Alexandra Rutkay was on a movie set when her side hustle went viral in June.
Rutkay, a full-time makeup artist, was working a 16-hour day on the set of “A Complete Unknown,” an upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, when her phone started buzzing. She clocked out that night and saw that she’d struck a social media jackpot.
After two years of inconsistent sales at her New York-based side hustle Citymouse, which makes fashion-forward mini-diaper bags, two glowing reviews of her bags simultaneously gained views on TikTok and Instagram. Within three days, Citymouse sold out its inventory of more than 500 bags, bringing in roughly $53,000 in sales, says Rutkay, 41.
She promptly bought another 1,000 bags from her China-based manufacturer, and the orders kept coming. Citymouse has brought in more than $635,000 in sales so far this year — $53,000 per month, on average — primarily from its Shopify website, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
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