After An Eye-opening Trip To Home Depot, This Grandfather Started A Side Hustle On Amazon — And Did About $500,000 In Sales Last Year

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Joshua White, a 50-year-old begetter of six and grandfather of 2 based successful Boca Raton, Florida. In 2019, White started a broadside hustle: Handy Famm, nan marque down a multifunctional STEM learning instrumentality for kids that allows them to thief pinch DIY projects astir nan house. Responses personification been edited for magnitude and clarity.

Image Credit: Rose Tzur. Joshua White.

What was your clip business aliases superior business erstwhile you started your broadside hustle?
I americium nan main and imaginative caput of OffWhite Co., a multidisciplinary creation firm. My recreation began successful accepted design, wherever I honed my skills successful branding and design. This instauration yet led maine into nan world of 3D animation and storytelling, collaborating pinch manufacture legends for illustration Christopher Reeve and different Hollywood A-listers to create compelling narratives.

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When nan films I worked connected needed products aliases promotional items, I expanded my expertise into manufacturing pipelines — processing everything from Cathay Pacific Flight Attendant Barbie dolls to rebranding nan iconic java shaper AeroPress. My onslaught has ever been rooted successful delivering 360-degree solutions that are brand-centric, inventive and seamlessly merge trading and go-to-market strategies.

When did you commencement your broadside hustle, and wherever did you find nan inspiration for it?
I started Handy Famm successful 2019 aft a recreation to Home Depot pinch my young daughter. We were looking for devices she could use, but quickly realized location was point connected nan shelves designed specifically for kids— point real, functional, safe and decidedly point that wasn't conscionable a toy. That infinitesimal sparked nan thought for a amended solution.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Handy Famm

What were immoderate of nan first steps you took to get your broadside hustle disconnected nan ground?
Having tally a imaginative agency for complete 25 years, I've been fortunate to activity pinch iconic brands for illustration Chobani, Maple Hill, Jordan and AeroPress, helping them toggle style eager ideas into industry-leading brands.

That acquisition taught maine a important lesson: The champion ideas lick real, relatable problems. As a dada of six, I cognize firsthand nan challenges parents look — keeping kids disconnected screens while fostering family connection. I group retired to create point that wasn't conscionable hands-on and engaging but too educational, nosy and safe — a DIY solution that brings families together.

I too knew nan merchandise needed to beryllium versatile tin to germinate into a broader scope of DIY devices and, arsenic a branding expert, I wanted a strong, iconic constituent to necktie everything together. That's really Handy Famm's first merchandise was born: a playful vertebrate characteristic pinch a personality-packed design. It features a information measurement tongue, nan Eye-conic™ level built into its oculus (both functional and visually fun) and a built-in position finder protractor.

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To get there, I spent hours pinch my squad deconstructing information measures, sketching ideas pinch my kids, 3D printing prototypes and refining nan creation until it felt right. We gave nan vertebrate unsocial colour options, nosy names and chopped personalities, which added grade to nan brand. This became nan instauration for Handy Famm's onslaught — blending applicable devices pinch productivity to make mundane DIY projects approachable and enjoyable for kids and families alike.

Although we began pinch a soft motorboat connected Kickstarter, successfully raising our $10,000 goal, nan existent activity happened during nan COVID-19 lockdown. I utilized that clip to refine nan product, collaborating intimately pinch nan mill to cleanable our multifunctional information measures. It wasn't until October 2022 that I went afloat throttle, launching Handy Famm connected Amazon and taking our ngo to empower nan adjacent procreation of doers to a wider audience.

Image Credit: David Khabinsky

What were immoderate of nan biggest challenges you faced while building your broadside hustle, and really did you navigate them?
Inventing and building a merchandise from scratch is ever challenging, but I've spent my occupation turning ideas into reality, truthful that was really nan "easy part." The existent business was sales: breaking into Amazon, securing retailer placements, driving postulation from societal to our website and navigating brick-and-mortar retail. Each measurement came pinch a learning curve — uncovering nan correct squad members, building partnerships and knowing personification buying behaviors. These are challenges I'm still navigating, but staying flexible, embracing failures arsenic opportunities to study and pivoting quickly personification been cardinal to our growth.

Another ample hurdle was logistics. Finding a 3PL partner who understands our maturation needs and tin coming without changeless issues is captious for soft scaling. Unfortunately, we went done respective vendors early on, making mistakes and learning arsenic we went. We're really successful nan process of transitioning again, and I'm optimistic this adjacent measurement will group america up for semipermanent success.

How agelong did it return you to spot accordant monthly revenue? How overmuch did nan broadside hustle earn?
We were fortunate to spot gross arsenic soon arsenic we launched connected Amazon — it's been a awesome level for us. However, it took astir a twelvemonth to execute accordant results. In our first year, we generated $185,000 successful sales, chiefly done Amazon and our website.

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What does maturation and gross look for illustration now?
At nan extremity of 2023, I recognized nan petition to raise pre-seed superior to execute explosive maturation and afloat admit my imagination for nan brand. This included processing further character-themed devices and embracing societal channels overmuch effectively.

In 2024, we went afloat throttle — inventing, patenting and designing 2 years' worthy of products successful nether six months. The remainder of nan twelvemonth was spent stepping to China to group up factories, building our squad crossed sales, societal and operations, and ensuring everything was caller for scale.

Even pinch conscionable our vertebrate and canine information measures, we closed successful connected $500,000 successful income for 2024 — a testament to nan spot of our ngo and product. With a coagulated instauration and a expanding team, we're connected measurement to shatter those numbers successful 2025 and proceed empowering families done productivity and hands-on learning.

Image Credit: David Khabinsky

What do you bask astir astir this broadside hustle?
As personification who loves building businesses, it's incredibly rewarding to spot really my elemental stroll done Home Depot pinch my woman evolved into a thriving business pinch an engaged statement of customers and marque advocates. What excites maine astir is seeing parents, kids and moreover portion buyers resonate pinch our ngo of powering nan next-gen of doers. Knowing that we're up of nan curve successful championing nan resurgence of skilled trades — carpenters, plumbers and creators unafraid to usage their hands — is profoundly satisfying.

On a individual level, I emotion dreaming up caller devices and products to turn nan Handy Famm experience. Bringing our 3D-animated characters to life, building their personalities and utilizing them to respire powerfulness into nan marque is endlessly exciting. Cracking nan codification connected societal media, expanding our YouTube beingness and optimizing nan portion transmission are nan kinds of challenges that support maine energized and inspired each day.

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But nan coolest part? Knowing my six kids and 2 grandkids not only usage these devices but are too proud of what their dada and granddad created. Watching them measure, build and create — pinch point I dreamed up — is surreal. Hearing them say, "My dada made this" aliases "My granddad made this" is what it's each about. That's nan benignant of bequest that makes each precocious nighttime and early greeting wholly worthy it.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Handy Famm

What's your connection for others hoping to commencement successful broadside hustles of their own?
Start pinch a existent problem you attraction astir solving — point that genuinely excites you. Don't get stuck chasing perfection; conscionable start, proceedings and tweak arsenic you go. And remember, a broadside hustle isn't conscionable astir different income: It's astir building point meaningful that energizes you, challenges you and adds joyousness to your life. Surround yourself pinch positivity, group you want to banal your recreation with, and make it point you're proud of.