Smith said her side business started “organically” when she and her sister-in-law created table-filling charcuterie spreads for family gatherings and began selling them to others on Facebook Marketplace in May 2022.
Smith says the first batch she made on her “kitchen island” was modest compared to what she's making now: 25 boxes of hand-tossed crostini, cured meats, and provolone cheese cut into flower shapes, which she says sold out on Facebook Marketplace within two days.
Smith started the business, now called Byte by Byte & Co., out of her home and a nearby church kitchen while working full-time as a project manager at Capital One. The side hustle brought in $84,000 in revenue in the first seven months, and Smith quit her job in May 2023, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
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Currently, Bite By Bite operates in two cities: a store in Richmond and a commercial kitchen in Atlanta. Smith said his company made $379,000 in revenue last year, and the Richmond location is profitable. Bite By Bite plans to open two more franchise locations later this year, Smith added.
Smith, 43, attributes the business's meteoric growth to her own willingness to take care of others. “I have a deep love for entertaining people, treating people, making sure people have a good experience,” she says. “That's a secret part of my soul. You can put me on a shelf and sell me. That's what I was put on the planet to do.”
Here, Smith talks about how he grew his side hustle into a full-time job in just one year, the moment he felt successful, and his best advice for other small business owners.
CNBC Make It: Do you think your side hustle is replicable?
Smith: Yes, but the challenge is that charcuterie is trendy. It can't just look pretty; you need something that sets it apart.
How did you set yourself apart?
My business has evolved to provide a more handcrafted experience: we make our own cheese balls and cheese dips from fresh ingredients.
Bite by Bite & Co. Bridal Spread
Courtesy of Teyoshe Smith
We also rethought how we arrange our grazing tables. For most charcuterie businesses, it takes two to three hours to set up these long tables at each venue because they have to unload everything: meats, cheeses, coolers, etc. We have custom-built boards up to 10 feet long, allowing us to do all the heavy lifting in our own kitchen.
Then we come in to set it up, which only takes 30 minutes, and we're not glued to your side.
Bite by Bite has grown from a side hustle to a full-fledged business in a year – what advice would you give to someone wanting to emulate that?
The feedback I got was that I was in a bit of a hurry. I just wasn't listening very much. Things were just happening naturally and falling into my hands. If things are going well, I'd rather just keep going until I stumble.
“Creating elaborate charcuterie spreads from speciality ingredients became the ideal of Southern comfort for me,” Smith says.
Courtesy of Teyoshe Smith
But you have to look at and understand every part of your business. When you get approved for an LLC, no one checks to see if the name is already in use. I started out with the name “Grazing Crazy” but got sued. I had to change my name and hire a lawyer.
Make sure your bank accounts are set up correctly, learn about taxes, and speak to an accountant and/or lawyer to make sure you're protected from a legal and financial perspective.
When was the first time you felt successful?
Last year around Thanksgiving I was in Georgia and they were short-staffed in Virginia, and one day I panicked because no one was willing to deliver a 6 foot grazing table.
I ended up calling a delivery guy I'd worked with before and asking if he could help me, and over a Google Meet I walked him through the setup: move the flowers here, put the stand there, move the board to the left, etc.
The spread was beautiful.
Up until that point, I was working really hard to make sure all my employees were happy and that no one left. But then I realized I could train and mentor anyone, even virtually.
It gave me the confidence that I could run a business from anywhere and be successful, and it gave me a great blueprint to replicate and share with others.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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