You never know what hobbies and interests will transform your life and career path. There are a number of small businesses in our area that began with humble intentions but blossomed into more. From bloggers turned caterers, and business owners who had to quit their day jobs to keep a dream alive — these are four businesses that went from side hustles to full-time gigs.
Boundless Boards
During the pandemic, Sara Lester started selling charcuterie board orders from her then home in Virginia. What started as a few orders quickly snowballed into more and more. Eventually, they started shipping nationwide. Lester not only eyed growing the business into a full-time gig but she and her husband had eyes on Wilmington for some time. Eventually, they moved and leased a storefront for Boundless Boards at 4107 Oleander Drive. Today they offer charcuterie boards of various types and sizes and even homemade pimento cheese sold in 8 oz. containers.Â
Salt + Charm
Abbye McGee is a long-time food industry and hospitality worker and in her personal life kept a home with a full table. With family and friends asking for her recipes, she waded into food blogging. Her recipes gained a following and she recruited other chefs to contribute recipes. After a few years of blogging on the side, she opened a catering operation of her own. It didn’t take long for Salt + Charm to need its own brick-and-mortar shop. These days, Abbye and her growing team of chefs make meals for large parties around the area and provide personal meals on a weekly basis. Grab-and-go meals are available for order in the shop at The Cargo District. In 2022, Abbye was one-half of the launch of The Starling Bar. It serves cocktails, wine, and a bourbon and whiskey menu.
Elevate Coworking
This new co-working space was never a side hustle, but it lands on our list for helping small business owners take their dreams to the next level. While there are a number of co-working spaces in town, Elevate is one that specifically fosters spaces for women. There is on-site childcare and a range of membership options for different budgets. There is a hot coffee bar and a photography studio for digital creators. This is an incubator for many women growing their side hustles into something more. Learn more here.
Sea Love Sea Salt
Amanda Jacobs heard about evaporating ocean water into salt. She experimented on the back patio of her condo in Wrightsville Beach along with her husband. But when a chef asked if he could try some, he loved it and asked if she could bring him one pound a week. It turns out there was a big market for locally-made sea salt. Her backyard project turned into a sea salt farm in Burgaw. As Sea Love Sea Salt thrived and exploded, she set her previous career on hold to pursue this new passion. In 2021, Jacobs sold the business to new owners who still carry on the same recipes and methods today.
