Everyone can benefit from a little extra income to pay off their debts, buy a house, save more, or even invest in their future – especially when a full-time job isn’t enough. Side hustles are a fantastic way to explore potential business ideas without significant time commitments or upfront costs.
There are dozens of lucrative side hustles to help you earn some extra money. But can a side hustle earn you more than a little extra cash – like a couple of million more? Yes, it can – as it did for Donie Yamamoto, founder of Vital Pet Life. Donie Yamamoto wasn’t looking to become a significant player in the growing pet food nutraceutical market, but that’s where her side hustle took her. Here’s her story.
Hard beginnings
Donie Yamamoto was born and brought up in the Philippines. It wasn’t acceptable for young women to become entrepreneurs in the Philippines at a young age. She had to defy a patriarchal society to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams.
With very little capital, she opened her own clothing store while pursuing an accounting career. Although she was an entrepreneur in the Philippines, her life there as a businesswoman was not straightforward. It took sheer hard work, guts, and belief in herself to overcome adversities and hurdles along the way. But she did make it, and she could fulfill her dreams.
Moving to the United States
In 2011, Donie closed her successful clothing store and moved to Los Angeles with her husband, Kyle. Unfortunately, moving to the United States was anything but smooth. She was no longer a business owner, and she no longer enjoyed the financial independence she had back in the Philippines.
Donie’s accounting degree from the Philippines was not recognized in the United States. When she took a review class, she realized accounting was not a career she was interested in enough to pursue. She wanted to do something she was passionate about – such as fashion.
Her experience in retail fashion In the Philippines was not enough here in the United States, so she enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles to earn a professional designation in apparel manufacturing. But even after obtaining a US professional certification, the only jobs she was offered were unpaid internships. Frustrated, she decided to start her own children’s clothing line. But she knew it would take time for her business to take off and become profitable. That’s when fate intervened by sending Tuxedo, a lovely terrier, into her life.
The start of something big
Donie and Kyle began dog-sitting a sweet terrier named Tuxedo. Within a month, they had adopted him. Unfortunately, Tuxedo suffered from dry, itchy skin and a course coat. Donie tried myriad products from leading pet brands to help Tuxedo, some containing ingredients she hadn’t even heard of. Unfortunately, none of them helped alleviate Tuxedo’s skin condition. That’s when she turned to natural and cleaner solutions.
“I’ve always been passionate about the health of my dogs,” says Yamamoto. “I always think there has to be a natural way.” During her research, she came across Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil. When she gave Tuxedo this salmon oil, all his symptoms cleared up. It made his coat look shiny and has anti-inflammatory properties, which helped with his joint problems and arthritis. She began sharing this salmon oil with her friends for their dogs.
The dramatic results on Tuxedo and other dogs inspired Donie and Kyle to start Vital Pet Life. As Donie says, “Reflecting back, I’m reminded that the most challenging times are often the most transformative moments in our lives.”
Only a side hustle
Donie’s pet supplement company, Vital Pet Life, was started as a side hustle in 2017 when she came across a webinar about how to start an Amazon business by selling white-labeled and private-labeled merchandise. Even while juggling launching her own children’s clothing line, she advertised her salmon oil supplement on Amazon.
There were several reasons she decided to take this bold step. First, established companies like Walmart and celebrities like Martha Steward and Rachel Ray were already selling their products (although not on Amazon). Second, the pet care supplement industry seemed to be doing much better than the children’s clothing industry. Finally, her salmon oil supplement worked like magic to treat her dog Tuxedo’s dry and itchy skin condition, and she was sure that other pet owners could help their pets with this supplement.
More than just a side hustle
For Donie, Vital Pet Life was meant to be nothing more than a good side hustle. The company sold a single product (Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil) and was only meant to supplement her income while she pursued setting up her own children’s clothing line.
Around the time Donie started her side hustle business, there were some exciting developments in the business world. According to American Express’s State of Women-Owned Businesses Report (2019), the growth rate of women sidepreneurs between 2014 and 2019 was 32% – much higher than the 9% growth rate of all other ventures. The report also stated that the growth of women sidepreneurs was higher (39%) than all adult sidepreneurs (32%) – and was highest among Asian women (63%).
The building up of the business
After extensive research, Donie could hone into a salmon oil manufacturer who produced high-quality salmon oil and offered low order minimums. Donie’s first stint on Amazon was an immediate success. But to continue her success and successfully fulfill the Amazon orders that began pouring in, she had to have inventory. She took a chance and ordered more than the minimum order. An added advantage of ordering more than the minimum order was that the quantity she ordered qualified for volume discounts. Within a month, the inventory ran low. But as well as that, “Each subsequent order grew substantially bigger.
A year into her side hustle business, Donie began reading up, researching, and better understanding the pet care industry – the potential of her offering and the competition. “Top-quality salmon oil was expensive — around $40 per bottle,” she said. “Our (salmon oil) was $18. Affordability was definitely a key differentiator, as was our customer service.” True, she had to give up a significant profit per unit, but what she gave up in unit profitability, she made up quickly in the volume of units she sold.
The next product Donie added to her product line was dog shampoo. The idea was that while the supplement was designed to make dogs feel good from the inside, the shampoo was created to make them look good on the outside. As Vital Pet Life became more popular, revenues grew and soon exceeded the million-dollar mark. According to American Express’s State of Women-Owned Businesses Report (2019), fewer than 2% of women-owned businesses passed the million-dollar mark.
Expanding Vital Pet Life
With Vital Pet Life crossing the million-dollar mark, Donie realized pet supplements as a business could be lucrative. She decided to forgo the clothing business and concentrate on expanding Vital Pet Life.
Donie applied for the Tory Burch Fellowship program, a four-day leadership training program for women entrepreneurs. The program enrolls 50 women entrepreneurs and provides them with a community of support from peers nationwide. Each entrepreneur received a $5,000 education grant; some were even allowed to pitch to investors and business leaders.
The advice Donie received from experts and peers at the Tory Burch Fellowship program proved priceless. She was advised not merely to rely on Amazon for sales and customers. Donie has taken that advice and now sells her products directly to customers from the company website. The company also offers subscription services. Selling directly to customers allowed Donie to become more profitable and get feedback directly from her customers.
Obstacles, early success, and future goals
The pandemic proved to be trying but a learning experience for the company. Donie says, “The supply chain issues that began with the start of the pandemic have been both an obstacle and an opportunity. Because it was just my husband and me (with a few contractors), we were in the trenches with all the supply chain hurdles, but we’re fortunate to have very close relationships with our suppliers, which has helped us.” The pandemic also allowed them to reach out and connect personally with all their customers.
In 2021, just four years since its inception, Vital Pet Life made the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. Today, the company’s products for dogs and cats include fish oil, salmon oil, oatmeal and aloe shampoo, mobility joint supplement, and liquid glucosamine (to repair cartilage and provide anti-inflammatory benefits).
Donie claims that the reason for their success is that they stayed small yet flexible and innovative. They have stayed what is true to them – being sustainable, transparent, and traceable. All their products are created responsibly and are clean and sustainable. Every company that they choose to partner with is chosen with great care.
Over the next five years, Donie hopes to expand the company in different marketplaces, including other e-commerce platforms and brick-and-mortar stores in the country.