A WOMAN has revealed how she turned a passion for vintage handbags into a business that makes £42,000 a week.
When Nica Yusay was growing up, her family struggled for money, so she always shopped second hand and looked for bargains to get by.
As she got older, the 29-year-old became more and more passionate about vintage fashion, especially designer handbags.
“I love vintage bags because I feel like they have more character”, she told CNBC.
“They’re really unique and great quality”.
One day, Nica was telling her fiancé how much she loves designer bags, and how she hates that she can’t buy them all, as she wouldn’t be able to pay her rent.
He fiancé suggested that she should start buying and reselling handbags, so that she could make some extra money, whilst being able to buy all of the bags she wanted.
Nica began to work on her side hustle in her spare time, and said that the venture really started to blow up when a Tiktok she made showing a behind the scenes look at her business went viral, racking up 2.8 million views.
As Nica’s sales began to increase she started live selling her bags in a once a week online sale.
She said: “I tell my followers I’m going to be dropping these bags at 7pm.
“So if you can make it it’s your lucky day, and if not, stay tuned for the next one”.
During the live sales, Nica livestreams herself showing off each bag, and people can buy them from her via a link to her Shopify account.
Her bags sell for hundreds of pounds each, and she tries to sell 20-30 bags in each sale.
When Nica’s business, FashionNica started to make six figures, she decided to quit her corporate job, and focus on her vintage handbag business full time.
Her business has now made over $1 million dollars, and brings in up to £42,000 a week.
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The business owner said that all of the bags she sells are specifically curated based on her style and love for fashion.
“If I don’t love it, I won’t sell it, because there’s a risk that if it doesn’t sell, I’m going to have to keep it”, she said.
Nica has now hired her mum and her sister to help her out with her business and works six days a week, sourcing, marketing and shipping out bags to customers.
In the future, she would like to have a whole team of people working for her, and be able to work out of a warehouse, instead of just in her home.
She said: “This did not come overnight, I’ve put in a lot of hours and made so many sacrifices.
“I’m so proud of how much this has grown”.
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