I grew up poor and built a $100m business from scratch – best business tips to help turn your side hustle into your job

In a small Chinese village, Jenny Jing Zhu originally thought she could achieve anything after reading an article in a business magazine.

Growing up in a home without electricity or running water, Zhu was motivated to pursue a career in business and persuaded her family to allow her to go to Beijing so she could work and support herself.

Zhu took a work as a hotel maid before launching her own dry cleaning company, despite her parents’ grudging approval that she should become a teacher.

Speaking no English, Zhu and her ex-husband traveled to the United States in their 20s. She first found work as a nanny in San Francisco before relocating to New York.

Zhu received inspiration from Asian American fashion designer Vera Wang, which encouraged her to pursue a degree in Home Textile Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Zhu was going through a divorce in 2008 and would soon be a single mother to a one-year-old child.

Zhu noticed a need for drop shipping with big furniture merchants and launched her own company in spite of the financial crisis.

With the goal of revolutionizing home décor by delivering stunning, fashionable, and cutting-edge textiles and the future straight to customers, Lush D cor was founded.

Along with other well-known brands, the company distributes bedding, quilts, pillows, and other soft furnishings at Macy’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, Wayfair, Amazon, Target, Home Depot, and Kohl’s.

In 2009, when few in the business were ready to drop ship, it was straightforward: there existed a gap in the market for drop shipping, and we were all about embracing e-commerce.

Shipping one product at a time carries a lot of risk, but we developed the processes and put them in place, which gave us a significant competitive advantage.

After more than 15 years, Zhu has grown her company to make $100 million a year.

According to her, the business is still expanding and is committed to utilizing artificial intelligence to boost productivity and maintain its competitive edge.

Zhu, who is passionate about assisting others in starting their own enterprises, has published a book that contains her best business advice.

FIND YOUR PASSION

According to Zhu, despite the fact that hustles are flourishing in the US, anyone can turn their business into a full-time career by following these three easy business recommendations.

First of all, Zhu stated that since there would be many obstacles along the way, people should discover or start something they are extremely enthusiastic about.

According to her, you must first discover what you truly love.

There will always be ups and downs in your side business, and there will be a lot of risk involved. It will never go as planned.

When things don’t go as planned, if you truly love it, that will be what keeps you going.

SHARE THE LOAD

Sharing the workload was another important piece of advice Zhu gave, stating that you don’t have to accomplish everything by yourself.

There are a lot of resources available, and I believe that sometimes it’s crucial to identify your peer group.

Going it alone makes it very simple to burn out.

Zhu’s final piece of advice was to locate helpful mentors.

“Find those who have been there before,” she said.

Find those who have been there before; you don’t have to hear everything they have to say.

That will be very beneficial to you in determining your next course of action.

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