I grew up dirt poor but make £7.5k a MONTH from the side hustle I only set up a year ago – it’s so cheap to start
A WOMAN has revealed that she earns a whopping £7500 a month from a side hustle she only set up one year ago.
Anna-Maria Ortiz started her side hustle back in July 2023, using the £1,554 she had in her savings.
The 30-year-old’s business Cool Aunt Cleaners is a professional cleaning service that mostly caters to young professionals.
Before starting her business, Anna-Maria was used to living paycheque to paycheque and said that she has been poor for her whole life.
“Growing up, I feel like I learned the value of a dollar through watching my parents struggle.”
After struggling throughout her youth, Anna-Maria decided to move to Portland, Oregon, with the vision of setting up a seven-figure business.
She made herself a 10-year-plan with the aim of using the money from her business to help her family.
After moving into a house of girls, Anna-Maria realised that not everyone grew up with a stay-at-home mum who was always there to do the chores, so looked in to starting a cleaning company, to help those out who were struggling with household tasks.
What attracted Anna-Maria to starting a cleaning business was the fact that since she could do all of the cleaning work herself, the costs would be low.
She set up a website, bought some cleaning supplies and then got some magnets for her car made to promote her business.
In the first few months, Anna-Maria worked on her business as a side hustle, whilst still working at a tech startup.
“I was doing this after hours and on weekends, I was doing all of the cleans myself.
“It is physically really difficult work”, she said.
However, she quickly began earning £7500 a month, without offering any kind of promotion, or doing any advertising.
She now has a whole host of staff working for her, and does everything from move-out cleans to short term rental turnovers.
“I really do enjoy seeing the finished results, and getting the client’s reactions,” she said.
Anna-Maria shares details of her successful business online, and many of her videos have gone viral.
How to start your own business
Dragon's Den star Theo Paphitis revealed his tips for budding entrepreneurs:
- One of the biggest barriers aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners face is a lack of confidence. You must believe in your idea — even more than that, be the one boring your friends to death about it.
- Never be afraid to make decisions. Once you have an idea, it’s the confidence to make decisions that is crucial to starting and maintaining a business.
- If you don’t take calculated risks, you’re standing still. If a decision turns out to be wrong, identify it quickly and deal with it if you can. Failing that, find someone else who can.
- It’s OK not to get it right the first time. My experience of making bad decisions is what helped develop my confidence, making me who I am today.
- Never underestimate the power of social media, and remember the internet has levelled the playing field for small businesses.
- Don’t forget to dream. A machine can’t do that!
“I think it’s really important and empowering to other people to see people who haven’t come from money have a big dream and make things happen.”
Anna-Maria’s long-term goal for the company is to expand her business to other US states.
“I want to be the person in my family that creates generational wealth and leaves behind a legacy,” she said.
She added that she hopes her nieces and nephews will follow in her footsteps, and become entrepreneurs.