-old's lucrative side hustle: Earning $16,000 a month selling recycled fire pits on EtsyĮach new piece of equipment minimized Melton's production time, allowing him to sell more headstones. Plus, he could work in his self-built workshop behind his home in Alma, Arkansas, a town of less than 6,000 people on the edge of the Ozark Mountains.Īt first, it took Melton two or three days to set the headstones in molds, then another five hours to engrave them before his wife added epoxy filling. ![]() He'd long worked with concrete and stone as a hobby, while working 60 hours per week as a maintenance lead at Mars Pet Care. In March 2021, Melton started molding, engraving and selling headstones for pet memorials on Etsy. ![]()
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